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Mining Reviews
This Sunday we are going to talk about reviews.
Where do we find them? Beg, Borrow or Buy them?
While researching this topic I ran into two articles about paid reviews. Attitudes and feelings about paying for a review are extreme. Some are acceptable and some are highly frowned upon.
There is no right or wrong way to get reviews for your books. If you have the money to pay for a review, and feel comfortable doing it, then do so. It pays to remember that getting reviews for your book is akin to getting publicity for it. Time, effort, some money spent, and being tenacious are needed.
If your book isn’t selling, reviews are usually not the culprit.
That being said, if you have no reviews, or are staring at two reviews with a 3.5 Amazon rating, you likely don’t believe me. Only the ice-water of harsh experience convinced me otherwise.
But although they’re hardly the skeleton key to success, reviews are still important for a few reasons we’ll discuss below. Thus, I’ve assembled a comprehensive mini guide outlining a number of techniques and services that you can use to get legitimate, unbiased Amazon reviews (no black hat stuff here).
If you cannot make it to the topic chat feel free to follow the links above and check into review options on your own. Hit Reply on Our Blog and tell us about your experiences.
If you do not have a LinkedIn Profile, I am going to encourage you to go on over to the LinkedIn Site and create an account. It isn’t difficult to create your Writerly Persona, if you do it one step at a time. On LinkedIn there are two things you should keep in mind, up front.
This is your Professional Self – you won’t be posting images of date night or setting up parties or committing Facebookary.
Your LinkedIn Account Profile is a living, evolving document or online resume – You shouldn’t set it and forget it.
However, for chatroom purposes, go ahead and make an account or blow the dust off the one you made in 2009 and promptly abandoned due to confusion.
Of all the types of social media out there you can use to promote your freelance writing, I think LinkedIn is one of the most useful. In working with writers in my mentoring program, I’ve discovered a lot of writers
aren’t making full use of this platform.
Folks are on LinkedIn to further their careers. Period. So that to me screens out a lot of the bullcrap that often turns social media into such a time suck. Nobody’s playing Farmville on here or asking you to watch some dumb
video. The audience may be smaller than Facebook’s at about 100 million, but it’s a higher-quality group.
LinkedIn also offers quite a few interesting features that are particularly useful to freelancers.
The Following Articles will take you to more focused information about using LinkedIn.
The Ultimate LinkedIn Cheat Sheet will ill help you quickly create the best possible Linkedin profile, maximize your online visibility, build your contact list or get contacted about a new job. Whether you're
looking to find out the best Linkedin profile picture size, how to get the most secure password or simply starting from the beginning, we've got you covered!
8 Steps for Writing a Smart LinkedIn ArticleTake advantage of this
platform to show off what you know. This article has some tips you can easily apply to your author website and blog posts. If you don't have a blog, you might consider your professional profile your platform for sharing your thoughts and
expertise. For example, in my public relations and communications business, LinkedIn makeovers and storytelling are something I do well. So I've written about both, not just here but on LinkedIn, too. People ask me how to write articles on LinkedIn, so here's what you need to know.
9 steps to a better LinkedIn profile in 2019Post a professional headshot, write a snappy
headline, include relevant work information and ask for recommendations.As LinkedIn becomes more of a reliable vehicle for finding influencers, prospects, partners and new talent, your LinkedIn profile is more important than ever. This article
lists 9 things you can do to make your profile better.
It Isn't Too Late to Go Over and Open a LinkedIn Profile
Check Out Our Website for and Update on Last Sunday's Topic
A blog post without an image is like a postcard without a stamp.
On Sunday we are going to talk about images.
Many of us know they can slow a site down or make a post more interesting.
We will be looking at a guide to 15 blog image best practices including image sizes and shapes, copyrights and
attribution, stock photos and free images.
During our Open Chat nights we touch on random Writerly things. If you have a question, come in and ask. If you have news, share it. If you have discovered something helpful, we want to know.
Clicks, Impressions, Sponsored Products, Bids and Lockscreen Ads
Some of us have tried ads and at least one of us has overbid and generally had to explain myself to customer service.
The whole idea of advertising is intimidating. I think we all have some marketing experience through social media but advertising is a risky thing.
I will not send you out of the chatroom ready to place an ad but I will try to send you off knowing a little bit of the vocabulary. When you do take that big step you will hopefully avoid some costly mistakes.
Setting up an email system can feel like a huge task, it’s one of the most important tools in your marketing toolkit. It will help you build and connect with your readers, which will lead to growing book sales. In this article, we cover everything you need to know about email marketing to get started.
Here’s a breakdown of the steps you’ll take to get your email list set up:
This is a huge topic and we may not cover everything on the list. We can finish up on Wednesday.
Future Topics
Don't Touch Anything Sharp
Time after time after time a writer hears the words, "Show, Don't Tell."
We touch things everyday. We feel the tiny springs responding under our fingers at the keyboard. If you sweep your hand across spring green grass as you smooth out the picnic blanket you know in August the same grass will be stiff, dry and a bit crunch under your legs as you settle in.
We have handy words to describe the things we touch. Some words are -- smoothe, slick, wet, bumpy, rough, hot, cold, sticky and sharp. There are many more words and some of them can haunt the reader, repulse the reader or make her relax in her chair with memories you brought to mind.
The problem with touch is that touch conversation can quickly become an emotional discussion about feelings.
The following links lead back to websites using the topic of touch.
