Nick Thacker's Blog, page 20

Build the Perfect Author Blog – Part 3: Pillar Content

When I first started blogging, circa 2006/2007, I had a very difficult time staying engaged with my writing schedule. I believed that the best way to build a blog was by writing content every day, over and over again. As such, most of my blog posts were well-written, but they tended to be short, “news-y,” and generally not helpful to anyone.

They basically were just regurgitated content I’d read or seen somewhere else. I tried — in vain — to establish myself as a marketing expert, but without...

Do You Fear Your Own Success?

Note from Nick: This is a guest post submission from Staci Troilo.

My husband and I were having a conversation about my manuscript. I had submitted chapters and a synopsis to an agent, but I hadn’t heard anything by the time I had expected. I was what if-ing my husband to death about all the possible scenarios of why the agent hadn’t contacted me.

Finally my husband said, “You know, I don’t think you’re worried about her not calling you. I think you’re worried about succeeding.”

What?

First of al...

How to Make Reading A Habit

Note from Nick: This a year-old repost that I’ve updated. It’s a good post, and I didn’t want it to go unnoticed in my archives. I’m still a book-aholic, and this was one of the first posts I wrote to “answer” some reading questions I’d had back then. So buckle in and start reading habitually!

I had just finished tagging every single book in my house into my Delicious Library 2 app–enjoying the “beep” it made as it scanned the barcode, and I looked back in my room to find my wife sleeping soun...

Episode 10: Write More Books

It’s time to finish this series on “specific generic advice” for self-publishers.

And what better way to end it than with the ultimate advice for any writer, seasoned or newbie?

Write more books.

That’s it.

No more, no less.

Writing more books isn’t new information to you, most likely. You’ve no doubt heard many,many other writers, bloggers, and “advice givers” tout the truism of “writing more books is the fastest way to more sales.”

And while it’s an overstated fact, it’s still a fact.

But what, ex...

Build the Perfect Author Blog – Part 2: Choosing A Theme

So you’ve chosen a hosting company –– and if you haven’t, I do have some recommendations –– and now it’s time to jump into one of the most important steps of starting and launching a great blog:ÂChoosing a theme.

if you don’t already know, WordPress uses a theme-based engine to display the content of the website. What that means is that you can literally change the design of your entire website just by uploading a brand-new theme (or finding one in the WordPress repository built into y...

Build the Perfect Author Blog – Part 2: Choosing A Theme

So you’ve chosen a hosting company –– and if you haven’t, I do have some recommendations –– and now it’s time to jump into one of the most important steps of starting and launching a great blog:Choosing a theme.

if you don’t already know, WordPress uses a theme-based engine to display the content of the website. What that means is that you can literally change the design of your entire website just by uploading a brand-new theme (or finding one in the WordPress repository built into your WordP...

Episode 9: Online Marketing

If you’ve written a book, you know that just because it’s a “good” book doesn’t mean people will buy it.

Youhope that readers and fans will read it, love it, and share it, but you can never know if it will reach millions around the world or sit obscurely in the corner of a dusty half-off bookstore.

It used to be that finding a great book was a rare occurrence — at least in terms of the “old-school” publishing industry. Now, though, with the advent of a myriad of new ways to get your work to the...

The 6 Phases of Growing A Blog – Infographic

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to create a cool infographic, but there were two problems:

I didn’t know how to make an infographic
I didn’t know what to make an infographic about

Today, I’ve overcome both obstacles, and present you:

The 6 Phases of Growing A Blog – Infographic

It’s really cool to be able to share this with you, since this isn’t justÂany method to blogging success — it’s the exact method (condensed down into coffee cups and cute graphics) thatÂIÂused to build LiveHacked.com into...

The 6 Phases of Growing A Blog – Infographic

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to create a cool infographic, but there were two problems:

I didn’t know how to make an infographic
I didn’t know what to make an infographic about

Today, I’ve overcome both obstacles, and present you:

The 6 Phases of Growing A Blog – Infographic

It’s really cool to be able to share this with you, since this isn’t justany method to blogging success — it’s the exact method (condensed down into coffee cups and cute graphics) thatIused to build LiveHacked.com into th...

Build the Perfect Author Blog – Part 1: Hosting

We need to talk.

Let me ask you a question:

Does your blog’s domain end in .blogspot.com, .wordpress.com, or .typepad.com (or something else along those lines)?

If it does, this post is for you.

Now, I’m not one to yell and rant and rave, but seriously –Âwhy?

I’m sure your writing is fantastic.

I’m sure your blog posts are coherent, thoughtful, and put together well.

I’m sure your readership enjoys what you have to say.

But if you’re operating with a free blog, you’re missing out on a goldmine of an...