Work-At-Home Success University. Course: Digital Author Success: How to Write and Publish ebooks On Kindle Lesson 1

Transcription

1 Work-At-Home Success University Course: Digital Author Success: How to Write and Publish ebooks On Kindle Lesson 1

2 NOTICE: You Do NOT Have the Right to Reprint or Resell this Report! You Also MAY NOT Give Away, Sell or Share the Content Herein If you obtained this report from anywhere other than you have a pirated copy. Please help stop Internet crime by reporting this to: mailto:success@workathomesuccess.com 2014 Copyright Leslie Truex ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated and signed permission from the author. DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES: The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions. The report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws, which govern business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or dead is purely coincidental. URGENT: Your Address Potential Delivery Problems There are a couple of ISPs that are spam trigger happy and unfortunately yours may be one of them. Oftentimes whitelisting success@workathomesuccess.com will remedy this. However, in some cases it is necessary to use a different address.

3 Introduction Welcome to Work-At-Home Success University and Digital Author Success! I m excited to have you as a valued student in this four-week training program! Amazon has revolutionized the way people read and has created opportunities for budding writers to get their work into the world without an agent or traditional publisher. Self-publishing through Kindle (as well as Nook and other e-readers) is affordable and fairly easy. It is possible to earn a good (or great) income from self-publishing ebooks if you do the work that is necessary to produce a great manuscript and market it. Or, use ebooks to add an additional revenue stream to an existing business (i.e. a blog or service business). Before we begin with the lessons, there are three important things that I need to mention to you... 1) Worksheets - The course comes with instructional materials as you see here, but it also includes worksheets. These handouts are crucial to your success so don't skip them. They are designed to help you gather and organize information so that you can use it to be a successful blogger. 2) Audio and Video Materials - When appropriate, you'll find audio or video supplements to the instructional materials. These are designed to assist in providing the information in a clear and concise manner. 3) Weekly Lessons - Here is the schedule of lessons: Week 1 - Ebook Overview and Set-Up ebook factoids Why ebooks? Overview of the process Writing your book Platform building Week 2 - Preparing Your Book Beta readers and editing Formatting Cover creating ISBN Week 3 - Publishing Your ebook Choosing a distribution method Formatting for publisher Writing a sales-generating description Keywords and tags Pricing Week 4 - Marketing Your Book (and Making Sales)

4 Getting honest reviews Marketing strategies Some of the information will be technical, but every effort has been made to walk you through the steps one-by-one. Now that we ve gotten the housekeeping out of the way, let s get to the reason why you re here the lesson!

5 The ebook Revolution I created my first ebook sometime around At that time, ebooks were mostly PDF documents sold through websites. Amazon started offering ebooks in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Most were selfpublished, but Stephan King sold an e-novella through Amazon in 2000 and was quoted as saying that he thought e-books would become 50% of the market "probably by 2013 and maybe by Currently, ebook sales make up about 22 percent of all book sales, but still, that s a lot of ebooks. While ebook sales have tapered off a bit, they re not likely to go away. Many people still prefer print books, or like me, buy a combination of print and ebooks. But if the book market is going to be anything like the music market, ebooks are here to stay. Kids these days do everything on a single device, and as more and more kids grow up with digital devices, the more likely they ll include reading along with everything else they do on their smartphones and tablets. In fact, my son considered by e-text books when he went to college. Need more proof? In 2013, there where: $1.8 billion in fiction ebook sales $484.2 million in nonfiction ebook sales $469.2 million in children and young adult ebook sales (from New York Times) If you are writer who wants to publish, but hasn t been able to get past the gatekeepers in traditional publishing (agents and/or publishers), you should be very excited about this new revolution in publishing. Here s why: No gatekeepers. Self-publishing means you don t have to get the acceptance of agents or publishers. In other words, no rejections. It s affordable. Publishing and distributing your book through the major ebook retailers is free. That doesn t mean you don t have any expenses, but compared to vanity publishing, it s very cheap. You keep more of the profits. In traditional publishing, you earn a small percentage from the sale of your book. Many publishers still offer advances, but they are low, especially for unknown authors. And you don t earn any royalties until the advance earns out. Most books don t earn their advance, which means most authors don t get royalties. E-publishers pay 30 to 70 percent royalties. That means you can charge less and still earn more than in traditional publishing. Shorter publishing schedule. When my agent helped me sell The Work-At-Home Success Bible to Adams Media, I was given a January 2008 date to submit a completed manuscript. I received the first edits in February and the second edits in July. The book was published in February 2009, over a year from when it was finished. In that time, many changes occurred in working at home that didn t make it into the book. With self-epublishing, you can get your book up as soon as it s written, edited and formatted. Sell the book you want. When I received the second edits for The Work-At-Home Success Bible, an entire chapter was missing. Further, I never got to see or give feedback about the cover. But

6 self-epublishing allows you to keep the story or content as you meant it to be. And you have the final call on the content and cover. Make changes whenever needed. If you find an error or something changes, you can update the book, re-upload it and have the new version available in hours. For example, when The Work-At- Home Success Bible was published, MySpace was still a contender in the social media market, so it s mentioned in the book. But now it s not, and I can t change it. No shelf life. Traditional books have a shelf life of about six months. The reason is that bookstores have to make room for new books. So if your book doesn t sell well, it s gone from the store in a matter of months. Ebooks don t expire, unless of course you write something that expires. Build a platform and fan base that can lead to a traditional publishing deal. Once self-publishing was viewed as being less than traditional publishing, but now traditional publishers are searching for successful indie authors with an existing fan base because they know whatever the author writes, there are people waiting to buy it. I would be remiss not to share the disadvantages, but I m confident you ll see that what once hurt indie authors, may help them now. Indie authors were considered less talented than traditional authors. While many are quick to separate vanity publishing from self-publishing, the reality is that many view indie authors as writers who couldn t make it in the traditional publishing world. This of course isn t the case. You ll discover later that many of your favorite authors started off as self-publishers. Today, authors that garner lots of fans, often get traditional book deals. You pay all costs for creating and marketing your ebook. While ebook publishing is very inexpensive, editing and cover creation can run several hundred dollars. And depending on how you market, you could spend a good chunk of change (you ll learn free and low cost marketing in this course). With that said, traditional publishers don t market for their authors unless your name happens to be Nora Roberts or John Grisham. So when it comes to marketing, it s up to you no matter what. Ultimately, epublishing gets rid of the middlemen and allows writers to connect directly with readers. And it s not only indie authors taking advantage of what epublishing offers. Many traditionally published mid-list authors are getting the rights back to their old books and self-publishing them as ebooks. They are making more money and are able to reach a whole new audience. In case you re still not convinced, here are some well-known authors who got their start in or turned to self-publishing. E.L. James author of Fifty Shades of Gray. James originally wrote a Twilight fan fiction that she turned into an original story and self-published. Filming is currently underway for a Fifty Shades of Gray movie. Amanda Hocking, author of young adult paranormal fiction, was the first indie author to sell more than a million ebooks on Kindle. She now has a traditional book deal with St. Martin s Press Joe Konrath publishes both traditional and self-published books and is outspoken about how traditional publishing is broken. Holly Lisle is also traditionally and self-published, turning to self-publishing to gain greater control of her work.

