An Online Presence

At the Kentucky Women Writer’s Conference there was much discussion about a writer’s online presence. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and forums were the tools most talked about. I have also been at the edge of many conversations about article writing and article marketing, other online avenues for building repertoire as well as establishing your online presence. Then last night I attended a program at the university that featured a conversation between comedian David Letterman and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Twitter. I have an account but haven’t used it in months…. Well, now I am re-inspired to spend some time with it once again.

Little by little layers of the whole online trend of society are being revealed to me. And I do mean little by little. On the one hand, it is complicated and amazing; on the other, it is overwhelming and intimidating. And yet, every now and then, I step out of myself and release all the words about it that clog up my brain. It is then that I realize that establishing an online presence does not require mastery of any of it. It is a process and we just have to putter around in it and get some feel for it that fits on a personal level. We can’t freak out over the speed at which technology is growing because unless you are 20-something, you simply won’t catch up or keep up. So just putter a bit. That’s OK!

The bottom line is this: writers do need to have an online presence.

You have to be familiar with the various tools because editors and publishers use them and expect you to be able to use them as well. Your readers may like to linger in bookstores, but that alone isn’t enough. There is a dramatic shift in what, where, and how we read and that shift is going online. None of us can stop that. So you need to join in, at least on some level. Connect with established fans and potential readers through one or more of these tools. Maybe eventually you will use them all and even more, but for now, just start.

Finally, keep in mind that you need to find a balance between constantly learning and doing and just being where you are in it all at this moment. Push and glide; push and glide. You will get there.

Today is a push day for me, how about you? 

SEO = Findability

I want to be found!

When I first started blogging about three years ago, it was more like a little secret I had with myself. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it and I actually worried that someone I knew might somehow find out. I struggled with issues of ego and hid behind self incrimination:

Why am I doing this?

Who’s to say my words matter?

I’m nobody and only nobody cares.

My thoughts don’t matter, my opinions are irrelevant, and my experiences aren’t “cool” enough.

You FOOL!

But I did it anyway.

Then I let the secret out. First I told a few friends, then some people in my family. Before long, I was talking about it openly. After a year or so, I posted a few links to my blog on facebook. A few people were reading it, but most were not. By then, I didn’t care anymore – I didn’t care who read it and I didn’t care that most of the people who knew me and knew I was doing it didn’t read it. I just cared about fostering my own passion to write. Though not highly recognized and certainly not very well read, I knew my blog was public and therefore, it kept me aiming for quality work. It also kept me committed to my daily writing practice. That first blog was, and still is, purely personal.

The more I wrote and posted on my blog, the more I learned about blogging in general. As a result, themes emerged and I became anchored on a few specific areas of focus. Eventually I launched the Nitty Gritty of Writing blog to practice blogging professionally.

Now I am finally ready to be found!

SEO articles posted to article directories are my latest focus because the SEO keywords in those articles will bring more visitors to my blog. I want the traffic for three reasons:  

1. When people leave comments it helps me to find them and I want to find others so I can learn from them and build community; 
2. I do believe I have significant things to share and I want to help others to learn; and
3. I want to be found by people who can lead me to the next level in my work.

Yes, SEO = findability 

and I want to be found. 

Don’t you?  

The "About" Article

The “about” article is similar to the “list” article in that it consists of several aspects of the same topic. The main difference is that in an “about” article, all sections or points are aimed at further describing, explaining, or informing about your topic. This can be done with any topic. Take, for example, spaghetti: the different sections might include 1) the history of spaghetti; 2) the ingredients and/or different kinds of spaghetti (i.e., white, wheat, whole grain, etc.); 3) nutritional value; 4) how it is made; and 5) how it is eaten. Some of the sections in an “about” article can be turned into other articles more easily than others. Back to the spaghetti example: from the how it is eaten section you could write articles that include recipes for spaghetti sauces; the nutritional value section however, is more limited.



