Over the last year, I’ve worked to transfer all domains from the horrendous labyrinth of GoDaddy hell to the more serene interface of 1and1.com.

At the time, I had about 50 domains. After I’d axed what I didn’t need, I was left with 30.

Instead of transferring them all at one time, I decided to do them as they came due.

Serious mistake. While this saved a one-time cash pay-out, it caused a lot of headaches. 

Here are some tips based on my personal experience with domain transfers. If you’ve learned headaches to avoid, please share those in the comments. I’d love to hear them!

• Weed out the old. Review the domains you have and delete those you don’t need. This can be difficult – especially if you purchased several to brand a series. Get tough with those that are likely to remain good thoughts and be vigilant with those that are use regularly.
• Check the time. Note the dates of your domain renewals. Initiate transfers about a month before they are due, if possible. If it is the day before, you are better off renewing through your old provider, then doing the transfer. If you don’t, your domain could go on the auction block before the transfer completes. In my case, I had to pay GoDaddy so the name would not be forfeited, then also pay for the transfer. That was like paying twice for the right to use that name.
• Get the details. Each domain provider has its own way to transfer domains. Find out what you need to do, print out the FAQ and keep it handy. Also, make sure your contact information is correct – especially the email – in your old account. The domain provider will send you an email to confirm the transfer.
• Transfer in bulk. Once you get rid of the ones you really don’t need, initiate the transfers. Do them all at once instead of as they come due. Do it at a time when your new domain provider has a special deal, like an initial transfer fee that is half what you normally pay. Sometimes, providers will let you secure that rate for several years. Before you begin, ask customer service if they can transfer them for you. Typically, you need hundreds for them to do it, but some companies hungry for new business will do it for you. Also, ask them to give you a special deal even if it isn’t advertised. If you have a lot of domains, or want to transfer your entire hosting package there, they might cut you a deal. (Hey, just ask. All they can do is say NO, right?)
• List ‘em. Keep a detailed list of the domains you are working with. Mark them as they get transfered. This can sometimes take days, so a list is extremely helpful to stay organized. Also, archive the final transfer emails – perhaps even keep printed copies in a folder for future reference.

HOT TIP: Whether you transfer or not, be sure your domain is set to auto-renew and that your credit card information is accurate. That way, you will never be in danger of losing it. You can also sign up for five or ten-year contracts. If you do this, be sure you use an email you plan to have for the long-term, so the company can contact you about the renewal.

 I am in love with blogsites.

These nifty online venues are a combination of a blog and Web site. Typically, they are created in the Typepad or WordPress platforms, which allow you to create pages with your blog.

Why do I love them? Because I only have to go one place to find all the information I need about a person, product, company, book, or whatever I happen to be searching for.

Blogsites have (obviously) a blog, but they also include static pages that you usually find on Web sites, like the About and Contact pages. 

As a consumer, this is incredibly convenient. I don’t have to search for – and visit – several sites to find what I need. I can get it all in one place. 

As a blogger and freelancer who frequently posts to the Web (and who is addicted to creating new blogs), I love blogsites for a few other reasons:

One program to update. I don’t have to spend time updating several programs to make changes. Everything is in one program. I also don’t have to spend a lot of time tracking down a Web designer to make costly static page changes. I can save cash by doing it myself. (This seems to be easier in Typepad – especially when dealing with photos and audio clips.)

One hosting fee. This is a biggie for my cheap Irish/German soul. For WordPress, I have one host that is extremely reliable. I keep all of my blogs with this one host for a reasonable monthly fee of $15. I don’t have to pay a design company for hosting a product they created, which can run into some serious cost if you don’t read your contract closely.

SEO. The more you post, the higher your search engine rankings on Bing, Google and the like. I find with some Web sites, it is tougher to fight for top rank positioning. However, blogs are updated frequently, which means they go higher in rank sometimes than a Web site for the same company. I have seen company blogs in the top five search results, while the static Web site appeared on the second page. If you combine your static pages with your blog, you don’t have to spend time fighting for Web site rank; it is all tied up with your blog. (Of course, blogging frequently is a necessity.)

For authors on limited budgets, these are the perfect way to offer readers, reviewers and publishers all the information they need – and not bust the marketing budget. They are incredibly easy to set up and maintain in both Typepad and WordPress. (While I have fallen hard for WordPress, I still believe Typepad is a much more user-friendly system for busy professionals.)

Does this mean you should not have a devoted Web site and separate blog? Not at all. However, I think as communication streamlines online, these types of sites will become the norm.

Not exactly sure what I mean? Check out author M.B. Weston’s site, which is hosted at Typepad. She also uses that platform for her media blog – which I found incredibly helpful when I hosted her last year at Pop Syndicate.

Over the last few weeks, several authors have asked me if blogging is really good for book marketing.

The short answer is YES!

Blogs are an incredible, free way to improve your search engine rankings, connect with readers and constantly promote your work. They are interactive, which makes them more interesting than the static pages of a traditional Web site.

Why do readers like blogs? 

Tidbits about authors. Blogs are personal musings that readers can devour to learn more about their FAV writers. Readers like personal details. It makes them feel like they know you.


Up-to-date information. Many times, authors will update their blogs more frequently than their Web sites. That makes an author blog the go-to place for info on the latest releases.

Contests. Blogs are a great way to share contest information – even if the contest is held on a social network like Twitter.

Social network links. Readers check out blogs to find author handles and links for social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

Scoops. Many authors share the cover art to their new books well before the street date. They also give tantalizing glimpses into coming stories, free short stories, and more – free items that readers eat up.

Comments. Readers love to chat, but they won’t always have an opportunity to speak to their favorite authors at book signings. Comments are a great way to get feedback from fans. 

Free stuff. Who doesn’t love free stuff? Readers especially enjoy a good contest filled with freebies like books, bookmarks, postcards, coffee samplers (with a cup) and more. They also like free short stories, original art and anything unique the author can post.

As a reader, what makes you check out an author’s blog?

 2010 didn’t start off amazingly well here at Market My Novel.

I could give you a lot of excuses why. I was burned out, I launched a new blog, was looking for more freelance work, etc.

The real reason? My blog wasn’t working.

That’s right. Miss Social Media Diva had a blog program that didn’t work, and it was all thanks to a few little plugins that needed to be updated.

Without these upgrades I had to hand code nearly everything. Sometimes the hard break codes would vanish and I’d have to reinsert them several times until they stuck. This took up so much time – and caused so much aggravation – that I just let it go and worked on other things.

Normally, I upgrade my plugins like clockwork. However, I discovered the hard way that these little babies were paid plugins tied to my blog transfer last year. It wasn’t very expensive, but it was an expense I hadn’t planned for. I tried to work without them, but that didn’t work, either.

I was also seriously aggravated at myself for not anticipating this expense, too. I had tried to ask every question tied to the transfer that I could think of, but still didn’t think of them all. (I think I was mad at myself more than anything. You know how that goes when you try to plan things out financially.)

With $1K in dental and eye doctors expenses I have to finagle (Is that even a word?) in my budget, I just put it off… and put it off…until finally one day I couldn’t take it anymore and ponied up.

Now, my blog is running smoothly, coding itself and making my blogging life that much nicer. It was definitely worth the money.

Finally, all of these ideas and links and stories I’ve wanted to share, I CAN share –  without the hassle.

The morals of this story?

Whenever you ask questions about Web design, you will NEVER think of everything, no matter how hard you try.

Your blogging will suffer if you don’t have a program that works. It is better to pay up fast and keep content flowing, than to let things slide. 

If you are on WordPress, update your plugins regularly! If you start to have issues, go back and uninstall the last plugin you added and see if that is the issue.

Image credit: David Beaulieu, About.com

Recently, I’ve encountered several really cool blogs that haven’t updated in months – sometimes years.

Like homes caught in the midst of the bad economy, these blogs were abandoned for whatever reason by their creators. Many times there are no explanations, no caveats, no links to a new and improved blog, just a lot of content from cyber yesteryears. It’s a shame, too, because many times the archives offer a wealth of incredibly important information – some that still pertains to cyber marketing today.

Some of you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Seriously, someone stops blogging, who cares? There are millions of other blogs out there waiting to fill the niche.

Fact is, some can’t fill the niche provided by these dead blogs. Some niches died, but the archives are incredibly valuable for research. Without some notice, it seems like the blogger just vanished – gave up in the midstream and left everyone hanging – which is not good for the blogger’s brand.

If your blog is dead or dying, there are a few things you can do for current and future archives readers:

Tell readers why. Create a final post telling folks the blog is dead. Make it simple. "I don’t have time to blog anymore." "I want to focus on writing." One book reviewer did a very blunt post three years ago about being completely burned out by the pace and work it took to review books for his blog. Another blogger wrote that his blog was for a class project and would only be up for nine months.

Link to new sites. Some bloggers switch platforms, but for whatever reason, are unable to carry their archives over. Make certain there is a prominent link to your new cyber home so future readers will know where they can find you.

Leave the archives. If your blog is dead, it is still a good idea to keep the archives active – especially if you write reviews, provide downloadable products to readers or host other guest bloggers. This is easy if it is built on a free platform like WordPress or Blogger, but some may not want to pay hosting to infinity for a dead blog.

Sell it. If you have a devoted readership, you may be able to sell your blog to someone with the time and energy to take it to the next level.

Give it away. For blogs with several contributors, it is a good idea to check with everyone a few times a year to be sure the blogging schedule still works. If not, the blog may die, or individual bloggers may leave and others take their place. If you are the site administrator and no longer have time for those duties, it is a good idea to find a replacement, rather than close the blog without discussion.

Here are a few good articles on dead blogs:

How to Kill Your Blog Successfully (ProBlogger)

How to Know When to Stop Blogging (Lorelle on WordPress)

Have you ever killed a blog? How did you do it?

Many authors say they cannot find time to blog. It takes too long, it takes away from writing time, it is too much of a commitment, etc.

My philosophy on blogging – as I've said on this blog many times before – is it should be fun and informative. You can write a bunch of blogs at one time and post-date them. You can commit to a certain number of days per week to blog that fits with your schedule – not someone else's. (Three days a week typically works for me.) You can make it as hard – or as fun – as you want.

Every aspect of blogging is up to you. To really brand yourself and your work, blogging is essential to any marketing plan, so if you are not blogging, I encourage you to throw out the excuses and get started. Start slow – maybe a post a week – then gradually increase until you find a schedule that works for you. During this time, you will also "find" yourself as a blogger.  By this I mean you will define yourself and your blog's content theme.

ProBlogger has a fantastic post about how to make blogging work for the part-time blogger. Check out "Advice for Part-Time Bloggers Juggling Blogging with Work, Family and Other Commitments."

After reading my post, How Do You Build Blog Traffic?," publicist Don Lafferty wrote:

Good stuff, Angela.

For someone with no blogging experience, the dynamics of the
practice can be difficult to grasp, especially when trying to explain
the psyche of the average blogger and blog reader.

Gaining an understanding of how and why blogs are read is an
important first step in getting a wannabe blogger to that "eureka"
moment.

Once the new blogger gets this, your advice regarding easy
linking/sharing tools, regular posting of quality content and lots of
promotion all make a lot more sense.

Don makes a good point. Why do I blog? What blogs do I read and why? What keeps me coming back for more?

This isn't easy to explain, so I will just share with you how I got started and my blogging habits.

A few years ago, I started a Blogger account after a friend urged me to start blogging. Knowing that I am a writer and former journalist with an opinion on just about everything, he thought it would be the perfect fit.

At the time, Blogger was a pretty basic service – but it was free. I started a personal account and started writing. I considered my blog my personal online journal, something I could share with friends and family, and that could be found by others within the Blogger director or search engines. I wasn't worried about SEO or building an audience. I just wanted to write.

The former reporter in me really loved the fact that I could give an opinion without going through some convoluted editorial process that would ultimately change the meaning of my words. I was sick of the editorial filter and its biased urges to find bleeding headlines to win contests and sell papers, rather than telling the real news out there.

The more I blogged, the more potential I could see in it. Friends everywhere would check it out, or subscribe to my RSS feed if they knew what that was. (Sadly, many of my friends don't. I need to get a bottle of wine, some snacks and teach them.)

When it really hit me was with my first comment – from someone I did not even know. I received several more after I blogged about a church I used to attend that was in flux.

I realized I had a voice. I wasn't anonymous anymore. These people, who didn't even know me, had found my blog, found something interesting on it and actually commented about it.

For me, this was my Ah hah! moment. I started researching social media in earnest. I tried to get those in the nonprofit I worked for at the time involved, but it was the Internet – which to them was akin to the Devil's Horns of television (rabbit ears for those too young to remember that phrase).

I moved on to a new job that wanted social media interaction – until they realized they were too old fashioned to be in cyberspace. It was a bad job move and before I knew it, I was out in the cold in a bad market.

Six months of unemployment nearly drove me insane. But my blog was there, and I talked very openly about my life, what I was feeling, how down I was… I bared my soul to perfect strangers because I knew that somehow, somewhere, someone else was feeling the same way – or they had at some point in their lives.

My posts reached some people who truly needed it. They didn't feel so alone. Once again, perfect strangers were touched by my words. It was amazing and humbling. I realized the true potential and power of my voice online – even if it was just to a small audience.

Six months, two crappy jobs later, I got a cake gig at a nationwide company with a social media division. There, I wrote news updates, then started taking on clients for social media projects, like blogging, social networking and podcasting.

I was in heaven. This job combined my love for the net, my journalism and writing skills and my hunger for more information on just about anything. It also allowed me to share my knowledge with others – something I truly love to do. I wouldn't have started Market My Novel otherwise.

This is why I blog.

When I search for new blogs, I look for anything on social media – obviously – but I also look for blogs with interesting factoids about films, TV, books, reviews, animals, writing prompts and more. If a blog hasn't been updated in a month, I don't go back to it. (This does not apply to personal blogs, only those with a professional message. Personal blogs aren't updated as much – and don't have to be unless they are your one blogging stop.)

Recently, I found a fabulous blog post at a Texas attorney blog that I wanted to use. I would have – until I realized he had not updated for six months. I did not bother. I did not want to send viewers of our blog to one that failed to update in a reasonable fashion.

I find fabulous blogs through StumbleUpon. If you don't have an account, or the StumbleUpon toolbar, get it. Read my post with Stumble expert Caroline Middlebrook for more details. Stumbling helps easy my brain and gives me a mental health break in the middle of my online workdays. I always find something for writing, or for client blogs.

For those of you who don't "get" blogging, I hope something in my journey will spark a fire in you to begin your own path down the blogosphere.

Good luck!

You can view my personal blog at http://www.angelawilson.blogspot.com, but be warned: I share everything in here about my life, my political views religion and more. If you want my professional blog, stay here. I don't blog there nearly as much, thanks to a Twitter addiction, this blog and client blogs.

fter reading my recent post When – and What – to Blog, author Pat Guthrie asked this question:

Pat – Building a blog audience takes about a year, so don't be troubled if you do not see immediate results. Here are some suggestions to jolt your hits:

• I had a difficult time finding the link on your blog. I kept looking for it in the left navigation buttons. Consider making the link more prominent. Perhaps create one page and link to it with a button that lists all of your social media sites.
• You do a great job on your posts and post more regularly than some. I
  would strongly encourage you to post at least three times a week. Posts
  don't have to be long, or personal stories every time. You can post
  links to interesting stories or Web sites if you like.
• Approach authors on your blogroll about guest blogging. This will open you up to new audiences and drive traffic to your site.
• Open your blog up to guest bloggers, or interview other authors about their work. This also opens your blog up to new audiences.
• If you have a new book coming out, start blogging about it. Build up the launch on your blog by having a countdown.
• Talk about writing your novel. Many authors shy away from this because they don't want someone else to steal their work. You don't have to say anything about the plot. Just talk about the writing, good days, bad days, days when the novel placed second to life. Readers like to find out more about their favorite writers and how they work.
• Blog from a characters point of view. Create an original post from the perspective of a character, with a tag line at the bottom about the book they were featured in, along with a link to buy.
• Publicize your blog during virtual book tours and in forums and groups.
• Change up the colors and design of your blog and email fans to check out the new and improved site.  Have a contest with a great giveaway to get them to drop by, check it out and leave comments.
• Publicize your blog on swag you use for book promotions, including postcards, business cards and bookmarks.
• E-mail your friends and family, Facebook and MySpace networks with the address. Remind them that you are here and that you have fun life stories to share. This really works if you hold a contest. People LOVE freebies.
• Get a Feedburner account and add an RSS feed to your site. Allow readers to subscribe via email, or in a feed reader. Feedburner will tell you how many people subscribe to your feed and what readers they use.
• Dump the site meter. Google Analytics will do everything you need and more. Here is a great video from Google highlighting this free service.

Good luck!

fter reading my post, Are You Blogging on Amazon?," children's and YA author Julie Berry posted a great question about blogging:

What should you blog about?
Blogs, vlogs and microblogs are all about personal connections to your readers. These are public journals that give insight into you as a person, a writer, guest blogger, a pet owner, a mother, a grandmother, a worker bee, a busy-body, a coffee fanatic… You get the idea. Also consider sharing links to other author blogs and Web sites that you find interesting.

Before you begin blogging, you should review other blogs and see what content you like and what you don't. Then, sit down and make a list of things you would feel comfortable sharing with readers. Set clear parameters. For example, some authors avoid politics and religion.

A good rule of thumb for some: If you won't talk about it at the dinner table, then don't post about it.

When is the sales pitch OK?
Everyone understands that an author is going to post links to their new works on Amazon. Blogs and the like are a great way to build up to a book launch. Here are ways you can make your posts fun and exciting – and not feel like a slick sales pitch:

• Talk about the book as your write it. Share your ups and downs as a writer with your readers. For example, your cat pukes a hairball all over your freshly printed manuscript. You are out of ink, barely have paper and the gas tank is dry. It is a Monday that every reader can relate to and they will empathize with you. (Can you tell I'm a cat owner?)
• Talk about the joys of getting the book finished.
• Do a countdown to publication and what that means for you as a writer-turned-promoter.
• Tell readers about guest blogging engagements so they can drop by and leave a comment. Here is a quick and simple way to do it without feeling too sales-ee. "Today I drop by ABCBooks.com to blog about my latest, TRAIN WRECK. The interview asked some great questions. If you have time, stop by. Here is the link: http://…"
• If something is delayed, talk about it.
• In between posts about the book launch, post items that are more personal, so your blog is a healthy mix of business and fun.

How often should you blog?

Everyone has different blogging goals.

Many people try to do a blog post per day. I think this is fantastic, but it isn't possible for everyone. If you blog at least three times per week – meaningful content – then you are doing well.

Personally, I try to blog at least three times per week at Market My
Novel. I blog everyday for clients, but I have limits and like to see
the sunshine every now and then. Many other bloggers also do the
3-A-Week approach on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

There are exceptions to the rule. For example, I've read a wine blog that posts only twice per month. Normally, this would not do much for developing readership. However, that particular audience never fails to show up at this particular blog.

Blogging is a personal venue to touch base with your readers. Be sure to add an RSS feed to your site, so people can have your updates automatically emailed to their Inboxes, or pick them up in a feed reader.