Platform Archives - Page 27 of 28

Kiki Talks Ads & Authentic Growth– 009

June 2, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 1 Comment

Are you selling out if you put ads on your site? How do you grow your platform without sacrificing your authenticity?

I’m answering fabulous questions from Jenna (at the Gleeful Gourmand) and Andi (at Andilit) this week! If you want to pose questions for me, join the Facebook group for more community & conversation.

EXCITING NEWS! I decided to go all-in and do two podcasts rather than just one. Because, after all, one IS the loneliest number. The other podcast I’ve been secretly recording is for Blogger2Business and is laser-focused on blogging. That podcast and the larger site is a FABULOUS resource for bloggers. Even if you consider yourself a writer who happens to blog, you should be proud of your blog and strive to have it represent you well. Head over to Blogger2Business to find great tips & tricks for growing, plus a very-familiar voice interviewing some blogging phenoms.

Now, let’s talk Ads and Authenticity!

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 009

At a Glance: Ads

There are two main types of ads that you can have on your blog: ads from networks (like Google Adsense, Adthrive, or Burst) and sponsored slots where bloggers or companies pay a monthly fee for that slice of your sidebar real estate.
When you use an ad network like Blogher, there are often restrictions on how you can get IN to the network and with regards to other competing ads on your site.

[su_quote style=”modern-light”]Note: If you are on the Blogger platform and use their analytics within the dashboard to tell you how many views your posts got, they are usually WAY off. Use a more trusted source like Google Analytics. It stinks to see fewer views, but it is more accurate because analytics doesn’t count the weird spam-bots. [/su_quote]

You can also choose to have sponsor spots that other bloggers or companies can pay for month by month.
Many people who choose to have sponsor spots use a site like Passion Fruit to handle the details of this.
You can also swap sponsored spaces with other bloggers.
Keep an eye on your analytics. If people aren’t clicking through to sponsors, maybe you shouldn’t have them. And if you’re only getting like $4 from a giant ad in the sidebar, you’re giving up valuable real estate for nothing.
If you pay for a sponsored spot on someone’s blog or do a swap, make sure your button is visually appealing and that it will be eye-catching but also fit in with the blog’s aesthetic. You also may want to choose a landing page rather than your home page for the link.

At a Glance: Authentic Growth

You need to think about your goals when you decide whether or not to have ads or what kind of monetization to have on your blog.
I personally don’t think ads are (in and of themselves) selling out. Even if the cost is only your time, there is a cost to blogging and ads defray that cost.

[su_quote style=”modern-light”]The Smarmy Test: Does it make you feel icky? This is NOT a question someone else can answer for you. It may change over time or be conditional. But if you want to stay authentic, ask yourself if ANY of your choices make you feel smarmy inside. If the answer is yes, then don’t do it. Make a commitment to stand by this, but give yourself the freedom to reevaluate. [/su_quote]

If you consider your blog a business, you SHOULD have the goal of making money.
When it comes to growing your blog or promoting yourself, there ARE bad ways to do this. Example: paying for followers. DON’T DO THIS. Giveaways can help bolster your numbers, but they may not be people who really care what you are doing. On the flip side, that might help people discover you.
Stop thinking of your numbers. Think of those page views and followers and subscribers as people. You have value to offer and you are gathering people around to share that value with them.
Growing your platform is nothing more than finding people who need YOUR words.

My Big Takeaway

Not to knock Michael Hyatt (because I’m honestly on his page about the idea of platform!), but the word platform has really become kind of a dirty word for many people just through overuse. IT SHOULDN’T BE. You have a platform is what connects you with the very specific people who need what only you can offer them. It may be large and it may be small, but it is uniquely yours. When you think of it that way, it sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

Relevant Links

Paula Rollo’s interview on Blogging Intentionally

Chad Allen’s interview on Platform

How to Grow Your Blog Authentically

Platform by Michael Hyatt

What I Want to Know from YOU

Do you struggle with the idea of self-promotion, growing your platform, or having ads? What are the markers for you of what feels like authentic growth or promotion?

Chad R. Allen on Publishing Trends – 007

May 19, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 3 Comments

How many email subscribers EXACTLY do you need to get a publisher to take notice? Are all traditional publishers at odds with self- and indie- publishers?

In this conversation with Chad R. Allen, we talk traditional vs self-publishing, what numbers matter, and why you should just DO YOUR ART.

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 007

Chad has been in publishing for over sixteen years and with Baker Books for over thirteen. His site is an incredible resource with posts like:

6 Things for Writers to Remember When an Editor or Agent Says No

Is This Blocking Your Creativity?

8 Essential Tips for Marketing Your Book on Facebook

The Basics of Building a Platform

He also started the Book Proposal Academy, which walks writers through the steps of writing a killer proposal. While he shoots it straight about what publishers are looking for in terms of numbers, he also offers so much hope and has such a passion for urging on creatives in their work. His book, Do Your Art, is a prime example of this. This interview will hopefully give you some concrete goals to work toward and the inspiration to do so!

You can find more great content on his blog and find him on Twitter and Facebook.

At a Glance

The constant in publishing is great content.
Traditional publishers tend to be agnostic about whether books sold are ebooks or physical books.
Traditional publishers tend to not be as threatened by self-publishing because self-publishing provides a viable option for those publishers turn down and can also be a way to grow enough readers to secure a traditional deal.
Platform is more accessible today than ever before.
The “magic number” of email subscribers that will make a publisher interested (in non-fiction) is 10,000.
Email list is the key metric more than Twitter or Facebook or other social media because the email list is a digital asset you own.
Offering your content online through blogs or a free ebook is a way to use your content to grow your list.
A warm list is one that is interactive and interested. Think of those unsubscribes as simply paring down your list to make it warmer.
To find balance in writing and growing your platform, you need to make specific goals and find a plan that is sustainable.
Realize that YOU have things to offer and people are longing for what is uniquely yours.

Relevant Links

Why Traditional Publishing Should Kiss Self-Publishing’s Feet

Jane Friedman’s The Future of Reading and Writing

101 Jon Acuff Quotes from Kevin Kaiser (for inspiration!!)

41 Tips That Put Over 10,000 People on My Email List from Blog Tyrant

My Big Takeaway

I loved the idea of thinking of my list as growing warmer as I have people unsubscribe. Chad’s ideas on how to use my current content to grow a warm list also got me thinking about repurposing things that I already have and working on new things. I’m currently trying to find a balance that is sustainable. So far I haven’t figured this out, so let me know if you have!!

What I Want to Know from YOU

What are your current goals? And what content might you currently have to offer for free in order to find and grow your audience?

Building an Email List Full of True Fans – 006

May 12, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 1 Comment

How many fans does it take to make a living as a writer or artist? And do those fans HAVE to be on your email list or can they be spread across your social media platforms?

This week I’m answering Kelli‘s question about whether it is better to build an email list or find followers through other social media platforms. I have a LOT to say about email lists. And audience.

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 006

At a Glance: Email Lists vs Other Social Media Platforms

An email list is integral because it allows you to reach into someone’s personal space in a way that is more intimate than Twitter or Facebook.
Email lists are set up through a host, NOT your personal email account. (I use Mailchimp for one list, but for serious list-building, I’ve moved to Convertkit. Read WHY.)
My biggest numbers in terms of traffic come through Pinterest and Facebook, with Twitter at a VERY distant fourth. My email list brings my blog more traffic than Twitter, but not by too much. Then again, I have a few hundred people opening each email, which makes it about as popular as my second or third most popular blog post on any given day. (Looking at my email list the day after recording, the open rate bumped up to 30%, which is pretty normal for me.)
Other platforms may change (like Facebook’s algorithms that make your visibility disappear), but your email is under YOUR control.
Publishers would generally say that around 10,000 email subscribers is a good number to see for a non-fiction book deal. 5,000 would get attention, but 10,000 is the sort of “golden” number. (More on that in episode 007!)
Kevin Kelly introduced the theory that 1,000 true fans (who will buy everything you make) is enough to make a comfortable living.

My Big Takeaway

Get an email list. Decide what service to use (always use a service, not your gmail or hotmail) and what kind of content/how frequently. Think about what best serves your goals. Do your best to grow your list authentically so you have people who really LIKE you and want to support you and buy whatever it is you sell: book, album, class, coaching. But ALSO keep growing your social media platforms. You may connect with different people in those spaces and find real fans and real traffic.

The email list should be your foundation and your true fans, who will buy anything you create. (So when someone unsubscribes, rather than feeling sad, think about the fact that they are NOT your true fan and it is one less person to pay for when you get to that point.) Having a smaller number of loyal subscribers is great, but those bigger numbers can matter to publishers or for other reasons. Intentionally grow your email list, but definitely use a combination of platforms for growth.

Need more resources on email lists? I’ve got you covered!

The Free Email Course

Email Lists Made Easy for Writers and Bloggers

Relevant Links

–Kevin Kelly on having 1,000 True Fans
–The Problem with 1,000 True Fans
-The Blog Tyrant’s 41 Tips to Get over 10,000 Email Subscribers

What I Want to Know from YOU:

If these numbers sound crazy scary to you (they alternately do and don’t to me, depending on that day’s optimism/pessimism/realism balance), don’t fear! What is YOUR goal for your email list or platform growth?

Where are you finding social media or email working for you? Is my experience that I share in the podcast similar or different to yours?

