Saturday, May 26, 2012

LinkedIn Profile Tip – Links

This past Sunday, Rosanne Dingli explained why authors and businesspeople should be on LinkedIn. You can read her article here. Once you’re on LinkedIn, there are a couple of things you can do to get better exposure. The method many people agree has the most impact is the “links” section.

In the screen capture to the left, you can see at the very bottom there is a heading called “Websites.” This is where LinkedIn allows you to supply a maximum of three external links. Many people just put in their http address and leave it at that. But LinkedIn allows you to do something even better – actually describe where the link goes – so there isn’t a bunch of ugly html sitting on your profile and people have a clue what they’re clicking.

To read the rest of my post, please visit IndiesUnlimited.com.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Amazon.com: Use the Monster Part 1

Whether you think Amazon.com is too big for its own good, or not, doesn’t matter. As Indie authors, we’re all on it, and we all need it. One thing Amazon does do well is providing authors with tools to get the word out about their work(s). You’ve got to give them that.

But not all authors are taking advantage of the free tools offered by Amazon.com. Today, we’re going to start with Amazon Author Central pages – because this is the FIRST thing an author should do.

One way Amazon makes Author Central pages convenient is that you don’t need to set up a special author account. You can use your existing customer account log-in (if you’re already a customer). If you’re not, you can set up an account. This account is NOT linked to your Kindle Direct or Createspace accounts, if you have those. This is completely separate.
To read the rest of my post, please visit IndiesUnlimited.com.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Twitter Tutorial - Profile Tips

Yeah yeah, I know. You’re on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, LibraryThing, Google+, LinkedIn, eHarmony and who knows what else. If you’re like me, you’re wondering if these things are helping at all in the promotion of your book(s).

Sometimes it’s not about where you are, but “how” you are using those tools. Here’s a tip on how you can use Twitter just a little bit better – and it’s something you only have to do once!

This is very quick and very easy. All we’re going to do is “spruce up” your profile. It’s really about making yourself more accessible – and giving people the opportunity to find out more about you in a quick and convenient fashion.

To read the rest of my post, please visit IndiesUnlimited.com.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Dropbox: A Handy Tool for Authors

Have you ever lost all the work you’d done because you didn’t back up? I think it’s happened to all of us. It’s happened to me. After a power surge in my 100-year-old home, I ended up paying a computer forensics company $1500 to get my data back. That was a long time ago. And believe me, I learned my lesson.

I back up to CDs and to an external hard drive. Neither of those are greatly convenient. But there is something better.

To read the rest of my post, please visit IndiesUnlimited.com.