Book Promotion Soundbites: How to Create a Blog That Matters

If you want to improve your blogging effort and make better use of your blog as part of your book marketing campaign, check out this video. Here are a few of the things you'll learn:

• The 9 most important elements required to start a blog that matters
• The stories of 5 bloggers who each make over $1 million a year doing what they love
• 5 case studies of plain folk who have started extremely popular blogs
• The answers to all your questions on how to start a blog that matters
• The stories of some book authors who have benefited from having blogs that create impact

The presenter, Corbett Barr, has started a number of high-traffic blogs including ThinkTraffic.net (Alexa rank: 16,700) and ExpertEnough.com (Alexa rank: 55,443), which was just started in October 2011 and already has tons of traffic.





If you would like to sign up for Corbett's extended course on How to Start a Blog That Matters, click here: http://askthecoverdesigner.com/Blogging

I wish you the best in your blogging efforts this year.



John Kremer is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books as well as an incredible book promotion coach.

Start a Blog That Matters - Blogging for Effect

Several weeks ago, I heard about this great program on how to start a blog that really matters - and build your blog into a major online destination.

I talked to Corbett Barr, one of the people behind the program, and he agreed to do a webinar for my fans and followers. You can view the replay below:





Here are a few of the things you'll learn by tuning into this video here:

• The 9 most important elements required to start a blog that matters
• The stories of 5 bloggers who each make over $1 million a year doing what they love - following their passion
• 5 incredible case studies of plain folk who have started extremely popular blogs
• The answers to all your questions on how to start a blog that matters (during the live Q&A session)
• The stories of some authors and novelists who have benefited from having blogs that create impact

The presenter, Corbett Barr, has started a number of high-traffic blogs including ThinkTraffic.net (Alexa rank: 16,700) and ExpertEnough.com (Alexa rank: 55,443), which was just started in October 2011 and already has tons of traffic.

If you would like to sign up for Corbett's extended course on How to Start a Blog That Matters, click here: http://askthecoverdesigner.com/Blogging

Book Marketing Makeover: Two Book Marketing Mistakes That Could Cost You Sales

Guest post by Judy Cullins

Most authors sell only 200 self-published books. It’s possible to sell so many more copies by getting much more visibility at places like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And remember blogging that adds to both your online visibility and credibility. Avoid the mistakes and take the actions below to get your books into the hands of your target audience.

Two Mistakes You Don’t Need to Make and Their Solutions

1. You don't stand out from the crowd of others in your field.

Let’s say you are a life coach who offers to solve your audience’s problems in relationships, finances, attitudes and a wide list of complaints. They want solutions.

So how do you stand out from all the other coaches in your area of savvy expertise? One simple answer is to develop a strong brand. And writing a short book on one of your coaching specialties to that specific audience is step one.

You need to show them what you can do for their problems and concerns. That means you need to get their questions on what they want. That could be, for example, “I have a wonderful business life, so why aren’t I happy?” Or, “I'm in a negative relationship with my xxx and can’t seem to leave. Can you help me?”

After you write an engaging short print or ebook, you need to get much bigger visibility and credibility if you want to get book sales. That means you need to do some research and even brand coaching to show how you and your books are unique and necessary for your reader.

One client, who wrote a photo book on Cuba, had a problem with focus. Should she focus on her book or on her established business as a positivity coach? The solution we came up with was that she should get more active on LinkedIn, answer questions, and then mention her book in the groups.

She creatively coupled her striking photos of Cuba with the positivity values she found there in the people. It's a how-to book with gorgeous pictures that convinced me to go to Cuba next year, with or without Castro's blessings. Her motivation centered on her clients using the positivity values.

She also got great testimonials from the influential leaders in her field. What others say about you convinces your audience to pay attention to you.

So, to stand out from the crowd, get more interactive on targeted LinkedIn groups to learn from others and show your strengths. And use testimonials on your site, in your blogs, and in your LinkedIn profile where you post great recommendations from people who have read your books or experienced your service. Post them in your tweets and Facebook pages as well.

2. You don’t keep a business blog going.

If you don’t post to your blog at least once a week, you will not reach and convert your audience to become your fans, buy your book, or use your services.

Five years ago, I wrote a blog and didn’t get much response. I quit. Just three years ago, I put up a WordPress blog and got active in LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. I wrote blog posts regularly and kept adding to that number each week.

You may want to replace article marketing with blog marketing. Remember, Google loves keyword rich titles You want your audience to know the benefits specific to them in your titles and first paragraphs.

Results? Visitors are hooked to keep reading, comment, and subscribe to your blog for automatic emails to them with the latest how-to information in your topic. Blog writing and book chapter writing are similar.

My own blog numbers went from 2,500 to over 6,000 readers a month by marketing with blogs and sharing my blog posts daily with my favorite social media communities. The sales that followed put a smile on my face for sure.

Building your sales comes from engaging your audience for months and years so you need to develop patience and self-acceptance. You'll get there. Just be consistent and focus your time on what works.

Does this sound like too much effort? Will it take too much time? Not for me. Remember, if you don’t set money goals, get a book marketing plan going, and get active with your online promotions, you’ll make pathetic book sales of only 200 copies.

Make a difference in your audience’s life. Give them ongoing free information that pulls them to buy you or your books. Give them value in everything you write. Notice over time how your audience engages with you.

What book marketing mistakes do you know about you could share here? I’d love your input. Leave your comments below.



About the Author

Book and blog eoach Judy Cullins helps you transform your blog into an income stream for life. Author of 14 books for business people and authors including LinkedIn Marketing: 8 Best Tactics to Build Book and Business Sales and Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast!

Judy offers free weekly publications on writing and online marketing at http://www.bookcoaching.com/help-writing-a-book.php.

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Book Marketing Makeover: 5 Ways to Promote Self-Published Books

Guest post by Sarah Gilbert

Whether books have been published traditionally or through self-publishing routes, it is important for every author to know effective ways to promote their books. Someone can be the best writer in the world, but if people don’t know about their book, they won’t have many sales.

It is crucial, when you self publish your book, that you in turn do things to promote it.. Taking the time to promote your book will result in an increase in sales, recognition and success, without a doubt.

Here are 5 ways to promote self published books:

1. Start blogging. Blogging can be an effective way to build a platform. Using the right search engine optimization (SEO) words can help draw in traffic to the blog. Blogs can contain written posts or even video posts. Use it as a way to connect with current fans and create new ones.

2. Give talks. Giving talks or book readings can be an effective way to get noticed. Offer to give them at local book clubs and libraries. Or do an online virtual book tour or engage in webinars.

3. Connect with media. Many media outlets can be helpful in getting a book or author noticed. Send a press release or work with a public relations agent to contact local radio, television, and print media outlets. Offer to do talks, be a show guest, etc.

4. Send review copies. Many people review books, either on blogs or in print. Sending out some review copies, with a nice note enclosed, can be a good way to get them interested in choosing the book for a published review.

5. Use social media. The power of social media cannot be denied. Whether using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or something else, these are effective ways to connect with people and spread the word. Make it a goal to get connected.

Book sales really come down to people knowing about the book in the first place. The job of every author, whether self-published or not, is to let people know about your book and why they should read it. Make an effective plan of action for marketing your book, and then work toward it each month.



About the Author

Sarah Gilbert is the director of sales at Lulu.com, a print-on-demand publisher. Lulu has 1.1 million creators with 20,000 titles added to their collection each month.

Their  print-on-demand publishing service is provided free (with additional add-on services that do cost money) and authors retain all rights as well as 80 percent of all profit from sales. For more information, visit their website at http://www.lulu.com.

45 Ways to Blog as a Novelist: Tips for Writers of Fiction

We all know that blogging is one of the best ways to get attention in today's Internet world. A blog is a godsend to your website, bringing it traffic, fans, and more. But you have to post regularly.

