Social media

Tips for blogging from developing countries

April 5, 2010

I don’t usually repost pieces that I write for other publications, but this one is particularly useful to travel writers: 10 Tips for Blogging from Developing Countries It’s about how to keep your blog alive and healthy when your Internet connection isn’t. Posted at the Matador Network. Check out additional hints in the comments, too.

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Five cool ways news organizations are using social media

March 30, 2010

Yeah, I usually blog about writing or travel. But since I’m looking to dive back into full-time journalism, my mind has been wandering into news land. Specifically, social media news land. I’ve been watching how journalists and news organizations use social media (and playing with some of those approaches myself). By now, most media outlets […]

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A blog tip that's guaranteed to bring you more comments

March 22, 2010

The best part: it’s easy. Turn off your word verification. Yes, you. You probably didn’t even know it was on, right? But unless you turned it off, it’s likely keeping people from commenting on your blog. Think it’s not that big of a deal? It is. It’s one extra hoop we have to go through […]

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The challenge: build community around your blog

March 15, 2010

I probably should have titled this post, How to drive traffic to your blog. That would have gotten more clicks, right? But the truth is, while we sometimes use hits to measure the success of our Web sites and blogs, the reason for that success is community. One common mistake new bloggers make is thinking […]

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Aspiring Author becomes The Traveling Writer

March 8, 2010

Notice anything new here today? Aspiring Author has become The Traveling Writer! I’ve thought for a long while about revamping this blog with a name change that would give me room to write about a broader range of topics, hopefully growing my audience. It’s time to take the leap! Those of you who read this […]

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One of the best things about Google alerts…

February 20, 2010

Is that they let you know when you’re the main character in a new erotic novel. The blurb for Michelle Pillow’s new book, Opposites Attract: Alexis Grant has everything she's ever wanted—fashionable clothes, social standing, a New York penthouse apartment, and a mother who pays for it all. That's until her mother is arrested for […]

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How to use Facebook to — shhhh — promote your book

February 7, 2010

In my social circle, knowing how to use Facebook is like knowing how to read. It’s something we do every day, without thinking about it, like we were born knowing how. Of course, we know there are people in this world who don’t know how to read, but we rarely come into contact with them, […]

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Writers' Roundup: January 15

January 15, 2010

Don’t you love when your Google Reader is bursting with awesome information? So much good stuff out there this week, including several memoir-specific posts: From Pimp My Novel: The Importance of Negative Reviews. If reviewers don’t have anything nice to say, should they say anything at all? A guest blogger on Guide to Literary Agents […]

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Why bloggers should consider audience

January 11, 2010

You know what irks me? It’s been a year since I posted on my travel blog, and it still gets more hits than this writing blog. Okay, not quite a year. Since January, I’ve posted twice on Inkslinging in Africa — once in March and again in May. But I’m working hard to increase readership […]

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Need a New Year's resolution? Be happier.

January 4, 2010

Who wants to be happy? Or happier? Everyone. That’s why I’m expecting the book The Happiness Project, released last week, to be a bestseller. (You can buy it here.) Author Gretchen Rubin is with us today to talk about the book, her wildly successful blog — also called The Happiness Project — and advice for […]

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