Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:
Drinking can destroy lives, and Randi quickly learns how. “Love & Tequila” follows Randi Blanchard as her alcoholism spirals out of control and leaves her life broken and in shambles, with her husband trying to take her children away, spurned by drinking and infidelity. Trying to recover her life is a road that’s a rough one to walk, but she realizes it must be done, and what is truly important. “Love & Tequila” is a poignant read from an author who has faced the destructive power that alcohol has on families.
As promised, I’m back this week to unpack some of the specifics when it comes to using titles and tags to boost your dividends during the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process.Two weeks ago, you’ll remember, I launched this series with a brief history of search engines and an inquiry into the necessity of SEO.First, I investigated a few ways in which we can better employ keywords.A week ago, I dedicated an entire blog post to talking about matters of content.This is because keywords are often an important doorway, or entry point for many new readers––that is, the way in which they first stumble across or access your work––and content is the house you build behind that doorway, the material that absorbs new readers and gives them a place to settle into conversation with you.
It might be tempting to view titles and tags as merely decorative––a nice piece of wall art to hang above your mantel, or a set of attractivebut generic photographs to tuck into the guest bathroom––but this is far from the truth, and far from doing justice to the potential benefit that a knowledgable and strategic use of these tools can provide.Titles and tags are highly functional components of your digital content.Think of them as the windows, screen doors, and patio of this metaphor; they increase the visibility of your material.Today, I’m going to lead you through two additional steps that may be of use to you as you get started with your own SEO.
Step 3: Optimize Your Title
Coming up with a title for your digital material can be every bit as difficult as creating the content that follows.As other websites can tell you, search engines like Google and Bing have character limits on title tags.This means that above and beyond considerations of readability on your website or YouTube channel or blog page, you have to consider an additional layer of presentation: will enough of your title show up on a search engine listing to pull new readers in?To show you what I mean, I plugged “Rising in the Ranks” and “Self Publishing Advisor” into Google (top) and Bing (bottom), just to see how much of my own title tags are showing up after my blog posts are indexed and cached:
Google search listingBing search listing
As you can see, Google displays the titles of my individual blog posts twice––first, in a larger typeface and a more eye-catching color, and then again in a smaller font.The larger typeface only leaves room for 55 or so characters, and the rest is covered by an ellipsis (the “…” at the end of the line).The smaller font below allows for my full titles to be displayed, along with the dates of posting, my screen name, and however many of my tags (more on that later) as can fit.The shorter your titles, the more room there is for tags.
Bing, on the other hand, doesn’t repeat the titles and omits the tags altogether.Instead, it provides an excerpt from my biographical information.The moral of this particular story is: while most search engine listings will include the title of your individual posts, the rest of what they may show is up for grabs (that is, determined by different algorithms).The only common denominator between search engine results is your title.
So, what makes for the best of all possible titles, when it comes to SEO? A balance of simplicity with accuracy and description.This may prove to be a bit of a tug-of-war, especially if you’re posting complicated and thematically rich material––but three quick rules of thumb are:
… keep your title concise, catchy, and grammatically correct,
… include one or more of your most relevant keywords, and
… try to stay below the 50-60 character limits imposed on the listings.
Step 4: Optimize Your Tags
I’ve already mentioned that tags boost the visibility of your digital content.Google and other search engines will sometimes display your tags, or meta descriptions, on search results as a kind of preview to help readers to determine what your blog post or YouTube video or other digital content is actually about.As with keywords, you want to prioritize what you include in your tags.Tumblr, for example, only indexes the first 20 tags you attach to a post.This sort of cutoff is fairly typical for both normal and micro-blogging platforms.
So, what do tags look like?Here are just a few examples, posted with permission:
SelfPublishingAdvisor.com (WordPress) tagsOne of Tumblr’s may tag display optionsAnother of Tumblr’s many tag display options.One of Blogger’s tag display options
As you can see, each platform has its own ways of displaying tags, and sometimes a single platform will allow you to customize the appearance of said tags.Even if you set up your blog to not display tags, make sure you do generate metadata for every post or page, since tags play a vital role in how search engine algorithms determine the relevance of your material to searches your target audience will be running.
I should note that there’s a difference between the tags that are displayed alongside blog posts like this one and meta tags, which are the actual chunks of mostly-invisible HTML code that make up the architecture of your digital content.It used to be true that if you wanted to build a website, you had to develop a working knowledge of HTML in order to take advantage of SEO.Today, most of the big blogging platforms (like WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, and so on) allow you to input information in the tag field and they convert some or all of that information into HTML meta tags for you.It’s not a perfect translation––but if I’m getting too technical here, remember that the point of SEO is to take advantage of as many simple tricks as you find feasible and translate those tricks into increased website traffic. Not every trick is going to be one that fits your needs. As with all other self-marketing methods, you must weigh the benefits against the costs yourself––and the main cost here is time: the time it takes to learn HTML may offset the actual net benefit, especially if you can take advantage of built-in features like tag fields.
