Writers in the Storm

Penny Sansevieri

 

Have you ever wanted to engage with popular blogs and people in the book biz? Following publishing experts and influencers on social media is not enough—you need to be proactive by standing out. Book promotion and marketing utilizes many tools, but there is one simple and efficient thing you can do that will help you connect.

Have you ever posted a comment on a blog? Maybe a topic you wanted to chime in on, or posting a thank you to a blogger for covering a story you were interested in? What if you attempted to do this professionally, with blogs and people you really admire and want to connect with? Did you know this can also help you rank higher in search results, too?

Author Marketing Experts have been using blog commenting for years as a book marketing tool to help promote our authors, and while the structure of the blogging campaigns has changed over the years (as has Google), the idea has remained the same.

What is Blog Commenting?

The concept of blog commenting is nothing new, but using it for virtual networking is a solid strategy that a lot of authors don’t initiate enough. As a book marketing tool, it’s an effective way to connect to people of influence.

Blog commenting, however, should not be confused with a blog tour, of which there are a variety of iterations. This isn’t an opportunity for you to place content on another blog, but rather to comment on an existing post. When it comes to sound book promotion, a blog tour can be good, but blog commenting, from my viewpoint, offers a better advantage.

Why Commenting is Important for Book Marketing

People love to receive comments on their blog posts. I know I sure do, but oddly enough so few people take the time to network that way. So, commenting, in and of itself, is a great way to build on a relationship and get to know a blogger—and to get the blogger to know you. By connecting with a blogger over a period of time and offering insight on their posts, it helps to bring you to the forefront of the blogger’s mind, when and if you should pitch them for your book. For many, book marketing is an uphill battle, and much of this is because authors lack the interactions they need to gain more exposure for this book. Blog commenting is an excellent way to fix that and boost your book promotion efforts.

Is there Any SEO Value?

SEO means “search engine optimization.” Years ago, when blog commenting first became a “thing,” many SEO experts were using it to attract incoming links to their page. Why links? They can aid in your Google ranking. Incoming links from high traffic websites can help boost your overall website visibility and thereby, help you get found for your keywords. So, SEO is definitely a consideration, but moreover, the comments help to foster your relationship with the blogger.

For those of you who want to geek out about SEO, here’s a basic overview of links (in case you want to check which links are coming to your website).

Backlinks are valuable to have, moreover backlinks from high-quality websites with lots of traffic. This is one of the main factors by which Google measures Domain Authority. Formerly, Google referred to this as Page Rank which was, as the name implies, the rank of various pages on your website. Google no longer uses this metric and instead uses a series of benchmarks to determine your domain rank.

Domain rank varies by industry. For example, our domain rank is 48, which is on the high end for our industry. You can check your own domain rank by visiting: https://www.semrush.com which will also show you how many incoming links you have!

Figuring Out Your Goals: Which Blogs to Comment on and Why

It’s maybe tempting to go after big names and big news sites like CNN, FOX, or MSNBC. While those are all potentially useful sources, I’d encourage you to get a clear focus of your blog commenting and book promotion goals. What do you want to accomplish?

While it’s tempting to do this work just to get links into your site, it’s not the full picture. At the beginning of this post, I talked about virtual networking, and that’s where your book promotion focus should remain. So, who do you want to network with?

Maybe you have a list of blogs you’d like to get featured on. Perhaps the blogger reviews similar books to yours or does author features, and you think you’d be a perfect candidate for that website. They may also accept guest post requests. If you didn’t receive a response to a pitch you’ve emailed, this could be an opportunity to elevate your status. (Want to work with a blogger on book reviews? Check out this recent article I wrote.)

Not all blogs do reviews, but some could be a worthwhile place to be interviewed. There’s another opportunity to get to know the blogger, and that’s by posting thoughtful comments.

How to Find Great Blogs in Your Industry

You probably already know whom you’d want to network with, but if you don’t, then you’ll need to get on Google to do some quick searches on your topic. You can use the same site I recommended previously to find other sites that are linked to yours. I’d recommend watching these sites for a while (maybe a week or more) to get a sense of the content they post, how often, etc.