7 H.P. Mallory self-published her romantic paranormal books, hitting the Amazon and Barnes and Noble bestsellers list. She has a large fan base and now has a three-book deal with Random House. If you re thinking you need to become a known, bestselling author to make a living, think again. While you do need to find your fan base, you don t need to be a household name or number one on the bestseller s list. On a visit to the Writer s Cafe at Kindle Boards, I found a list of authors I ve never heard of reporting earnings of $3,000 to $16,000 in the month of March Am I saying you ll publish your book and make that kind of money every month? No. Can you? Sure, if you do the work these authors are doing. That s the real advantage of self-publishing. You re in control. If you write great content and find your audience, you can do well. This course will show you how. Reality Check: 75% of the money made by ebook/self-published authors is made by 10% of writers. Like all big goals, many people don t reach them. Whether you become one of the 10% is up to you! Do You Have an ereader? The first time I taught a course on digital publishing at the local community college, I asked members of the class to raise their hand if they had an ereader or ever read an ebook. I was shocked when less than 10 percent raised their hand. How could they create a digital book without experiencing digital reading? There is a difference. That difference is probably why many of them hadn t read an ebook. I prefer to hold a book in my hand, is what I commonly hear. If you re going to become a digital publisher, you need to read a digital book. However, you don t have to order a Kindle or Nook. You can read a Kindle book on your computer, tablet or smartphone just by downloading the free Kindle app. Barnes and Noble has a free app for its Nook books as well. If you haven t already, install one of the apps for your device and get a book (there are tons of free books if you don t want to buy one). As you read, take note of the experience. What is it like to make the words bigger or smaller? How is the formatting (many authors and even big time publishers mess this up)? Having the experience of reading an ebook will help you create a quality book for your readers.

8 Tips on Writing a Book that Sells I once asked a traditionally published mystery writer friend of mine why some books took off and others didn t. At the time, Twilight was the hot book, but it wasn t the first teen book about vampires. So what made Twilight (or 50 Shades of Gray) do what other books (often better written books) hadn t? He said, Stardust. You can t control stardust, but you can control the content and the marketing, which is really the root of successful authorship. Success in epublishing starts with writing a quality book. It doesn t matter if it s fiction or nonfiction, your book must provide your reader with a great story or information. There are a lot of Kindle publishing programs on the Internet that tell you to find a niche, throw something together and publish with the right keywords to get rich. While this may work for some, one of the reasons indie authors continue to struggle for recognition is that many writers are slapping together books without regard to providing value to the reader. As more and more get-rich-seekers do this, indie authors will continue to be hurt by it. This course isn t about curating content to make money. It s about being a writer who wants to publish a book. So as you write your book, focus on giving the readers your best work. Tips to Becoming a Digital Author I don t ever get writer s block. I always have something to say in whatever book I happen to be working on. But I do get writer s resistance. For any number of reasons, I may not write when I should. My reasoning sounds good to me at the time, but in reality, they are excuses and ultimately they keep me from producing and therefore limit the money I can make. To be a writer you need to write. To be an author, you need to finish what you write and publish it. You may be thinking, I already have something written, Leslie. I just need to know how to publish it and make money. We ll get to that. But first you need to understand that you cannot make a career from one book. As you work through this course to prepare your manuscript, publish, and sell it, you need to get ready to start your next book. Most of the indie authors I talk to say that they didn t really hit the 4- figure monthly income until they had a couple of books published. Of course, you may be the exception and find success with one book. Even so, the more books you have, the more you can make. And since readers like to buy more from the authors they like, you ll have a ready-made stream of buyers for your books. To become an author that regularly publishes, you need the time, place and tools to write. I m going to give you some tips, but what works to motivate you to write is personal, so develop your own schedule and tricks to get your butt in the chair and your fingers tapping the keyboard. Time The biggest barrier to writing is usually time. If you re working a regular job, raising a family, volunteering or doing any of the many other things that fill up a life, finding time to write is hard. If you ve read books on writing, you ll have heard about writers who write during their commute times, get up at or stay up to 4 a.m. to write. But these strategies may not work for you. They didn t work for me. I work from home, so I don t commute and I like to sleep. I write much of my non-fiction books during my work time since I feel I can justify it as part of my job. My fiction work is done a few evenings a week and on the weekends. My fiction work is starting to earn more, so I ll be able to justify

9 writing fiction during regular work hours soon. Being able to make writing your full-time gig is great goal, but if you re like most unpublished writers, you need to write around your already busy life. If writing during your commute or before and/or after hours doesn t work for you, you can write during lunch time, your kid s soccer game or while you re waiting at the doctor s office. My suggestion is to determine your peak writing times and schedule your writing at that time. But if you can t write during your peak time, then you have schedule it during a non-peak time. Regardless, schedule it in because the act of scheduling it gives your writing importance. Energy For me, writing resistance isn t because of time, it s because I lack the energy. I suspect it s the same for most other people. If you watch TV or engage in hobbies, you have time for writing. The problem may be that when you have the time to write, you don t feel like writing. It s the end of a long day. The kids are making noise. The laundry needs to be done. When you re low on energy, it s hard to write. My solution is to force myself to start even if it s just to jot down ideas. Once I get a few sentences down, momentum picks up. For example, at 8 p.m. last night, I wasn t interested in writing. But I told myself I should at least finish my thoughts for the next chapter of my new book. An hour later I was still writing and in fact had started a new chapter. You can improve your energy by making sure you eat right, get regular exercise and adequate sleep. The healthier you are, the more energy you have. Place Writing goes so much easier when you re comfortable and have what you need. I work at home and spend most of my time at a computer. As a result, I often don t want to write in the evening. Going back to my computer feels too much like going back to work, even if I m writing a murder mystery. My trick is to have a different place to write non-work related stuff. I have a laptop and a comfy chair with a leg rest in a cozy corner of my house. When I write there, it doesn t feel like work. I ve also written murders and love scenes in the library, coffee joints and bookstores. You have to find the place that inspires you. But, because you re sitting and writing, it should be comfortable and well-lit. Tools The only thing you absolutely need to make a living e-publishing, is a computer with word processing and Internet access. But there are tools and programs that can help you be efficient and organized. Some writers swear by Scrivner (for Mac and PC), a program that offers outlining, research, mind mapping and other tools to help you organize your writing. I m often tempted to buy it, but fear I ll get caught up in playing with the features and not write. As cool as it looks, I don t need it. But if you need help with organizing, plotting and other writing tasks, it might work for you. (There are free programs similar to Scriver listed in the appendix).

10 I love Evernote, a free digital notebook tool that allows me to clip web pages for research, snap and save photos for my books, blogs or articles, outline, plot, take notes and more. Because it s web-based, I have the Evernote app on my smartphone and other devices, which means no matter where I am, if I can get to a device, I can jot down notes (or record them) and even write. This is ideal because often inspiration strikes when I m not anywhere near my computer. Sure I can take paper notes, but if you could see my desk, you d know that paper notes are doomed to get lost. Any note I add to Evernote on my phone, shows up on my computer or any other device with the Evernote app. If you re tired of typing or have carpel tunnel, you can create your books using voice recognition. Windows and Mac now come with voice recognition standard. Or you can buy a program like Dragon Naturally Speaking. There is a learning curve for both you and the software. You have to learn to speak everything including punctuation and format instructions (i.e. Mary went to the store comma but didn t find what she needed period ). Not all tools are electronic. You should have a good dictionary and thesaurus (or synonym book). I know your word processing program offers these, but the books will give you more options. Phrasing books can be helpful too if you know what you want to say, but are struggling to find the right words. Finally, it doesn t hurt to have a grammar book on hand. While an editor should find all your grammar errors, the fewer you have, the less you have pay for editing. Writing Style and Goals There are essentially three ways to write; plotting (or outlining), by the seat of your pants (pantster) or a combination of both. Some writers feel that plotting and outlining ruins creativity and makes writing boring, while others like knowing what direction they re heading. Pansters like a good adventure, but it s easy to run off course. I m a plotter (outliner) when I write non-fiction (like this course), but I wrote 22 fiction (4 of which are published) completely by the seat of my pants. Nevertheless, I think they took me longer to write, because in many spots I had no clue where to go next. So I m moving towards a combination plotter/pantster in my next fiction work hoping that it will result in completing a book faster with less strife. The question is, what works for you? Only you can decide that. It might help to try a little of each to see which results in your best work. For example, the pantster in me first writes all the stuff rattling around in my head. That means I might write the last chapters first. Once I get my ideas down on the page, I go back to figure out how I m going to get from the start to the end in an orderly fashion. But I don t put in too much detail because I never know what s going to happen until I start writing. Once you know how you want to write, you need to set goals. Again, this is up to you based on the time and energy you have available to write. Some authors set time limits. Rumor is that Nora Roberts writes eight hours a day, every day, even while on vacation (it s why she has at least four new books published every year, while most authors have one). That s too much writing for most people. Other writers prefer to set word or page counts, such as 1500 words or 5 pages a day. If you can t write every day, you can set goals for the week, such as 5000 words or 20 pages a week. A final option is to write by chapters, such as writing one chapter a day.

11 It doesn t hurt to set completion goals and work backwards. For example, you can set a date to finish your book in three months. You can even set your publishing year goals. For example, for 2014, I hope to complete two novels and a novella, and write at least two non-fiction books. Success as an epublishing author is having work to sell. That only happens when you write. So find the time, generate the energy, create the perfect space, and develop a writing system. Selling Your Book Before It s Published So far in this course, I ve given you information and tips. The only to-do has been to read an ebook. However, we ve come to the place where you now have some work to do. It might seem odd to start a promotional campaign without having your book published, but it s crucial to your success. Marketing yourself as an author builds an audience that is ready to buy when your book is released. If they don t know about you, they won t buy and there is nothing more discouraging than launching a book and not having sales. So while you re writing and preparing your book for publication, start building an audience. (If you want to be traditionally published, publishers look for you to have a platform, particularly in nonfiction, before they ll consider buying your work.) Many of the strategies you ll learn in this chapter, you ll continue to use once the book is published. Because marketing can be overwhelming, starting now to develop the strategies, systems and a plan will make things go easier as you write and release your first and subsequent books. Define Your Reader and Yourself as a Writer The first part of book marketing is defining a market and building a platform. When I first came across the concept of platform in building a writing career, I thought it had to do with creating a memorable tagline, like Bill Nye the Science Guy. I had the right idea in that a platform defines how you want to be known and how readers will know you, but it s more than a tagline. John Grisham doesn t have a tagline, but you know him as a writer of legal suspense. Nora Roberts is known for romance. Martha Stewart has built a platform on home decor, organization and cooking. Your goal in building a platform is to help readers know what you write, but also when they hear your genre of writing, to think of you. When people think about working at home, I want them to think of Leslie Truex and when they hear or see the name Leslie Truex, to equate it to working at home. As you build your platform, you ll garner followers who will buy your book. But once your book is released, people will also find and learn about your platform from the book. When I decided to write fiction under a pen name, I had to start from scratch to let people know about me. When the book came out, some of those followers bought the book. But some people bought the book first, and then found my blog and other platform supports from the book. So your platform and book work together to build your career. The first step to building a platform is to decide how you want to be known. If your book is nonfiction, odds are you want to be viewed as an expert in your topic. When I say expert, I don t mean that you have an education or a long career in your topic, although that can make you and expert. You can be an expert through experience as well. If you lost 20 pounds by going to theme parks every weekend -- a lot of walking takes place in theme parks -- you d be an expert in that.

12 If you re writing fiction, you want to pick a genre or topic. Do you write romance? Steampunk? SciFi? You may also want to pick an age group, such as adult or young adult. Many fiction authors write in various genres, and you can do that too, but to start off, build a platform on the book you plan to publish first. For example, my completed works are part of an adult romantic mystery series. I have ideas for books that involve ghosts and vampires. I even have an idea for young adult time travel. But my goal at first was to build on the idea that I write romantic mysteries that are light, sexy and fun. The next step to platform building, is to tell the world what you do. When it comes to platform building, there are some differences between non-fiction and fiction, so I m going to cover them separately. Non-Fiction Platform Building If you re writing non-fiction and have already made a name for yourself, you re ahead of the game. But if you re name isn t at the tip of people s tongues when they want to know about your topic, then you need to get the word out that you re an expert. I m going to give a series of strategies you can use to spread the word about your work. They are listed separately, but you will integrate them so that they all work together. Blogging Many authors have a website, some have a blog, and some have a website and a blog. My opinion is that you only need a blog that acts as both. The blog is the hub or home-base of your platform. Everything you do, should lead back to your blog. Your blog is where you ll share information about you, your topic and why you re an expert. You ll share tips, news and ideas to prove your expertise and establish you as the go-to person on the topic. Don t panic if you don t know anything about setting up a blog because I m going to tell you how to do it, step-by-step. Your first decision is what blog platform to use. There are only two I recommend: Blogger or WordPress Self-Hosted, and of the two, I recommend WordPress Self-Hosted. The advantages to Blogger are that it s free, easy to use and offers some customization. You can even buy a domain name and forward it to your Blogger blog. That means instead of sallysueauthor.blogspot.com you can have sallysueauthor.com. But Blogger has some limitations. For one, it s not as customizable as WordPress Self-Hosted and I don t think it s as professional looking. WordPress Self-Hosted (WordPress.ORG not.com) offers tons of customization, so you can create a site that fits the style and tone of you and your books. It s easy to use and looks professional. The only drawback is that while the WordPress script is free, to run it you need a domain name (which you should have anyway) and webhosting. At one time, those costs might have been prohibitive, but today, they are so affordable, that it shouldn t be a reason not to go with WordPress. You can get a domain name for $10 to $12 a year and webhosting for $4 a month (usually paid by the year so your cost is $48 for basic webhosting). The basics to starting a WordPress Self-Hosted blog are: 1) Buy a domain name. 2) Obtain web hosting. 3) Install WordPress and set up the blog.

