Archives for July 2014

Hidden Gems: Google+ Hashtags

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Google+-Hashtags

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If you are a long-time reader of this blog you might have realized that I am a big fan of Google+ – or GooglePlus – however you want to write it.  And I am not the only fan of this Social Media site, more than a billion other people signed up and it won’t take long until Facebook is a thing of the past.  At least for professionals who realized how important their Google Search Engine ranking is.  Now let’s look at one of the most interesting features Google+ has to offer:

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#Hashtags
Do you know of any Social Media site that creates custom #hashtags for you? Well, Google+ does!
And they do even more: when starting to type a #hashtag, Google kicks in and offers in a drop-down menue with suggested hashtags starting with the letters you have typed so far. Isn’t that fantastic?
And the best is: these #hashtags offered by Google+ are significant to their search engine ranking.  If you add your own hashtags to a post, Google+ will display up to three of them in the upper right corner of your Google+ post.  Initially, one is visible, but hovering your mouse over that one will show readers the other two #hashtags.  Google+ users create in fact a #hashtag database and help establish what tags will be related. In a way it is up to Google+ users what’s relevant on Google’s search engine ranking.

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Forgot to Place #Hashtags?
No problem: If your post has a large amount of text, Google+ will often find main keywords within your text and convert them into #hashtags, which are visible at the upper right of your post, just as your own #hashtags would be.

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Google’s Search Algorithm
It determined in the past which pages should rank the highest, but now with implementing these #hashtags, Google added a “self-learning” aspect into its algorithm. How to find out what’s trending on Google+ go to “Explore Google”. See a short YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAMrGAU0Jsw. Another YouTube video http://youtu.be/19BKS_hHKYY explains in details what #hashtags are about.
If you want to improve your ranking on Google’s Search Engines even more, use these #hashtags.  As a savvy writer you have already a Google+ account and you might have it connected with Twitter – which saves you a lot of time.  Let’s meet on GooglePlus: http://bit.ly/19PrQAz
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Read more about using Google+:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2013/11/07/hummingbird-hashtags-keeping-google-plus-content-strategy-alive/

http://www.googleplusdaily.com/2014/03/hashtags-on-google.html

http://www.gplusexpertise.com/2013/09/how-to-use-hashtags-on-google.html

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Google's Search Algorithm, Google+ creates custom #hashtags for you, Google+ hashtags, GooglePlus, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Social Media topics

Benefit of Writing Contests and Book Awards

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Writing-Contests

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How to Get More Readers from an Award
Publicity around a book award will boost your book sales. Contests are a great way to hone your craft and show the world how much better you are than other writers. Winning a book award for your self-published fiction or nonfiction book is a great way to gain recognition and approval. You will not only see an increase your book sales – if you market it well, you also can add the award sticker to your cover and mention the achievement on your back cover, in your books’ description, and in all your marketing and promotions – online or offline. Most awards call for entries every year, so if the competition is closed for this year, mark your calender for next years’ contest call.

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Here are a few of the most popular book contests:

http://www.narrativemagazine.com/node/249923

http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipland/ipawards.php (IPPY awards)

http://www.usabooknews.com/2014usabestbookawards.html

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/nonfiction/

http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/selfpublished

http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/

http://readersfavorite.com/annual-book-award-contest.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/shortstory/index.html

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/poetry/index.html

http://indiereader.com/the-indiereader-discovery-awards-welcome/

https://www.createspace.com/abna?ref=478921&utm_id=5969

http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/writers-digest-self-published-ebook-awards

http://www.forewordreviews.com/services/book-awards/botya/

http://www.thefolioprize.com/

More awards can be found at http://www.pw.org/grants

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Writer Beware
Before you click on “accept” when applying, or pay any money: carefully read the small print, and avoid giving your rights away for free. There are hundreds of options that range from scams to high level and great exposure. Submission fees are from $25 to $250. Enter any book award contest only after careful consideration and review of its reputation. Google the awards name. You sometimes might be surprised … I ommited two links here in this article after reading about complaints.
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How Will You Market Your Award?
Having written or published an “Award Winning Book,” selected from a hundred or more competing titles by an experienced, professional team of judges gives your book the seal of excellence. Winning the award is one thing, but marketing the fact that your book has been choosen among hundreds of others is equally important. Have a plan how you can spread the word about your award-winning book, also outside of Social Media. Add it to your email signature. Post a press release and write a blog post about it. Create a guest post about your experience, with tips for other writers. Do as many book signings as possible, accompanied by a huge poster of your award. Offer your work to book clubs, mentioning your award.

