Seven Tips For Improving the SEO of Your Blog

Just so I can tick I've followed tip four

Those of us who blog do so for different reasons. Some just for the pleasure of it, some to increase our exposure, some to build our USP and others like myself for all of the above. Now over the last couple of months my partner and I have started a little sideline (building websites that sell product). Part of our marketing strategy is to blog about the subject and sometimes the product we're selling. As I'm the writer the blogging has fallen firmly in my lap. This has meant a steep learning curve because for the first time this SEO stuff if quite important.

Now whilst I was trying to decide what to blog about this month I decided what I've learned might be of interest to fellow self-published authors. So here's what I've discovered.

Tip one: sub-headings

You should try and include sub-headings in your blog post. These are included by clicking on the box labelled 'normal' and choosing sub-heading. In Wordpress it's 'Heading 2.' I don't 100% understand the logic but apparently it's something to do with how the Internet and how SEO works. Also it helps the reader following your text, as people like small chunks.

Tip two: word count

Word count should be more than 300. This apparently is the ideal length for the modern reader and gives those algorithms looking for good content something to work with.

Tip three: external links

Where ever possible you should try to include some external links. So as I'm trying to follow my own tips I've added some of these at the bottom of this post - they are a blatant plug for my new venture but at least at the bottom you can just ignore.

Tip four: images

Include an image or two and make sure they have captions plus ensure you also fill in the alt tag. This is done by clicking on the image and choosing 'properties.' Then fill in the alt tag space with some relevant text.

Tip five: focus word

Pick a focus word and use it in your title (near to the beginning of the title if you can) and a few times in your post. Do try not to use it just for the sake of it. In Wordpress you can set this in the SEO section at the bottom of the page.

Tip six: title

The title length in search engines is limited to 70 characters so try to keep under 70. Also try to pick a title that will catch peoples interest. For example top tips, how to, discover the secret etc. etc. 

Tip seven: labels or tags 

People place terms and words into their chosen search engine to find information related to the subject they are interested in. So pick appropriate tags or labels for your blog post and ensure you include these in the relevant box. 

  

I hope this has been of some help to those who blog and want to make their blog posts more SEO friendly.

Regards

Lynne
P.S. As I need to include some external links here is a link to one of my e-courses
How to Write a Picture Book          

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

A friend recently posted a cute animal photo on my Facebook page. As soon as I saw it I just knew I had to use it as a basis for a picture book story. So I grabbed a sheet of A4 paper and divided into 12 sections (I tend to write the traditional 12 double page spreads). I started to plot my story, which started well. However when I reached the last page I stalled. I had the image in my minds eye, I knew what action was taking place but I just couldn't put it into words. I decided to put the story to one side and allow my subconscious solve the issue for me. However a week or so went by and I was still stuck. Suddenly it hit me. The page didn't need words, the picture could show the reader what I wanted them to know.

I'm not the only author to let the picture tell the story. In the hands of the right illustrator the story can be told successfully without a single word on the page. For example in one of my favourite pictures books The Big Bad Mole's Coming! written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by John Bendall-Brunello there are two pages that contain no words (part of one page below). The action needs no words, I can tell exactly how the animals are feeling from their body language.

Another book that uses this device is Knight Time written by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Jane Massey. The page is a fold out page which opens to reveal a second page with text. Jane informs me the idea was that as the reader turned the page they would feel they were entering the forest where Little Knight and Little Dragon are lost. As you can see from the page below you don't need words to feel the tingle run up your spine and to start to worry about the main characters.

So to all those picture book writers out there. If you're working on a new picture book story and stall ask yourself "can a picture paint the words I need?" If the answer is yes then don't be afraid to allow the illustrations to tell the story for you.

Lynne Garner

www.lynnegarner.com

I have the following online classes with WOW starting soon:

How To Write A Children's Picture Book And Get Published (beginners)

5 Picture Books In 5 Weeks (advanced)

How To Write A Hobby-based How To Book   

Writing and Publishing Seasonal Picture eBooks and Apps

A few of years ago I wrote two picture book stories 'Where It's Always Winter' and 'The Perfect Christmas Tree.' As the titles suggest they both have a festive or seasonal link. Once I'd completed them I sent to various publishers who I believed (because I'd researched their previously published titles) might be interested in them. Again and again they were rejected, which is something you sort of get used to as a professional writer. However a couple of the publishers didn't send me the standard rejection letter. They told me they'd enjoyed the stories but were withdrawing from seasonal books so weren't in a position to take.

