We’ve been discussing ways to increase buzz (pun intended) and help first novels (like mine) gain attention and visibility. I was over on Jennifer AlLee’s blog, This, That and the Other Thing, to catch Joyce Magnin’s interview for The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow, and I was impressed at how smooth, web-savvy and like-a-website Jennifer’s blog appears. It’s been said that today’s author can choose to go with only a blog and have most of the tools available that a web page provides. Jennifer’s blog is a good example of a blog bearing the load quite well. The colors are inviting, the layout spacious and easy to read and a lot of info is posted there without feeling busy. She’s got that Queen Bee thing going on.
Writing Tip for Today: Maintaining and updating your web presence is a lot like attracting bees (readers). You want to be sweet(have a pleasant interface), fragrant (be friendly and open) and full of pollen (info a bee can use). Keep learning about the latest web marketing trends by being willing to frequent other blogs and sites. Leave a comment and trackback. Adopt the best ideas into your own blog/site. A new blog’s biggest challenge is visibility–if you write it they don’t automatically come. You’ll need to spend some time “cross-pollinating” your offering with others who are already visited by swarms of bees. Get bzzzzzy.