13 4) Add content. 5) Get people to visit your blog. Below are step-by-step instructions for setting up a Blogger or WordPress site. Blogger Here's how to get start with Blogger in minutes! 1) Visit Blogger.com. (If you use any Google products or services, i.e. Gmail, you can sign up for Blogger through your Google account. At the top of Gmail, click on the apps icon and then the link that says "More" and then click on "Blogger".) 2) After you create an account or login with Google, click on "Create Blog"

14 3) Choose a name for your blog. If you want to brand yourself as the expert, you can create a blog with your name (i.e. JoeExpert.blogspot.com). If you want to focus on your topic, you can create a blog on your topic. For example, I m best known for working at home through Work-At-Home Success. Then enter the blog address. For example, the blog name could be Flat Abs for Moms but the address would be flatabsformoms.blogspot.com if that was available. Blogger has a "Check Availability" link to help you find a blog address. Click on next. 4) Choose a template. You can change or modify it later.

15 5. At this point you can start blogging or customize your blog. Blogger now makes it easier to buy or use a previously purchased domain name, which you can add by clicking on the "Advanced Features". For our purposes, let's click on "Start Posting Now". Adding Content 1) Click on "Posting" from your dashboard. 2) Add a title. Be sure to use a keyword related to your blog or article. 3) Write or paste your article in the body. 4. If you want to add html code into the body of the article (for example an ad), click on the "Edit Html" tab to add it. Otherwise, write in the "Compose" tab. 5. Put keywords related to the article where it says "Labels for this post". 6. Save or Publish.

16 Other editing options for your posts: Other Blogger areas to check out. Take a look at the Settings tab. The defaults are probably okay for now, but check them out so you can see what's there. The Monetize tab offers default placement of Adsense ads. The Comments tab is where you can screen for spam comments... a big problem with blogs. In your Settings, you can set it up so that only registered users can post comments. The Stats tab is where you can learn about the numbers of people viewing your site, from where they found you and what they're reading. WordPress There are 4 steps to the process of creating a WordPress site: 1) Buying a domain name. 2) Obtaining web hosting. 3) Installing WordPress and setting up the site. 4) Adding content. Don't worry if you're feeling overwhelmed by all this. We'll be going over each of these steps in detail. Choosing a Domain Name

17 Choose a domain name that includes your business name or major keyword. This is to help identify the topic of site, and also for good search engine ranking. You can use any domain registrar. I use Godaddy for all my domains (30 of them!). 1. Go to Godaddy or your domain registrar of choice. 2. Search for possible domain names based on what you want to brand (your name vs your topic). Stick with.com domain names. If your domain isn't available, try other keywords or other variations such as adding "tips", "guide", "solutions" etc. Using Raw Food Diet as an example, if rawfooddiet.com isn't available you can try rawfooddiettips.com, rawfooddietrecipes.com, or rawfoodtips.com. 3. Purchase your domain. During the buying process, Godaddy will offer you other options such as and hosting. If you plan to follow the details of this report, you can ignore those and simply buy the domain name. Getting Web Hosting Next you need to obtain a hosting account. You can host at Godaddy, but I prefer Hostgator. I host all my sites there. It s reliable, affordable, has great tech help, and many features, including Fantastico De Luxe to install WordPress easily. Other hosts may use a different script program such as Samplescripts and Softaculous. They work pretty much like Fantastico De Luxe. Visit Hostgator to sign up for web hosting. The baby level offers the best service with the ability to add more sites once you've got this one up and running. The Hatchling plan is a good price as well for a single site. Not that the longer you pay for, the lower the price you get. For example, the $3.95 per

18 month hosting is if you pay for 3 years hosting upfront. Hostgator offers monthly plans, but I d recommend paying for at least a year. Setting Up Your Domain Name With Your Hosting Account Once you ve got your domain name and have sorted out your hosting, then you ll need to tell your domain provider where the blog will be hosted. We do this by giving GoDaddy information about your host's nameservers. Don't panic, I've provided step-by-step instructions below. First, find the your host provider sent to you with your account information. In it will be details that say "Nameservers". If you can't find it you can login to your host provider account. If it uses cpanel, you'll find your nameservers listed near the bottom, left-hand side of the main cpanel page. Once you have your nameserver information, head over to Godaddy or your domain registrar. The instructions below show the directions for Godaddy. (a) Log into your GoDaddy account and click on "Account" and then "Launch ".

19 All your domains will be listed there. At this point, you have just one. (b) Click the down arrow next to your domain name. Click Set Nameservers from the drop down box. (c) Mark Custom and then click the link about adding nameservers. (d) Enter nameservers from your hosting service. This information will be in the your web host sent you. If you use a host with cpanel, it is located at the bottom left hand side of the page. Contact your host provider if you still can t find this information. Figure 1cPanel list of nameservers Once you enter the nameservers, click Okay (note, in GoDaddy, I noticed that you might need to click Add Nameserver to create a third nameserver box, to get the Okay button to work. You can leave that third box blank.

20 Then click Save. Don t forget to click the Save button or your nameserver information won t be stored. It should take only a few minutes for your domain registrar to start pointing your domain to your host. But sometimes it takes a few hours. Installing WordPress Now that you've got your domain and hosting, you can install WordPress! Again, don't let the word "install" worry you. Today you can install WordPress with a click of a mouse. 1) Login to your web hosting account. You'll be taken to your cpanel. 2) Scroll down until you see Fantastico De Luxe which is a little blue smiley face icon. Click on it. (If you re using a different hosting service, you may not have Fantastico De Luxe. Look for SimpleScripts or Softaculous or has your host provider for information on installing WordPress.) 2)You will be given a list of scripts to install. Select WordPress.

