[Video] 5 Reasons Wordpress Should Be Your Author Website Platform

This is a guest post from Russ Henneberry. Russ writes, speaks, consults and executes on Internet marketing strategies that make mighty profits for tiny businesses. You can read Russ's Internet marketing blog here or learn more about his Wordpress Website Design here.

Growing an author's platform starts with a powerful and simple to use website platform. It is the "hub" of activity for you as an author. This 8-minute video and the article below it details 5 reasons Wordpress should be your author's platform.


Reason 1 - Wordpress is Flexible If you need to make a change to the text, images, video, etc., on your Website you will want to be able to make those changes yourself. Wordpress is the most intuitive and user-friendly platform available. In addition to making edits, you will also want to be adding new pages, articles, videos, and images to your Website. A living and breathing Website that is growing over time will build a community around you and your work.

Reason 2 - Wordpress is Discoverable Google is a powerhouse, and you can grow your author's platform by taking advantage of the traffic that Google will send your way. Wordpress makes it easy for both humans and search engines like Google to "discover" the content of your Website.

Reason 3 - Wordpress is Shareable The real power of the Internet is the remarkable speed and efficiency with which we can share things of interest and value to us. Wordpress is able to add the functionality needed to spread your message across the Web.

Reason 4 - Wordpress is Interactive As an author, you will want your fans to be able to interact with you and with each other. Wordpress can be configured to be as interactive as you want it to be with commenting, voting, surveys, forums, and more.

Reason 5 - Wordpress can be Automated When you add new articles, videos, and images to your Website you will want to let the members of your social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) know that you have something with which to interact or share. Wordpress can automate the "pushing" of this new content to your social networks. Learn more about Wordpress Web Design here.

No substitute for "face time"

The Internet is a fabulous connector of people. The world truly does become smaller when total strangers can view a video or Google a phrase and find the perfect person to provide just the service they need. My business would not exist without the World Wide Web. My only regret is that I don't have enough to time to surf all of the Web and social networking sites I'd like to.

My clients come from everywhere, and quite often our relationships are restricted to e-mail and phone calls. Despite the limitations of electronic communications, we do become close. This past weekend, however, I was reminded of how important it is meet my authors in person. It is a truly magical experience after all the disembodied conversations we have shared.

Rob (yes, that's his real name) and I met for the first time last Friday when I picked him up from the airport. We greeted each other like long-lost relatives and spent the weekend sharing meals, great conversation, and long hours of working on his book. I taught a writing class on Monday night, and Rob graciously agreed to share his experiences as a new author with my students.

They were enchanted. I could have explained for weeks on end what Rob conveyed in one short hour. No amount of theory is as real or convincing as hearing someone share what he has learned, often the hard way, on his way to becoming a published author.

In today's world, people—especially young people—spend a disproportionate amount of time talking to each other over the airwaves. They may think that's real communication, but from the perspective of someone who grew up having to share a phone with my whole family, it is a poor substitute for standing in the same space and actually looking at the person I'm talking to.

The Invisible Blog?

I’ve been blogging my little heart out for quite a while now and wonder if the blogging world even knows I’m here. How do I get noticed? How do I get on the blogosphere map? When I was first doing research, if I had a question, I went to the library. But in this brave new world, when I have a question, I Google it. So I Googled “how to get your blog noticed” and struck gold. Here are some of the many suggestions for experts out there:

From 13 Tips to Get Your Blog Noticed
at JohnTP.com blogging & online money making tips

JohnTP lives in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and has a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSc IT) in India. He has been a full-time blogger since November 2005 and currently receives over 9,000 unique visitors daily and 15,000 page views. Also check out DigitGeek, his blog on hardware reviews and tutorials.

1. Place a link to your blog in your signature, so that any posts to Forums, Outgoing Emails, etc, will promote your blog.
2. SubmitExpress.com will submit your blog free to the top 20 Search engines.
3. Submit your good articles to EzineArticles.com.

From Branding 101: How to Promote Your Blog Like the Big Guys Do
by Leo Babauta of Write to Done

Leo Babauta created Write to Done as a way to share some of what he has learned the craft and the art of writing. A life-long writer, he blogs about journalism, blog writing, freelance writing, fiction, non-fiction, getting a book deal, the business of writing, the habit of writing. And so on.

1. First, figure out who your target audience is. Who are you trying to help with your blog? Who do you want to attract? It’s good to have a clear picture of exactly who these people are …
2. Next, figure out what desires you’re going to be tapping into. Every reader goes to a blog for a reason — some desire they have that the blog will potentially fulfill.
3. Then figure out what message you’re going to send to them that will tap into specific desires. This is key: every blog sends an unstated message to the reader.

From How to Get Your Blog Noticed Quickly and Widely
by Gregory White on EzineArticles.com

Greg White, Internet Marketer, Author, Consultant, and Project Manager has been running successful web projects since 2001. His sites and blogs cover Blog Marketing Tactics, Internet Marketing Tactics, and a variety of 'Niche' topics, in addition to starting and marketing profitable web project.

1. Sign up for a free account at BlogExplosion.com and register your blog there: http://www.blogexplosion.com/
2. Submit your blog to all of the directories listed at http://www.rss-feeds-directory.com/blog_lists.html
3. Sign up for a "My Yahoo" at http://my.yahoo.com/ and attach your blog to your own "My Yahoo" account. This will get your blog included in Yahoo very quickly. This is worth the effort to stop what you're doing right and do it, since Yahoo has a PR 9.

From Amazing Blogging Skills
By Axel g

Axel g was born and raised in Sweden. He is a meditator, who was ordained as a junior Buddhist monk in Thailand in 1993. His meditation practice has also taken him to Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and Sweden; and he has lived in numerous monasteries around the world. Axel now works full time in the field of personal development.

1. Write about topics that really interest your readers. Focus on providing information that your readers want and do your very best to help them along the way.
2. Freely share what you know, that's one important key to successful blogging and offer your readers useful information. If you have genuine knowledge about the topic you're writing about, share everything you know about it with your readers and they will love you for it. As a pro, you should also be able to explain things in simple language.
3. Web surfers love blogs with character. Relax and show your readers who you really are! This way you will also quite naturally establish a personal relation with your readership.

Think about the words, World Wide Web. It truly is, and, if you doubt it, consider the bloggers who contributed these 12 great ideas.

Words to Write By

The summer is over … or practically over, anyway. A minute ago it was Memorial Day; suddenly, I’m staring Labor Day in the face (I still haven’t bought a barbeque grill!), and what do I have to show for it besides a tan and an improved flutter kick?

But I’m not being fair. Since my life is measured by statistics — my rankings on Google and Yahoo, marketing strategies that pay off, and number of words written, articles published, and books sold — I have accomplished quite a bit. This has been a summer of writing. In fact, I don’t seem to be able to stop.

It is hard to explain this obsession to people who think they can’t write, would rather die than write, or know they can write but hate doing it. As I tried to think of something profound to say, I decided to seek some help from noted writers past and present. Here are some observations that really resonated.


“If the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire is not to write.” Hugh Prather

"There is no perfect time to write. There's only now." Barbara Kingsolver

"A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage." Sydney Smith

“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it's like drilling rock.” Ernest Hemingway

"Writing itself is an act of faith.” EB White

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage — as long as you edit brilliantly.” C. J. Cherryhr

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything good.” William Faulkner

“Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.” Sharon O'Brien

“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” Isaac Asimov

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." Agatha Christie

"You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke." Arthur Polotnik

May you be as inspired as I am by these words.