Publishing Made Simple.
October 17, 2021-We’ve added a brand new page to our site where you can see the educational resources age opportunities that we’re offering! Whether you’re just starting your education with us, or continuing your quest for knowledge, we have something for everyone. Check out our brand new page here https://pandamoniumpublishing.wordpress.com/virtual-courses-classes-and-workshops/, and visit again soon as we have new classes added frequently.
Happy learning!
🎉HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!!!!🎉Pandamonium Publishing House 50% off all of our courses one day only (October 1st) to celebrate our 6 years in business! Email 🖤🐼pandapublishing8@gmail.com for your 50% off coupon code! Can be used anytime and makes a great gift!
Check out our courses here: http://www.pandamoniumpublishing.com/shop
September 13, 2021– We’re talking about continuing education for authors this month, and I hope you’re learning about the importance of brushing up on your skills and seeking continual improvement in your craft. Today I’m giving you some tips on social media marketing for authors that I’ve learned over the years from some of the many courses that I’ve taken. Let’s dig into Search Engine Optimization for authors:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) aims to draw your qualified target market to your website and turn them into customers. A strong foundation in your SEO helps direct traffic from your social media presence to your website/shopping page. Remember that you’re chasing profits, not popularity (which is social media’s main focus), or the number of fans, likes, or followers.
The number one thing to remember is that none of the SEO tactics will work if you don’t have excellent, engaging content that holds your audience’s attention.
Quick tip: Use standard search terms on social media profiles and use more rarely used terms on individual posts, photo captions, and updates.
SEO Terms
Organic search: The type of search results produced by a search engine’s own algorithm when indexing unpaid submissions.
Paid search: A submission fee has been paid to appear as sponsorships at the top of a search page (pay-per-click) ads in the right margin or the top of the list of search results.
Search engine marketing (SEM): Combines organic and paid search activities.
Search engine optimization (SEO): Is the process of tailoring websites, web pages, and social media pages to get higher up on the list in search engine results. Ideally, you want to be on the first page in the number 1 spot.
Social media optimization: Same as above, but on social media profiles and postings.
Spiders, crawlers, bots (robots): Automated programs used by search engines to visit websites and index their content.
Top Tip: Focus on the top search engines (there are only 2), Google and Bing. Ignore the ridiculous emails you get regarding submissions to 3,000 search engines; the top 2 are the only ones that matter, and when you submit to Bing, you’re also listed on Yahoo.
The Stats: 92.3% of all searches in June 2020 were on Google. Google executed 13 times as many searches as Bing (its closest competition). The remaining search engines combined accounted for 6.7% of searches. Primary search engines spider the web constantly.
Don’t worry; we are all as surprised as you at the above information, and we fall into the group that is the exception to the rule. For the record, I’ve never used Bing a day in my life. Google for everything.
I quickly pulled our statistics for last week as a sample of how our customers found us:
50% of visitors to our site used Google
36% used Safari
26% used Safari in-app
15% used Yahoo
9% used Bing
Some interesting numbers for sure! And if you’re an author and not tracking this stuff, you should be! Data analysis is essential to your success because you can’t hit a target that you can’t see.
August 4, 2021– Yesterday we talked about the importance of authors having a clean social media profile because they are an extension of and representative of the publisher and the House. Today, we’ll focus on the importance of positivity and why it matters to publishers.
During normal pre-pandemic times, I met every author that I was interested in publishing, face to face at a coffee shop or for lunch. Now, I meet them via Zoom, Facetime, or at the very least, over the phone. Why? Because I like to know who I’m working with and if we’re a good fit for them as their publisher and if we’re a good fit for them as an author. I like to know if we mesh, if we share any of the same values, and to get a glimpse into their personality.
To be honest, not a lot of publishers do this and 99 percent of them never meet the author! Because we’re a small House, I think it’s especially important to personally meet every individual on my team because we work so closely together and there’s a ton of communication between all of us. I especially love it when authors are energetic, enthusiastic, and upbeat! Here’s why positivity matters to publishers:
Positivity is important and publishers can’t wait to work with authors who are cheerful, lively, and pleasant. It makes our jobs better, our team brighter, and our readers smile.
