My blog post on Tuesdays is usually about productive writing related to my books. I usually talk about what I do to produce better quality books. However, recently, my writing production has been more focused on writing online content and less on book writing.

Writing Online Content

For an author, especially Indie Authors, writing the book isn’t the end of the writing process. An author also develops his/her online platform and does PR work. That means writing lots of online content in addition to writing the books.
One of the ways that I do this is by writing this blog. I write it faithfully week in and week out whether it gets read by one hundred people or by only two. This is content that I write faithfully. The content here is mine so I don’t have to worry about losing it because a specific site closed down..

Hubpages

Another place that I have been writing is in Hubpages. I have recently updated my content there so that everything is featured. It wasn’t hard to do, it just took time to improve hub SEO and do a little other editing.
There is a petition of numerous Squidoo writers who are suing Hubpages because they bought out Squidoo and changed the rules on payments. I don’t know what that will mean for the rest of us who have been working with Hubpages for years, but I am keeping my eye on the situation. I don’t want what happened to my content on Bubblews to happen on Hubpages as well. (before payment, Bubblews closed its page down.)
I am trying to get away from this kind of article writing. I have found that it doesn’t pay that much for all the work involved. I do want to do a little more of it, though. There are some articles that I want to write that don’t fit elsewhere and this gives me a venue. Last year I wrote hub and this year I have already written one and started another. I will keep copies of my hubs though, just in case.

Rewriting Book Descriptions

The other day, a friend of mine on one of the groups I am in said that he had not sold any books on Amazon Kindle for several months, but then a few days ago he decided to do some changes on the description and discovered that he got two new sales from that book. It got me to thinking that perhaps that is what I needed to do, so this week I intend to make that one of my writing projects over the next few weeks.
Another one of the writers on the site suggested that we post our descriptions on the site so that others could help give ideas for changes to the descriptions. This is something that I may consider.

My Newsletter

Today marks the day that my newsletter comes out. (Drum roll please). I have spent the past week working on starting my email list and writing the newsletter which will be coming out every Monday. I would love to hear from anyone who is coming to this blog from my newsletter. Please comment below. I would love to hear from you.
If you have not yet joined my newsletter, please do so now. http://eepurl.com/bPpzXX Not only will you see what I have on this blog and other online content, but also you will have access to special promotions, free articles, and even free books that you may miss elsewhere. Also I will be sharing the itinerary of events that I will be attending so that perhaps I could meet you in person! Plus right now I am having a newsletter contest where I am giving away autographed copies of the first four books in the Locket Saga. Don’t miss out. Sign up today http://eepurl.com/bPpzXX

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church 1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm. As Author Cygnet Brown, she has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback.

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

Marketing with Online Articles

January 26, 2016

The Marketing Focus

Updating Hubpages

For a number of years I have had Hubpages. Recently i have been reworking these “hubs” as they are called and fixing any typos (very few to be found) and updating information. I worked on a number of hubs because they weren’t getting the traffic they need to “stay featured”, so I rewrote a number of them and improving their SEO. SEO doesn’t have the mystic that I used to think it had. Basically I use Google Adwords Keyword Planner to find words that have more traffic, but little competition. Google has the system worked out where online articles will be docked if they have more keyword terms than they deem necessary. Using the keywords in titles and sub headlines and aa time or two in paragraphs is plenty.

No More Bubblews

Last year I had put a lot of time and effort into Bubblews and before the year ended, the site was shut down. No warning to the contributors, just one day I went to go on there and the site was taken down.

E-Zine

In addition to updating Hubpages, I have been adding articles to a site called E-Zine. Basically it is an advertising site that isn’t exactly an advertising site. It is more of a site for business people to show their expertise in specific areas and then in the end pitch themselves or their own products. (No affiliates please). Currently I am working on a number of articles that relate to my expertise related to my nonfiction books. As it stands right now, to become the top expert in gardening, I need to write almost five hundred articles. Just 497 to go! translate that: (I wrote three so far.)The first ten articles are carefully scrutinized after that, I have more freedom in my writing. because these are picked up by various sites around the internet, learning SEO has been an essential component of my learning curve so far.

