Barb Drozdowich's Blog, page 36
January 3, 2016
Stats Tutorial part 2
Since I’m a science grad and my major was Genetics, you gotta know I LOVE stats. I don’t ‘think’ things happen on my blogs – I ‘know’ they happen. The reason I know that things happen is because I pay attention to the stats on my blogs.
Two week was an introduction to this series on stats. Last week I was sicker than a dog with a cough – sorry, no post 
Today is going to be an overview on the collection of stats as well as some details about stats on a blog.
On blogs we use different plugins or code to collect stats. Almost all blog platforms come with their own stats program, but we usually have the ability to install different ones also.
The two most common methods to collect stats on your blog are Google Analytics and if you have a WordPress.com or WordPress.org blog you have access to Jetpack stats. If you have a Blogger blog, it comes with it’s own stats program but has the ability to have Google Analytics installed quite easily.
If you missed out on the previous post, I suggested in that post that you take a few moments to install Google Analytics on your blog. I have videos that help with this task. Although there are several ways to put Google Analytics in place, I have chosen to illustrate what I think is the easiest.
If you have a WordPress blog:
If you have a Blogger blog:
I’m sure that you are aware, if you have looked at the plugins available on WordPress.org, there are quite a few choices for measuring your stats. The number 1 concern for a stats program is that is only measures human hits. In other words, it keeps track of humans that visit your blog, not spam or non-human visits. This seems like an obvious point to make – I mean, really, who cares how many spam bots visit your blog and leave an annoying little comment behind for you to delete? Interestingly, there are stats programs that count humans and non-humans. An example is the stats program that is found on Blogger. I’m not sure why the Blogger stats program (and others) count non-human hits, but it is certainly misleading! I can’t count the number of people that get a rude wake up call when they move their blog to WordPress and their hits are a fraction of what they were on Blogger. Or put Google Analytics in place on their Blogger blog and get a very different picture of the number people who visit their blog.
So, yes, there are quite a few choices to measure the stats on your blog, but I suggest using a combination of Google Analytics and Jetpack stats (if you have access to it)
Next week we will talk about what program we use to look at what information on our blogs, and a few other tidbits.
* * *
I’d like to thank you for dropping by today! If you have a friend that would benefit from this post, please use the share buttons below to pass it on. I have created 25 or so videos to address sticky problems on blogs that I get questions about. If you are interested in getting these videos or any of my posts delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for my Tech hints newsletter off to the right ⇒
I’ve now re-worked and republished the first three of my books. They were written in hopes of helping authors. If they sound interesting, click on the covers and you will be taken to Amazon.There are two more that will be out in the next few months. Stay tuned for news.
The post Stats Tutorial part 2 appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
December 20, 2015
WordPress Stats Part 1
Just in time for Christmas…I’ve decided to start a series on Stats!
Aren’t you excited?? 
I actually really like Stats… and I’m hoping to share my love of stats with you all!
What my intent is in this series is to help you learn the types of stats monitoring that is available for your site – the reliability of it and how to read the stats that you receive from your choice of monitoring – or in other words, what do you do with it all.
To start our series, I want to share stats from an article that I just read by the Moove Agency which reinforces why WordPress is the platform to choose.
This article was titled WordPress Infographic 2015 – sharing some stats about WP for this past year.
Did you realize that there are 74.6 Million WordPress websites in the world? That’s a huge number! They must be doing something right! And since they are doing something right, a ton of people are picking up what they are laying down
Holy Cow!
Just over a quarter of the entire internet is using WordPress as their platform. That’s huge!
Let’s talk about the bells and whistles that have been developed for WordPress
WordPress sites need Themes (the code that controls the look and feel of the site) and Plugins (extra bits of code that can be added to a WordPress site to carry out specialized functionality) These numbers are huge also. Imagine there have been over 1 billion downloads of plugins this year – unbelievable! And 118 million themes have been downloaded.
There is a saying – There is no need to re-invent the wheel. In other words, there is no need to spend your valuable time creating something that has already been created. We often look to companies that have huge budgets for tech research to see what they choose. If they’ve done the research – why should we try to re-do the research to get a different response?