July 12, 2021-I hope you’re enjoying our theme this month of public speaking for authors and that you’re learning a lot!
Today we’ll talk about 3 benefits of public speaking for authors, let’s dive in:
1) Career advancement-You never know who will be in your audience! Maybe there’s a new client, a new reader, or someone that can book you for a speaking engagement at their company. The possibilities are endless and overnight your career can advance if you put on an engaging, exciting, and interactive chat. Plus, public speaking is a great way to build credibility as an author and be seen as an expert in your field.
2) Boost Confidence-By doing the things that scare us the most (public speaking for 90% of people), our confidence grows. Public speaking is just the thing that can take authors out of their comfort zones and help them grow and flourish in their writing careers. We turn our weaknesses into strengths by pushing the limits of what we find uncomfortable and doing it despite the discomfort.
3) Better Writing-Preparing a speech or developing a presentation is no easy feat even though we are professional writers. We need to have a message, but we also need to tailor that message to meet the needs of our audience so that they get a ton of value from what we’re saying. By sitting down and working out the details of our speech, we become better writers who are more concise, fluid, and organized in our thoughts and what we need to accomplish.
You can open yourself up to a whole world of opportunity, by publicly speaking as an author, that can quite literally take you and your books around the globe. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about how to write a speech and best practices. Stay tuned!
June 24, 2021-In about a week we’ll be all wrapped up with our theme this month which is Author Mindset! I hope you’ve enjoyed the content this far and that you’ll continue to join us for more tips, resources, and information.
Today we’re talking about something that is very important for author mindset and that is…our outward appearance. Now, I know you may be thinking that perhaps I’m being shallow or that it’s what’s on the inside that counts (that’s 90% of it!) but what you project and portray on the outside is just as important to your success!
The truth is, as humans we make snap, subconscious judgements whether we mean to or not. Let’s say that you walked into a Publishing company for an interview and the interviewer looked like they just rolled out of bed; wrinkled clothing, chipped nails, unbrushed hair, and they looked as if they haven’t slept in five nights-what would you think? Be honest with yourself. You’d probably think, this person doesn’t look like they have it together, so what does this say about the company as a whole? It looks like they can’t be bothered and that they don’t respect themselves.
Contrast that with someone who makes an effort toward looking their best! No one is perfect and we all have our flaws, but first impressions matter. How you present yourself to the world is a direct indication of how you feel about your self on the inside. I know that for me personally I always feel better, think better, act better, and I’m more confident when I look my best.
As an author you will be thrust into the public eye, whether you like it or not; book signings, school visits, public speaking, and events put you in front of people, there are no two ways about it. Your appearance is part of the whole package.
Here are three ways that you can look and feel your best that will get you into the right author mindset to take on the world!
1. Put on your best outfit. This is the clothing choice that makes you feel confident, able, and unstoppable.
2. Accessorize. Whether it’s a favourite watch, stunning scarf, or a fabulous piece of statement jewelry, accessories can elevate any outfit. Plus, if it’s an heirloom piece, you’ll employ the energy of the person who gave it to you!
3. Details. Wrinkled clothes, chipped or dirty nails, and clothing covered in animal hair or lint do nothing to help your confidence. People notice small details like fallen hems and missing buttons, so be sure to give a once or twice over to your reflection in the mirror.
When I was a kid someone very close to me gave me the advice, “Don’t walk into a bank looking like you need a loan, walk into it looking like you own the place.” This advice has stuck with me for life! This means that you should have the mentality, mindset, and energy that elevates you not only in your eyes, but in other people’s as well.
Everything starts internally and as authors need to put our best foot forward. When we respect ourselves, look respectful, and are confident in our appearance and abilities, other people have no choice but to believe it too.
YOU are your author brand, what message do you want to convey?
June 17, 2021-As we continue our theme of author mindset this month, let’s look at the power of yet in this epic YouTube video! https://youtu.be/hiiEeMN7vbQ with Carol Dweck. This will translate to your writing life as an author by reminding yourself through every challenge-not yet!
May 15, 2021-Since were talking about writing for kids this month, I thought I’d post an interesting link about what a lot of people think of celebrity kid’s books. Turns out I’ve been right all along…kids want chaos, fun, danger, bright colours, and larger than life characters and ideas!