Doing More With My Website and Blog

Lately in my studies of online marketing, I have seen where some people are having great success with email marketing campaigns as they relate to their books. Last week I started working on my own e-mail marketing. I started by contacting a group of friends on Facebook and asking them if they would give me their address so that I could send them information regarding my books, my blog, and my online articles. In addition, I will be sharing various events that I will be attending or having. Most of the people that I have contacted so far are friends and relatives of mine that I have known for a long time. These are people that have developed a relationship with. me. I will be talking more about this as I develop this project.

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church 1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm. As Author Cygnet Brown, she has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback.

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

Dropping The Ball And Picking It Back Up

June 24, 2015

Total LIfe Makeover, Uncategorized

2 Comments

What should I do now?

As you probably noticed, my post for Monday and Last Friday were the same. I had the day scheduled, but I neglected to put anything on it besides my signature information at the end of the post. Not that it was such a bad think. I actually had someone share it on his Facebook page.

No Excuses

I could easily make up an excuse for dropping the ball. I have a lot of them. I could also say that I should just let the blog go for a while, but I am not going to do that. Today I am picking the ball back up and continuing with this blog.

Why I Dropped The Ball

When we drop the ball, it is always a good idea to understand exactly what happened and why. The truth was, I actually forgot on both Friday and Monday to write the posts. There is a difference between understanding why and making an excuse. An excuse is a way for a person to find a way to quit. I am not quitting.

This month my goal and affirmation is to be a proficient writer and I certainly am. I dropped just two blog posts since the first of the year. In addition, I have to go into town in order to post my blog posts. i live 12 miles from town. In addition, to writing this week, I have been running all over creation for things to fix up my trailer. I got my air conditioner in Monday night. With temperatures running in the mid-nineties and high humidity, a good air conditioner is a necessity.

Finally, my daughter is visiting me and we have been doing things together including visiting friends, going out to dinner, and going to the river. This week she is helping me paint the cabinets in my trailer.

Getting Back On Track

So today, it is time to get back on track. So how do I prevent this from happening again in the future?

The obvious answer is that I must not over-commit to so many things in one week. Over-commitment is the number one reason for anyone to forget to do something.

Another answer is to make and keep a schedule. Since moving I have not been keeping a schedule. Over the weekend, I started working on one.

Becoming more organized again is another answer. There are a number of things that I will need to do to make my life more organized, but certain aspects of organizing the trailer are going to take some additional time including getting internet in my home.

Over the next several weeks, I will continue to write (the second draft on Book Four of the Locket Saga: Sailing Under The Shadow of the Black Flag is still right on track.), work on my trailer, and keep up with my other writing projects including keeping up with this blog.

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues. Her upcoming book A Coward’s Solace will be available soon. Click here for more information about Cygnet Brown and her books.

What Not To Do

June 15, 2015

Total LIfe Makeover, Uncategorized

Don’t Think Of A Pink Elephant!

If I told you don’t think about an elephant with a top hat, I will bet that right now you are thinking about an elephant with a top hat. This is evidence that we resist, really does persist!.

What We Resist Persists

Someone once said that our unconscious minds cannot discern the meaning of the concept of not. I tend to believe that is true. This reinforces the success principle: Where you focus your energy, focuses your attention.

What you resist persists because that is where your focus lies. Rather than looking at what you don’t want to do, look at what you want to do!
One effective way to keep from thinking negative thoughts is by focusing your attention on a mantra to help you focus on your goal. The mantra that I am using is “I can do this and I know I can. Whatever you chose to repeat over and over needs to be in the present tense (I am). My monthly affirmations are a form of mantra. This month is “I am a prolific writer”.

Therefore, I have a system that gets me enthusiastic about the goals that I have for the day. Before I begin each session, i set a timer and repeat over and over the words, “I can do this, and I know I can” over and over for five minutes. I focus on my breathing, the mantra, and that I am calm and confident. After the five minutes is up, I begin writing. I do it the same time every day and don’t quit until I have at least one thousand words on my novel. Later at the library, I determine which bubblew or blog post that I need to write and I work on it until I am done.

If I had however, focused on the fact that I have a lot to do, I doubt I would get any of it done. I would start making excuses concerning why I cannot get it done. As you can see however, I am not doing that. I am reaching my daily, weekly, and monthly goals. In just over six months I will have also completed my annual goals because I am not focusing on negative aspects of my goals.

Don’t Hang Onto Bad Relationships

I saw my estranged husband the other day and I told him about speaking in front of an audience the other day. He tried to take credit saying that what he had been saying to me had finally sunk in. i have no idea where he thought that he had anything to do with the positive place where I am now. I always felt that he was the one who kept me from reaching for my goals. I felt as though he thought that my goals were not worthy to attempt. I felt as though any time that I wanted to do something, he made it all the more difficult to do it because he stressed my inabilities rather than my abilities.

I told him that I realized that neither of us were good for the other and that we were stuck in that relationship for too long. Staying too long in a relationship that does not serve either party is definitely something that someone should not do.

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues. Her upcoming book A Coward’s Solace will be available soon. Click here for more information about Cygnet Brown and her books.

Worthy Endeavors

June 12, 2015

Uncategorized

2 Comments

By proving myself worthy of daunting tasks, , I take myself from “I can’t do this” to “look what I have done”and in the process building my self- confidence.

Busy at work

Keeping Up The Accelerated Pace

I have been pushing myself this month with my affirmation:” I am a prolific writer”. so far I have managed to keep up the pace that I set for myself. So far I have 67 thousand total words on my current novel in progress. In addition, I have maintained the number of bubblews that I have said that I would write and, and of course, I have kept up with three posts here every week on my blog.

In addition to writing, I have been working on different aspects of my travel trailer. For the most part, I have been cleaning and putting things away so far. I also have been making plans to upgrade plumbing and wiring as well as I have been thinking about painting. I have not yet decided what I am going to do exactly, but I am definitely giving the insides of my cabinets a fresh coat of white primer just to make them appear clean and make it easier to wipe down when necessary..

Adding to that, I have been doing some public speaking. Well, okay, so I spoke at one church. I have also been attending other churches so that people can get to know me so that when I do ask to speak, they are more likely to say yes.

The best about all of this that I am not making excuses for why something cannot be done. I am learning that if I want to do something, I can do whatever that is. I just have to want to.

Enjoying Nature

You would think that as busy as I have been, I wouldn’t have time to spend in nature, but every day, I make it a point to watch the birds eating the mulberries in my front yard. I have seen a variety of birds as I have not seen before. We have bluebirds, indigo buntings, blue jays, whip-or-wills, Baltimore orioles, sparrows, and a pair of cardinals who seem to have made the tree their property. There is a chipmunk who has taken residence near the trailer and I see him every day as well. Once I looked out my back window and saw a tiny hummingbird sitting on a branch and taking a breather. What a beautiful place to get to do my writing!

Writing My Goals Out

Taking a break from writing and enjoying nature helps me take a breather from writing just it did for that little hummingbird. Another habit that I have developed is to write my goals out. When I write my goals, I write a goal that is specific, time limited, and something that I really want to do or at least be able to say that I have finished. Sometimes just the idea that I will have something done so I can cross it off the list is enough for me to finish that job. Having written it down and giving it a deadline I have looked at the goals that I have set for myself at the beginning of the year and so far I am quite pleased with my progress. I cannot wait to compare what I have done with what I have intended to do at the end of this month. I am amazed at my progress.

Budgeting my Goals

A series of goals that I have to complete, that were not on the original goal list at the beginning of the year for 2015 involves the trailer. The other day I wrote down a number of projects that I need to finish at certain times over the next several months.

I have realized that certain things need to be completed by certain times during the next several months. I still have issues related to the water system in the house (need hot water heater, and toilet leaks). As well as electric (using temporary system for now. (I need to replace the old fuse box with a breaker box.) Also I need to figure out what to do about heating and cooling. (My son has a small air conditioner that I can use. Also I need skirting around the trailer before snow flies. All this is not only going to mean a budget of money, but a budget of time. There are only so many hours until winter comes again!

My fourteen year old daughter is coming to stay with me starting Monday, and I hope that I will be able to get her interested in helping me do some things. We will see how that works!

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues. Her upcoming book A Coward’s Solace will be available soon. Click here for more information about Cygnet Brown and her books.

—howmyspiritsings

O Give thanks to the Lord of Lords: For His mercy endures for ever!

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