Go Tell It: Write for the Secular Market

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Go Tell It

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“Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.” That’s the message Christian writers proclaim. We work from the Christian Writers Market Guide and attend Christian writers conferences. But, that does not mean a Christian writer cannot write for the “secular” market.

In fact, if you write only for Christian publishers, you are “preaching to the choir.” Why not write for non-religious publications where you can reach someone who has not heard or received the message. Whatever you write about, you can include a Christian concept, a Bible verse, or an “overtly Christian” message.

Don’t just tell it on the mountain. Take it over the hills and everywhere you can.

As an example, here’s a humor piece I submitted to Hometown Magazine of the KenTenn Area (circulation 5,000).

Life Lessons: I’ve Learned….

Live, Learn, and Pass It On. That’s a good philosophy of life. It’s also the title of a gift book first published by Thomas Nelson in 1991. The book is authored by Tennessean H. Jackson Brown. “On the morning of my fifty-first birthday,” Jackson writes, “I thought it would be interesting and maybe even enlightening to jot down a few things more than half a century of living had taught me.” He expanded his own list to include contributions from children and family members. Some are funny, while others are quite serious. I like the ones that make me smile.

Some of the life observations in Brown’s book include:

  • I’ve learned that you can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. — Age 7 (my favorite)
  • I’ve learned that goldfish don’t like Jello. — Age 5
  • I’ve learned that if I eat donuts today I wear them tomorrow. — Age 39
  • I’ve learned that life is like a scooter car; not much happens unless you do some pedaling. – Age 79

Inspired by Brown, I decided to make my own list of things I’ve learned. I won’t publicize my age, but, if you know me, you realize I’m over the hill and picking up speed. I’ve learned that:

  • Plumbing repairs have a way of becoming plumbing emergencies.
  • One person’s perfume is someone else’s headache.
  • A medicine that helps one ailment often causes another.
  • Dogs are people’s best friends, but they are hard on the budget.
  • Cats are nobody’s friends and they are hard on the budget, too.
  • Decaf sugar-free mocha latte does not wash out of a yellow t-shirt.
  • Other people’s grandkids are not as cute (or smart) as mine.
  • Ants swimming in your coffee look just like big ole coffee grounds.
  • My new washing machine is smarter than I am, and it’s out to get me.
  • Preparation H and toothpaste look a lot alike if I’m not wearing my glasses.

We could go on, but perhaps you should take your advice from someone wiser than I am. Here’s a final word of wisdom from the Apostle Paul: “Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:12b-13 (NKJV).

Subscribers: If you have have published work (online only) that’s written for secular market but includes a Christian message, comment on this post and share the link.

Next post: To Market, To Market: Reaching the World with Your Work

Footnote: Live and Learn and Pass It On is available in its entirety on Google Books here: http://tinyurl.com/byxrdg3.

Marketing: Mind Your Four P’s

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News: The Christian PEN Proofreaders and Editors Network is offering a four-week online class entitled Marketing Your Services  beginning Monday, May 20, 2013. Details here.

I am the instructor, and I will post the lesson on a Google group each Monday. Once the students read the material, they may ask questions or initiate discussions on the group. Instructor responds to all posts. Homework assignments are included but optional. If you do the homework, you get a certificate of course completion from The Christian PEN. Class is geared to people wanting to market their editing services, but it is a good way to learn to apply the classic Four P’s of marketing to your situation.

The Four P’s (Product, Promotion, Place, and Price) are components of the Marketing Mix, a planning model developed by Neil H. Borden in the sixties. The fact that it has been around so long is a testament to its effectiveness as a business tool. Writers, like it or not, must think like business managers if they want to sell their work. But, how do you adapt this model to your own situation?

Here’s how I apply the Four P’s to Blog4Writers.

Product: Blog4writers is a free online collection of articles and resources for writers seeking to publish their work. Although it is targeted to Christian writers, those who write for secular markets may useful information here.

  • Articles are less than 500 words and contain links to further information.
  • Topics (categories) are marketing, websites and blogs, writers’ resources (online and print), “Get Organized,” and inspirational.
  • In the marketing category, articles are marked with sub-categories Product, Place, Promotion, and Price.

Promotion: I use standard blog promotion methods, but word of mouth has worked best for me. The people who have met me, either online or in person, are most likely to subscribe. Here’s a list of my promotion methods.

  • Post on Facebook and Twitter announcing new articles. Wait until after the subscription feed has been out a day or two. That way, I can tell whether traffic is coming from the subscribers or from the social networks.
  • Join online Christian writers’ groups. If someone on those groups asks a question, I check to see if I have an article on the blog that answers that question. I then post the link to the group.
  • Business cards promoting Blog4writers are with me all the time so that I don’t miss an opportunity to promote!

Place: In manufacturing, the Place component applies to the distribution—how the customer accesses the product. But, my users access Blog4Writers via the Internet. Also, I “place” the URL in my other blogs and in my e-mail signature to remind people that it’s available.

Price: Well, for Blog4writers, that’s easy. It’s free to anyone who takes the time to check it out. Maybe not exactly free, though.Visitors do have to spend a little effort to search for the information they need.

Four P’s analysis can be used for projects large and small, for your entire writing effort or just for one part of it. It makes you think about what you’re trying to do, and it jumpstarts your creative thought processes. Try it, and let me know how it works out.

Blog4Writers Poll: If you did not have time to vote in the “make-over” poll last week, you can still vote here.

My previous articles:

Blog4Writers: Help Give It a Makeover

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website building

Image courtesy of scottchan, / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 
 

Blog4Writers will be having a makeover soon. I’m looking for a new theme (design) to give it a fresh appearance, and I’ll be doing some restructuring of the menus to make information easier to find. The most important feature of Blog4Writers, though, is its content, so the makeover must include subject matter. This is where I need your help.

Readers, you can participate in the makeover by completing the survey below. Blog4Writers content is driven by requests from subscribers and questions raised by fellow writers. All content falls within one of the categories listed. Tell me what categories most interest you, and feel free to make suggestions or request a new category by using the “other” option.

If, for some reason, the survey does not appear in your e-mail, click this link to go to my site and complete the survey. Thank you for your help.

Hone Your Craft with Online Courses

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Have you wanted to attend a Christian writers’ conference but can’t afford the tuition and travel? Consider taking online classes. There are a number of options. Usually, the fees are reasonable, and there are no travel expenses to worry about. Your continuing education dollar goes entirely to honing your craft and getting to know other writers as you learn.

The Christian PEN Proofreaders and Editors Network: Freelance editor Kathy Ide organized The Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network as a Google group. The Christian PEN offers online courses for people wanting to become freelance editors, also through Google groups. I joined the PEN several years ago. At the time, discussions were more frequent than they are now. However, any member can post a question at any time and expect to get answers from other members. The online classes, though, are the most valuable benefit for me. Reviewing grammar and style helped me realize how I could make my writing more professional. The fiction editing classes helped me learn to write better fiction. This year, there are classes on formatting e-books. Especially useful to me as a writer was my first class, “Proofreading and Editing for Clients.” Classes being offered this year are listed here.

Contributing members of TCP pay lower course fees than non-members, but all the fees are reasonable. Kathy Ide does not teach all of the courses. Instructors must be contributing members and submit a course syllabus to Kathy for approval. I am teaching the marketing class that starts in May. Jeanne Leach, Kathy’s assistant, manages the enrollment details for all courses. Ask questions or register for classes from the contact page on the website.

Bestseller Society: This is a fairly new membership site offered by Thomas Umstaddt of Author Media, Jeff Gerke (nationally known fiction editor and founder of Marcher Lord Press), and non-fiction author Mary DeMuth. The offerings include videos, audios, and forums—too much to merely summarize here. Please go to the home page and check out everything on the home page before looking at the pricing. Membership categories include Mastermind (everything), Nonfiction, Book Marketing, and Fiction.

Writer’s Digest Online Workshops and Webinars: These courses are more costly than TCP, but they do carry the Writer’s Digest name. The Writer’s Digest University page is here. For a complete listing of the online courses, check here.

Readers, if you have experience with any of the above, please comment on this post and tell us about it. If you are a member of Bestseller Society, I am open to someone doing a guest post about it. E-mail me at akinemily at gmail.com.

Disclaimer: I have not taken any of the WD workshops myself, but I have heard from friends that they were pleased with their experience. I am not a member of Bestseller Society.

Spring Link Roundup 2013

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My DaffodilsSpring is officially here, but you can’t tell it by the temperatures in my neck of the woods. Since recent posts have been about blogging, my spring link roundup will be about writing. Hopefully, these selections will give you warm feelings to compensate for the cool weather.

Tips

Dealing with Rejection

Promotion

Journaling

Have you recently run across a great article for writers? Please comment on this post and supply the link. To comment, go to the post page by clicking here.

Monkeying with MailChimp

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With Google Reader disappearing from the blog scene, this is a good time to encourage your blog subscribers to switch from Reader to an e-mail subscription. Also, for those who use Feedburner for e-mail subscriptions, did you know that there have been rumors that Google may give Feedburner the axe, too?

Wanting to be ahead of any possible crisis, I recently transferred my e-mail subscriptions from Feedburner to MailChimp. First, I checked with others about what service they used. My friend, Tracy Crump, uses MailChimp for WriteLifeNewsletter. Others are changing to Feedblitz (not free). But, many are going with MailChimp, a service that is free up to 2,000 subscribers.

Why I chose MailChimp:

  • It’s recommended by friends and by many high-profile bloggers and web designers, like Author Media, Chris Lema, and ProBlogger.
  • Tutorials are excellent. Take a look at the Getting Started knowledge base here. Then, browse the Resources page. There’s help on every page through every step in the setup process.
  • RSS to E-mail set-up is easy. Although it works well for e-mail marketing, in which you compose a specific message for each campaign, MailChimp has an RSS to e-mail feature. It plugs your blog content into a pre-designed form and mails it out each time you publish a new post.
  • Statistics are great. After each message is sent, you get a report telling you how many e-mails were sent, opened, clicked through, unopened, and/or bounced. You also get an e-mail from support confirming the number of messages sent and providing links to reports on MailChimp site.
  • Social media buttons can be added to the message template. Pick and choose which ones you want to add.
  • You can customize the look of your message template, even adding your own unique header.
  • It’s fun. The MailChimp monkey is on every page with a cute remark to keep us smiling, and this helps us relax. For example, the confirmation message from support starts out this way: “Huzzah, your campaign has been sent.” After giving the details about the campaign, you get a word of encouragement: “This was a fine piece of work. You totally deserve a raise.”
  • Youtube tutorials are available. I found several helpful videos. This one is on getting started with MailChimp: http://youtu.be/VcB6CuSj4m4. Another was for moving your mailing list from another service: http://youtu.be/AfvohOkh_YM. And, this one I found especially helpful: http://youtu.be/b3PhUC7-yxI.

It took some work to get my first campaign ready to go. But, now that all that work is done, I’m very happy with MailChimp.

Subscribers, if you use another service for your blog, please tell us about it by commenting on this post. Comment by linking the post and scrolling down to “Leave a Reply.”

How to Follow Blogs Efficiently

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@ sign

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Got your list of blogs you want to follow? Good. Now, it’s time to organize your blog reading. Most people subscribe by e-mail, and that works well when you’re only following a few. It becomes difficult if you follow 10 or more and your blog messages are mixed in with your personal e-mails.

For several years, I’ve followed about 100 blogs using RSS feed and Google Reader. If you had a chance to read my article Suscribing by RSS Feed, you may know how that works. If not, here goes my quick explanation. Every time a blogger publishes a new post, the blogging platform (WordPress, Blogger, or other) feeds the information out,  thus letting the world know there’s new content on the site. It’s this feed that comes into feed readers like Google’s. The blog owner may have the feed set up to go a service like Feedburner and MailChimp, where the post is sent out as an e-mail to subscribers.

When I started this series on following blogs, I planned to cap it off by recommending Google Reader. But, Google has created utter chaos in the blogging world by deciding to do away with Reader this summer. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve experimented with alternatives, and I’m totally frustrated with all of them. I may revisit the subject of feed readers in the future, but, for now, I want nothing to do with them. So, didn’t I say I would tell you how to organize your blog reading? Keep reading.

My Recommendation? E-Mail Subscriptions

  • Use a dedicated e-mail address for blog reading. I’ve started working on subscribing to all my blogs via e-mail but not with the e-mail address I use for correspondence. I’ve opened a free e-mail account exclusively for reading blogs. It won’t be as efficient as a feed reader, but it will work while market forces determine what will take Google Reader’s place. Yahoo and Hotmail are good free e-mail services that are not likely to go away any time soon.
  • Subscribe by e-mail whenever you can. Sometimes, you’ll find a site that does not offer e-mail subscriptions. Such sites might offer a newsletter instead. Subscribe to the newsletters using the same address you use for your blogs. Then, each day, when you make time to check out your blogs, they’ll all be in one place with no distractions. If there’s no subscription offering at all, just bookmark the site and check it occasionally.
  • Read your blogs once or twice a day. Drop everything else, log in to your dedicated e-mail account and scan the subject lines. If there are some subjects that don’t interest you at all, delete them without reading. Open the ones that do interest you. If you don’t have time to read the whole thing immediately, “star” it for later or mark it Unread. Process all new messages at each visit. Once you’ve read a message, you can delete it or leave it for future reference.
  • Don’t be overwhelmed. It may take some time to get this set up like you want it. Get your e-mail account first. Then, subscribe to five blogs. After a couple of weeks, add five more. You can always unsubscribe later if the material doesn’t suit your needs.

Readers, you’re invited to comment on how you organize your blog following. Comment on this post or send me a message through my Contact page.

Next week: Monkeying with MailChimp.

Confused? Which Blogs to Follow, Part 2

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Housekeeping! Subscribers, you may get two e-mails from Blog4Writers this week. I am attempting to change from Feedburner to MailChimp for my e-mail distribution. If MailChimp works correctly this week, I’ll take down Feedburner before next post. Thank you for your patience.

In this post, I’ll recommend specific blogs that I follow regularly. In a future post, I’ll share ways to follow blogs and, I hope I am successful in finding another method to replace Google Reader!

Blogs about writing in general: See my earlier post, Get Your Writing in Shape, for some preferred blogs in this category. Plus, take a look at these.

Writing Fiction

 Publishing (Agents & Editors)

Marketing/Blogging/Social Media

Now, choose one blog from each category. OK, let’s go with two from the Marketing/Social Media category. These five blogs will be your priority. Subscribe to them by e-mail for now. Consider setting up a new free webmail address on Yahoo or Hotmail to use exclusively for reading blogs. You can always change the subscription method if you change your mind, but you need to get started following this content right away.

PS: Just when I thought I had everything figured out, something changed.  Google Reader, my favorite (and recommended) method of following a large number of blogs is being discontinued this summer. This totally messes up the whole direction of this series of blog posts. However—we press on.

Next post, we’ll look at ways to follow all your blogs more efficiently. If you want to get ahead of us, check out my article, Subscribing by RSS Feed. Just be sure to ignore any reference to Google Reader. Suggest others by commenting on this post and providing URL.

What Blogs Should You Follow?

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Image courtesy of Salvator Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Salvator Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How do I decide which writer blogs to follow? This question came from a writer friend who wants to learn about writing and the publishing business, but she wants to have time to write, too. She also said, “Don’t just tell me to keep up with what’s happening in the industry.” She wants me to tell her “how.”

First, you need to know what’s available. If you google “recommended blogs for writers,” you’ll find links to a number of lists. Here are some that I think you should check out.

Take some time to browse the blogs on the above lists. Wait, didn’t you want me to tell you which blogs to follow? Well, the decision to follow or not to follow is yours alone. Browse the above lists this week. Bookmark the ones that might interest you. In the next post, I’ll  give you a list of some of the blogs I follow. Then, in a subsequent post, I’ll suggest priorities and methods of following blogs efficiently.

Note to subscribers: If you are an e-mail subscriber, your blog can be listed on my blogroll. Just send me your URL for your site or blog and I will add it to the list (akinemilyatgmail.com).

DIY or Pay for Your WordPress Website

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Image courtesy of scottchan, / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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In last week’s post, Three Ways to Have a WordPress Site, I suggested that newcomers to blogging start with a free WordPress.com blog. Beginners can learn the basics this way and work their way up to self-hosted WordPress. If you’ve decided you’re ready to go self-hosted, the next decision is whether you want to do it yourself (DIY) or hire someone to set it up for you (PAY). So, how do you decide?

Decide to DIY if:

  • You’ve been blogging with WordPress for some time and are familiar with how it works. Again, I recommend you get familiar with the free WordPress at WordPress.com before trying to go self-hosted.
  • You are good at reading directions and finding help online. WordPress.org has a help section called the Codex where you can find answers to many questions. Also, there are a number of tutorials on YouTube.
  • You’re on a tight budget, and you think the domain name and hosting fees are all you can afford.

Choose to PAY if:

  • You have not set up or managed a blog or website before. When looking for someone to do your site, ask each candidate if they provide initial tutoring.
  • You don’t have a lot of time to devote to the setup process. DIY takes a lot of time. Once your basic setup is done, there are design features, called widgets and plugins, that will need to be configured in addition regular posting.
  • Money is no object. Laugh if you want, but, as Ben Franklin once said, “time is money.” If you can afford a professional job, you’ll be “buying time” to write.

Whatever you decide, here are some tips to help you get going. Browse the information below before making your decision.

Info to help you decide:

  • Watch Jeff Goins, The Short Guide to Launching a Self-Hosted Blog in 8 Minutes or Less. This is a screencast that shows you how to set up hosting, install WordPress, and choose a theme. It does not tell you everything you need to know, but it is a good start.
  • Michael Hyatt’s How to Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less. This one is longer, but gives more detail. There’s also an accompanying article that covers most of what’s in the video. You get a discount on Bluehost hosting, $1 per month off regular price, if you click through from Hyatt’s video to buy your hosting.
  • Visit Author Media. This company has done WordPress sites for a number of Christian authors. Browse their site, especially their Portfolio page, before you look at the pricing. I’ve followed their blog and listened to one of their free webinars. They seem very knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with.

Disclaimer/Legal Mumbo-Jumbo: I have no connection with Jeff Goins or Michael Hyatt, other that the fact that I subscribe to their blogs. There may be a number of other WordPress site-building services that are perfectly fine. I have not had any personal experience with any of them. Author Media has not done any work for me. I am simply providing a link to their site as an example. I am not receiving any remuneration for recommending any person or service mentioned in this post.

More Sample WordPress Self-hosted Sites: