Have you ever participated in a blog hop among writers? Or maybe a blog party, where you visit all the participating bloggers? I love dropping in to blogs during these wordy events. It’s a great way to find new and sparkly writers (and blogs).
Last week, I blog-partied, visiting over thirty blogs, and somewhere around the tenth blog, I had one of those “Isn't this interesting?” moments. I realized that most of the blogs were lacking a name.
Now, I don’t mean the blogs didn't have clever names. In fact, writers are
extremely clever and so I found many blogs with “punny” names. Like “The Write Word for the Job” (which I totally just made up. The writers’ blogs I visited were much more clever than that). What I didn't find on all these clever blogs was a name to identify the writer, a little something something to tell me who was behind all the clever words. Oh, there were occasional “About Me” tabs, but honestly, when you’re flitting from blog to blog, who has time to stop and click on the tabs?
Or maybe that’s just me. The point is, visiting a mystery blog is like…well, it’s like getting a gift with no idea who the sender is. You know how that drives you crazy? A tag with "To: You, From: Guess Who?" When you receive something nice, you want to know who to thank, right? You do
not want to go zipping around here and there, trying to track down the Secret Santa.
Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, eventually, it was more than just my personal pet peeve. Around the halfway mark, I started to feel bad for all these talented bloggers—skillful, funny, madly creative bloggers who were writing their hearts out and not getting the promotional benefits to go along with it. Because see, one of the great perks for writers who participate in a blog hop or a blog party is getting new visitors to the blog. And if those new visitors connect with the blogger, they’ll be back.
So how do you, as a blogger, make that connection? Share a few personal details; give your readers a peek at your personality.
Who’s writing the blog? And throw in other information: social media sites you’re on, or your membership in organizations, or where you've been published.
And put these details on the front page. Sidebars are a great tool for that kind of info, and ready-made info widgets are yours for the taking (and slapping in your sidebar).
Just a little writing tip, sort of my “To: Bloggers, From:
Cathy C. Hall” holiday present. And hey, if you don’t need it, I’m fine with you re-gifting it.
I'm sure you're wondering what exactly is going on in the picture below... Lots of fun stuff I assure you. Deidre and Gena are co-hosting a Steampunk Tea Party to celebrate Deidre's latest Gods of Midnight release, RED DEMON. So grab your petticoats and get over there! Prizes include two winners' choice of signed Gods of Midnight books. Five signed bookplates are alao up for grabs. You can also use the name generator to create your own steampunk moniker and there are links to an interactive etiquette quiz and much more!
As I mentioned the other day, April 29th marks the release date of my latest collaboration with my husband/occasional co-author, Noah Harlan!
Our forthcoming novel, UP OVER DOWN UNDER, is a super special in the SASS (Students Across the Seven Seas) series from Puffin/Speak. To celebrate, we'll be hosting a blog bash RIGHT HERE for the entire week of April 26th!
What that means for you:
Every day from April 26th-April 30th, you can swing by this blog to read interviews with fellow SASS-y authors Linda Gerber, Suzanne Nelson, Michelle Jellen, and Suzanne Supplee! Comment on any of their posts and you're automatically entered to win copies of books from the SASS library, including a copy of the super-edition, natch!
(Check the books out in the above pic -- aren't they cute all lined up in a row? Don't you just want to collect and read them all? Miss Jones thinks you should!)
These uber-sassy authoresses have lots to say on the subject of travel, trekking, and even the occasional travails of on-the-road romantic trauma!
Tell your friends! Read our books! And definitely come party with us!
Holy cow you guys! It's only 2.5 weeks until my blog birthday party! Y'all are coming right?
I really hope so! I know you need to supply your own cake and champagne, but I've been working madly on getting the goody prize bags together for the people who come. I can't wait until the giant bag from one of my favorite stores, tartx, arrives! That's just a small teaser (plus, there will be mountains of books being given away! Including audio books!) I'm hoping that EVERYONE who comes to my virtual party will get something, but I can't say for sure until I see how many people show up.