21 (3) Click on New Installation (4) Where it says Install on domain select your domain name from the list. Right now you just have the one domain. (5) Leave Install in directory blank. (6) Choose a Username and Password that you will use to log into your blog when you edit content. (7) Enter the name you will post as (this appears under each post to show the author), your address, the blog s name and description of the blog. (8) Click Finish Installation. You have now installed Wordpress! (9) Now go to your domain name and check that your blog was installed correctly. Type your domain name into your browser. It should look like the example below except with your website information.

22 Customizing WordPress One of the many great features of WordPress is how easy it is to change the look and format of your blog. Changing the Look of the Default Theme The above sample is the default theme called Twenty Ten. WordPress also has Twenty Eleven, Twenty Twelve and Twenty Thirteen ready for you to use. You can customize these themes easily by changing the header. 1. Login to your WordPress account. Click on "Log in" from the right-hand side bar.

23 2) Enter your login information to access your Dashboard. 3) Click on "Appearance" and then "Header" to change your header or add one of your own. How to Use a Different Theme At one time, to change the look of your WordPress theme you had to download the theme from one site, and upload it to your blog and then install it. But changes in WordPress has made adding new themes easier than ever.

24 To change your theme: 1) From your WordPress dashboard, click on "Appearance" and then "Themes". 2) Here you'll see all the themes you've installed. At this point, there are the Twenty-themes. If you install more themes, they will be listed here as well. 3) Click on "Install Themes" tab. You have a variety of options to find more themes. You can click on "Featured", "Newest" or "Recently Updated" to see a variety of themes. Or you can search for themes using the search box. 4) When you find a theme you like, you can click the "Install" button with it. 5) You'll be asked if you want to activate it once it's installed. If you do, click on the "Activate" option.

25 6) All installed themes will show up under the "Manage Themes" tab. To change your theme again to one you've already installed, click on the "Activate" by the new theme you want to use. (Note: all your posts, pages and plugins will move from theme to theme, but you may need to reset-up sidebars and widgets as you change themes.) WordPress Settings Before we start adding content, there are few more items to take care of that will help manage the blog as well as make it search engine friendly. In this WP 101 report, I m just going to cover the settings you need to know about now. General Settings Much of the information on this page is pre-filled in for you. If you don t like what s there, you can change it. But don t change the URLs. Enter an address where your WordPress site can notify you of things like comments. Select your time zone. This is important to making sure you posts go live at the time you want. If you live in the eastern time zone and want your blog to post a 8 pm, but your time zone is set to Pacific time, it won t post until 11 pm eastern. Be sure to hit the Save button at the bottom to save any changes you made.

26 Reading Under Settings and Reading is where you decide if you want your site to run a like a blog, with content being added regularly, the newest appearing first. Or you can run it like a traditional website, choosing a specific page or post to be the first item readers find when they come to your site. If you re running your site like a blog, toggle the option to have Your latest posts If you want to run it like a website, click A Static Page and then select the page or post (it must already be written to choose this option). If you re running the site like a blog, then choose the number of posts you want to appear on the home page. Depending on your theme, the length of your sidebar and posts, you may want to adjust this number to avoid having too much empty space in the body or sidebar of the site. You can also choose how many posts are listed in RSS feeds and what you want to appear in the feed. Feed usually show the content like a list, so I usually choose a bigger number, usualy between 5 and 10, and opt to show full text.

27 The bottom option is if you DON T want to get indexed and ranked in a search engine. The only reason not to want to be indexed are for personal sites. If you have a business or want to make money from your blog, leave this option blank. Permalinks In order to get better SEO, we need to change the permalinks so that the title of each post will be included in the URL. If you use keywords part of the title, it will help search engines find and rank the site. If you don't change the Permalinks, your blog posts will have URL like By changing the permalinks, you can have a blog post URL that includes keywords like 1) Log into your blog, go to Settings and select Permalinks. 2) Select Customer Structure and enter /%postname%/ into the field:

28 Widgets Widgets are like little packages of goodies for your WordPress blog. Essentially they help make your site easy to use by providing navigation and search functions. WordPress sites are divided by columns (the most common are 2 and 3 column). One column is the content of your posts, and the other columns are called sidebars that include other information such as topics, searches, and more, that are added via widgets. There are many widgets that come standard with WordPress. Other widgets can be added through Plugins. 1) Go to Appearance and click on Widgets. Here you will find all the Widgets you can use in your blog. I ve circled some good ones to use:

29 Categories and Recent Posts this is good for SEO and is also helpful to your visitors in terms of site navigation Recent Comments gives your visitors some social proof that other people are interested in you blog, and this helps add a sense of community. Links you can add your favorite links, or affiliate links, or trade links with other blogs in your niche. Text you can put html in this code and can use it for all sorts of things. You can put in an opt in box, affiliate banners, videos etc. Search Box makes your blog easier to navigate for your visitors It's easy to use widgets. You simply click on what you want, and drag it over the sidebar box. Some themes may have more than one sidebar area. To put these widgets in your blog, simply drag them from the left hand side and put them in the box you want on the right hand sidebar:

30 Some widgets may offer or require that you add information such as the heading that will appear over the widget or adding additional information to make the widget work. For example, you can add a "Text" widget for advertising space. Once you drag the "Text" widget to your sidebar, you then need to paste the code for your ad into the text area. Plug-Ins Plug-ins are one of the best features of WordPress. Plug-ins are little bits of code that add value, increase search engine traffic and more. Spam Prevention Plug-ins Spam or splog as its often called on blogs, is a problem. They come in the form of comment spam. You can set your comments so that they have to be approved, but that creates a lot of work for you. Instead you can use a plug-in to manage it for you. WordPress comes with Askimet already installed but not activated. You need an API key to activate it which you can get by signing up at Wordpress.com (you don't need to create a blog there, just an account). You'll receive an with your API key that can be used with Askimet and other plug-ins that need it (not all plug-ins need an API key). 1. Click on Plug-ins. 2. Just under Askimet, click on Activate. 3. Enter the API key and save. All other plug-ins you will need to install. First I'll give you a list of the ones I suggest, and then walk you through the process of installing (don't worry... most involve 3 clicks or less). Maintenance Plugins Back WP Up - It s always a good idea to back up your site before doing an update. But it doesn t hurt to have regular schedule back-ups uncase something goes wrong.