What has your experience been with book contests and awards?

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate


Tagged: Benjamin Franklin award, Book awards, how to find writing contests, IPPY awards, most popular book contests, pw.org, Writers Digest, Writing Contests

Did You Write a Kindle Single?

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Kindle-Single

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Many writers have taken a strong 70-page idea and stretched it into a weak 300-page book because that was what the industry demanded. Amazon gave short formats – Singles – an identity.
Any writer can approach Amazon directly, as Stephen King, a prominent author, did with Guns,  a nonfiction essay too long, at 8,000 words, for most newspapers or magazines. Another hit was his Single Mile 81, a top seller.

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Amazon’s Sub-Store
In January 2011, Amazon launched a sub-store on its US website to sell something it called a “Kindle Single” : “Compelling Ideas Expressed At Their Natural Length”, as they call it. The internet giant Amazon pays 70% royalties, for Singles priced between 99 cents and $4.99. “Typically between 5,000 and 30,000 words, Kindle Singles are editorially curated and showcase writing from both new and established voices – from bestselling novelists and journalists to previously unpublished writers.”

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The Guardian explained:
“It may not sound like a call to revolution. But Kindle Singles are. Writers can seldom express ideas “at their natural length”, because in the world of traditional print only a few lengths are commercially viable. Write too long, and you’ll be told to cut it (as Stephen King was when The Stand came in too long to be bound in paperback). Worse, write too short, and you won’t get published at all. Your perfect story is 50 pages long – or 70, or 100?  Good luck getting that printed anywhere.  Commercial print publishers have never liked novellas or novelettes, authors always have. Indeed, many writers have done their best work at that length, despite the difficulty of finding publication.  Hence the revolution.  Because the new length exploits this hole in traditional publishing.”

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How Much Do Kindle Single Authors Earn?
The top-ten list of bestselling Kindle Singles includes a number of big-name writers. But how is the format working for writers who don’t have the brand of a Stephen King or Jodi Picoult? Gigaom.com offers well-researched insights from their interviews:

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Author: Oliver Broudy

Bio: Former managing editor of the Paris Review; writer for Men’s Health
Kindle Singles: “The Saint,” $1.99 (3/2011), “The Codex,” $1.99 (10/2011)
Sales: “The Saint”: 41,826 copies, “The Codex”: 5,009 copies (both figures through January 2012)
Estimated royalties ([price * number of copies sold] * 0.70): $65,241.16

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Author: Frank D. Gilroy
Bio: Author of the 1965 play “The Subject Was Roses,” which won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award
Kindle Single: “Lake,” $1.99 (11/2011)
Sales: 12,500 as of February 2012
Estimated royalties ([price * number of copies sold] * 0.70): $17,412.50

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Author: Mishka Shubaly
Bio: Musician; bassist for The Freshkills
Kindle Singles: “Shipwrecked,” $1.99 (4/2011), “The Long Run,” $1.99 (10/2011), “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” $1.99 (3/2012). “The Long Run” is the ninth-bestselling Kindle Single overall, by units.
Sales: “Shipwrecked”: 21,024 copies, “The Long Run”: 60,567 copies, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”: 11,406 copies.
Estimated royalties ([price * number of copies sold] * 0.70): $129,544.82

Read the whole story by Laura Hazard Owen in her post: “Exclusive: How Much Do Kindle Singles Authors Make?”