I’m sure you recognize most, if not all of these companies. If they have done the research and use WordPress – why would you choose something else?
This will be my last Tech Hints post before Christmas. Back to the subject of my previous post – cookie baking (and eating) The cookies are coming along nicely – the baking, the distributing as well as the eating. At this rate next week’s post should show a tray of crumbs
I hope you all have a great Christmas filled with lots of cookies and other good food. Stay tuned for the start of my series on stats starting up after Christmas and in the meantime, get your site ready by putting Google Analytics in place.
If you have WordPress:
And if you are looking for a little education while the turkey has you sitting on the couch unable to move….
The post WordPress Stats Part 1 appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
December 15, 2015
News Update
Yes, it is cookie baking time in my household! Such a busy time of year!
I wanted to catch you up on some news, however…
Thank you to those of you who picked up a copy of Book Blog Tours!
For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about – my third book was completely re-done and published by BookTrope last week.
A labour of love from beginning to end. I think that there is a lot of misinformation out there around the subject of book blog tours. I also think that some of you who are hands on needed some help figuring out how to create your own tour. To that end, I’ve added a bunch more information on how to do that, and even created some spreadsheets that can be downloaded to help you stay organized.
I’m putting together my own Book Blog tour for this book. If you are interested, send me an email (here).
The book is currently only available on Amazon, but should be available on Barnes & Noble and iTunes shortly.
*******
On to other news!
The Book Blogger Platform should be published early in the new year – also by Booktrope. This book, like my others was originally self-published. It has been completely revamped and as you have been hearing over the last few months, I’ve created 26 YouTube videos to accompany it.
One major concern that needed to be addressed was the structure of the ‘How-to’ sections of the book. As I talk about in the book, graphics that look great on my desktop computer, are almost unreadable on a Kindle screen or an iPhone screen. I wanted to keep the ‘How-to’ section, but needed to move the visuals out of the book and into another form. Hence all the videos. If you are unfamiliar with my videos, click on the above link and see if I have something that can help you.
As many of you know, this book was borne from the numerous comments I got as part of the first survey I did of book bloggers back in 2013. There didn’t seem to be a guide for new as well as experienced book bloggers. Something that covered technical issues as well as all of the other topics of interest to book bloggers. Yes, there are blog posts here and there, but I wanted something that had everything in one place. If you are a book blogger and would like a review copy, shoot me an email (here) and I should have a copy available in early January.
*******
Hands up if you did Nanowrimo this year!
As you can see, I did. I finished out of stubbornness and by ignoring my family for 2 days.
The reason I did Nano was to force myself to finish a re-write of my Goodreads book – there have been so many changes since it was originally published! The second reason was to create a draft of what I call Blogging for Authors. Several people who have beta read the Book Blogger Platform commented on the need for a similar book for authors. Something that covers the technical aspects of blogging, but also covers the why and how. So…twist my arm…I have a rough draft that is in the hands of beta readers – who are coming up with outstanding suggestions.
Stay tuned for more information about both titles in the new year!
I hope this catches you all up to date. Time to get back to my cookie baking! I have great plans for another tech hints post on Sunday. Talk to you again then.
The post News Update appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
December 8, 2015
Hot off the Press! Book Blog Tours 2nd edition is now available!
What’s your verdict on Book Blog Tours? Great idea…or a waste of time and money?
Not sure what a book blog tour can do for your visibility as an author or the promotion of your book? Are you considering trying out a Book Blog Tour to market your newest release? Do you want a primer that will help you take confident steps into the book promotion world?
Book Blog Tours teaches you about Tours (either hired or DIY) from the point of view of a Blogger and a Reader?
Book Blog Tours covers topics such as:
The Hows and Whys of book blog tours
Book Marketing on blogs
How to set goals for a blog tour
Giveaways from the point of view of a blogger and a reader
How to plan a DIY blog tour
Contains spreadsheets and checklists that will help you organize your tour
˃˃˃ Work your way through the topic of book blog tours in a step-by-step fashion, both from the point of view of hiring a service as well as the DIY type of tour.
Book Blog Tours looks at blog tours differently than other books. This book challenges commonly held beliefs and has you thinking and planning before acting on your next tour.
Book Blog Tours is available on Amazon
*****
Excerpt:
Blog Tour Company vs. DIY
I have read articles suggesting authors should design their own blog tours. I’ve also read articles suggesting the opposite. Which opinion is correct?
You alone hold the answer. Are you up to the task of organizing your own blog tour? Frankly, the thought gives me hives. I like to think of myself as organized, but I cringe at the thought of sending out countless emails looking for blogs on which to appear, keeping track of the acceptances, sending out the appropriate material to the appropriate people, then fully participating in the tour. I don’t have time. Besides, I’d rather save my energies for participating in the tour. That’s me—what about you?
There is no right or wrong answer. In the following pages, I explain what should be involved in both a purchased tour and a DIY tour. You can then make an educated decision as to whether to pay someone to organize your next tour, or do the work yourself.
Pros vs. Cons for Using a Company
Pro:
Some else organizes
You can deduct the cost as advertising on your income tax
You don’t have to spend time finding bloggers
Very little time required
Cons:
You don’t have a lot of input
Costs money
You don’t get to choose which blogs you/your book appear on
You give up control to save time
No Industry Standards
A topic that comes up again and again in the research that I’ve done, is that there is no industry standard. There are no rules governing who can hang out a shingle and operate a blog tour company. Because of this, the concept of “buyer beware” certainly applies to the choosing of a company to trust with your hard-earned money. You need to do YOUR research and decide which company will fulfill the goals for your prospective tour.
A good place to start? Ask other authors about companies they’ve used. Are there bad choices out there? Absolutely! Be careful when making choices.
Setting Goals for a Blog Tour
Although I’ve talked to quite a few authors who have done one or more book blog tours, most complain that “they don’t work.” A quick search of the blogosphere will show that there is quite a wide variety of articles on whether or not book blog tours “work.”
The question that I ask authors who express frustration is, “What was your goal for the tour?” Most of the time, I hear one of the following responses:
To sell books
I don’t know – someone told me to do a tour
Book Blog Tours Don’t Sell Books
I’m not the first to mention this, and I’m sure that I won’t be the last! The basic purpose of a book blog tour is to market yourself and your book. This is a networking activity. Just like the “old-fashioned” activities of book signings and readings, the aim is to chat and schmooze!
I suggest that you set goals for a blog tour before starting the search for the best company to help you. If selling books is not a reasonable goal for a blog tour, what should be some basic goals?
Do you want to increase the number of reviews posted for your book?
Do you want to expand your horizons—meet new bloggers who read the genre that you write? Meet some readers who might become future fans?
Do you want to chat directly with readers or expose your book to an audience in a different country? If you live in Europe, do you want to focus on a North American market, or vice versa?
Do you just want to keep your name and brand in front of a genre-specific audience?
More General Goals:
Do you want to be “on tour” for a few days, a month, or longer?
Do you want to only visit blogs during weekdays? Do you have a full-time job, so weekends would suit you better?
Do you want to keep what you share with readers quite simple—let’s say, limited to a blurb and an excerpt? Or do you prefer to write original posts for each stop on your tour?
Are you highly creative, and do you enjoy showing that creativity to your potential readers? Or do you prefer to answer questions provided by bloggers?
Do you want to participate in a Twitter or Facebook party or be on a blog talk radio show?
The answers to these questions will help you develop a list of goals for your next book blog tour.
The post Hot off the Press! Book Blog Tours 2nd edition is now available! appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
Hot off the Press! Book Blog Tours 2 edition is now available!
What’s your verdict on Book Blog Tours? Great idea…or a waste of time and money?
Not sure what a book blog tour can do for your visibility as an author or the promotion of your book? Are you considering trying out a Book Blog Tour to market your newest release? Do you want a primer that will help you take confident steps into the book promotion world?
Book Blog Tours teaches you about Tours (either hired or DIY) from the point of view of a Blogger and a Reader?
Book Blog Tours covers topics such as:
The Hows and Whys of book blog tours
Book Marketing on blogs
How to set goals for a blog tour
Giveaways from the point of view of a blogger and a reader
How to plan a DIY blog tour
Contains spreadsheets and checklists that will help you organize your tour
˃˃˃ Work your way through the topic of book blog tours in a step-by-step fashion, both from the point of view of hiring a service as well as the DIY type of tour.