31 W3 Total Cache - Speeds up the loading of your site and helps keep strain on the servers down. SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam - This adds a captcha form to your comments. It's an added layer of protection from comment spam. Easy Contact - You never want to put your address on your website as it will be farmed and you'll get tons of spam. This is a form you can use so that readers can you through your site, with you giving your . Once the plug in is installed, simply create a page called "Contact" and add this code in the HTML tab [easy-contact] (see the content chapter for adding pages). Search Engine Friendly Plug-Ins All In One SEO Pack this helps you to automate SEO for every blog post you make. You can enter title (different from blog title), description and keywords for each blog posts. Appears at the bottom of your posts page. Google XML Sitemaps this helps to build a sitemap for you and also pings Google every time you make a change or a new post. This is really useful in getting your blog indexed quickly. Google Analytics - Provides statistics on the visitors to your blog such as numbers, how they found you and more. Great for find out what search terms they are using to find you so you can focus on optimizing for those terms. You'll need to have a Google Analytics account, which is free. Social Sharing Plug-ins Add To Any - Provides buttons so people can share you post by , Twitter and a host of other social medial sites. CommentLuv- When visitors comment on your site, they often leave their website URL as part of the comment. Comment Luv will give the URL of the last blog post your commenter made. It's like giving a little backlink gift to people who visit and comment on your site, and therefore encourages them to come back again. To add plug-ins is as easy as adding themes. 1) Click on "Plug-ins" from your WordPress dashboard. 2) Click on "Add New" 3) For any of the plug-ins I've mentioned above, you can use the search box to find them.

32 4) Click on Install. Once installed, you ll be asked if you d like to activate the plugin. Click on activate. 5) You can deactivate plug-ins any time by clicking on "Plugin" to see the list of those that are installed. Some plug-ins may need added information. For example, you need to add a key code to use Askimet. Instructions for using/setting up the plugin are often indicated by settings near the plugin (on the list of plugins) or it might be in the left hand navigation under Settings or Tools. You'll need to read the plugin instructions for details. Using WordPress Now you're ready to start using WordPress to add content to your site. First start by adding pages. Pages are the static information that never changes such as "About" or "Contact". At the very least you'll want pages for: About, Contact and Privacy. Depending on your site you may want others. To make pages: 1. Login to your WordPress dashboard.

33 2. Click on "Pages" and "Add new" 3. Enter your title and content. WordPress allows you to enter content visually (Visual tab), which is what-you-see-is-what-you-get (wysiwyg). The HTML tab is for when you need to add code like embedding a YouTube video. 4. You can save your content in a draft form if you don't finished during a single sitting. There are other features, but may confuse you at this early stage of the game. At this point, if your page is done, click on "Publish". The page will show up in the Page area indicated by your theme. Adding Posts Posts are added the same way pages are, except that you click on "Post" and "Add new". Posts are where bloggers spend the most of time adding keyword rich articles and information for visitors. If you don t want your site to be a blog or have a blog component, then most of your content will likely be done on Pages. A great feature of WordPress is that you can set the day and time you want your posts to go live. So you can spend a day writing many posts, but they can go live later in the week. It can look like you're posting every day, even though you did all the work in one afternoon. The day and time settings are in the "Publish" box on the right hand side of the page. Be sure to hit the "Schedule" button to publish your posts in the future (the button will say "Publish" for posts you want to go active immediately).

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35 Adding Photos WordPress comes with a media center where you can upload and store photos for the future. 1. Click on "Media" and "Add New" 2. Choose whether you're uploading a photo or giving the URL of one already online. NOTE: Don't use the URL of other website's photos without their permission. If uploading, you ll be asked to browse to the folder that the photo is located. Once a photo is uploaded, it will be stored under the "Media" area and you can access and use it again. You can also add photos and media directly from a Page or a Post. At the top, you'll find icons to add pictures. Click on the media you want. A new box will open. You can use one you've already uploaded into your Media Gallery, or upload a new photo. Categories Categories help organize the site and make it user friendly. You can add Categories two ways. 1) Click on "Categories" under the post heading, or 2) Create them on the fly when writing post, by choosing the "Add Category" option in the Categories list on the right hand side of your posting page.

36 Create categories to help organize your site by sub-topics. For example, if you have a raw diet blog, you might have categories about 'health' and 'recipes'. Menus You can now create custom menus for your site. There was a time that every page you made ended up on your navigation menu, which sometimes meant too many options for visitors. Or sometimes you might make a page that you want hidden from the general public. Menus now let you decide what will be listed and where. Some themes come with multiple menu options. Most allow for at least a menu in the header and one in the sidebar. To create a menu, you first need to have content. You can use pages, posts or even categories as menu items. Once you have these items created, you can make a menu. 1) Click on Menus under Appearances 2) Some themes will have pre-set menus (locations i.e. header). Some will allow you to create one. 3. Click on the arrow down next to Pages, Links and or Categories to pick the items you want in your menu. Then click Add to Menu located below each content option (i.e. Pages). The items will now appear over in the right hand side of the page.

37 4. You can reorder the menu by dragging and dropping. You can create nested menus (created a drop down menu) by dragging the item right slightly. It will appear as a drop down under the item above it. Once your blog is set up, you want to add content that shows off your expertise. Some writers worry that if they blog their knowledge, no one will buy the book. However, blog posts are short, giving overview information. Your book will offer more details and resources. For example, I offer a lot of free information about work-at-home jobs at Work-At-Home Success, but I have two books on getting a

38 work-at-home job that sell pretty well. The reason is that the books elaborate, go more in depth and offer more resources than the site. People who read the information on WAHS can see that I know what I m talking about and therefore are comfortable buying my books. Because I continue to provide information and resources, readers return to the site and hopefully will buy my next book. Here are some ideas for creating blog posts: 1. What s current? Use Google Alerts or search news of your topic (i.e. publishing news ) to find recent articles related to your niche. Share the news with your readers and provide your own insights or thoughts. 2. Give tips. People search the web for information, so tips and instructions are ideal blog posts. Give step-by-step instructions related to your topic (i.e. 3 Steps to Keep the Deer Out of Your Tulips). 3. Do a survey. Polls, surveys and questionnaires are a great way to encourage interaction and get feedback. 4. Share a resource. Like tips, readers are also looking for solutions. Have you read a book, used a tool or checked out some other resource that your readers might benefit from? For example, I recently shared about Evernote, which I think is fabulous for writers. 5. Provide a review. This is similar to sharing a resource, except your purpose is to review the good and the bad of the resource. 6. Give insight into your life. I did this recently at Work-At-Home Success where I shared a typical day working at home. This can be a great way to show people how you work and manage time. 7. Answer questions. Working off comments on your blog or social media, and your survey in number 3, have a blog post that answers common questions related to your topic. 8. Use alternate media. You re a writer, but you don t have to write all your blog posts. Audio and video are great ways to mix it up and have fun. And it s easy. Odds are your computer is already equipped to record and edit. I ve done video posts for Work-At-Home Success on things like how I organize my planner and what Walt Disney taught me about business. Or you can use screen capture software like Camtasia or Jing and do a tutorial. 9. Web Round up. Instead of writing your own stuff, you can generate a list of what s great around the web. This helps your readers find the best content related to your topic. 10. Interviews. This can be written or recorded and posted on your blog. You can interview a client or fan. Or you can interview an expert. Many people are happy to talk with you in exchange for promotion. 11. National Day. When I m really stuck, I check out the calendars that list all the funky holidays. Some fun places to check out for writing ideas include BrownieLocks and Teacher s Corner (scroll down to see the months). For example, Brownie Locks reports that April is National Kite Month, the 21st-27th is National Karaoke Week, and the 18th is National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day. According to the Teacher s Corner, April 23rd is William Shakespeare s birthday (1564) and the 27th is Tell a Story Day.

