Participate in Blogfests

Today I am participating in my first blogfest. Isn't that exciting? That's not my question for the blogfest, by the way.

This blogfest asks each participant to ask a question regarding writing, then we all get to blog hop and answer each other's writing questions. Participating in blogfests is an AWESOME way to connect to new people, build your readership, and just find out what the heck is going on out there in the blog world.

Here's my question: How do you decide if your query letter is working as well as it could?

Please feel free to share, even if you aren't participating in this blogfest, but then for you my question is: why aren't you?

Respond to Comments

Have you ever had a conversation where someone asks you something and then they don't wait for your answer?

That's kind of what it's like when you ask a question on your blog and then never refer back to it when people comment.

But you see that all the time, you say. That's true. Here's some tips for when it is and when it isn't ok:

• When you are building readership and have, say, two followers, you should always respond to their comments.
• When you have hundreds of followers, you do not have to respond to each and every one - they are usually commenting on each other.
• Do respond if a comment contains a question or complaint directed at you.
• Do respond if you said you were going to respond.
• Don't respond when people are having a debate. Let them work it out themselves while you remain unbiased.
• Don't respond when you can't remain calm in your comments. It's the old addage: If you can't say something nice, don't reply to a comment.
• Do respond if you are genuinely moved to respond.

Are there other do's and don'ts of comments and responses that I missed here? Share your valuable insights!

How to Schedule

After yesterday's post I got asked, "How do you schedule a blog post?"

Good question! If you are using blogger: while your post is in edit mode, click on the "post options" button below the post box. Then change the Post date and time to something in the future. Hit Publish Post. This will take you to a list of your posts and you will see that any scheduled for the future say "scheduled" by them.

Totally easy.

Happy 4th of July! or How Holidays are Not Days Off

Suggestion: Take the major holidays off from blogging, but the minor holidays I recommend not.

Most people do have today off. That means, of course, that they are BBQing and lighting or watching fireworks and spending time with family. But not in the morning. Days off always shows a boost of posts on Facebook - have you noticed? People like to leisurely start their vacation days and often that includes surfing and social media.

Use this to your advantage. Post an article or event on the morning of the minor holidays (the 4th of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc.). Make sure you are connected to automatically post on FB as well, and you'll hit your readers.

Oh, and you can still take the day off. Just write your post in advance and schedule it to go up automatically.

How are you spending the 4th? Do you surf the internet on the holidays? Tell us in comments!

Facebook Friday: Name Your Page

It's Facebook Friday and I bet you're dying to know this week's Facebook tip:

Suggestion: Change your Facebook username.

For example, my page is named: www.facebook.com/laaandstuff. If I didn't change it, it would still say something like www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509283490. That's not a very easy name to remember, is it?

Tip: Now I've had my account for awhile so I already had named my page, but if I hadn't, I would choose something more like my actual name. The point is to make it easier to direct people to you. They will remember it better if it is as close to your name as possible.

In case you don't know how to do it, let me tell you. It's super easy:

1. Login to your Facebook account.
2. Located on the top of the page, on the right side, you will see an “Account” box. When the drop down menu appears, click the “Account Settings” option.
3. The second menu item should be “Username.” Click the “Change” button on the right side.
4. Enter your new name choice, and hit the “Change Name” box.
5. Facebook only allow this change ONCE EVER! Which is why I can't change it now to something like LauraB.

Ok here's some terminology for you: your Facebook address that you changed is called a vanity URL. In general, a vanity URL is intended to link to something with a name that is easier to remember than the randomly assigned URL you would normally have.

Have you changed your vanity URL? Did you know how to do it before today? What's the silliest vanity URL you've come across? Here's some to inspire you: http://mashable.com/2009/06/13/silliest-facebook-vanity-urls/