Blogging from A to Z Challenge

Erin Shakespear

Want to get your name out there?
Gain a following?
Wish you were a more dedicated blogger?
But maybe...
You have trouble figuring out what to blog about?
Is it hard to find time to do it everyday?
Need a fun blogging challenge to take part in?


Alrighty, then you should check out the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

This is a fun idea.

Not only can you sign up and join the blog hop (there are more than a thousand participants!) and find new readers and make new friends, you can also use the challenge as a method to become a better blogger, stretch those creative juices and come up with a slew of fun blog posts.

Who's with me? Hmmmmm?

I just signed up and I'm excited about what I have planned for the month.

Now, you might be thinking...."I do not have time to write 26 blog posts." or maybe something like..."Boy, this is a boring blog post." or perhaps even, "I wonder if that moldy potato salad is still in the back of my fridge?"

All of these are very important things to think about (except for the boring one. That's just plain rude). Especially that salad. How come you didn't finish it? I love potato salad.

Also, keep in mind, our posts don't have to be super long. Make them short and sweet! Do some author interviews, book reviews or share teasers from your WIP.

You can sign up for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Here.

Want More People to Read Your Blog?

 




Alright, since I'm new around these parts, maybe I should start with an introduction. 

I'm Erin Shakespear, writer of humorous (I hope.) middle grade fantasy novels. I'm also a mom to five crazy fun kids (heavy on the crazy), lover of locking doors and parenthesis (that might be obvious) and a midnight crafter.  I have a blog Here.And you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about my writing journey Here.


Ok, moving on...

Let me ask you some questions. 

Do you have a blog? (I hope this answer is yes.)

Are you trying to build a following?

Are you filling your blog with killer content to lure readers your way?

Do you want to get the word out about your awesome posts, like your 100 Tips to Cornering an Agent in the Bathroom or Closet, but you just don't know how to go about it?


Are sick and tired of posting into the internet ether only to feel as though you're talking to yourself? 

Then have I got a solution for you! (Is it just me or are you all expecting me to roll out a 1-800 # at this point. Well, if you want to hand over your credit card number, I'm not going to stop you...)

There is a really great site called inkPageant and it was created by one of our own Utahns, Darren Hansen. Now you might be confused at this point. 

There is a Deren Hansen pictured there on the sidebar. Hey Deren! See how they spell their names differently? Yep. Different Darrens. I mean, Derens. Ok. You get it. 

So, what better way to learn more about this nifty site, inkPageant, than to shoot some questions Darren's way?

Hey there Darren. Welcome to the UCW blog! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I studied graphic design in college, I married a wonderful woman named LaChelle (who also loves to write and runs a food blog), and I'm now a father to three little boys. I also like reading, writing, programming, drawing, painting, and playing Ultimate Frisbee.

(Everyone should now run off to take a look at LaChelle's food blog. How awesome are those inkPageant cookies?)

What do you like to write?

Epic fantasy was my reading of choice as a kid. Because of that, I started out with epic fantasy, but I bit off more than I could chew with my first book. I found my niche in urban fantasy and am now working on my third novel.

Are you an early morning writer or a night owl scribbler?

Mornings are my best time. I get up an hour early to get in a little hobby time each day, whether it's writing, programming, or something else. Writing at night sometimes turns me into a grumpy, groggy monster.

Alright, so what's the story behind inkPageant.com? What prompted you to create this site?

There's a popular website for food blogs called TasteSpotting.com. Food bloggers submit their posts and share their recipes there, as well as show off their mad food photography skills. When TasteSpotting.com accepted one of LaChelle’s posts, her blog traffic spiked for a few days. Now, the writing world is very different from the food blogging world, but we were intrigued by the idea of putting together a similar website for the writing community.

I had a few business and writing contacts, so we reached out to them for advice. We then put together the website from scratch and had a lot of fun making it. David Powers King was excited about the idea and offered to help us moderate. We launched in October of last year. Since then, we've collected hundreds of posts.

What is the purpose of inkPageant?

We're here to help writers reach their goals. Our vision is to create a giant database where writers can find great advice on writing and publishing. When authors submit posts, we help push traffic and followers to their blogs. We also help writers with building their platforms and network with bloggers, editors, publishers and agents.

Can you tell us what makes the perfect submission for inkPageant?

We look for posts relevant to writing and publishing that are helpful, informative, or entertaining. Book reviews, tips on writing, events, news, opinions, and tips on publishing are all welcome submissions. Our favorite blog posts are those where the author is not focusing on just herself, but wants to give something to her readers.

Why should authors become involved with inkPageant?

- It's free advertising for your blog. We like to send traffic and followers your way.

- We have hundreds of posts about writing and a nifty search tool. If you want advice from someone who knows, you just might find it here.

- You can network on inkPageant, finding friends and professional contacts to help accomplish your goals.

- It's a way to serve others in the writing community. Someone out there may need to hear from you!

Is there anything else you'd like to share about inkPageant.com?

You don't need to be published or have a blog entirely dedicated to writing to submit posts to us.


Thanks for letting me pick your brain, Darren! Good luck with your site!

*******

So, who's ready to start submitting to inkPageant? 

Submit in the next 5 minutes and we'll even throw in a *handy dandy chopping tool. 

*Ok. Not really. I'm totally lying.

Why Do a Virtual Author/Book Tour?

Many authors are still unsure how effective a virtual blog tour can be. I have been asked many times, before I started offering the World of Ink Author/Book Tours, if blog tours are really an effective way to market a new book. My answer is YES, but not if you are looking to only increase sales of your book. I say this because no marketing strategy you put into place or pay a publicist to do can guarantee book sales. If they do…run away fast!

With that said, there is a reason to have a blog tour as part of your marketing plan. One very big reason is that they are 70% more effective in drawing traffic to your book and the sites it is being offered on for sale. Second, 98% of readers will tell you they use the internet to do their research in seeking out a book on any given topic. Just from those numbers alone you can see the importance in having online visibility. 

Now you can create your online presence through a website, blog and social networks, but a blog tour goes beyond this. It creates “BUZZ”, back links (which put your book higher in the search engines) and reviews. You can also use blog tours to help grow your author platform. And who wouldn’t want to do this? 

By growing your online presence, you not only create buzz about your work you also show you’re an expert in your field by doing guest posts. You also let your readers get to know you better through interviews. There are some many “win-wins” in a blog tour to even name. Yes, the goal is to, hopefully, sell books, but what you really are doing (and is more important for your overall career as an author) is building a fanbase; people who will recognize your name and want to buy your next book or series of books. And I don’t think I need to tell you the value in that!

Now, I know you’re wondering, “Okay, so do I put a blog tour together myself or do I hire someone to do it for me?” That all depends on our marketing budget. You can put your own blog tour together, but the thing you need to ask yourself is, “Are the people I know who are willing to host me going to really reach my readership?” In most cases, you know other writers who have blogs and their blog following in most cases are other writers. Okay, that isn’t all bad and I still suggest you put your own blog tour together with your writing buddies, however, you should still seek out tour companies that can help you reach your readership. I mean isn’t that the whole point of the blog tour…to build your fanbase, create buzz and hopefully sell some books, too?

If you hire a publicist to help promote your book, ask them about the blog tour they will be doing for you. I hate to say it, but I get a lot of PR companies who contact me and very rarely do I see a lot of buzz from the blog tours they create. Some do a good job, but others are only okay because they look for high traffic blogs only and not at the blog following. This is all very important when doing a blog tour. Some blogs may not have a lot of followers, but the followers they do have…is whom you need to reach because they are your target readership.

I have worked with a few companies who offer this service before and after I started offering mine. I will list only two who I truly believe in. There are others out there and I suggest you contact the authors who have used them, but the two I’m going to list other than my own deal with children’s authors and know how to read your readership.

Pump Up Your Books, who I have used before. They are hard working and really know what they are doing. (http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/) 

Author Showcase is another one that only focuses on children’s books and is good about creating buzz. (http://workingwriterscoach.com/)   

World of Ink Virtual Author/Book Tour (http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/worldofinktour.aspx) I also get the buzz and word out to your target readership. I have a bit of an advantage because of my online Ezine, Stories for Children Magazine. I already have a fanbase I can network to when doing a tour and I know a lot of book review and mommy bloggers. All this helps when doing a blog tour.

The thing to remember is a blog tours can be fun, but they are a lot of hard work, not only for the blog coordinator or hosts, but for YOU the author as well. You don’t get to just sit back and let the blog tour host do it all. If you want your tour to be successful, you need to help promote. You will also be filling out interview questions, writing guest posts/articles and sending books out for review. You’ll need to visit each blog stop during your tour to say, “Thank you” to the host and answer any questions followers may have. 

If you offer a giveaway, you’ll need to make sure the information for the contest is correct and keep track of who is entered (some blog hosts will do this, but not all). You will also need to follow up on each tour stop (unless you hired someone, they should be doing this as part of their service) to make sure each host has all the information they need for their hosting date. 

The beauty of a virtual author/book tour is your book will be appearing all over the Internet without you ever leaving your home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stories for Children Publishing will be touring award-winning author VS Grenier and her book, “Babysitting SugarPaw” a picture book about friendship and telling the truth all month long in June 2011.

You can find out more about VS Grenier’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/BabysittingSugarPaw.aspx. There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with VS Grenier and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions.

In addition, come listen to Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network show: Stories for Children at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork. The hosts VS Grenier, Kris Quinn Chirstopherson and Irene Roth chatted about Grenier’s picture book, writing, the publishing industry and experiences with virtual tours.The show aired live June 6, 2011. You can listen on demand at the World of Ink Network site at http://www.blogtalkradion.com/worldofinknetwork.

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit Stories for Children Publishing at: http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com