Make a list of 10-15 blogs you want to follow, but don’t feel like you need to comment on each of these sites every week. A good pace is generally five comments a week on five different websites.

Writing Thoughtful Comments

You need to post something of substance and be thorough in your commenting, more than just a standard congratulatory message like “Great post!” Give your comments more thought, offer your own perspective, maybe even (gently) mention something related that you address in your book. Don’t push your book too hard, though mentioning it is acceptable as long as you don’t do it every single time you write a comment.

Your Website: To Link or Not to Link

Within your blog post, you can certainly link to your website via the login most sites have. For example, when you post on our site, the commenting system will ask for your name and website. Most commenting systems offer this, but always list the website as “optional.” This should never be an option. Always list your website when you’re signing into the comment portal.

But we talked about linking earlier and getting incoming links to your website. It’s sometimes prudent to list your website URL within the comment itself, but I’d only suggest doing this if it’s appropriate to your comment. So, if you reference a blog where you wrote about a similar topic, it’s okay to mention that in the post and link to it as well. You should do this sparingly, and I’d recommend dropping the “www” from your URL, because a lot of blogs now have no-follow rules, meaning they won’t approve comments with full URLs linked in them.

Blogging on Your Own Website

We all know that blogging is an excellent book marketing tool, but in reality, it’s much more than that. In order to network with others in the blogging community, you need to also be a blogger—even if you’re only blogging once a week, which is enough to develop a presence online. However, if you’re trying to build more traffic to your website, I’d recommend blogging twice weekly if you can. It’s a solid book promotion strategy.

Following up on Social Media

The next step should be following these bloggers on social media. In most cases, they’ll be on Twitter, which makes it pretty easy. (Here’s a recent post I wrote about connecting with influencers on Twitter.) Wherever they are, I’d suggest following at least one of their social links. If you’re a frequent Facebook user, you may decide to follow them there as well. The point is that you want to follow and also share or comment on things they post on social media too. Networking on blogs via blog comments is a great idea. but following this up with a social platform or two can really be helpful to your book promotion efforts. Not sure which social platform is best for you? Take our new quiz!

Just from personal experience, I can tell you that there is a lot of merit to this. I have “followers” on our blog and social platforms who are always engaging with our content. I don’t know them, per se, but I “know” them virtually—and their emails always go to the top of the pile when they write.

While in-person meetings with people in your industry is a fantastic way to connect and gain additional exposure for your book, blog commenting can be a successful tool when used effectively. Along with social networking interactions, these combined efforts will create a heightened awareness for you and your book. 

Do you comment on sites, or do you lurk? What other questions do you have for Penny?

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ABOUT PENNY

Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert and an Adjunct Professor with NYU. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Books by the Truckload. AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through online promotion and their signature program called: The Virtual Author Tour™

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com or subscribe to her free newsletter.

Copyright @2018 Penny C. Sansevieri

Two days ago, in Part One of this three-part series, I began sharing how to use The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo in our writing to provide inner conflict for our characters. I only had "time" in the first post to share one "thief." In this post I'll share two more. (Why do I always think I can accomplish more with fewer words? The same thing happens in my books. One book turns into two...)

Now that one of your characters has learned to surrender to what is happening, accept the hard truths in life, accept that only the present moment is real, and can practice notice, stop, and replace when necessary, we’re ready to move on with two other ways for your characters to create their own internal conflict.

Conceit

This “thief” allows the ego to run free, making your character believe that she must distinguish herself to be happy. Status and importance rule her daily life. You can see this played out on social media, with the obsession to get likes and shares and comments. I and me rule every thought, every action, in the search for happiness—which always seems just around the next corner.

When your character's “story” doesn’t match the one in his head, there’s a problem. Mortality and death can become an issue. Your character separates from others, whether family, friends, co-workers or society because of the need to be great, from an ego standpoint.

What to do for resolution

At first it will be difficult, but your character must banish the illusion that separation, by putting oneself on a pedestal, will lead to happiness. This isn’t something you’ll be able to wrap up in the last few pages of the book. It will take your character time, struggle, trying again. Along the way, feelings of hate and anger may have to be addressed in someone who is wedded to the “story” of his life.