Well, I’ve run out of room this week—check back here next Wednesday to learn more about search engine optimization.I’ll be addressing the matter of analytics!
If you have a question about any of these tools for self promotion, would like to hear from me about something specific, or have other big news to share, please comment below!
ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
Tomorrow is election day. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to exercise their right to vote and think about all the freedoms our country allows us. One of those great freedoms is the freedom of expression, and self-publishing gives authors more access to that freedom as well as more freedom during the publishing process. Here’s how:
1. Freedom of Content
With traditional publishing, editors are looking for content that appeals to the mainstream, commercial market. If your book does not fit this need, regardless of the quality of your writing or idea, it’s likely your manuscript will be rejected. That’s the business side of publishing, but self-publishing helps writers overcome this barrier. It allows authors to share their stories, opinions, knowledge, advice, and more, even if it is different from what’s popular at the moment.
2. Creative Freedom
When working with traditional publishers, authors usually lose a great deal of creative freedom once an editor accepts their manuscript. They are often asked to edit their manuscripts to match the editor’s vision. They have no say in cover art or illustrations. Decisions are based on what editors believe will sell rather than what the author’s vision is. With self-publishing, authors make the decisions during every step of the process.
3. Financial Freedom
Many self-publishing companies allow authors to set their prices and give authors 100% of their royalties. This is not the case with traditional publishers.
In honor of election day, start your self-publishing project and enjoy all the freedoms available to you.
ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 20 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Jodee Thayer can put you on the right path.
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry. This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Tuesday to find out the hottest news.
In this article, author Anthony Otero discusses his self-publishing journey and his advice to other authors. His words of wisdom cover support, accepting help, and not taking things personally. This is a fascinating read for authors considering self-publishing.
The expo boasts new exhibitors and an expanded program to help self-publishing authors. This year’s show, held Saturday, November 15, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, features an expansive program of education panels, events, and exhibitors. Be sure to check out the full article to learn about this year’s show.
If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Realizing that this blog entry will land on the day most commonly known as Halloween, it seems appropriate to demonstrate how frighteningly scary conclusions can be when using the elements of strict critical thinking. I’ve known authors who tell me that they have built all their projects according to “effective critical thinking based on reality.” That statement always intrigues me because it appears to leave no room for the writer’s personal thought processes and creative skills and abilities. So it is that I ask for their definition of the word “reality.” Without exception, they fall back to the dictionary (scientific) definition: Reality is objective and exists independently of our desire, wishes, whims, and motives. Can anyone really write within that framework? The box it creates—in my subjective opinion—is a very constraining and frightening place. Below are several “critical thinking” elements that I hope will FREE every writer to be the most creative they can be.
Appreciate the “realities” known today. As a plot is developed and character “birthed” into the storyline, the creative thinking process benefits from research and the accuracy delivered from “understood reality.” Even the most commonly stated “facts” are viewed through the perspective of writers who, in turn, bend those perspectives toward the viewpoints of their characters. This requires a lot of finesse to make every element in the book believable.
Accepting facts at “face value” creates closed minds and lost opportunities. There is a quote that goes something like this: When I was a child, I thought as a child; now that I’m a man, I must think like a man. REALLY? As I’ve grown older, I’ve become aware that people expect me to think (and believe) the widely held opinions of my community (state, country). There seems to be a “comfort zone” in that majority of consensus-thinking and it is an easy path to follow. However, writers are cut from a little different cloth. We need to chew on things a little longer. We need to dig a little deeper and come to our own conclusions—even if they cause a bit of friction or seem frightening to others.
Be not ambiguous! I’ve come to accept that every piece of writing—whether fiction or nonfiction—that comes into my hand causes me to question something. Most often, the question relates to the main topic such as the unknowns of outer space or the intimacy between God and man. If the writer presents the topic with multiple shades of gray, I quickly lose interest and rarely complete reading. However, if the author presents “the truth” (as they see it) I’m intrigued and consider those points for days, months even years to come. Truth withstands debate and brings readers back to read more from a particular author.
Be productive! Writers MUST write. It is literally IN our DNA. We must also slay the self-doubt dragons and the bad attitude-ites. If you’ve never had the thought that “this book is stupid,” or “no one reads this genre anymore,” then you must be very new to the craft. So it is that I offer this strategy: IMMEDIATELY dismiss those feelings and replace them with WORK at the keyboard. TURN your fears to dust and your focus to the topic at hand. Shake hands with your characters and bring their stories to LIFE on the page before you. And when the writing is done—PUBLISH!
ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Self Publishing Advisor 
