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5 Reasons You Need to Blog

By Jan Fishler Leave a Comment

Whether you’re an author or an entrepreneur, blogging needs to be a regular part of your life. Why, you might ask? There are several good reasons:

  1. Blogging, i.e. writing about your business, establishes you as an authority, someone people want to go to and work with. You don’t have to look too deeply into your own life to know this is true. Would you pick a doctor or dentist at random from the Yellow Pages (yes, phone books are still being printed), or from Google, or would you ask around for recommendations from family members or friends? Recently, I read a Yelp review for a hand surgeon I was referred to, but had not yet met. The reviews were so bad that I picked up the phone and cancelled my appointment! Your clients want to have faith in your ability to meet and serve their needs. Your blog can provide the wisdom, knowledge, and insight that makes them feel comfortable.
  1. Your blog is a way to let your clients (customers) and prospects know that you care about them—even if you don’t say it directly. Regularly posting useful and helpful information let’s your client know you are aware of their needs and care enough to share content that will make life easier in some way. Freely sharing your knowledge doesn’t take a lot of time, and it helps build a rapport. Going back to the doctor who received the poor Yelp rankings. One of the biggest complaints was his poor “bedside manner” and brusque attitude. Obviously, his patients didn’t feel that he cared, and as a result, they took the time to let others know about it. Helpful blog posts by this same surgeon might have made a world of difference.
  1. Content you provide via your blog can help you establish and build your mailing list. This is something every business owner needs to do. By asking visitors to subscribe to your blog (newsletter or other information), you now have permission to send them emails. Email marketing is one of the most affordable ways to promote your products and services and announce offers that are of interest to your clients. You can also use the list to send out surveys and questionnaires that will help you get more information about the needs of the people you serve.
  1. Once it’s posted, a blog is something you can share via other social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Regularly sharing content creates a win-win situation. Not only are you broadcasting helpful information, but your blog posts help you attract people who need to know about the products and services you offer.
  1. Depending on how often you blog and the quality of your content, over time, blog posts can be assembled into articles, press releases, monthly newsletters, even eBooks and sent out to your list – you know, the one that keeps gaining subscribers because you’re blogging and sharing important information. I recently did this. In 2014, I knew I was going to be working almost full-time collaborating on a book and wouldn’t have a lot of time to blog. Instead of my usually 500+ word posts, I decided to post a new writing prompt each day. Recently, I took advantage of Create Space and turned those posts into a paperback and a downloadable Kindle book. For those of you who are a fountain of knowledge, your blog posts can be an excellent opportunity to download and storehouse information that can be repurposed at a later time.

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Jan Fishler is the producer of the Path to PublicationDVD series filmed at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers featuring Amy Tan, Janet Fitch, Mark Childress and other well-known authors, agents, and publishers. She is the author of Searching for Jane, Finding Myself (An Adoption Memoir) and Flex Your Writing Muscle – 365 Days of Writing Prompts. She writes articles for VietNow National Magazine and has a bi-monthly column, “Healthy Options” in The Union newspaper.Content goes here

Filed Under: Writing Tips Tagged With: blogging, Online Marketing, writing, writting eBooks

eBook Publishing

By Janfishler Leave a Comment

This week, I’m determined to learn how to put an eBook together and upload it to Kindle. Learning about eBook publishing can’t be rocket science. My memoir has been on Kindle for more than a year, but I didn’t format the book myself, and I paid $100 to have someone upload it. There are plenty of resources, including Word templates on the Internet. And, there’s a free Kindle book, Building Your Book for Kindle Publishing.  All that stands between me and getting the job done, is focusing on the task at hand.

Many years ago, I attended a hypnosis workshop, and a piece of paper was handed to me that had the number 2 inside a circle followed by the word, it.  It took me several minutes to understand the meaning: get around to it! I don’t know if the message was unique to me, or if everyone in the room received the same one, but I’ve kept this message in mind ever since. Over the years I’ve come to realize that the only reason I don’t accomplish my goals is that I haven’t made them a priority–either I haven’t focused on them or I didn’t get around to it.

Like many people, I have a tendency to spread myself too thin, to put too many items on my to-do list, and become overwhelmed. Having a primary focus  for the week, as my business coach suggested, worked last week. I made great progress on my website. It’s not finished yet, but the vision is clear and the structure is there.  Now, week-by-week, I’ll be adding content and moving forward with my marketing efforts. I digress….this week is all about eBook publishing.

That concludes my 5-minutes of writing for today.  I’m always amazed at how much I can write when I get around to it!

Filed Under: Commentary on Writing and Life Tagged With: writing tips, writting eBooks

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