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If You Want to Have Your Single Published
Amazon criteria’s – Submission Policies – are:
• Original work, not previously published in other formats or publications
• Self-contained work, not chapters excerpted from a longer work
• Not published on any public website in its entirety
• Currently not accepting how-to manuals, public domain works, reference books, travel guides, or children’s books
“A Kindle Single can be on any topic. So far we’ve posted fiction, essays, memoirs, reporting, personal narratives, and profiles, and we’re expanding our selection every week. We’re looking for high-quality writing, fresh and original ideas, and well-executed stories in all genres and subjects. You also can write to our editors at kindle-singles@amazon.com”
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The latest Kindle Single Bestsellers in a variety of genres can be found at Amazon’s “Singled Out” page.
If you are an author and already published a Single at Amazon, let us know about your experience and success.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate


Tagged: Earning of Writers, Frank D. Gilroy, how much can you make with Kindle Singles?, Kindle Single, Mishka Shubaly, Oliver Broudy, Stephen King, top-ten list of bestselling Kindle Singles

The Party is Over for Authors – Really?

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Champagne-for-all

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Aaron Shepard Wrote a Blog: The Party is Over.
“Amazon has been touted as fostering a thriving culture of self publishing with its level playing field for online sales and its promotion of new reading and publishing technologies, particularly the Kindle. Well, much of that is valid. Amazon has made self publishing more and more accessible to writers and for many years supported a good number of them with sales. But with the Kindle, Amazon has also commercialized books to the point that fewer and fewer self publishers can make a living from them.”
“Print-on-Demand (POD) books provided a handsome profit margin even at reasonable prices. But Kindle books, with their lower prices, have decimated POD sales. Meanwhile, Kindle customers expect more and more for the low prices they pay. Many feel cheated if they spend 99 cents or even less on a book that isn’t “full-length.”  And the flood of easily-published books makes it harder and harder for individual ones to stand out—a problem that can only worsen with time.”  Read more on his website.

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A Numbers Game
Nothing fundamental about the process or the business has changed. It’s purely a numbers game. More and more people are attempting to make a living from self-publishing, and that increases the amount of poor products that will never sell well.  Fewer people making a living at it, in comparison to the total number of people attempting it.  A relatively fixed amount of consumer dollars is being spread over a continually increasing number of books.

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Make a Back List of Books First, then Profit!
Too many books and articles with sensational articles have touted the fast, easy money-making opportunity with books / e-books. Sure, it is easy to put your self published work out there – although the process to reach that point and to promote it is hard work – but there is only a finite amount of readers. The best way into a writing career is to build up a back list of books first before seeing enough profits to make a living.  Every book (and also every article / blog / guest blog a writer releases, will increase their return and boosts their portfolio exposure.

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Compare Publishing with a Marriage
You can see it also philosophically: Writing is like a marriage. If you want to get into it solely for the potential monetary payoff, you will probably fail. But if you get into it with your eyes open, and with reasonable expectations, you will probably get a payoff in personal satisfaction.  And in regards of publishing, you might even make some decent money along the way.

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What’s a Writer to Do?
It feels like every other boom we have seen in tech: The Get-Rich-Quicker’s show up, make a lot of noise, get discouraged and declare the party over. One needs to see the reality: There is no successful business that doesn’t constantly create new products – books. And there is no success if no one knows of your products – books. Can you imagine Apple still selling their PowerBooks, and has not invented iPods, iPads or iPhones? And has not created fantastic public launches, nor established their Apple Stores? The company would be already bankrupt, and their party would be over…

The proportion of people who write well – and who are professionally self-publishing and marketing their books well in order to succeed – probably hasn’t changed. Many authors think, writing a book is enough “if you write it, people will buy it”.  But that’s not how it works…  Compare it with a retail business: Setting up a shop with only one single product and don’t market this product will not even bring a handfull of customers. Everyone would agree that this is silly. But some authors do the same in their publishing “business”. It is a long road for author-publishers from having no readers at all, being on ground zero, to start a small base and grow it to a large readership. It takes lots of time and effort to connect with a sufficient reader bases in order to make a living. And it cannot be based on Social Media only, an author’s writing should show up at blogs, guest posts, at newspapers, magazines, through book signings, readings, radio and TV interviews and maybe even speeches. Not to mention lots of reviews from reputable places.

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No Reason for Arrogance
I have heard it too often: “I like writing, but hate to go out in the public and market my book”. “I can post on Social Media, but I am a shy writer, or I am not going to do any book signings”. Compare it with a party guest who doesn’t talk with others, who doesn’t try the delicious buffet or doesn’t listen to music or dance … these is the equivalent to authors who go to the big “publishing party”, without really participating, not being interested to talk with other guests, expecting the whole audience accommodates them (and is buying their books).

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Conclusion:
The party is NOT over at all, it just has gotten more guests. To compete with millions of other writers means for writers to create lots of new books and to market them professionally. If not trained in book marketing – and I am not talking about just having a presence on Facebook or Twitter – then get professional help long BEFORE the book launch (even better before you write it) in order to have a smooth and successful publishing experience and to establish a great author platform. And for the writing part: there are hundreds of websites with writing tips, critique groups and even more writing teachers and classes out there. And even from editors one can learn a lot.
Yes, new authors will likely find it necessary to work harder than ever before. This isn’t the industry for people who expect a quick profit, or who think their single novel is going to make them rich or they can make a living from the first book on.

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More About This Topic:

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/06/15/want-to-write-for-glory-or-for-money/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/free-brilliant-book-marketing-to-a-million-audience/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/how-much-do-self-publishing-authors-earn/

 

 

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate


Tagged: Aaron Shepard, how to professionally publish a book, Kindle publishing, self-publishing boom, The Party is Over

The Magic of Keywords for Your Success

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Magic-of-Keywords

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Did you ever wonder why almost identical blog articles or books get different amounts of readers / popularity? If topics and quality of the content are comparable, then the reason is almost always the “right keywords” – or their lack of.

Don’t expect that only building high-quality web pages that offer a valuable user experience, invites Google’s Search Engines to discover your pages, and reward them with volumes of traffic. No, that’s not how it works!

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Keywords are the Kings of Internet Search
Using the right keywords is not only important for blogs and websites, but also for shopping sites, such as eBay or Amazon, looking for a job or hiring people, and posting and sharing photos. Everything you publish should be relevant to what people want when searching the web.
Focus your content on what people are searching for!

What words or phrases do people use to search for the topics you love to write about?  Don’t wonder why your traffic still isn’t climbing even though your writing style, quality and blog design are exceptional. The worst mistake is to ignore the keyword research and failing to use those words in your posts!
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How to Find the Right Keywords
Here are some examples of free keyword tools:

Google’s Keyword Planner
You must have an AdWords account (FREE) to access it. This Google Keyword Planner will show you statistics, such as average monthly searches, competition level (high, medium, or low), the average cost per click, and more. However, it doesn’t give you exact keyword suggestions, but suggests more synonyms and variations than many other tools available. To find it, go to your Tools and Analysis tab at your AdWords account.
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Wordstream
Enter a keyword to get profitable keyword suggestions from their FREE Keyword Tool. Wordstream has over a Trillion Keywords in their database, so try using long-tail keywords like ‘buy xbox 360′ to see exactly how people search for a particular topic.
Frank Watson from Search Engine Watch: “WordStream has launched a free keyword research tool that is better than Google’s limited one.”
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KeyWord Density Analyzer
Don’t spam your content with the same keywords. Five times is the absolute maximum for the same word. I once was offered a guest blog and found 39 times the same keyword within 700 words of content. Would I have used this text on our blog I would have gotten in trouble with Google’s spam policy, and maybe even lost our great ranking on Alexa.com.
This FREE KeyWord Density Analyzer helps you to discover spamming. Just type in your blog or website link and receive the word analysis of your content.
WordPress.com and Blogspot.com bloggers, as well as users of Bit.ly can easily see the words that readers used to find their blog or website, and conclude which search words are the most popular at the moment.
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Start right away and find out what keywords to target for each page on your website, blog or for your book description. The goal is to create an optimized page for search engines. You can do this by including the right keywords throughout your content, in your title tags as well as meta descriptions and ALT image attributes.  The right keywords are the foundation of your writing success!
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More sources:
http://www.seonick.net/keyword-research/

http://backlinko.com/keyword-research

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/3-free-seo-tools-for-identifying-target-keywords/61552/

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/22842/4-Helpful-Tools-for-Identifying-the-Right-Keywords.aspx

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate


Tagged: Google Keyword finder, Keyword Density Analyzer, Keyword finding

The Magic of Keywords for Your Success

.
Magic-of-Keywords

.