“About” articles are easy to produce because you simply need to follow a basic formula: introduction, 3 – 5 sections in the body, and a conclusion. Do your research and collect information from at least 3 different sources. Then read through the information you have and mark possible headings or sections in the margins. Next, go back through the research and write out your different sections as individual paragraphs. Heading your sections is an attractive stylistic feature because it makes the article easier to read. It also helps you incorporate keywords for SEO purposes. Once you have the body written, write your introduction and finally, the conclusion.


It is best to include your sources in an “about: article, so between the conclusion and your bio box, list your references. If possible, sent an email or leave a common on the site of the authors you referenced so they know you’ve linked to their work in your article. Not only is this a courteous gesture, it invites them to check out your blog and/or website and potentially opens up their whole circle of influence to a connection to you and your services.


Following are some “about” articles that serve as good examples for you as you work on crafting your own.

Elegant Aging - Growing Deeper, Stronger And Wiser In Your Years

All About Thai Curry

Baking with Flaxseed

Article Writing

Article writing is one of the most “secure” jobs in the writing field. Absolutely everybody online needs articles. “Article marketing” is one of the biggest buzz words in the online industry.

Think about any Google search you have ever done – if you are looking for information, you find articles. Nearly all those articles include a link to some sort of website. This is how online business people promote their bubusinesses and attract new customers. All these businesses need writers for all these articles.

As a writer, you can do the same thing. Simply post articles in article directories that yu have written and include a short bio box at the end. People will find you.

Article writing is a numbers game: the more you write, the bigger your reprotoire and the more chances you have of being found. So write several articles about the same broad topic so that you have many avenues to one subject. This increases your exposure and over time, establishes you as an expert in the field.

Article writing is also a words game. SEO stands for Search Engine Optomized and is how the search engines rank information on the web. Use SEO keywords in your title and again throughout your article with more concentration on them in your introductory paragraph. This will push your article higher on the list of hits when people search for information related to your article.

Your articles stay online forever, so it’s not like you get one big bang for your buck and then its gone. Online business people know this, so they are constantly adding articles to their business. If you establish yourself as an article writer, you will always have a job!

Social Media Optimization

I found this article about increasing traffic to your blog or website and thought it was very helpful and informative. I’m sharing it here for my readers to enjoy as well. In fact, what happened to this article once it hit the internet is a perfect example of the whole webbing concept. Scroll down to see some of the comments and you will see what I’m talking about. Here's the article: 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO)

The blog is called "Influential Marketing" by Rohit Bhargava. The whole blog is pretty cool, so check it out.

PLR 101: The Basics

PLR stands for Private Label Rights. What this means is that any document labeled PLR can be used over and over again by hundreds, or even thousands, of people without falling into the category of plagiarism. Anyone can put their “John Hancock” on a PLR document and claim it as his own work. You can buy and resell PLR content. You can edit it, chop it up or expand on it, you can twist it and spin it and remake it into something new as often as you want. Private label means that once you purchase the content, you are free to make it fit your own specific needs.

Every online business needs content. Without content, potential customers never even find the website! They never know what you have to offer, and certainly, they will never buy your product! Without content, an online business simply can’t exist.

On average, an online business needs at least 20 articles just to get started. It takes at least 50 articles to make an ebook, and to stay in business, new articles have to be added all the time. The average online business adds 20-25 articles to its site every month.

Custom ordering articles is very expensive. Hiring a copy-writer is even more costly. The online businessman’s solution to this dilemma is PLR content.

PLR content is fast, cheap, and effective. It is a win-win situation for writer and businessman alike because writers can resell their work as often as they want, getting more dollar per piece than they can ever get for even the best paid assignments. When business owners find writers of PLR that they like and trust, providing content to their websites becomes automatic, freeing them up to focus on other areas of their business.

PLR products have become very popular as the number of online businesses has grown to astronomical proportions. Online shopping has also become more common in our society. All these online business encounters require content by the bulk. Therefore, the market for PLR is growing every day! Writing PLR is one of the fastest ways to expand your own portfolio, jump-start your writing career, and make money! For the online business person, PLR is the best deal on the web!