Holly Homer on Using Facebook without Formulas – 004

April 28, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 2 Comments

I talked to Holly Homer and finally have the Three Keys to TOTAL DOMINATION online! Simply pay me $50 in three easy installments plus $9.95 for shipping and handling and you can learn Holly Homer’s Three Keys and the secret formula for Facebook success!

JUST KIDDING. But does that sound at all familiar? I feel like I see this sales pitch from different places every single day. Spoiler alert: THERE IS NO SECRET FORMULA IN THIS PODCAST. Holly, who speaks at conferences all over about Facebook and blogging, does share how often Quirkymomma posts every day. (Your jaw might drop.) But this conversation is more about creativity and inspiration. She talks about how she used analytics to make Facebook work, but also how she likes to throw the rules out the window. If you are feeling pressured by the so-called “rules” of social media, this episode is for YOU.

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 004

You can find Holly at Kids Activities Blog, Business 2 Blogger, as well as on Facebook at Quirkymomma, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. If you are a blogger, you MUST check out her newest venture with Paula Rollo & Becky Mansfield (both also coming up on the podcast!), Blogger 2 Business. B2B is all about education and training for bloggers at all levels to kick it up a notch. Or ten. Right now you will get 30 days of tips delivered to your inbox when you sign up!

At a Glance

I personally subscribe to the school of making mistakes until you figure it out, as Holly does. Is that how you work through things? (I also like learning from other people’s mistakes.)
Fun Fact: Holly suspects that she has more domain names than shoes.
Holly said that we are living in an age when you can start with an idea to making a living in your living room. It is a time like no other! Have YOU experienced this? Do you see the possibilities or does that seem like a reach?
For success with Facebook, Holly & her blogging partner Rachel Miller paid attention to the analytics to see what Facebook liked and didn’t like. They tailored posts in that way.
At the same time, they chucked out the “rules” and suggestions from other people. For example: the Facebook page QuirkyMomma isn’t branded to the name of the blog, Kids Activities Blog. They also post a crazy amount per day instead of the two times a day that people were suggesting at the start of their growth.
Blogging was a gift to Holly at a time when her kids were small. It gave the gift of being able to step back and think of how to tell the story even of a bad day with a silver lining.
If you get caught up in numbers and the pressure, take a step back. Strategize about how you can reach your goals without losing your voice.
“The end product is so irrelevant in what we do. It’s more about…the process of sitting down with a child and having and experience, having an adventure.” -Holly Homer

Should you be using a Facebook page or a Facebook group? Read my tips here.

Relevant Links

Facebook Organic Growth – an interview with Holly for the Social Media Examiner
101 Kids Activities book from Holly Homer and Rachel Miller

My Big Takeaway

I loved what Holly said in that last quote. It’s not about making something beautiful that will show well in a Pinterest photo. It should be about the process, the adventure, the experience. Doesn’t that hold true with our art? Though I will say this: I want to find that perfect marriage where I make something I’m truly proud of as an end product, but where I also enjoy the PROCESS. As a writer, I want my words to come together in a remarkable way. But I want to ENJOY writing. Most of the time, I do!

What I Want to Know from You

-Do you enjoy the process of what you do? Or is it more about accomplishing goals and having that end product? (No judgment here! I’m simply curious.)

-Have you found your own “formula” that works for your goals?

When Fear Comes

April 7, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com Leave a Comment

I say when, not if. Because there WILL come a time in your journey where you are knock-kneed with fear. We should probably discuss how the affect of fear on creativity. If you are like me and don’t like at admit fear, perhaps you cloak if with something that seems less shameful to admit. For me, that less shameful thing is busyness.

“Oh, I will send my manuscript to my agent,” I say. “But right now I am too busy.”

(There ARE times where this is true. Read here to know the difference between legitimate excuses and lame ones.)

I am afraid. But sometimes I say I’m busy instead.

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My busy is sometimes legitimate. Four kids ain’t no joke. But sometimes I KNOW. I know that I am not, in fact too busy. Or, I am too busy but it’s because I take the time that would be writing and editing and I use it to do something else. Like start a new blog. (Or a podcast. Oops.) Or write a NEW manuscript.

I’ll do anything but face my REAL fear. Which is this: that the manuscript I have worked so very hard on is really crap. That my agent will say so. Or that someone will buy it but it will hit the bookshelves and I and every review says I’m a hack. Or perhaps worse: just meh.
I am afraid. But sometimes I just say I’m busy instead.

What do you do when the fear comes? Share your deep secrets in the comments. We will be nice. (Because we’re afraid too.)

Other people talk about the crippling nature of fear. Or why you should embrace it.
(One thing they agree on: use numbers in your post titles.)

8 Habits That Crush Creativity from CopyBlogger
The 7 Deadly Fears of Writing from Men with Pens
4 Reasons Why Fear Is a Creative’s Friend on Life Dev