Did you ever wonder why almost identical blog articles or books get different amounts of readers / popularity? If topics and quality of the content are comparable, then it is almost always the right keywords – or their lack of.

Don’t expect that only building high-quality web pages that offer a valuable user experience, invites Google’s Search Engines to discover your pages, and reward them with volumes of traffic. No, that’s not how it works!

.

Keywords are the Kings of Internet Search
Using the right keywords is not only important for blogs and websites, but also for shopping sites, such as eBay or Amazon, looking for a job or hiring people, and posting and sharing photos. Everything you publish should be relevant to what people want when searching the web.
Focus your content on what people are searching for!

The worst mistake is to ignore the keyword research and failing to use those words in your posts!  What words or phrases do people use to search for the topics you love to write about?  Don’t wonder why your traffic still isn’t climbing even though your writing style, quality and blog design are exceptional.
.

How to Find the Right Keywords
Here are some examples of free keyword tools:

Google’s Keyword Planner
You must have an AdWords account (FREE) to access it. This Google Keyword Planner will show you statistics, such as average monthly searches, competition level (high, medium, or low), the average cost per click, and more. However, it doesn’t give you exact keyword suggestions, but suggests more synonyms and variations than many other tools available. To find it, go to your Tools and Analysis tab at your AdWords account.
.

Wordstream
Enter a keyword to get profitable keyword suggestions from their FREE Keyword Tool. Wordstream has over a Trillion Keywords in their database, so try using long-tail keywords like ‘buy xbox 360′ to see exactly how people search for a particular topic.
Frank Watson from Search Engine Watch: “WordStream has launched a free keyword research tool that is better than Google’s limited one.”
.

KeyWord Density Analyzer
Don’t spam your content with the same keywords. Five times is the absolute maximum for the same word. I once was offered a guest blog and found 39 times the same keyword within 700 words of content. Would I have used this text on our blog I would have gotten in trouble with Google’s spam policy, and maybe even lost our great ranking on Alexa.com.
This FREE KeyWord Density Analyzer helps you to discover spamming. Just type in your blog or website link and receive the word analysis of your content.
WordPress.com and Blogspot.com bloggers, as well as users of Bit.ly can easily see the words that readers used to find their blog or website, and conclude which search words are the most popular at the moment.
.

Start right away and find out what keywords to target for each page on your website, blog or for your book description. The goal is to create an optimized page for search engines. You can do this by including the right keywords throughout your content, in your title tags as well as meta descriptions and ALT image attributes.  The right keywords are the foundation of your writing success!
.

More sources:
http://www.seonick.net/keyword-research/

http://backlinko.com/keyword-research

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/3-free-seo-tools-for-identifying-target-keywords/61552/

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/22842/4-Helpful-Tools-for-Identifying-the-Right-Keywords.aspx

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<><><><><>

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate


Tagged: Google Keyword finder, Keyword Density Analyzer, Keyword finding

All-You-Can-Read Kindle E-book Subscriptions

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Kindle-Unlimited

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Just hours after I wrote about an upcoming rental service it is now officially announced by Amazon…
Amazon is offering an e-book rental service: “Kindle Unlimited”. The “all-you-can-read” book service will cost $9.99 per month. Amazon’s big advantage here: they are offering nearly 8,000 titles in Audio-book format and over 600,000 book titles. The current Kindle Owner’s Lending Library has a one-book-per-month cap, so this could be an option for Prime users who want more access.