Here are some possibilities for a character resolving conceit:

• Remind herself that she is a part of a larger story: a cause, one’s life’s work, service to others or the planet.
• Become part of something bigger than himself, thereby focusing on giving of himself.
• Build relevant and important connections with other people, not for advancement.
• Begin building an equitable world, even if it’s only within a household.

Coveting

As an author, I know this one, particularly as it relates to my writing career, considering those moments of envy when I didn’t win that contest or get the agent I wanted—but someone I knew did.

When this desire for something you don’t have is strong, it can become the focus of your life.

Now let’s transfer my brief recollections to a character. If you’re writing a mystery or thriller, your villain would be willing to lie, cheat, steal, or even murder to get what s/he wants.

But coveting isn’t reserved for villains. Your main character can be driven by the desire for something s/he doesn’t have. We’re not talking about in a harmless or ambitious, productive way to get ahead. The discontentment of envy brings resentment of others and their situation. You’ll want to handle coveting with a delicate hand so your character remains likeable.

How many times have you wanted someone’s “good” hair, eye color, fingernails, height, car, or job? That’s natural, even motivational. But when a character’s sense of self hinges on comparing herself with the “outside world,” remember the story of the evil stepmother queen in Snow White.

For your characters, coveting takes away the ability to be grateful—for themselves and for other characters. Your character will resent the happiness and success of others.

How does your character begin throwing off this thief? Gratitude. Gratitude can be expressed by being more supportive, kind, and helpful of those around them. Instead of cruising by a broken-down car on the side of the road, your hero can stop and offer help or take the person somewhere safe to order repairs.

Gratitude won’t squash coveting, but it is a great beginning (think notice-stop-replace from Part 1) to keep your characters from focusing on the wrong things. They must focus on their own lives without comparing them to others. It’s okay for them to have a momentary “wish” for something, as long as it doesn’t progress into envy, which creates conflict.

What to do for resolution

• Have your character ask the questions: What do I value? What matters to me? What is the best use of my life?
• Use the notice-stop-replace technique.
• Your characters may realize that there will never be equality in all things. They are responsible for their own happiness, which means creating less conflict in their lives! By taming their envy when it arises, they can be grateful and kind to others, leading to the banishment of the thief of coveting.
• At some point, they could realize that life is not a contest.

We’ve now explored three of John Izzo’s Five Thieves of Happiness. Any one of these can pump up the internal conflict in a book. If you have two lead characters, they can deal with the same thief, or they might be dealing with different ones. I don’t have the heart to inflict my characters with all five thieves, although in real life, we deal with them all every day—to different degrees.

During the next four weeks, try adding conflict to your story with one or more "thief" from our list so far: control, conceit, coveting. In August we’ll look at the final two thieves: consumption and comfort, then talk about the circumstances when one thief can be more powerful in a character arc than another.

Of the three thieves we’ve talked about so far, which one will be the hardest for you to apply to a character in your WIP? Why do you think that is?

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ABOUT FAE

 

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes  that she can live anywhere but the present. As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard, putting the finishing touches on P.R.I.S.M. Book Two.

P.R.I.S.M., a young adult science fiction romance story of survival, betrayal, resolve, deceit, lies, and love.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen

Fae also shares personal stories at YA Outside the Lines on the fifth of every month.

 

If you’ve been reading Writers in the Storm for any length of time, you know that I’m a proponent of using what you do—what happens to you, what you think and believe—in your writing. A year ago, I wrote about using your summer memories in your writing. Today I'm sharing one of my first summer experiences with you.

Last month I attended my first Book Club meeting. No, not that Book Club! I’d been invited for, literally, years, but after another invitation from my friend, I decided it was time. There was no time for me to read the book, since the meeting was the next day.

They discussed The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo. Comments and questions zinged around the table. Even though I hadn’t read the book, I was invited to share my views on their takeaways on the message. Someone loaned me their book so I could read it.