Check out this father’s take on kid lit written by celebrities below:
April 28, 2021-I am so excited to wrap up this month’s theme of pushing the envelope in your writing! I hope that you will enjoy our guest blogger Tim Ford, who is the author of the Mitch Strongbow series! If you haven’t read his work yet, you’re missing out on a brilliant mind and even more brilliant storyteller. Here what he has to say:
My name is Tim Ford, and I am a writer. Well, truth be told, I am a storyteller, the editor truly makes me a writer. For me, my whole writing career has been a challenge, a challenge that I met head on, no surrender. I never graduated high school; in fact, I don’t even have grade 10 English. But as I stated above, I am a storyteller, self-taught.
Approx. 14 years ago, I was working night shifts over the Xmas holidays. I truly felt pissed off leaving my family, and heading to work. Everyone was enjoying Christmas dinner, and for me, well mine was packed up and taking to work to be nuked.
I have always had this storyline, character in my head. From time to time, I would write some stuff out, put it away until I felt the need to write out more of the story. So, while working over Christmas, I could have sulked, felt sorry for myself and turn that 12-hour shift, into a shift that seemed to never end, or do something that truly made me happy, my joy to my world, my celebration. Pulled out my notes, brought up a Microsoft Word page, and started to bang away on the keyboards. The feeling was rather euphoric, I felt so alive. Time meant nothing, that crazy Irish imagination of mine was firing on all cylinders. And you know what, I couldn’t wait to my next shift. To bring more of Mitchell Strongbow to life.
Now confidence is either your best friend, or worst enemy. I thought I had a solid storyline, but I realized, my lack of education quickly rose to the surface, we are talking warp speed. The fear was real.
Luckily for me, several curious coworkers asked what all was I doing pecking away on the keyboard like a chicken. I explained my story. I could tell I intrigue them by my storyline. They would ask for me to send them some stuff. Nervously I did, and the feedback was outstanding.
Originally my storyline was just this 17-year-old asking out a classmate to a New Year’s Eve party. Now, heck, I am in book 17 of the series.
My new challenges are not repeating the same storylines. Remember who all the characters and plotlines are, and also for each contract kill Mitch performs, it has to be unique, not the same bang-bang their dead.
I have also recently retired. I preferred to work night shifts. I would say 80% of my writing would take place between 22:00 and 04:00. My thought process would peak during these hours. Now, no way can I stay up that late. So, I need a new peak writing time, that has been a bit of a challenge, discipline will be the key for me.
And also, the Covid world, it is truly a dark world, not much sunshine in the world these days. The Strongbow series gets very dark at times. It was hard going down the Strongbow rabbit hole as when I came back up, the world much like Mitch’s world, still surrounded by darkness.
Check out his collection here: http://www.pandamoniumpublishing.com/shop
January 21, 2021-As we enter the final week of our Best Seller Bootcamp, here: https://atomic-temporary-128327429.wpcomstaging.com/product/best-seller-bootcamp-january-4th-31st/ we have a number of things to still cover! As an author with a platform . are you using your social media to connect ideas with readers? Did you know that there is a specific way to do that? With hashtags! Hashtags are still an effective way to get more people to see your posts when using platforms such as Instagram, and using relevant, targeted hashtags is one of the best ways to get discovered by new audiences.
Hashtags # work by organizing and categorizing videos and photos. A post with at least one Instagram hashtag averages 13% more audience engagement than posts without a hashtag. If you add a hashtag to a post on your Instagram account, the post will be visible on the matching hashtag page that acts as a directory of all the photos and videos that were tagged with the same hashtag e.g., #writersofinstagram. Hashtags are most effectively used on Instagram although we do see them on Facebook sometimes, but not as often because people are less likely to read/care about them. Quick tips:
There is so much more to talk about when it comes to hashtags and using them most effectively to promote your work and your posts and to connect with your audience, so check out our Best Seller Bootcamp where we dive deeper into this subject: https://atomic-temporary-128327429.wpcomstaging.com/product/best-seller-bootcamp-january-4th-31st/ and more!
Pandamonium Publishing House 