Lots of Competition Already 
Amazon certainly enters a crowded field and will have to compete with Scribd and Oyster. Scribd, which launched a book subscription service last October, charges $8.99 for access to best-sellers, classic books and new releases from bigger trade publishers. They have 80 million users and offer works from 900 publishers. They allow users to contribute works.
Oyster boasts access for $9.95 to more than 500,000 books, but the majority of those titles come from self-publishing service companies, such as Smashwords.

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How Much will Authors Receive?
Amazon’s official announcement for writers/publishers:  “KDP authors and publishers who enroll their books with U.S. rights in KDP Select are automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Inclusion in Kindle Unlimited can help drive discovery of your book, and when your book is accessed and read past 10% you will earn a share of the KDP Select global fund. For the month of July we have added $800,000 to the KDP Select global fund bringing the total to $2 million.

KDP Select is an optional program that makes your book exclusive to Kindle and eligible for the following benefits:

  • Reach more readers – With each 90-day enrollment period, your book will appear in Kindle Unlimited in the U.S. and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan which can help readers discover your book.
  • Earn more money – When your book is selected and read past 10% from Kindle Unlimited or borrowed from KOLL, you’ll earn your share of the monthly KDP Select Global Fund. You can also earn a 70% royalty for sales to customers in Japan, Brazil, India, and Mexico.
  • Maximize your sales potential – Choose from two promotional tools including: Kindle Countdown Deals, time-bound promotional discounts for your book, available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, while earning royalties; or Free Book Promotion, where readers can get your book free for a limited time.

Gigaom.com explains:  “If you’re a self-published author participating in KDP Select, however, it looks as if your book can be included without your explicit permission simply under the terms and conditions you already agreed to: According to one poster on the Kindle Boards, “Books in Select will automatically be enrolled. Like the KOLL you won’t be able to opt-out if you’re in Select.  You will be payed [sic] if you someone reads 10% or more of your book. The payment will come out of the same KOLL fund, just as if it was a borrow.” That “same KOLL fund” is a set pool of money from which self-published authors are paid each time their book is borrowed.”

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Author-publishers have an advantage: Amazon doesn’t have any books from the so-called “Big Five” publishers: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Hatchette. Some of these big houses have agreements with Oyster, as well as Scribd, and are likely not cooperating with Amazon’s new service.  Read also Joe Wikerts‘ commenting blog post on this.
Amazon seems to become the 21st century’s digital library.  “Kindle Unlimited” could completely change the market.  Why purchase individual e-Books or bulky physical copies when you can read hundreds of thousands of books for just $9.99?

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Also Available: “Kindle FreeTime Unlimited” for Children
Amazon already offers a and-curated subscription of kid-safe apps, books and videos. They explain on their website:
“Kindle ‘FreeTime Unlimited’ is the first-ever all-in-one subscription that brings together all the types of content that kids and parents love – books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows. With unlimited access to thousands of hand-picked titles for kids ages 3-8, parents don’t have to spend time (and money) guessing what their kids will enjoy, and kids can explore a world of age-appropriate content on their own – NO ads, NO in-app purchases.”
“Kindle FreeTime Unlimited gives kids the freedom to choose from thousands of the most popular books, games, apps, and shows for hours of fun and learning. Unlimited access starts at just $4.99 per month, with special pricing for Amazon Prime members from $2.99 per month.”

Screen Limits
“Many parents choose to limit their child’s screen time, but doing so without the proper tools is difficult. With Kindle FreeTime, parents can set daily limits, or restrict certain categories – like games and video – while leaving unlimited time for reading. In Kindle “FreeTime” mode, web browsing and purchasing content are also disabled.”
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Amazon Kindle Unlimited, audio-book lending, e-book lending, Kindle FreeTime Unlimited for Children, Oyster, Scribd, Spotify, unlimited book lending for $9.99 per month

Are You Blogging or Writing an Online Diary?