39 12. Ask for guest bloggers. Many other writers have content to share. Not only will guest bloggers get some free promo from you, but they ll likely share the link on their blogs and social media to give you free promo as well. 13. Have a contest or giveaway. You don t have spend a lot to have a great treat for your readers. You can provide a free copy of your ebookor something related to your topic area. Be sure to check out the laws regarding giveaways and contests before having one. 14. Write list posts. You can list anything Top 5 Worst Biggest Blunders Best of the Best.etc. List: This is one strategy many writers don t use, which makes no sense because it s one of the best ways to connect with your market and let them know when your books are released. Most people who come to your website may read what you ve got, but they won't buy. When they leave your site, they're gone and you don't have another chance to sell to them unless you've got their address. The list allows you to stay in contact with people and through it, you build a rapport and credibility, and of course can promote your books. For example, at Work-At-Home Success I give away several work-at-home related reports with a subscription to the newsletter (a form of list). Subscribers get a weekly newsletter (you don't have use the newsletter format) and important updates or information such as free events or scam alerts, and of course book releases. With the list, you have a highly targeted market of people who are interested in what you have to say and offer. They are more likely to buy than cold visitors to your site are, as long as they trust you and aren't bombarded with offers. The basics of list building are (we'll go over all this in more detail): 1) Find or create a freebie to give away in return for the name and of the visitor to your site. 2) Sign-up for a list service. 3) Paste the sign-up form code on your blog or website. 4) Promote your free offer and site. 5) When people sign up for your list, they'll receive an with your free offer. 6) Drip your list with great information and other resources. The three main list services are Aweber, GetResponse and Constant Contact. I use Aweber and highly recommend it. There are other options, such as using a list script with your hosting service, but the list services offer you protection from being accused of spam (which can carry a fine) as well as other great features. For example, Aweber can pull your blog RSS feed and it your list (I do this with my pen name s blog). Using a service isn't free, but if you want to sell books, it's a must have expense. At about $20 a month, it is well worth the investment.

40 List services do three important things: 1) Capture and maintain the names and of people who visit your site and give their information. 2) Automatically delivers a preset message or messages to your list. For our purposes, it will automatically send an with a link to the free report you are offering. You can create additional reports to go out automatically. For example, this course is set to send each course every 7 days. 3) blast your list. The autoresponder (#2) automatically sends pre-set messages, but sometimes you may want to a newsletter or special offer (i.e. your new book is published). In that case, you "blast" an out to your list. The most important thing to remember about your list is that you are building trust and rapport. If the people on the list trust you, they will buy from you, not just once, but often. Here are the directions for using Aweber. The other services offer tutorials and customer support if you want to use something else and need guidance. 1) Visit Aweber to sign up for an account. 2) Click on the "Order" tab and choose your service option. 3) Login and choose "Create and Manage Lists" 4) Click on "Create New List" 5) Aweber gives a default list name, but for simplicity, give your list a name related to your website such as "Diet Report". 6) Type in your list's description and other info. At this point, you can ignore the social media info. Give your name and under Notifications to get an every time someone joins or unsubscribes. 7) Click on "Go to Step 2" 8) You can edit your confirmation or leave as is. To protect you from spam complaints, Aweber requires double-opt in which means after a subscriber gives you his name and , he will get an asking him to confirm that he wants to subscribe. I always edit the intro to remind people what they're subscribing to: "We've received your request for the FREE Raw Diet Recipes Report..." 9) Enter your website or book sales page, or if you re giving a free report, a link to the report where it says "Success Page: Confirmation Success Page URL". When a subscriber clicks on the "Confirm" link in the , they will be taken to your website. Another option is to send them to the PDF link to the report or to a thank you page, letting them know the report will arrive in their shortly. Since the report is what they want, this second option is most customer-friendly. A thank you page can also be a place to promote your books. See the Jobs Online Toolkit confirmation thank you page below. However, using Blogger, it's not easy to create such a page, so in this case, send them either back to your Blogger site or to your affiliate offer directly.

41 Aweber has a step-by-step guide that runs at the bottom of the page during your list set up. It even has video tutorials if you need them. The next step is to create your first message. 1) Click on Messages and then "Follow up" to create your first message. 2) Enter the subject line. Use a subject with the report title so that subscribers know what it is. Click on "Personalize" and choose one of the options such as name if you would like the subscribers name to be included in the subject such as "Sally, Here's the Raw Diet Recipes You Requested". 3)You can use the HTML Message and templates, but for this lesson, we'll stick with easy and scroll down the Text Message box. 4) Enter your message. You can use the "Personalize" option in the as well. I always thank people for signing up and then give them the link for the report. I let them know that I'll occasionally send tips and resources related to the topic of the report as well. I end with my name and underneath it a signature line that has information about my product. Instead of including a link to your product in the signature line, you can include a little information about your offer in the body of the , but the focus of the should be delivering the free report. If you seem to salesy, people will unsubscribe. 5) Click on the Attach button at the bottom to attach your free report to the (Blogger users only.)

42 Autoresponders At this point, that is all you need to get your list online. But it can help to include at least five follow-up messages given every few days. These s should enhance the report you've sent out. For every four or so informational s you send, you can include one that is directly about the offer. For example, three days after sending the raw diet recipe report, you can send an about raw food safety, and a few days after that another one on raw food and children, etc. Beyond that, you can set up autoresponders that send a message every week or every two weeks. Or you can simply set a schedule and use the "Blast" option ( marketing will be covered in more detail next week). 1) To add follow-up s, click on "Messages" and "Follow-Up" and "Add new message". 2) Enter your subject and message just as you did on the first message. 3) Enter the time frame that this will be sent from the previous one. For example, will it go out 1 day after the first one or 4 days? You can set up intervals as well such as weekly. For example, in this course, the s are set to go out every seven days. 4) Repeat these steps for each follow-up . Remember the intervals are based on the previous . In the sample below, message two goes out three days after message one. Message three is sent two days after message two. And message four is sent three days after message three.

