Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Pat's Convention Note #24 of 100 things I learned from attending SIX LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

#24 
While at RWA, author Lisa Wells headed a workshop called “Blog Bites.” After listening to the recording, I saw the errors of my ways, so here I go.
The blog headline should entice readers. The title and tags should promise something and have benefits to the reader. One interesting note to point out was her suggestion on how to name a blog: the first 3 words and the last 3 words of the title should be strong.
·         Blog posts need to be short, at least 300 words, but not longer than 1,000 words.
·         Content is king. It should inspire, educate, entertain, solve a problem, etc. Focus on your passion.
·         She uses “reader conversation tags” such as: couldn’t put it down, stayed up all night, all-nighters. These kind of phrases draws attention, whether it’s a blog or book.
·         IT takes 2-5 years for a blog to get going---yikes! I’m not feeling those odds.
·         Lisa suggests playing with words by going down the alphabet, such as “treadmill” change to “dreadmill”. Using lists and inserting pictures on blogs are a plus, so check out this list of sites for ideas:
1.      Wordle.net
2.      ClichéSite.com
3.      Lyrics free.com
4.      Quotationpage.com
5.      Pinterest.com for all kind of quotes.
·         Of course, blogs should be promoted on social media. Here’s another website to Tweet about it. ClicktoTweet.com
·         Always end the blog with a call for action: ask the reader to share this post or leave a comment for a drawing.
Here is my call for action, please a comment or share this post with a friend and enter a drawing for a $10 Starbucks card or free download of my first audiobook, THE KEEPSAKE. Deadline January 27, 2015.
I hope this blog has been a blessing.

Pat 

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