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Blog-Writing

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Readers are always curious to find out more about an author, or to see more of her or his writing.  What would a book lover expect when visiting their favored writers pages? An author bio, background stories to the book(s), maybe something about the writing and publishing process, news about upcoming books and a sneak peek (maybe even a chapter) into the next one, even a prequel or a link to a prequel. Visit blogs or website logs from famous writers and you see often great blog examples

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Blog or Diary?
A diary “offers the potential to reveal a fully fledged identity, one with hopes, doubts, petty occupations and grand aspirations.  In contrast to a diary, the blog is conscious of its readers from the outset: testimonies, commentaries, journalism … are components of a blog. Blog posts are an important part of an author’s platform, it will improve your Google ranking, they are material to tweet and post about and are the gateway to more readers and customers.

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Professional Writing
Keep in mind that not only your readers find your blog posts, but also literary agents and publishers, as well as potential business partners. Being in a profession (of writing) requires a business-like blog, not a diary where you talk about your feelings and your daily occurrences.  Readers want to read about your book or writing, not who came on Sunday for dinner, your shopping experiences at a mall or your menopause.

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Blog Post Like A Professional
In a great article, Reginal Chan gives valuable advises, read the whole post to learn more:

  • Before you start drafting your blog, you need to have a great plan in mind:
  • Why you are writing this blog?
  • Knowing the reasons why readers are coming to your blog
  • How you can attract potential readers to your blog
  • What can you do to ensure they stay longer on your blog
  • How to market your writings and further increase the blog traffic

And Don’t Forget:

  • Preparing a killer title and excerpt
  • Content is King!
  • Use videos, images, slides etc. – just everything visual
  • Quote people
  • State resources
  • Call to action

Stephen King advised in an interview: 
“Jot down a list of blog topics you could write about. Circle the ones at least 80% of your readers would find irresistible. Write about those topics and nothing else. Simple, but it takes discipline. The better you become at cultivating that discipline, the more popular your writing will become. If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
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Author Jon Morrow comments:
Of course, most bloggers do neither. We start a blog, squeeze in the occasional post, between going to the gym and picking up take-out, and then expect it to somehow lead to fame and fortune.
Sorry, but that’s not how it works. Every popular blogger I know reads at least one book every week and writes at least 1,000 words every day. Yes, it’s a lot, but success comes at a price, folks. Are you willing to pay it?

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: a blog is not a diary, Author Jon Morrow, Blogs of famous writers, professional blog posting, Stephen King quotes

Who are Your Readers – and Your Competition?

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study-your-competition

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Authors often do very little research to really understand who their potential audience is – or could be.  Asking them: “Who is your audience and who is your competition?” one might receive only vague answers …  However, these are essential questions that are not only very important for self-publishers, but also for authors who want to go with a traditional publisher!  They need to proof to the agent or the publisher that they have done their homework.
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How Can You Research Your Competition?
First of all make a long list with possible keywords that readers might use to find a similar book.
Check out the complete categories / genres at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, Apple, Sony, Google Books, Waterstones etc. and study all the books, that could be akin to your future work. Visit several public libraries to learn about your competition. Borrow the most interesting ones, not only to read them, but also to study the book layout and design. Read the online reviews of their books carefully!

  • How many books of this topic / with the same keywords have been published already?
  • Where are these books sold and for which price?
  • In which format are they offered: e-book, print, audio-book?
  • Who are the customers of these competing books?
  • How are these books received and which ones are bestselling?
  • Which categories did they choose, and which keywords?
  • In which categories / genres are these competitive books listed?
  • What cover designs have been chosen for these books?
  • Which author represent him/herself and their book the best – via their Amazon and Goodreads author page, and on their website or blog?.
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Don’t Give Up!
Bestseller authors often need years and years to build up their audience, so it is surprising, that authors dream of their first book as a potential bestseller, and don’t realize that it takes a long time and hard work to get an audience, one reader at a time – especially if they did not do the ground work to build a huge following at Social Media, in reader forums or in real-life before they start publishing.

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Author-Publishing is Like a Completely New Profession
And professions need to be learned! It takes years to become an excellent writer and it also takes years to become an excellent publisher. It involves lots of skills and knowledge business-wise, marketing skills, not to mention, learning constantly new internet techniques and get to know the latest changes in publishing. Many authors have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the time required for effective book promotion and to make meaningful connections with readers. They expect wonders from a single sales campaign.
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Take Advantage of their Knowledge
A book marketing professional has to learn years and years. Why, as an author, not take advantage of their knowledge to keep your head free for writing and interacting with your readers? No one would start an accounting business without learning the ropes, and knowing how to create a revenue / expenses sheet or fill out income tax forms. Writing a book does not make for a publisher, no matter how clever businesses want you to imagine. Take the time to build your author platform and establish a brand, it will eventually give you an advantage in the market.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: author competition, author publishing requires marketing skills, research for your novel, research your competition, self-publishing, show publishers that you know your competition

5 Google+ Tips for Advanced Users

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GooglePlus

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Before I even joined Twitter, GooglePlus (Google+) was my first Social Media Network of choice. I loved the beautiful images and videos that appeared on my timeline. And I steel a couple of minutes every day to scroll down and share, or at least place a “plus sign”, on interesting posts.  Google+ has now the title of being the world’s second largest social network. It’s a non-brainer to use the many benefits for authors and publishers. And don’t forget the thousands of Google+ communities where you can place your post directly to your favorite audience. Here are five tips how to improve your success with GooglePlus.
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1. Curate Good Content – Share it!
Most users do not create enough of their own content to be active daily on Google+. By sharing other people’s content, you can effectively engage and inspire your followers. Google’s +1 button is used 5 million times a day, according to stats from Huffington Post. Sharing other posts and writing a short comment, will also show up on Google’s Search Engine, and consequently improving your Search Engine Ranking (SEO).

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2. Have Lots of Images – Less Links
Google+ is a visual social network. Posts with with a message and an uploaded image or video will get much higher engagement than shared links.

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3. Tag Other People’s Posts or Share Them
By adding a “+” symbol in front of page names, your exposure on Google Search engines increases as well as this with readers, bloggers, reviewers and your supporters. You will find a strong increase of new followers over time too.  Do check regularly your Google+ notifications, found at this little bell symbol on top of your Google+ page.

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4. Regularly Check Your Google+ Statistics at “Page Insights”.
Want to know when your page was visited most, from which country your visitors came from, or their gender and age? Google+ Insights will help you to find out what kind of content your followers engage with most, as well as their demographics. Insights offers you statistical information about how your target customers are engaging with your business on Google. In order to access this information, your business must have a verified local page. In an article, Search Engine Journal lists these useful features:

  • New followers on your Google+ page
  • +1 clicks on your posts, the number of re-shares your posts got from your Google+ page
  • The number of comments your post received from your Google + page
  • The number of times people clicked on Maps to get more info about your business location
  • The number of clicks received to get info on driving directions
  • The number of clicks to your website through local search results

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5. Connect Your YouTube With Your Google+ Page
Currently in Beta, YouTube just announced the ability to merge your YouTube channel with your Google+ page. How it works is in detail, even with screenshots, described in an article from NPtechforgood.com:

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Step 1: Click on your profile photo, go to your YouTube Settings > Advanced.
Step 2: Select “Connect with a Google+ page”.
Step 3: Select your Google+ page.
Step 4: Confirm that you want to merge your channel and your Google+ page.
Step 5: Note the new YouTube tab on your Google+ page.
Step 6: Select “Use YouTube as ….
Step 7: Note the integration of of your Google+ page inside your YouTube channel.
More tips how it works can be found on Google’s help site.

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Google+ Benefits
According to the Digital Buzz and Huffington Post statistics, more than 625,000 People join Google+ EVERY DAY. There were over 500 million users on Google Plus in 2013 and the numbers are growing strong. Get a long list of benefits for Google+ users on Binkd.com.  For me personally the best reason to be on Google+ (beside the fun reading my timeline) is that Google Plus influences Search Rankings – a lot!!!  What is Your reason to be on GooglePlus?

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,070 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Binkd.com, Digital Buzz, GooglePlus tips, Huffington Post Statistics, NPtechforgood.com, reasons to join Google+, Search Engine Journal, why you should be on Google+