Tag Archives: Writers

Pinterest for promotion: Tips and inspiration

Social media: is it selling or sharing?

These days, it’s a bit of both. As a writer, or anyone with a product to promote, social media presents powerful platforms. You can spend more time socializing than writing, so where do you focus your attention?

Pinterest is a social media cut-n-paste website to collect and save online items meaningful to you. Neater than a folder of newspaper clippings from back in the dinosaur days, when you find an image or idea that you want to remember, you “Pin” that image to a “Board” that you create. Presto! Your collection begins.

The anatomy of a Pin is an image, the description and the website link. The image is the specific, intriguing picture from the website. If the site isn’t set up to instantly open Pinterest when you hover over the image, you can manually add the image to your Board with the Pin It button you download from Pinterest and save to your computer’s internet taskbar. The description is whatever you type in as a reminder to you–a cool title, the inspiration for saving it, your impressions–all in 500 words or less.

The website’s link automatically attaches as an electronic sticky note to the “Pinned from” line, and this takes you back to the original post. If you Pin directly from your smartphone, the Pinned from line simply states, “uploaded by user,” thus creating a static image gallery.

Boards group specific topics or themes together, such as: recipes; parenting; DIY crafts; men’s fashions; travel destinations; and home décor. Quotes and infographics are popular, too. If you want to connect with users—or Pinners—who share your interest, search the site by category, keyword or user names. Here’s where the social aspect steps in.

When you discover an image someone else saved, you can Pin that Pinner’s pin to a Board you created, and vice versa. To see a Pinner’s latest discoveries, you “Follow” that person, and then you choose to follow all or just some of their Boards. The most popular Pins, popular by Likes or Pins, come up highest on any search. It’s important to be social to be discovered.

Remember that, “Pinned from”, direct link I mentioned above? This is where the promotion aspect steps in. You want to send people to where the action is, so create Boards that link directly to your blogsite, etsy shop or Amazon page. Create exciting titles and use the description box wisely. Like other social media, use #hashtags to group your pins and to be instantly site-searchable. Type in an additional website link in the description box, and it is an active link, giving you additional promotion tool option.

Who do I like? Who uses Pinterest well? Who inspires me?

Drive traffic back to your own website like blogger Laurel Regan (Alphabet Salad) by grouping her blog posts, most recently for her April 2015 A to Z Blog Challenge posts. I found her through that blog hop, and she inspired me to create my own A to Z blog posts Board.

Intrigue your current and future readers like writer Wendi Knape (Wendijowrites) does by teasing them with images that inspire her writing. One of her stories, Jacob and Charlotte – Meet Cute, features the characters Jacob and Charlotte. Wendi created a Pinterest Board to describe her characters’ “development, clothes, hair, living space [and] favorite foods.” This inspired me to give readers insights into my own writing process through my “Author Inspiration” board.

My use of Pinterest has been a mixture of art and writing. “Scrapbooking and artsy-fartsy stuff” collects mini-album and ephemera ideas to pitch to my editor of Michigan Scrapbooker Magazine for future articles.

My Zentangle boards promote my classes as a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) and artwork that inspires me. Why not let others know what moves me, as well as inspires my works of art?

“Holiday Festivities” gathers spooky ideas and recipes I use to create great visual images for my blog’s annual Halloween post. See how I used the ideas to create party atmosphere in my 2014 Halloween Party blogpost.

“THON-spiration” collects images related to the fight against childhood cancer and The Penn State Dance Marathon (THON); it is currently my most popular board.

As I was typing this post, I created “Books by D.W. Hirsch” Board. In the first 24 hours, I had 24 followers. How cool is that!

I can’t guarantee any success like that, but I can share tips I’ve discovered along this social journey.

Tips to get the most exposure to yourself and your Boards:

Creative titles. Make your Boards sound so exciting that people can’t resist clicking on them.
Maximize the description box. Don’t write wordy paragraphs; space out long sections of sentences. Include hashtags, keywords, and related websites, but use tabs or double-spaces between these words.
Choose the most interesting, active image to Pin if you have multiple options from a website.
Credit the original artist every time you share personal content. Let them know you’ve done that and they may follow you back.
For more ideas, search a general word. Type the word “writing” and you get subcategories of novel; inspiration; prompts; quotes; and more

Some writing-related Board ideas include:

Writers you like and blogs you follow. Be sure to describe why you include them.
Books you like or want to read. This gives people a look into your personal likes, and they may discover a new book to read after seeing your interests.
Share and be social: promote other bloggers or writers by posting their content.
List blog or writing challenges for future exploration.
Promote personal blog posts. Group these sites into related categories and boards.
Share other media images like screenshots of your Twitter posts. Be mindful of others’ privacy.
Favorite quotes

Pinterest works best for people who actively wander around the Internet. Creating a Board or Pinning an item can take as little as 3 minutes, but this may be an awkward medium for some. It takes time to ensure the correct link, to write an appropriate description, and then roam around Pinterest looking for people to connect and share interests.

What site platform works best for you? Are you still discovering? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Insta-success with Instagram

5 Replies

Twitter is stupid, and Instagram is for people who can’t read.”–Max, 2 Broke Girls

I always think of that quote when I mention Instagram to others. Instagram is a social site for sharing snapshots. If you don’t like taking pictures, this post won’t be for you, but you should read to the end just to make sure.

As a writer, or any business owner, you need to find social media platforms that work for you and your desired end goals. The sites need to be ones that you will maintain and that are fun for you. I think Facebook is a big time-suck with algorithms that don’t let me see the feeds of everyone I want to in the order that I want to. Still, I have a Facebook Author Page that I modestly keep up with. I have discovered informative people through Twitter and it seems to be popular for writers. It’s hard to keep up with the news feed some days, but there’s some good interaction with my tweets.

What about Instagram? I’m a scrapbooker and, by default, take hundreds of photos every month. I’m surprised it took me so long to find the value in Instagram. My first two photos posted the week of June 10-16, 2012 (138 weeks ago) when I was just playing around with some filters on my first smartphone. They were pictures of teddy bears. I didn’t know what else to do with it, so I trailed off and lost interest. I picked it up again the week of February 2-7, 2014 (53 weeks ago, or just over a year) as an outlet to showcase my writing, initially my haiku poetry. Now I use Instagram for my writing and…well, stop on over and check out my photos at @dwhirsch.

I use Instagram as a marketing tool as much as a social experience. I don’t pretend to know everything about Instagram. I read information from bloggers who have done the research, such as @jenns_trends, who is a goddess on Insta-information. What I’m offering is my personal experiences and successes adapting those tools.

To use Instagram effectively, you have to decide what you plan to share. This can change over time, but start with some initial rules. My guidelines are the same ones I have for my personal blog. I never post pictures of friends or family without first getting their consent. I don’t post photos of my house because I have “location services” turned on my phone. I don’t want people to know where not to find me when I’m out of town. There’s nothing valuable, explicit, religious, political, controversial or anything my dad–were he still alive–would be disappointed to read about me.

Instagram is Insta-easy to use, and the site’s features are relatively uncomplicated and obsessively playful. It’s free to set up, and I recommend you snag your profile information now: create your Name (generally your real name or business) and Username (what you’ll be known @as). Photos are posted in a square, and most smartphones have a “square” option in the camera settings. If not, or if a square cuts off some important part of your photo, there are many free apps that will shrink your photo and place a border around it. To post, just upload a photo or 15-second video that you take live or have stored in your smartphone library. You can alter your media with black-and-white, sepia or color filters, with additional tools to adjust the image’s brightness, contrast or saturation level. Finish it off with a frame or vignette, add a caption and press Share.

Now that you’re live, how do people find you? Your 153-character bio, along with your photo’s caption, and hashtags need to be creative, potent and relevant. Going back to Max’s quote comparing Twitter and Instagram, the latter is not restricted to 140 characters. Your photo or video should tell a complete story, but you can use about 440 words to explain that image. This comment section is vital because you can tell your story and highlight your image using crucial hashtags.

Instagram is hashtag heaven. People with similar interests will find you based on how you tag your images. Common hashtags reflect those you find on Twitter, but you don’t have to be familiar with Twitter to use Instagram. Think about what your picture is about and tag your image with common terms. As a snapshot in the moment, you can showcase a twisted #tree branch, a royal #sunset, a #selfie in your awesome new #shirt, an art exhibit or the #bananabread you’re baking. You’ll get a feel for tags once you start using them. Tags have no spaces and use just alphabet characters with no suggestions, so type in exactly what you’re looking for. Much like Twitter lists, you can also create hashtags to group your own images in a somewhat folder design. Some of mine include #iamapoetess, #SnuffletFinse and #Champsp. Be sure to check out this group’s posts, which are under the same hashtag as on Twitter: #dwriters.

The Explore tab complements tags by suggesting people to follow based on tags you use, images you’ve ‘Liked’ and people or companies that your followers follow.

Oh, yes, companies use this. Instagram is a successful marketing tool, a highly-used space to display products from #clothing to #cosmetics. Check out companies like @Bathandbodyworks, @Ford and @Applebees.

I sometimes stage my work because I want my followers to see the best of me. I give my followers a peek into my writing, #Zentangle art and my overall creative process while infusing my quirky personality and personal interests. Think about it: if I follow a particular author, I feel more connected to the “person” rather than to the “celebrity.” Therefore, I’ve taken my book cover image and overlaid a part of a review on top of it. I type up actual text from my latest #shortstory or #poetry. Photo editing can be fun.

Given my goals, I show images of blue-inked-up work as I edit my current draft. I show the #coffee shops where I #amwriting. I show the stages of my Zentangle #wip so people can see my creation from start to finish. I have too much fun with it on the go not to let it be organic.

Remember, social media is social. I share my work and myself because like Max on #twobrokegirls, the experience on Instagram is more social. I comment more than I Like because the image doesn’t always grab me but the story in the caption section does.
When someone takes the time to comment on my work, I respond to every–and I mean every!–comment made to me even if that person replied with a smiley face emoji. I appreciate the time that person spent appreciating me, similarly the gratitude when I receive a #bookreview on #Amazon or #Goodreads. If nothing else, I reply “Thank you.” People like you when you like them.

What are the benefits? The most important is meeting people with similar interests. I’m reading a #memoir recommended by a follower who is #writing her own memoir. I’m inspired by new #art and #painting techniques. I’ve been challenged to take pictures in #blackandwhite. I could meet any number of them for #coffee if I was in their area. I have a connection to these people. You can do the same with your peers and have fun doing it.

Deadwood Writers Voices 1 Year Anniversary

7 Replies

Editor’s Log 02/03/15

One year ago, the Deadwood Writers’ Voices opened its first issue. There was no fanfare. But it was another momentous step that the group took in its journey along the writer’s path. A group of brave authors committed themselves to publishing a monthly piece along the theme of writing. Backed by a dedicated volunteer crew of editors who work with the authors, we stepped into the unknown.

It’s not been an easy journey. We’ve navigated potholes and fallen trees blocking the way. Each challenge was, and continues to be, a learning opportunity for us. While there is much more work to be done, there are accomplishments to be celebrated.

Writing and Publishing Regularly

Commitment to writing on a regular basis is a common challenge expressed at different writer’s groups meetings and conferences I’ve attended. Anyone who attends a writer’s group can attest to hearing from others, or thinking it themselves, “I want to write every day and produce something monthly, but _______________…” Each of the contributors to DWV have set aside the excuses and submit work for monthly deadlines. Oftentimes, the writing goes through several revisions from conversations with their editor.

Increased Skills

Writing for a public audience has opened opportunities for these busy writers, who have other career obligations, to spend more time honing their skills. The results continue to grow with each post.

Writing More Frequently

We’ve gone beyond talking the talk to walking the walk. Many of these authors are writing pieces in addition to this monthly commitment. This has led to goal setting for 2015 where many are publicly committing to writing and contributing to other sources—in addition to maintaining their work with DWV.

Next Steps

As we shift to year two of DWV, the dialog has changed from let’s write and publish regularly to a desire to explore our voices beyond the topic of writing. We’re finding that we’ve much to say and even more to explore. This ranges from exploring different genres to marketing and tapping the power of social media for connecting DWV.

Beginning now, the topics that authors contribute is wide open. All genres and purposes are open. The Deadwood Writers’ Group has always been a learning community, in addition to providing feedback and reflection on participants’ work. This year, we have increased the number of regular contributors, adding new voices to the family. We will also have some guest writers to add their voices for enriching the experience. If you are interested, review our submission guidelines. Only a limited number of guest writers will be included this year.

Post comments on the articles, the authors will respond. Challenge them by offering topics you’d like to see them write about. Thank you for reading the Deadwood Writers’ Voices.

Why Go to Switzerland?

10 Replies

Just as suspense keeps a story going and your audience interested, there comes a point when you have to tell them what happened. You have to answer the questions you’ve implied or asked directly earlier in the piece.

Why did Abram insist on stopping off in Switzerland first and then coming to America second? The world was at war. He was in Beirut, Lebanon. Switzerland was a long way away. The Nazis controlled many of the countries he would have to pass through and he was a Jew. All good reasons, I would think, to come to America immediately now that he had the Visa and could do it. There was nothing more to wait for.

The excuse he gave my parents and grandparents doesn’t make sense. He needed to stop off in Switzerland first because he had some medical problems. After the Swiss doctors helped him, then he would come.

The world was too dangerous for him to make a stop like that for health reasons. The chances of him being killed were too high. There were plenty of doctors in America he could see after he arrived. No, I believe he had another, much more important reason for going to Switzerland first and then coming to America.

Abram had been a very successful businessman. He grew up in Bucharest, Romania. Later, after he became head of an Italian-American shipping line, the King of Italy knighted him. He was important and wealthy. He was also very generous with his family. He took care of his mother for many years, supporting her in Bucharest and later moving her to live with him in Constantinople (now Istanbul).

Abram was also very generous with his oldest sister, Clara, my grandmother. World War I ended on November 11, 1918. Abram came to San Francisco sometime in 1919. He invited Grandma, Papa, my Mom and Maximillian, his younger brother who was traveling with him, to travel around Europe for a year, visiting family and seeing the sights.

Everyone was thrilled at the opportunity. From the stories my Mom tells, they had an absolutely marvelous time! They started by taking the ferry from San Francisco, across the Bay to Oakland, where they caught the train to New York City. From there, they sailed on the RMS Aquitania, one of the most luxurious ocean liners of the time.

Mom was six and Maximillian sixteen, not exactly a child but not all grown up either. He used to take her to the park, the circus and out for ice cream while the adults went to shows like the Folies Bergère or out for drinks.

They traveled to France, Switzerland, Rumania and Turkey. From my Mom’s stories, Paris was one of the highlights of the trip: the Louvre, the shops, the people, and the atmosphere. I grew up always wanting to go to Paris, walk down the Champs-Élysées and see if it was as wonderful as she said. It is!

At some point they took the Orient Express to Constantinople. The trip took 80 hours—three days, eight hours. They had a sleeping car and ate in the dining room. Mom talked about how exciting and wonderful everything was!

They stayed a while in Constantinople visiting family. Mom became fast friends with her cousin, Eva, who was about the same age. I’ve seen pictures of them standing together, dressed the same—two cute six year olds with smiles from ear to ear.

Later they went to Romania. One night there was a birthday party at Papa’s mother’s house, with lots of singing and dancing. The highlight of the evening was Papa dancing a Viennese waltz with his mother on her 80^th birthday. Many people had tears in their eyes.

Then, in 1929, just before the Stock Market Crash, Abram came again to San Francisco to visit. He also brought Maximillian. Mom was now sixteen and Maximillian twenty-six. Soon they and Grandma and Papa were off for another year in Europe, traveling and visiting family.

Mom had just graduated early from Lowell High School so she could make the trip. When she came back a year later, she started college at the University of California in Berkeley.

When I think about this, it seems clear that Abram was a very generous man, who was also well off, and was happy to share his good fortune with his family. I also think, like many other well off Europeans of that time, he put his money in Swiss banks. It would be safe and secure and the Nazis couldn’t touch it.

When my Dad got Abram the American Visa in 1941, and let him know that the family in America would take care of him, Abram must have thought, I’ve got money in Switzerland. There’s a war going on. Hitler may win. I may never be able to return to Europe. I need to take it with me.

There were no computers in those days. Abram couldn’t just go online and transfer his money from one bank or country to another. He must have found it hard at that point in his life to leave all his wealth behind and be dependent on his America family for the rest of his life. Why not try to bring it with him?

Considering all the odds against him, I don’t know how he thought he could do it. He did know a lot of people and maybe he thought some of them might help him. He spoke a number of languages and he might have thought that would help too.

Abram’s always sounded like a very optimistic person; someone who believed they could succeed against all odds. It must have been awful for him to come so close, Trieste, less than a day’s travel from Geneva, only to be captured. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for him when the Nazis took him off the train and to the Savoia Hotel, where he’d lived for so many years. Did he think he could make some kind of arrangement with them until the very end, or, once they took him off the train, did he know it was over?

If my interpretation is correct, what happened to the money? Abram was murdered in his hotel room at The Savoia Hotel in Trieste, Italy sometime in late 1941. He never made it to Switzerland. So he was never able to send his money to America.

For that answer, you’ll have to come back next month.