Book Blog Tours looks at blog tours differently than other books. This book challenges commonly held beliefs and has you thinking and planning before acting on your next tour.
Book Blog Tours is available on Amazon
*****
Excerpt:
Blog Tour Company vs. DIY
I have read articles suggesting authors should design their own blog tours. I’ve also read articles suggesting the opposite. Which opinion is correct?
You alone hold the answer. Are you up to the task of organizing your own blog tour? Frankly, the thought gives me hives. I like to think of myself as organized, but I cringe at the thought of sending out countless emails looking for blogs on which to appear, keeping track of the acceptances, sending out the appropriate material to the appropriate people, then fully participating in the tour. I don’t have time. Besides, I’d rather save my energies for participating in the tour. That’s me—what about you?
There is no right or wrong answer. In the following pages, I explain what should be involved in both a purchased tour and a DIY tour. You can then make an educated decision as to whether to pay someone to organize your next tour, or do the work yourself.
Pros vs. Cons for Using a Company
Pro:
Some else organizes
You can deduct the cost as advertising on your income tax
You don’t have to spend time finding bloggers
Very little time required
Cons:
You don’t have a lot of input
Costs money
You don’t get to choose which blogs you/your book appear on
You give up control to save time
No Industry Standards
A topic that comes up again and again in the research that I’ve done, is that there is no industry standard. There are no rules governing who can hang out a shingle and operate a blog tour company. Because of this, the concept of “buyer beware” certainly applies to the choosing of a company to trust with your hard-earned money. You need to do YOUR research and decide which company will fulfill the goals for your prospective tour.
A good place to start? Ask other authors about companies they’ve used. Are there bad choices out there? Absolutely! Be careful when making choices.
Setting Goals for a Blog Tour
Although I’ve talked to quite a few authors who have done one or more book blog tours, most complain that “they don’t work.” A quick search of the blogosphere will show that there is quite a wide variety of articles on whether or not book blog tours “work.”
The question that I ask authors who express frustration is, “What was your goal for the tour?” Most of the time, I hear one of the following responses:
To sell books
I don’t know – someone told me to do a tour
Book Blog Tours Don’t Sell Books
I’m not the first to mention this, and I’m sure that I won’t be the last! The basic purpose of a book blog tour is to market yourself and your book. This is a networking activity. Just like the “old-fashioned” activities of book signings and readings, the aim is to chat and schmooze!
I suggest that you set goals for a blog tour before starting the search for the best company to help you. If selling books is not a reasonable goal for a blog tour, what should be some basic goals?
Do you want to increase the number of reviews posted for your book?
Do you want to expand your horizons—meet new bloggers who read the genre that you write? Meet some readers who might become future fans?
Do you want to chat directly with readers or expose your book to an audience in a different country? If you live in Europe, do you want to focus on a North American market, or vice versa?
Do you just want to keep your name and brand in front of a genre-specific audience?
More General Goals:
Do you want to be “on tour” for a few days, a month, or longer?
Do you want to only visit blogs during weekdays? Do you have a full-time job, so weekends would suit you better?
Do you want to keep what you share with readers quite simple—let’s say, limited to a blurb and an excerpt? Or do you prefer to write original posts for each stop on your tour?
Are you highly creative, and do you enjoy showing that creativity to your potential readers? Or do you prefer to answer questions provided by bloggers?
Do you want to participate in a Twitter or Facebook party or be on a blog talk radio show?
The answers to these questions will help you develop a list of goals for your next book blog tour.
The post Hot off the Press! Book Blog Tours 2 edition is now available! appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
December 3, 2015
50 Blogging Tips to Take Your Blogging to The Next Level
Imagine my delight when I found today’s Infographic!!
This handy infographic gathers 50 different blogging tips from a variety of sources. A good portion of these tips are fairly straight forward and I hope you already have in place, but there are certainly some more advanced suggestions – or should I say – more out of the ordinary.
Read through and let me know if you think of anything that is missing.
This infographic was found here
* * *
I’d like to thank you for dropping by today! If you have a friend that would benefit from this post, please use the share buttons below to pass it on. I have created 25 or so videos to address sticky problems that I get questions about. If you are interested in getting these videos or any of my posts delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for my Tech hints newsletter off to the right ⇒
I’ve now re-worked and republished the first two of my books. They were written in hopes of helping. If they sound interesting, click on the covers and you will be taken to Amazon.There are two more that will be out in the next few months. Stay tuned for news.
The post 50 Blogging Tips to Take Your Blogging to The Next Level appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
November 25, 2015
What is Native Advertising? (Infographic)
Welcome back to Bakerview Consulting!
I’ve always wondered what Native Advertising is. It seems to be one of the new buzz words, but no one defines it. Until now!
I found this infographic on a HuffPost article called the Native Age. Not only is the infographic great, but the article is a wonderful read also! If this is a topic that interests you, please drop by and read the whole thing.
Enjoy the infographic!
The post What is Native Advertising? (Infographic) appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
November 18, 2015
Preppring Your eCommerce Site for the Holidays (Infographic)
Today’s infographic covers a topic that I don’t discuss much. Not many of the authors that I work with have an eCommerce site. I whole bunch of years ago, I had an eCommerce site to sell books out of my house but found it to be a huge time-suck without much payoff.
I have been tinkering with the idea of creating a new eCommerce site over the last few months, so this particular infographic caught my attention. Combine that with the face that I found it on the blog for one of the most trusted hosting companies – WPEngine, had me stopping to read.
Do you have an e Commerce site? Have a read through and maybe you’ll find something new – something that you didn’t know before reading this graphic.
For those of you interested, I found this infographic on WPEngine. Not only are they an excellent hosting choice, they often post pearls of wisdom like this on their blog.
Enjoy!
The post Preppring Your eCommerce Site for the Holidays (Infographic) appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
November 11, 2015
The 4 Best Social Media Management Tools of 2015 (Infographic)
How do you manage your social media?
I use Hootsuite and I’m really fond of it. I often suggest it to clients and although I don’t teach it, I have frequently been called on to help organize.
Looking at this infographic I found in my inbox had me questioning my decision – I mean, isn’t new better
What are your thoughts? I currently use Hootsuite, I’ve dabbled with SproutSocial, until today never heard of AgoraPulse and although I’ve heard of Sendible, I’ve never used it.
BTW, credit for this infographic goes to Seriously Social, and I found it here.
The post The 4 Best Social Media Management Tools of 2015 (Infographic) appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
November 8, 2015
The Author’s Platform: The Beginner’s Guide is on sale for 99 cents!
Today is a special announcement!
My book, The Author’s Platform: The Beginner’s Guide is on sale for 99 cents.
I’m sure that there are a lot of books available on this subject. The one that I’ve written is directed at the beginner author. It explains everything from the ground up. I make no assumption of prior knowledge
From the work that I do with authors, I’m well aware that there are a lot of you out there pretending to know what your friends are talking about because you don’t want to admit you don’t have an ever loving clue! If you fit this description, this book is for you!
Creating buzz for your book and your career as an author just got easier.‘The Author’s Platform’ will help you create, understand and use a powerful author platform to sell books!
Social Media and WordPress Consultant Barb Drozdowich will steer you through the technology behind book marketing without all the techno-speak. She has helped many authors just like you build an author platform that engages readers and builds sales.
This book will help you decode the mystery behind building a powerful author brand and navigating the social media platforms essential to publishing success.
‘The Author’s Platform’ teaches you why you need the various facets of the author platform to build visibility. Barb uses a simple analogy, Operation Book, to help you understand the steps to successful book marketing in the media age. She covers:
The Difference between a Website and a Blog
The Important Items Your Blog Should Contain
The Nine Essential Social Media Platforms
Newsletters
Amazon’s Author Central and many more
˃˃˃ With simple-to-follow steps, Barb will help you create, understand and use an Author Platform to support your career.
Grab a copy today.
The Author’s Platform is available from:
The post The Author’s Platform: The Beginner’s Guide is on sale for 99 cents! appeared first on Bakerview Consulting.