About halfway through the book I thought These are great ideas to bring more conflict to my WIP. I went back to take some notes and finished the book, pad of paper beside me. Like many writers, I now intend to use an experience—the Book Club and the reading of the book—as a tool in my writing.

Today, and Friday, because there is such a wealth of information to be mined, I’m sharing five ways that your characters can allow their happiness to be stolen.

How can I “fix” the large and the small things in my life that make me unhappy? This is the grist of conflict. Why doesn’t my life go the way I want it to? How did I end up like this? What can I do to change? Here’s my book report, slanted for writers, along with ways to resolve your character’s arc.

1. The need for control

When a character believes s/he can control life, they do not accept that “things happen” that are out of our control. This craving for control can lead people—real or characters in your WIP—to do things that make them unhappy. Maybe they become overbearing because they know their way is the only right way to accomplish a task. Maybe they grab onto something and hang on for dear life, even though that something is unnecessary or bad for them.

We can control our actions and even our responses to external stimuli, but we cannot control the results of our actions. Someone takes what a character said the wrong way, another character is attached to the outcome of some action. How often have you been attached to an outcome, only to suffer because you can’t control it?

What if you allow your character to believe s/he is in control? Their plans and actions appear to be working toward some end. But when we believe we’re in control, we are probably looking at the future. Or the past. Let’s say your hero is trying to impress someone he’s picked as his future mate. He repeats the successful “moves” he made when he courted the love of his life, who was killed by a drunk driver before they got married. Instead of being in the present and enjoying the process of falling in love, he’s using his controlling intention for a specific outcome, not recognizing that his method isn’t going to work because his new love interest is a different person.

He may think that his feelings of regret, once he realizes—or is told—that his attention is unwanted, are the source of his unhappiness. In reality, he was trying to control his past as well as his future.

Resolution:

• Release the desire to control others. An apology can be an attempt to control someone’s reaction. If I want your forgiveness and you withhold it, I’m unhappy because I can’t control your reaction to my apology. Instead, your character should focus on making a sincere apology. Period.
• When in a relationship, your character can release the notion of controlling when and how the love interest acts. In other words, s/he gives up the need to make them be something they aren’t.

• 

• Surrender to what cannot be controlled. We may grouse about it, but we all know we can’t control the weather. Surrender does not mean inaction, though I must admit that when I first was introduced to the idea of surrender years ago, it felt more like give up to me. Surrender means releasing the desire to control the future. This is not about building a wall to keep future pain out. It is about actively living life without the need to control a situation based on a desired outcome. It isn’t easy. Great news for you, the author! Your character can struggle with this one for the entire book.
• Nonjudgment and mindfulness. Though a little control is useful in some circumstances, but if the desire for control rules us, we are miserable. Judgmental thinking brings more misery. My characters must learn to be nonjudgmental not only about others, but with themselves. Beating up yourself is never helpful. Non-judgmental self-talk or advice from a friend, on the other hand, can go far to releasing the need for close-fisted control.
• Izzo suggests three steps: notice, stop, replace. Simple to remember, but I can see the zillionaire heir character in my WIP taking the first third of the book to notice what he’s doing, the second third to stop doing it, and finally, in the final third of the book replacing his old ways with healthier, more “user friendly” ways of interacting with others. As a writer, I’ll know what I’m doing, but my readers won’t. They’ll just start seeing him as a better, more likeable person, one who fulfills his character arc to bring about a satisfying ending.

Here are the next “thieves”:

2. Conceit
3. Coveting
4. Consumption
5. Comfort

On Friday, July 6, I’ll continue this post. In the meantime, if you’d like to grab a copy of The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo, here’s the link. It’s a quick read at only one hundred twenty-three pages.

How can you use a character’s desire for control to create conflict in your WIP? How will you use the “stop-notice-replace” strategy to show the change in your character’s motivational arc?

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ABOUT FAE

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes  that she can live anywhere but the present. As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard, putting the finishing touches on P.R.I.S.M. Book Two.

P.R.I.S.M., a young adult science fiction romance story of survival, betrayal, resolve, deceit, lies, and love.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen

Fae also shares personal stories at YA Outside the Lines on the fifth of every month.