Hey Everyone!
I'm combining these two challenges and you will see why in just a moment. :)
Day 12- The challenge for today is to submit a query, and seeing as I have yet to write one, I won't be able to do this task. Right now I have been just trying to focus on my novel and working on it. I still feel as though I have no experience with queries whatsoever- nor do I actually have a story written up with which I can in fact query about. Thus- skipping this and I will come back to it when I have something ready.
Day 13- The challenge for today is to set up a blog and make your first post about the Get Started Write Challenge. Seeing as I already have a blog and have been blogging about the challenge for a while now, I'm skipping over this challenge. However, I did click on the link that he had posted about blogging tips that pay off immediately. I read through that and will post what I have found now.
Pick a niche and stick to it. As writers, we often have diverse interests, and it’s not uncommon to hear writers say things like, “I’m interested in everything.” Me too, but for the purposes of blogging, it’s best to pick a subject that is wide enough to hold your interest but narrow enough that your readers know what to expect from you and your blog. Speaking of which…
Connect with your audience. Great ways to connect with your audience is to comment on other blogs in your category and friend/follow folks on social networking sites whose interests align with your blog. Bad way to connect with your audience is to go around saying things like, “Read my blog,” or worse, “I’ll read your blog IF you read mine.”
Give. A lot of writers make the mistake of thinking of what they want to get out of blogging and social media. Instead, writers should be focused on what they can give. Share helpful links, information, calls for submissions, etc. Anything related to your blog’s niche, try to give what you can. When the time comes for sharing “exciting news” (like a book or online course), you’ll have an engaged audience excited to get their hands on your “exclusive” content/services.
Make posts easy to share. From a technical perspective, this means that you include social sharing buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, etc. From a more content-related perspective, make sure your posts are loaded with great content (give, give, give) and/or take a stand on something and/or are over-the-top hilarious/shocking/sweet/etc. Great content is always easy to share.
Write evergreen content. Evergreen content in my business (the publishing business) is content that never goes completely out of style. For instance, these tips on blogging are just as relevant today as they were 5 years ago, and they’ll be useful in another 5 years. Timely posts are fine, but real growth comes from content that people find and share today, tomorrow, and two years down the road. (Many of my posts from years ago are still found and shared today.)
Be concise. Short paragraphs. Short sentences. Lists (bullets or numbered). Keep posts between 300 and 1,000 words in length when possible.
Finally, always reach deep and give a little more. I promised six tips, but here’s my seventh:
Develop your voice. This is sort of connected to giving, but be sure to release your persona on your blog. Be a human being, and you’ll make it so much easier for other human beings to connect with you.
See more at: http://blog.writersmarket.com/whats-new/blogging-tips-that-will-pay-off-immediately#sthash.yvE5Rcxu.dpuf
So yeah. That about sums it up for today. Thanks and see ya later!
-Lizzy
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