This is where my journey into becoming a publisher started. MadMoment Media Ltd was set up and with a very limited budget we had these two picture stories (plus a few others I'd received good feedback on) into apps for the iPhone and iPad. This meant a steep learning curve and a fair few hours spent in a recording studio, as yours truly narrated them.  By the end of 2010 they were ready and uploaded onto the iTunes store. A few months later we converted all of the stories into picture eBooks and uploaded onto Amazon (Amazon UK, Amazon US). Our non-seasonal stories sell a few copies all year round. However although 'Where It's Always Winter' and 'The Perfect Christmas Tree' are seasonal we sell as many if not more of them than our non-seasonal titles.

Now you may be wondering why I'm sharing this with you. Well I wanted to demonstrate that just because a large publishing house doesn't see the point of selling seasonal picture books it doesn't mean there isn't a market for them. So if you have a book that's received good feedback but isn't marketable all year round why not give it a go yourself. It's worked for me it could work for you.

Lynne Garner 

I also write for:
The Picture Book Den - all things picture book
Authors Electric - covers digital self-publishing
Awfully Big Blogging Adventure - subjects connected with writing
The Hedgehog Shed - concerned with hedgehog rescue
The Craft Ark - craft how-to blog

My online classes with WOW starting January 2014:

How To Write A Children's Picture Book And Get Published (beginners)

5 Picture Books In 5 Weeks (advanced)
How To Write A Hobby-based How To Book 

How To Pace A Picture Book

It doesn’t matter if you're writing a 70,000-word novel or a 600-word picture book you have to create a story with a good plot and that's well paced. Unlike a novel when writing a picture book you know how many pages you are working with as there are industry standards.The picture books I write normally adhere to the traditional 12 double-page spread formula. So when I start to work on a new story I take a piece of A4 paper and fold it to create 12 sections. To show you how I use this piece of paper to pace a story I'll describe how I wrote Captain and Nugget.

I knew the story was going to be about two dogs, Captain and Nugget. I had decided the theme was going to be about learning to share and I knew how this lesson was going to be learnt. So all I had to do was pace the scenes on my piece of paper.

On the first page I introduced one of the characters, being Captain. The next page I used to introduce both the second character, Nugget and the problem, Captain learning to share. I then skipped to the last page because I knew I wanted a happy ending with Captain realising that sharing has its benefits.

So by plotting the first two pages and the last I was left with nine. Having nine pages meant I was able to use the magic number three. Basically for an interesting story you can't have your character solve the problem on the first attempt, this would be boring. You shouldn't allow them solve the problem on the second go, you've not built up enough tension. Having them continue to fail would frustrate the reader so you need them succeed on the third. So I was able to split the nine pages into three sets of three, which allowed me to evenly pace the story.

I've used this method of pacing in many of my books and I'm sure I'll continue to use it, as it appears to work for me. In fact just this afternoon I grabbed my A4 note pad, created 12 sections and started to plot and pace out a new story.

Footnote:

When I'd finished this story I used it as part of an illustration course I was studying and at that time I also decided to turn it into an eBook (Amazon.com - Amazon.co.uk). As I no longer had to stick to the rigid 12 double-page spreads I increased the pages to 23 and was still able to create a story I felt was well paced.

I also write for: Electric Authors, The Hedgehog Shed and The Picture Book Den 


P.S.
I have three new distance learning courses commencing soon via Women On Writing:

How To Write A Picture Book And Get Published

Five Picture Books In Five Weeks - Advanced Course

How To Write A Hobby Based How To Book 

Introducing My New Website

Drum roll please...

After months of planning, designing, drawing, scanning, you get the picture, my new website is now live. It's been designed to support my two collections of Anansi stories (volume one Amazon UK - Amazon US and volume two Amazon UK - Amazon US).

www.anansi-spider.com 

It's aimed at parents, guardians, teachers and after school organisers who wish to share my Anansi stories during story time then enjoy activities based on the stories afterwards. At the moment it contains exclusive FREE to download colouring sheets, finger puppets and puppets based on the many animal characters. Over the next few months I plan to add word searches, cross word puzzles, information sheets, quizzes and craft makes etc. 

So please do visit, download and enjoy. If you know anyone who might be interested in some free activities for the kids please do share my website details.   

Lynne Garner

Visit me on: Authors Electric - An Awfully Big Blog Adventure - The Picture Book Den - The Hedgehog Shed

Plotting a Picture Book

It doesn’t matter if you're writing a 70,000-word novel or a 600-word picture book, creating an interesting story is simply a task of asking yourself some questions. Perhaps the most helpful source for what to ask yourself was penned by Rudyard Kipling (30^th December 1865 – 18th January 1936),

“I keep six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.”

The four lines above have helped me on many an occasion to solve plotting issues. So what follows is how I use the above to help me construct a story.

Who?

The who is obviously your main character or characters. Unlike adult fiction keep your character numbers small. So it is easier for a child to follow the story.

What?

For a picture book writer there are two what’s to think about. Firstly what is your character? Are they animal, human, mythical create (fairy, wizard, witch etc.) or inanimate object. However many will tell you to keep away from these. Yet Disney still appears to create characters from cars, toys, gnomes etc. that children love. The second what is what happen or perhaps what is your theme? For example the theme for my story ‘A Book For Bramble’ is loneliness and missing a friend. 

Why?

Why is linked into the what, so you ask yourself what happens and why. For example in my book ‘The Best Jumper’ the what happens is my character Spindle the mouse has a jumper that appears to be shrinking however the why it is shrinking is because he is growing, something all children will be able to relate to.

When?

In picture book this is perhaps one of the less important questions. Novels for any age tend to be anchored in a time period. However many picture books are timeless. That is to say when reading them they could be set in any time period. A book about fairies inhabiting a different world could be now or it could be 100 years ago, there is no real relation to ‘our’ time.

Where?

Many picture books are set within their own world as in my book ‘Dog Did It’ which is a mythical world populated by trolls or in a world that sits along side our own. For example in my book ‘A Book For Bramble’ the place it is taking place could be almost anywhere in the world where a mouse lives in a hole under a hedge. As the author I see Teasel and his family living in the English countryside however he would be just at home in many countries in Europe or even in some parts of the US.

How?

This is quite a big question. However I normally use it to answer the question of how my character overcomes the problem I have given them to resolve. If you are a reader of picture books (something I would urge you to do as often as you can) you will notice the how to overcome the problem is not just used once but at least three times to give layers to your plotting.

I’m hoping you can now see how you can use these questions to help you plot your story and create one children will love and adult will be willing to read time and time again.   

I also write for: Electric Authors, The Hedgehog Shed and The Picture Book Den

P.S.
I have three new distance learning courses commencing soon via Women On Writing:

How To Write A Picture Book And Get Published

Five Picture Books In Five Weeks - Advanced Course

How To Write A Hobby Based How To Book 

Five Fab Tips for Picture Book Writing

If writing a picture book is something you'd like to try then take a look at the following tips which will hopefully help you on your way.

 

One:

As you write try to think visually. Attempt to ensure every page can be illustrated with a different scene or picture. This will allow the illustrator to 'play' with your words and create a book that is visually pleasing as well as exciting to read.

Two:

Break your story down into sections and ensure you have a strong start, middle and end. If your character doesn't go on a journey (physical or emotional) why will the reader want to turn to the next page?

Three:

A picture book is a mixture of words and images. So you don't have to include great chunks of description. If it's important your character looks a certain way or they are carrying something then add notes for the illustrator. As the saying goes a picture can say a thousand words. So let the pictures tell half the story whilst your words tell the other half. 

Four:

Picture books are written to be read out aloud. So when it comes to editing do just this. Stand up and read your words out. Then edit as needed.

Five:

If you want to get your book published remember publishers want to sell worldwide. So you have to think globally. For example in my first picture book (A Book For Bramble) I'd mentioned Guy Fawkes Night. Now every child in the UK knows what this celebration is but children from other parts of the world will not. I therefore had to find an alternate celebration. So thinking globally will make your book more viable to a publisher.

I hope these tips have helped. Now find some paper and a pen and get writing!  

I also write for: Electric Authors, The Hedgehog Shed and The Picture Book Den

P.S.
I have three new distance learning courses commencing in September via Women On Writing:

How To Write A Picture Book And Get Published

Five Picture Books In Five Weeks - Advanced Course

How To Write A Hobby Based How To Book