The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up (Issue #14)

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Bad Things Can Happen To Good People

Imagine this scenario: you wake up one morning to find that your entire site is gone. Every post, comment, tweak and photo has disappeared into the ether.

Nightmares and cold sweats, right? Can you even wrap your mind around the possibility of starting all over from scratch?

I can’t. In fact, I feel a little nauseous just thinking about it.

So before we dive into the featured articles, here’s a quick ‘how-to’ on website backup, so that we can all sleep easier tonight:

Backup For WordPress (Self-hosted):

There are many options for backing up your self-hosted WordPress site, so I recommend you do a bit of research to ensure you’re getting what works best for you. Here is one free option and one premium option for you to consider:

1. WordPress BackWPup plugin (free) – this plugin allows you to schedule full, automatic backups, as well as decide where you want your backups stored. Go here for a quick tutorial on setup.

2. Backup Buddy is a premium (paid) plugin which is similar to BackWPup, but also provides support and malware scanning.

Backup for WordPress.com:

1. Click on Tools on the left sidebar of your dashboard, then click ‘Export’.

2. On the page that loads, click ‘Export’.

Backup for Blogger:

1. Click ‘Template’, then ‘Backup/Restore’. Click ‘Download Full Template’.

2. Go to ‘Settings’, ‘Other’, then under the ‘Blog Tools Menu’ select ‘Export Blog’. Click ‘Download Blog’ (includes your blog posts and comments).

3. You can also back up the Picasa Album (for your photos).

Is it done? Feel better? Good! Now enjoy reading this roundup of the best-of-the-best online this week.

Featured Articles

Why Your Blog’s About Page is Completely Wrong from Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer

This post is right on the money when it comes to the importance of ‘getting it right’ with your About page. An often overlooked, but extremely important aspect to your website, Joel outlines what you need to do to get it right.

34 Strategic Ways You Can Use Pinterest to Market Your Book and Your Author Brand from Kimberley Grabas at Your Writer Platform

Learn how to use Pinterest to increase awareness of your author brand, drive more relevant traffic to your website and increase your book sales.

45 Ways to Make Money With LinkedIn from Kristi Hines at Monetize Pros

Have you considered using LinkedIn as more than just an online resume? In this article, Kristi outlines some ways to increase your earnings using the number one business platform. Pay special attention to her sections on growing your mailing list, offering services (for freelance writers) and increasing book sales.

5 Killer Image Strategies to Skyrocket Your Facebook Engagement from Amy Porterfield at Amy Porterfield.com

Amy states that: “The key to leveraging images is to start thinking about them differently — as a distinct piece of content, just as important to your content strategy as any other campaign.” This article will give you some great ideas on how to use images for optimal results on Facebook.

120 Marketing Tactics for Blogging Success from Jeff Bullas at JeffBulas.com

This post is a monster! Jeff leaves no stone unturned with an infographic on how to get your posts -and yourself- noticed.

Tutorial: How To Create a Custom Favicon For Your Blog from Marianne at Design Your Own (Lovely) Blog

Besides having a beautiful blog, Marianne also has some great tips on how to get your site looking top notch. Check out this tutorial on how to set up your favicon – that tiny little icon by a blog’s name in your browser. (Note: I use the All In One Favicon plugin as a commenter suggests in the comment section).

12 Ways to Visually Inspire Fans With Facebook Cover Images from Mike Gingerich at Pam Marketing Nut

As we learned from Amy’s post above, images are a great way to increase engagement on Facebook. In this article, Mike gives us some useful tricks to spruce up and tweak our cover image to keep things fresh.

2 Easy Ways to Offer Giveaways on Your Blog from Molly Greene at Molly Greene, Writer

Want to reward your amazing blog readers? In this article, Molly outlines two ways to easily give your readers more of what they want.

Stop Trying To “Go Viral.” Your Author Platform Should Be: Focused. Simple. Human. from Dan Blank at Writer Unboxed

Dan urges us to consider the quality, not the quantity of our connections when building our writer platform.

My Best Book Marketing Tip for Creating Maximum Buzz from Carol Tice at Make a Living Writing

Carol reveals a marketing tactic that worked extremely well during her recent book launch.

What I Wish I’d Known Before Starting My Business from Chase Reeves of The Fizzle Show at Think Traffic

These guys are super goofy, but they do know their stuff! 🙂 In this podcast they discuss what they wish they’d known before starting out, mistakes they’ve made and how ‘going through it’ might be the best way to get to where you need to be.

Are You a “Real” Writer? Is This Even the Correct Question? from Kristen Lamb at Kristen Lamb’s Blog

Kristen discusses what a ‘real’ writer is, and how a shift in mindset might be the key to a successful writing career as a professional writer.

Just For Fun

‘Eat, Pray, Love’ author, Elizabeth Gilbert, discusses the emotional risk that artists now face, as well as the affects of unrealistic pressure, responsibility and expectation placed upon them and their work.

She also suggests that ‘genius’ may not come from within, but from a source outside ourselves. Take a look and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius

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Original top photo by Penywise