Do you know what your website’s analytics say about you? Do you know what kind of web traffic you’re getting and which articles or stories are your most popular? Reading and understanding your website’s analytics is not that difficult. You just have to know where to look and what to look for. The problem is that Google Analytics analyzes so much stuff that you easily be overwhelmed by everything. So instead, just focus on a few statistics that will give … Read More »

Do you know what people find when they Google your name? Do they find you? Do they find out that deep, dark secret you’ve tried to keep hidden all those years? (We know what you did; we still love you.) Or do they find someone with a similar name to yours? Maybe they’re in the same line of work, maybe they’re well-known in their own field, or maybe they’ve got their own deep, dark secret they’ve been trying to keep … Read More »

Here’s something for the nonfiction writers and people who aren’t just posting short stories and poems to their blog. When you get down to it, blog posts are one of the easiest pieces you could ever write. You just flop your fingers on the keyboard for a while, and whatever you come up with, you publish. (That’s what I’ve been doing on here for nearly a year. And if I can fool these guys, then you can surely do this!) … Read More »

Last month, I encouraged everyone to start a blog as a way to show fans and friends some of the things you’ve been up to. With a blog, you can tell them anything you want, whether it’s your latest writing adventures, information about your stories and the worlds you’re creating, or even information about writing and publishing. Your blog is an excellent way to share information with people, especially if you like to keep your social networks smaller and more … Read More »

If there’s one tool every writer should have, one place they can send interested readers, it’s a blog. A blog is basically your centralized hub where you send readers from your other social networks. Think of your social media as a wheel — the different networks are the spokes, and your blog is the hub that joins them all. Your blog (which doubles as your writer’s website) is a public journal where you publish posts about things you’re working on, … Read More »

Many authors have virtually abandoned their websites in favor of social media. That’s risky because you can never control what Facebook or any other social media site does with its interface and functions–or your followers. These days Facebook wants Page owners pay for reach.  Only some of your followers see your posts unless you pay to promote them. Social media sites go out of style. (Look around and you can easily see that Facebook isn’t the draw for the younger … Read More »