I'm still trying to decide what to read. I have about 5 books that have come out in the last few months that I haven't read yet! I couldn't wait to get them and I haven't even opened them. Life's been pretty busy lately and these are books that I want to savor, that I want to read slowly in one sitting. But how will I decide which one I read at the party?! Maybe, because it's my party, I can read for more than 5 hours? Hmmmm...
Deidre and Gena Showalter are bringing their KISS & SEDUCE party to The Knight Agency's chat room tomorrow night, Thursday, June 11th @ 9pm ET!! Both ladies will be dishing about their latest releases and can't wait to answer your questions. Of course there will be trivia and fab prizes. Make sure to mark your calendars! Directions for accessing the chat are below:
What: Online Chat with Authors Deidre Knight and Gena Showalter
When: Thursday, June 11th @ 9pm ET
Where: TKA Chat Room
How Do You Chat: Visit the chat room here: http://client1.addonchat.com/sc.php?id=115545. Enter a username and password (this can be any combination). Your computer must be Java enabled to chat.
Deidre and Gena are on Day Two of their week-long KISS & SEDUCE blog party! Today it's the white sandy beaches of The French Riviera. Take a break and join them for a sunbathing session while "Cabana Boy" refills your champagne glass. And, of course, they are giving away more books! So if you didn't win yesterday, try your luck again... See you there! Click here to enter the party: http://www.genashowalter.blogspot.com/
Deidre Knight & Gena Showalter are celebrating Deidre's new release, RED KISS, and Gena's upcoming release, SEDUCE THE DARKNESS, in sunny Jamaica today...well virtually speaking. LOL. Take a break from your hectic Monday and join them by the pool for a sip of rum punch and a few beefcake sightings :)! Leave a comment and possibly win FREE BOOKS from Deidre and Gena. They're partying all week long -- so check back often! Who knows where they'll end up next!
Kyle Kingsbury lives in New York City and has got it all; looks, money, popularity, and also a very pompous attitude towards life. However, Kyle’s perfect world slowly crumbles after Kendra, the weird goth girl, puts a curse on him after he plays a nasty trick on her. In a matter of days Kyle is transformed into a Beast not quite like any animal, but a monster with fur, fangs, and claws. After his transformation Kendra appears in a mysterious mirror left in Kyle’s room. Kendra tells Kyle that she’s really a witch and that in order to break the curse he has two years to find true love. If he fails he will be a Beast forever. At first Kyle doesn’t believe Kendra, and with his father’s help he searches the world for a cure, with no results. Ashamed of Kyle’s appearance his father locks him away in a brownstone in Brooklyn with a maid and a blind tutor. Ironically, the longer Kyle stays a Beast the more human he becomes. He learns to be more empathetic towards others, and even finds beauty in a mousy girl whom he wouldn’t have looked twice at before. However, will that be enough to help him find true love?
Flinn has a knack for writing an urban fairytale with so much wit, humor, and romance that you’ll keep on reading, even though you know what’s going to happen in the end. I was also delighted to find a brief history of the “Beast” fairytale in the back, which will be helpful for readers who are not fairytale aficionados.
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Good post, Cathy! I have a bit about me on the sidebar, right at the top, and then I have an About Me tab for the longer version. :)
Geez, I must be egocentric. I put my name right by there in the title: "Margo Dill's Read These Books and Use Them." OR maybe, according to you Cathy, I am just smart. Yes, let's go with that! :)
Me, too, Madeline! I have my pic as well, but that's an extra frill.;-) I just really like to have a name when I go to a blog--and I think it's great branding for the blogger/writer.
So yes, Margo, your name in the title is a BRILLIANT idea! (And why I call my blog "Cathy C. Hall"--guess you can't get any more egocentric than that!!!) :-)
My blog/website address is my name, too and I sign every post with my name and books I'm the author of as links to where you can buy them. I often comment on others sites with just the text of my name and book titles too. Though I don't want to take away from other blogs I want to be sure they know who I am if they love my reply.
It's true, writers are not marketers by trade but by force and some are still not catching that wave it seems.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland author of Arm Farm, Sending You Sammy and Brain Tales – Volume One