Stuck for what to blog about? Here are some tips for novelists, but the same tips can apply to writers of nonfiction, memoirs, children's books, business books, and more.

1. Review other novels, especially from other lesser-known novelists.
2. Write a blog post using the voice of one of your main characters.
3. Have that main character tell some side stories not included in the novel.
4. Write about the setting - time and/or place. Use some of the research you did to ensure that your novel was accurate.
5. Invite your readers to review your book. Feature their testimonials on your blog.
6. Interview some of your readers: via Q&A text or via an Internet radio show or via a teleseminar.
7. Podcast your book, one section at a time.
8. Write about trends in your genre.
9. Write about your favorite novelists, especially those that write in your genre. Include their photos and a sampling of their books.
10. Answer questions from your readers.
11. Fill in the back stories of some of your minor characters.
12. Write a story featuring one of those characters.
13. Feature excerpts from your upcoming novels. Ask for feedback.
14. Link to the blogs of your favorite authors. Tell readers why those blogs would interest them.
15. Link to book review sites. Recommend your favorites.
16. Create a hall of fame for your genre. Of course, include yourself.
17. Write a blog for each of your upcoming book signing events, online events, etc. Invite your readers to attend - or to let their friends know about your events.
18. Write a follow-up blog on each of your events describing what happened. Take photos of the event and post them here.
19. Review book trailers for novels you like (or other books as well). Feature the book trailer videos in the blog post.
20. Write about your writing routine. Describe when you write (morning, evening, weekends), where you write (the proverbial garret, a coffee shop, at the kitchen table), and how you prepare to write (eat a banana, listen to music, kick your husband or wife out of the house). You could easily stretch this out into three or four short blog posts.
21. Share the genesis of your novel. How did it come about? What ideas, events, characters, etc. inspired you to write the novel.
22. Describe how you went about plotting your novel.
23. Write about a hobby you have.
24. Write about your spouse, your children, your town, your state.
25. Opine on the state of the nation. Opine on world affairs.
26. Opine on Weiner, Schwarzenegger, Sheen, and other fools.
27. Describe how you go about doing research for your novel. Book research? Google? Travel?
28. Share some of the interesting tidbits, facts, insights you discovered as you did your research. Share things that didn't make it into your novel. Share the facts that became key items in your novel.
29. Review books on writing, research, plotting, etc. that you like. Feature their book covers in the blog post.
30. Share or review the novels you are reading now. What's on your nightstand? What's in your purse or briefcase?
31. Survey your readers opinions on any key issue in your books. You could do a number of polls. Announce the surveys. Then promote the surveys. Then announce the results. That's worth at least three blog posts, probably more.
32. Run a contest. Ask people to name their favorite character and describe why they like the character. Offer a free book, sample chapter from your new novel, a phone call from you, or something else as a prize.
33. Feature your reader comments in upcoming blog posts.
34. Interview your readers.
35. Have your readers interview you. Encourage them to send in a series of questions you will answer.
36. Ask your readers to pick which of your characters is most like them.
37. Tell your readers which of your characters is most like you.
38. Interview book reviewers.
39. Interview bloggers.
40. Interview booksellers.
41. Feature your favorite bookstores (with photos). Describe why you love them.
42. Interview your favorite novelists.
43. Write a ditty. Write a poem. Share a short story.
44. Expose your inner being. Share your feelings.
45. Let readers know about your day.
46. Post photos of your favorite novelists and other book authors.
47. Join in the Amazon Bestseller Campaigns of your fellow authors. Promote these campaigns via your blog.

Reader contributions to this list:

1. Have a reader interview one of your characters.
2. Report about the blog tours and launch parties of your fellow authors.
3. Have readers vote for variations of your book covers (or titles).
4. Write guest posts on other blogs. It's a great way to exchange blog posts with other authors. Plus, of course, it exposes you, your book, and your blog to other readers.

People care about novelists. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be professorial. You don't have to be journalistic. Tell the truth. Keep it simple. Cut a vein and let it bleed on the screen.

Blog Challenges: A Way to Connect with More People Online

Here is a recent post by D'vorah Lansky, a new member of The Book Marketing Network, where she describes what's working for her:

What is working really well for me is participating in blog challenges. Typically they are 30-days long and require that you blog at least 30 times during the 30 days.

Participants of the blog challenge help one another by tweeting and retweeting with a link to your blog post.

I'm currently participating in my fourth blog challenge in six months. My twitter followers have doubled (current at 2324), my subscribers have quintupled and the number of people who retweet my comments seems to grow weekly.

My connections and friendships have grown through my participation and my business is growing due to being seen on the social networks by more people and being introduced to movers and shakers in my industry.

D'vorah Lansky - http://Twitter.com/marketingwizard


Visit The Book Marketing Network

Writing Articles to Sell More Books

Below is another success story, as told by Stefania Lucchetti, on how she gets more attention for herself and her books:

One of the most successful techniques I have used to market my book has been to write and submit articles for various blogs and websites. I have used Steve Harrison's Reporter Connection (free service) and PR Newswire (paid service) to receive requests from bloggers and website owners requesting content for their website and regularly submitted article proposals.

I also regularly write for Technorati. The articles never need to be particularly long, though they do need to be interesting. All my articles have been published and they have helped me gain a lot of exposure and regular new subscribers to my newsletter. Also, writing articles has helped me expand and develop content which I have then used in my speaking engagements.



- Stefania Lucchetti (http://www.stefanialucchetti.com) is the author of The Principle of Relevance (how many emails do you receive on any day? Are you overwhelmed by information overload? My book teaches you how to train yourself to process digital information more effectively so that it becomes a tool of empowerment rather than a form of distraction). Stefania also regularly speaks for Fortune 500 companies on time management, leadership, and making ideas happen.

Posting to Blogs: Effective Linking Campaign for Marketing Your Books

The following is a guest post from V. Michael Santoro, founder of AuthorInterns.com.



Although back links from blogs are not as valued as other links because of spamming, they are still worth obtaining if they are targeted to your niche. These posts are also indexed by Google. However, many blogs use the "no follow" tag with links. This tag informs the search engine spiders not to count the link as a back link to your site. You want to post to blogs that do not use the "no follow tag."

The following are three ways to find niche-specific blogs that don’t use the "no follow" tag:

1. Go to http://blogsearch.google.com and conduct a search using: "your keyword phrase" + "do follow" - This will return the blogs that allow your link to count as a back link. If Google returns a page that indicates that no blogs were available, it only means that your keyword phrase was too narrow. Just repeat your search using a higher level phrase. For example, if "weight loss tips for people in Tampa" did not return any results, try "weight loss tips" and then "weight loss."

2. If you use the Firefox browser, you can download a free plug-in that will highlight blogs that use the "no follow" tag in red. It will also indicate the PR (Page Rank) value of the blogs. The higher the PR, the more valuable the back link. Go to: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html.

3. Other “Do Follow” Blog Directory Sites

http://www.commenthunt.com - This site allows you to search for “do follow” blogs. They provide the option to buy comments or you can post them on your own for free.

http://www.followlist.com - This “do follow” blog directory also allows you to search by keyword phrase. A list of recent and popular blogs are also provided as well. Additionally, you can add your blog to directory.

http://courtneytuttle.com/blogs-that-follow - This is another site that provides links to 200 “do follow” blogs where you can post comments.

How to Select a Blog for Posting

In addition to the "no follow" tag rule, you need to evaluate the blog to ensure that you only spend time posting to those that will provide the greatest return. Use the following criteria as a guide:

1. Current and up to date - Check the date of the last post and how much time there is in between posts. If it is a older, dated blog, then don't make a post. It can take several months before the search engine spiders visit the blog to index your comments.

2. Active Comments Section - The best blogs for posting are those with an enthusiastic following that provides continuous posting. You can bet that the search engine spiders are visiting these blogs often.

3. Have some page rank (a page rank of "0" provides little value). Unless the blog is very relevant to your niche and seems current, you should seek to begin posting on higher PR blogs first.

Tips for Posting Comments

When you find a blog and are ready to post a comment, you will be asked to add your name and email address. Make sure to add your Website URL as well and since blogs use your name as anchor text with your URL, use a competitive, long tail keyword phrase instead of your name. This will help your Web page rank better for that keyword phrase.

Before you add a comment, read the current post and ensure that you contribute relevant quality content. Also incorporate the long tail keyword phrase if it fits the reply to the post.

Another tip is to include a link back to one of your articles. For example, "I'd also like to share an article that I've written about” (add your keyword phrase as anchor text link to article here) and “I hope that you find it helpful." Now you have two quality links by offering quality content.

Conclusion

Many blogs are moderated and your posts will have to be approved. If you just offer something like, "Yo, nice blog!" for the sake of getting a quick link, it will be viewed as spam and not posted. Quality counts here and you want to be viewed as an expert in your niche. Remember, in addition to a good link back to your site, you can also receive traffic to your website if the blog visitors are impressed with your posts.

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V. Michael Santoro is an award winning author and creator of the Author Intern System. You can now use a student intern as your book marketing assistant to unleash your book’s potential without having to do all the work.

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John's Note: I haven't reviewed the details of the Author Intern System yet, but I love the idea of training and using interns to do a lot of the nitty-gritty work that most authors hate to do (myself included).

Book Marketing 2.0: 5 ways you can use Web 2.0 tools to promote your book

This is a guest post from Joanna Penn, author and blogger at The Creative Penn: Writing, publishing options, internet sales and promotion...for your book.



It is an exciting time to be an author! New technologies in digital printing and distribution are enabling authors to publish online with print-on-demand and ebooks. Technology is also changing the way you can market your book.

Book marketing used to involve sending out physical copies to reviewers and journalists. You were generally marketing only to a local or country wide audience. You used a publicist because they had the relationships with people. The author was quite removed from the reviewer, the journalist or the reader.

Web 2.0 changes that. It enables relationships with people through social networking, blogging and instant messaging. You can now talk to journalists, reviewers and your readers directly.

If you build a relationship with someone, they are more likely to promote you, buy your book or want to interview you for a story. You can now promote to a global audience and sell globally through ebook retailers and online bookstores. Book marketing is still about relationships – but those relationships can now be online, and global.

Here are some Web 2.0 tools that you can use to promote your book (and the bonus is they are free!):

1. Use Twitter to find a journalist to target for your book/niche. Search for journalists on WeFollow and search.twitter.com. Listen to what they are tweeting about, Retweet them and get noticed. Build a relationship and then pitch. You can also set up a Twilert for your niche topic and you will receive a daily email with who is talking about it. Join the conversation and get noticed.

2. Pitch a targeted blogger for a book review. Don't just use book review sites as they are overcrowded. Pick a blogger in your genre who doesn't review books normally. Comment on their blog and get noticed. Get them some traffic by promoting them somehow. Build the relationship and then introduce your book.

3. Use your press release in multiple ways. Send it to the targeted journalist, but also post it on your blog/website media page. Then turn it into a .PDF and post it on Scribd and Docstoc, both of which are great for document search traffic. Put your website and free offer details on the bottom of the page and include keywords in the search terms. Then turn it into an article and post it on EzineArticles.com with your resource box for more traffic.

4. Use HARO to get notified of journalists looking for a story. This “Help a Reporter Out” service will sent you an email daily with all the stories that journalists are looking for. Have your press release ready to go. Research the journalist and story online as soon as you receive the email. Tweak the press release so it fits the requirements and you have a direct line to that journalist.

5. Record your book and submit it on Podiobooks.com. You can record your book with a basic plug-in microphone and free software Audacity. At the beginning and end of every podcast you can mention your website and where people can buy the print book. You can use the audio on your blog as a giveaway and network with other podcasters in your niche to get segments on their shows. If you can get people's attention for the hours it will take to listen your book, then you have definitely built a fan base!

These are just some of the tools available to you online for book marketing. Web 2.0 gives the power to the author, but you have to actually use the tools to get the exposure.

You have your book – now let people know about it!

There are many more ideas in the Author 2.0 Blueprint: How to use Web 2.0 tools to write, publish, sell and promote your book: http://budurl.com/tzz8.

New Resource Pages at BookMarket.com

Here are a few of the new pages I've recently added to BookMarket.com:

Group Blog Sites features blogging sites like Huffington Post that host hundreds of authors who blog. If you don't have time to write and market a personal blog, you might want to consider blogging on a group blog: http://www.bookmarket.com/groupblog.htm.

Keyword Search Tools to help you target the right websites to help you sell books: http://www.bookmarket.com/keywords.htm.

Twitter Tools and resources to help you Twitter effectively: http://www.bookmarket.com/twitter.htm.

Video Distribution Sites and services that allow you to post your new videos to dozens of video-sharing websites with just a few clicks: http://www.bookmarket.com/videoautomation.htm.

Blogging Interviews

To promote Personality Not Included, Rohit Bhargava invited fellow bloggers to send him five questions about the book. As part of the offer, he promised that the best interview would win a signed copy of the book and a $100 gift certificate from Amazon. 55 bloggers took him up on his offer.

One blogger, for example, asked for Bhargava's elevator pitch. His response: "Faceless companies don't work anymore. In the social media era, personality matters."

Another asked him if he considered himself a Simon, a Randy, or a Paula (the American Idol judges). He responded, "Definitely Simon, because he's authentic. Authenticity to me means not blowing smoke up people's behind when you think they are stupid."

Still another asked him if the weird little wind-up chickens on the book cover had any significance. Nope. They were simply used to help the book stand out in the business section of bookstores. As Bhargava noted, "Have you seen chickens on any other marketing books?"

In his summary of this effort (http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/ weblog/2008/04/pni-virtual-int.html), Bhargava hinted that next time he did something like this, he'd probably make it easier for the bloggers (and him) by having them ask only 3 questions.

Now, the one thing he did not report was the effect on sales. Yes, he got featured in 55 blogs. Neat. But did he sell any books? I just checked his Amazon rank (17,329 as I write this blog post). For a comparison, here's the Amazon rank for 1001 Ways to Market Your Books (with no blog campaign going on recently): 6,599.



So, while some of the bloggers praised his book marketing campaign, he never reported the key stat: how many books did he sell. Alas.

Now, I liked what he did. You might try it yourself to promote your book. But if you do, please tell me how it affected your book sales. That's the key to marketing books. You must sell books.

An Experiment in Blogging

I'm helping out one of the students in my New York Times Bestseller Program, Mark Joyner of Simpleology.com.

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.


• How to get traffic to your blog.


• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Make Money with Your Blog or Website

WidgetBucks: http://www.widgetbucks.com — Mpire Corporation, 1725 Westlake Avenue N #203, Seattle WA 98109; 206-706-5588; Fax: 866-828-3876. Email: help@widgetbucks.com. Their WidgetBucks widget allows you to feature content from eBay, Best Buy, InfoSpace, BuddyTV, Target, WalMart, WhateverLife, and Amazon and make money from any referrals.

WidgetBucks

The above is just one of the ways you can make money with your blog or website by featuring various ad formats. For a list of more ways — with contact info — see http://www.bookmarket.com/blogads.htm.

Make Money as a Blogger

If you'd like to make money as a blogger or if you would like to advertise on other blogs, check out this new page on my BookMarket.com website: http://www.bookmarket.com/blogads.htm.

Teen Vampires Blog About Their Lives

When Heather Brewer found out that her first novel Eighth Grade Bites would be published on the same day as Adele Griffin's Vampire Island, she sent Adele a message via MySpace.com. They soon met in New York City where they exchanged galleys. As they talked, they decided it would be fun to write a blog from the viewpoints of their vampire characters.

Brewer's Vladimir Tod suffers the typical junior high troubles (girls and bullies) while Griffin's Lexie Livingstone, a human-fruit bat hybrid, tries to keep her superhuman abilities secret while attending school. It wasn't hard for the two authors to imagine their two characters meeting at a summer debate trip to DC.

Their two characters now share a MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/vladandlexie) as well as a blog called Bite Me (http://bite-me-blog.blogspot.com).

Their shared blogging allows the authors to introduce their books to a larger audience. In addition, it could lead to a few new books featuring both characters. Now that's creative blogging!

Blog Tours: An Opportunity Not a Loss

In a Sunday New York Times article on blog tours, Felicia Sullivan, senior online marketing manager for Collins was quoted as saying, “If I had to choose, I’d rather have an author promote themselves online. You can reach at least a few hundred people on a blog, and save time, money and the fear of being a loser when no one shows up to your reading.”

What a sad comment on the possibilities of a blog tour: Do the tour if you don't want to be a loser. Sad. That's not why you should do a blog tour. You should do a tour because it can be an incredible way to reach a targeted audience for your book.

Blog Action Day

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind. In 2007 the issue is the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. The aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

They are looking for bloggers of all nationalities and backgrounds, writing about all topics to join in. By joining this day, you can get your blog to be better known within the blogiverse.

Here’s what you have to do:

Publish on October 15th -- Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.

For example: A blog about money might write about how to save around the home by using environmentally friendly ideas. Similarly a blog about politics might examine what weight environmental policy holds in the political arena.

"Posts do not need to have any specific agenda. They simply need to relate to the larger issue in whatever way suits the blogger and readership. Our aim is not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue on the table for discussion. So write in whatever way suits your readers and your blog, just relate it back to the environment and make sure it goes up on October 15th."

To sign up to join Blog Action Day, go to http://www.blogactionday.org.

Need a Website? Here's a Simple Way

If you're an author and you need a down-and-dirty website fast, then follow Seth Godin's strategy for creating a website in a few hours by linking a blog, a Squidoo lens, and a Flickr collection of photos. He says you can do it all for $60 per year. You can read his blog post at: Seth's post.

But that's by paying Typepad.com $5.00 per month to host your blog. Alternatively, you can host your blog here at Blogger.com. You go to Blogger.com to set up a blog, which is then actually hosted here at blogspot.com. Same company, just different URLs.

You can easily set up a blog here with your name or your book name so it reads something like: http://yourname.blogspot.com. Then go over to Squidoo.com to set up a lens (a web page) about you and/or your book. You could actually set up one lens (page) about you and another about your book. Read Seth's post to find out some of the things you can do with a Squidoo lens.

Finally, go over to Fickr to post some photos of you, your book, you at a booksigning, etc. With a Squidoo lens, you can have your blog syndicated on the page along with your Flickr photos, plus whatever else you want to post to the page.

Again, read Seth's post to get a good idea how to go about all this.

bLaugh Blog Comic

The New Blogger

Wow, Blogger is new and now has lots of the great new Web 2.0 features that a blogging tool should have, including tags (they call them labels), the ability to host the blog on your own website URL, the ability to do more customizing of your blog template, etc.

The feature I like best right now, of course, is the tagging function -- which allows you the readers to find posts related to your interests (if, of course, I tag it correctly). The feature they are missing in this incarnation is the ability for you, the user, to tag my entries as well. Now, that would be a really great feature to allow more people to find the posts that would really interest them.

We'll see what more Google has in plans for Blogger, but the new incarnation is a great beginning.

If you haven't begun a blog yet, you might want to test out Blogger. It's free, and capable.

Note that Blogger blogs are hosted at blogspot.com.