43 Like your blog, the list is designed to keep your name in front of readers so that when your book is published, you have people ready to buy. Whatever list service you use, it will provide you with code that you can paste into your site so that visitors can sign up. I recommend using a text widget (WordPress) in your sidebar so visitors can sign up no matter what page of your site they are on. I also use a plugin to automatically add an list signup at the end of every blog post.

44 Social Media No doubt you know what social media is, but you might be stuck as to how to use it to build your writer s platform. The first step is to focus on social media resources that reach your target market. If you re book is on growing roses, you re probably better off to be on Pinterest rather than LinkedIn. On the other hand, if your book is on how to get a job in 30 days, LinkedIn is the best option. Below is a list of social media sites you should consider: Twitter: I know writers who swear by Twitter in selling their books. Facebook: I suggest creating a fan page or a group. Facebook has been restricting the reach of fan pages lately, so you might want to opt for the group, which allows you connect and have discussions with your market... ideal for selling books. LinkedIn: If your book has to do about business or jobs, LinkedIn is a must. Pinterest: If you re book benefits from images, Pinterest is a great place. For example, if your book is about roses, you can pin rose pictures. Google +: The jury is still out... for me... on Google+; however many people use it. If your market uses it, you should too. Google+ offers both profile and pages (like Facebook). Hootsuite (a social media management tool) only works with the page option. YouTube: If you can create tutorials, YouTube is a great place to connect with your market. Because videos are widely shared, not just on YouTube, but in other social media sites, it s an ideal way to let people know about you. GoodReads: A social network for readers is exactly where writers need to be! Goodreads allows you to have an author account once you have a published book. There are many other social networking sites, some may even been in your niche, so do a search to find the ones most relevant to your topic. You don't need to join them all, though. Join the social media sites that your target market uses. If they don't use Twitter, you don't need to create an account there. Participate as if you were at a gathering in person. At a party you wouldn't spend the whole night selling your books (at least I hope not). Instead you'd be listening to other people talk, conversing, telling stories, sharing tips and resources, etc. It s important that you don t ever try to hard sell anyone or overpromote. Instead build relationships that will lead people to want to know more about what you offer. Social media is about conversation and providing value that builds your credibility. For example, most of my social media posts link to stuff I ve posted, stuff other people have posted that I think my market should know about, comments on other people s posts and sharing other people s posts. Finally, use tools to help you manage social media. I use the free version of Hootsuite, which allows me to manage five accounts (it works with Twitter, Facebook, Google + pages and LinkedIn). I can schedule posts, see the posts of people I follow, comment, share, like, etc.

45 I also use applets, which are little icons in my browser that let me post links to the web page I m on to Hootsuite or Pinterest with a click. I ve used them with Firefox and Chrome browsers. Check addons for your browser to find applets. Figure 2 Applets (The applets above include Evernote, Hootsuite and Pinterest). Guest Blogging/Article Writing Writing, writing, writing...that s all I feel I do a lot of time. I m writing new books, content for my blogs and articles for other sites. The challenge of all this writing is creating unique content for everyone around the same topic. The answer is to tweak your content for each source. For example, I can write a basic how-to article for my blog, tweak it to target moms for a mom blog, and add more detail for inclusion in a book. Writing content for other sites gets your name and books in front of people who might not have otherwise found you. Because you re offering valuable information or tips, readers will buy your book or visit your site to learn more about you. Further, it helps with search engine optimization (ranking in search engines). Contact blogs and website that target your market and ask if they accept guest articles. I suggest pitching a topic idea right off the bat. I get general all the time asking if I accept guest posts, but I much prefer it when people and say, I ve got a guest post about how home workers can exercise at their desk. It saves time on back-and-forth ing. Along with submitting your work directly to blogs, you can also submit articles to directories. You should submit original content to each blog your contributing to; however, you can tweak those articles and submit them to every directory. Here s a few of the top article directories that you can post your articles to: Publicity My all time favorite way to get publicity is through Help a Reporter Out (or HARO), which media sources use when they need expert information. Through HARO sources I ve been interviewed for Redbook, Women s World, Today s Parent and a host of radio shows, blogs and podcasts.

46 The HARO report sends three s a day loaded with requests for people to interview for articles, radio and TV shows. Each request for information indicates what is needed and how to reply. However, you can t just send an saying, I can tell you about that, in response to media requests. I use the HARO report to find guests for the Work-At-Home Success podcast and I m often surprised at how poorly some people respond. I give specific details on what I need to consider someone for the show and many reply without giving me what I said I needed. Because I get so many responses, I delete the replies that don t take the time to deliver what I asked. Here are some tips to increase the odds your pitch gets heard when responding to HARO requests. 1) Read the request thoroughly and make sure you fit the requirements. While it might be alright if you don t fit exactly, if the request asks for New York residents only and you live in California, it s probably a waste of time to respond. 2) Use HARO and the topic request in the subject line. For example, if the the query says, Looking for Single Dads with Teenage Children type Haro: Looking for Single Dads with Teenage Children. I do this because sources might be sending out multiple story requests and this way they know exactly what I m responding to. 3) Use the first line of your to let the recipient know why you re writing and where you found the query. I m responding to a HARO request about single dads with teenage children. 4) In the first paragraph, also indicate why you re a good resource for the topic. If you re responding to a professional inquiry, toot your horn. I let people know that I ve written a book and the other media outlets I ve been featured in. In the case of the single dad example, share how long you ve been a single dad and how many kids you have. If you belong to any single parent support groups or have been a source about single parenting, include that as well. 5) Add something that shows you know the topic and slant the source is looking for. Most HARO requests give information about what the article or show is about. For example, instead of simply saying it wants single dads of teens, the request might indicate it s working on a story on how single dads are coping with media influence on kids. In this example, include a short blurb about your experience in raising kids while competing with media influences. If the request says it s looking for tips, then list a few tips. 6) Give a link to your media kit if you have one online and information on how to get in touch with you. Make sure it s easy for people to contact you. 7) End with your signature line; your name and website if applicable. I have a template with my intro, contact and signature line already inserted. Then I tweak it and add the information related to the request for each individual request. The example below was a request for a work-at-home expert to provide tips on how to work from home and be productive.

47 Another option is to send out press releases. While online press releases may not get you publicity, they will create backlinks from reputable sites. A press release isn't an ad, but an announcement that tells who, what, when, where and how about you. You can use a press release to announce the launch of your blog, the release of your book, special recognition and anything else that could be deemed news worthy. Use a catchy headline to hook your reader. Keep the release to one page and include your contact information should someone want to interview you. Don t forget to send your press release to local media outlets. Many small town papers like to run stories on local members of the community. You can also post your press release online. Many offer free and paid (I wouldn t pay) services. Check out this article with 60 resources for posting free press releases online. Here is a sample press release I sent when The Work-At-Home Success Bible came out in 2009: