Blog Life

September 28, 2021– In a couple of days, we’ll wrap up our theme for this month, continuing education for authors. Today we’re going to chat about why every author should have a blog and some key tips to educate you on the importance of blogging for authors.

Businesses use blogs as marketing tools to share tips, industry news, updates on products, how to use the products, etc. They have become an excellent place for offering readers multi-media experiences through audio/visual options. People love reading blogs because of the conversational tone and the engagement with the author.

Here are 5 reasons why you should have a blog:

• Search Engines: Interesting content and consistency are the two key ingredients search engines use to find you and your business. Having a blog with the correct keywords, content, and frequency can put you on the first page of Google and other search engines, making it easy for your audience to find your books.
• Shareable: When folks find things they like online, they tend to share them via social networks or email. Your website should have social sharing buttons so that readers can share things from your blog posts that they find interesting. Perhaps you wrote about, e.g., anxiety in children and 3 easy exercises you can do anywhere, parents will want to share valuable information like this. Make it easy for them!
• Expertise: You’re seen as an expert in your field when you regularly share relevant, valuable information. People buy from companies and businesses that show they are experts in their industry. You’ve got a great opportunity here with blog posts showing your expertise in whatever area you choose relevant to your skills.
• Cross-Promote: Blogs are great networking tools. You can widen your net by inviting experts to guest post on your blog/podcast and talk about things that your readers care about. This is the ultimate in adding value. Plus, when you invite experts into your space as a guest, chances are, they will invite you to post on their blog and chat about your book series in reciprocity. This is a great way to reach a larger/untapped audience that otherwise you may not have been able to reach on your own.

So, as you can see, if you’re an author who is blogless, you’re missing out! Another key bonus to blogging is that it will force you to write and keep your skills sharp. What are you waiting for? Get started today!

LinkedIn Best Practices for Authors

September 24, 2021– I hope that you’ve been enjoying our theme this month, continuing education for authors! Today we’re talking about best practices for LinkedIn, let’s dig in.

LinkedIn helps people establish themselves as an expert in their field. They can interact with their community on branded pages and groups and can connect via LinkedIn messaging.

Quick tip: LinkedIn has a right way and a wrong way to use it. It’s not Facebook, yet most people treat it the same which has undesirable consequences such as loss of connections, ignoring messages because the person is seen as unprofessional, and unable to connect to their target audience.

Why you need to be on LinkedIn as an Author

Endorsements and Testimonials: Your peers can endorse your skills and write recommendations, and this goes a long way with people who are looking for an expert in the field that you’re in. If you can get a professional to endorse your series, you’ll have a ton of potential business based on just their recommendation.

Connections: You never know who will accept your invitation to connect so dream big. Get noticed by other authors, publishers, distributors, and professionals who can open new doors for you and your books.

Groups: There are thousands of online groups that you can connect with that are within your niche of writing. Join the ones that are right for you!

News:  Your LinkedIn connections post news, tips, and updates and you can link your book to trends in the industry. E.g., Skyrocketing mental health concerns for students heading back to class after COVID.

Research: This is excellent for finding out who you can cross-promote with. Do your research on which people and businesses you’d like to partner with and connect with them.

Introductions: Your profile has spots for books, academic papers, links to your blog, website, and online content. This drives traffic and sales to your books!

Top Tip: Focus on your first-degree connections and building a strong relationship with them. They are the ones who are most likely do business with you and recommend/endorse your skills and products.

Remember to treat LinkedIn as the professional site that it is. Update your followers regularly and link your book to things happening in the industry.  Here is my LinkedIn page if you want to connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lacey-l-bakker-743599120/

5 Free Ways to Continue Your Author Education

September 23, 2021– We’re almost done with our theme this month: continuing education for authors! We’ve covered topics such as how to launch your book, travel writing sub-genres, how to stand out from the crowd, and everything in between. Be sure to subscribe to our blog (on the right-hand side of your screen) so that you never miss a post!

Today we’re talking about 5 free things you can do to continue your education as an author:

1. Read books. There are so many books out there on a number of topics! You can find subjects on marketing, social media, how to write for your specific genre, and more. There is an endless array of things that you can study to improve your craft and your business acumen. By using your public library or participating in a book swap/little free library, you can get loads of fabulously free information.
2. Library classes. The library is another great resource for classes, workshops, and free seminars! I’ve done free talks on self-publishing, traditional publishing, and marketing for authors over the years and have also attended some classes at the library as a student. Check your local listings to see what’s up and coming, and most libraries offer a course catalogue online. Use the resources available to you and take classes in what you’re interested in!
3. Free online seminars. I can’t even begin to tell you how many free online seminars I’ve taken over the years, and some of them have been absolutely vital to my growth as a publisher. Use Google to search free seminars for whatever topic you want to learn about. You’ll be surprised at what you find. Keep in mind that free online seminars are usually tidbits of info presented so that you’ll enroll in their course, but some of that free info is invaluable!
4. Blogs.  As you know, this blog is free! There are many great blogs that are also free of charge and contain tons of valuable information, tips, tricks, best practices, and insight. Blogs are great because usually they’re written in a conversational, easy-to-understand tone for even the most difficult fields of study.
5. Podcasts. Podcasts offer a well of free information that is uniquely portable. You can learn about pretty much anything you want from a podcast, and I especially love them because I pop in my Airpods and go about my day. You can listen to podcasts on the road, while cleaning, while working out, and past episodes are easy to access if you can’t write something down that you want to remember later. Our podcast is available here, and we constantly give away free, valuable information for authors: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-hfi92-10dfda6

Lack of funds is a weak excuse for not continuing your education; there are free resources available to you; you just have to find them and, most importantly, put them into practice! Happy Learning!

Travel Sub-Genres

September 22, 2021– I’m writing you from the good ole US of A! We’re road tripping across the country and are having a blast while getting a lot of things accomplished in the book business. Today, as we continue our theme of continuing education for authors, we’re going to talk about Travel writing which I think is a nice edition and on point with what we’re doing now!

When most people think of ‘travel literature,’ they think of a guidebook or map of places to stay and things to see in whatever place they’re going to.  But travel literature is so much more; many authors love writing about their personal experiences abroad, and the details of tiny corner cafes, national museums, parks, and monuments make it into their writing. What drives my desire to travel is a sense of adventure, wanderlust, and freedom. I want to live a life of ‘I can’t believe I did that’ rather than ‘what if’. Movement, for me, is necessary, it’s like breathing, and I can’t imagine the dullness of living my life in one place; that’s my personal opinion. Travelling transforms me, it inspires me, and I love meeting new people and having new experiences.

Let’s talk about three sug-genres of travel writing that aren’t obvious such as writing about a journey or quest where the character has travelled abroad.

1) Echotourism- Your main character follows in the footsteps of another traveller and visits the places an earlier traveller visited in this subgenre; they echo their journey and try to recreate the path their ancestors/friend/ family member took with a unique experience through their eyes.

2) Expat- Don’t confuse books about passing through a temporary location; this genre is all about the protagonist moving to a different place from their home country. They reveal what it’s like to move/live there and the struggles, triumphs, and even chaos they face. It’s a great idea to blend humour in this genre. Whatever can go wrong should, as long as it’s believable.

3) Mode-In this subgenre, the focus is on the mode of transport such as by foot, boat, kayak, bike, motorcycle, train, plane, etc. Maybe your main character is travelling cross-country as a stowaway on a train or kayaking to a camping site near the foot of a mountain; whatever you choose for them, do your research into the modes of transportation and the physical/emotional toll that each would take on the character, e.g., motorcycle in the rain etc. Think of Daniel Radcliffe’s character in the movie Jungle or Rambo, among hundreds of others.

I hope you learned something new today and that you’ve been enjoying the content and education thus far. Be sure to check out our classes and products here: http://www.pandamoniumpublishing.com/shop