Sharon 's personal annotations on this page
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there is a way that you can raise your profile quickly and start to get the word out about your writing skills. Here are some of the ways to build your own buzz.
This link has been bookmarked by 2 people . It was first bookmarked on 26 Sep 2007, by Sharon.
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- write great content
- claim it at Technorati
- burn a feed with Feedburner
- submit it to writing directories
- start talking to other writers on their blogs
- respond to all comments on your blog
- link to your blog in your email signature
Get A Blog
First of all get a blog. I used to advocate getting a website, but getting and maintaining a blog is even better, because blogs are indexed quickly in the search engines. If you use Wordpress, you can create static pages with links to your bio and clips, while using the blog as a place to showcase your writing.
Promote Your Blog
Getting a blog is just the first step. Once you have got your blog, you need to:
Since your blog is a showcase for your writing work, only include content that you are happy for everyone to see and that will enhance your professional image. I depart from this on my creative writing and fun blogs, but on this blog, I try to keep it focused. Even on those blogs, I assume that when people search for me they will find them, so I try not to upload anything I would be ashamed of or regret.
Bookmark Your Blog
Your next step is to delve into social bookmarking and social networking. This involves joining sites like delicious, blinklist, facebook and myspace, among others and bookmarking your content and other web content that you find interesting. StumbleUpon is an excellent source of traffic, so make sure that you encourage your visitors to Stumble your posts. The social aspect of these sites is important. People will usually review your site or send you a comment; return the favour and you’ve taken the first step in building a fan base which will read and promote your stuff.
Get Social
In addition to submitting your blog to directories, consider joining MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. Both of these will bring a new audience for your writing. Use some of your best blog posts to create a Squidoo lens with links back to your blog and portfolio. Join forums related to writing, post occasionally and comment often. This is all part of building your online reputation. (I have to admit that forums are my weak point; I never seem to find the time to visit and post regularly).
All of this stuff works. I didn’t set out to do any of it deliberately. A couple of years ago I started a blog, then I started another one. Through the second one, I met people who liked my writing, put me in contact with people who needed to hire writers,
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there is a way that you can raise your profile quickly and start to get the word out about your writing skills. Here are some of the ways to build your own buzz.
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