Your Writer Platform

Build your platform. Engage your fans. Sell more books.

  • About
  • Learn
    • Business Plan for Authors
    • Author Brand Strategy
    • Audience Building
    • Author Website Essentials
    • Launch Planning
    • Marketing and Promotion
  • Resources for Authors
  • Blog

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: Using Google Alerts to Build Your Writer Platform (Issue #29)

by Kimberley Grabas

Share16
Tweet
Pin121
Share
137 Shares

The Writer's Weekly Wrap-Up _ YourWriterPlatform.com (1)

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!)

Get Out Your Spy Gear; It’s Time to Gather Some Intel!

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Google Alerts.

Raise your hand if you know how you can leverage Google Alerts to easily gather knowledge on what others are saying about you and your work online, as well as what they’re saying about other authors, your industry, or your genre.

For those of you with your hands down, I’ve whipped up a quick guide on how to use Google Alerts to flex your secret agent muscle.

(Click the arrows in the bottom right corner to enlarge the slideshow to make it easier to read.)

Google Alerts: How to Leverage Google Alerts "Intel" to Build Your Writer Platform from Kimberley Grabas

 

Useful tips, right?

Take a minute to check out the featured articles of the week before you run off to stalk gain useful marketing intelligence about other authors in your field. 😉

Featured Articles

The Report from Hugh Howey at Author Earnings

Just in case you haven’t seen this little bombshell yet, Hugh and another author with advanced coding skills compiled data, and subsequently this report, revealing some hard numbers about author earnings, that until now had been elusive.

How to Get Reviews for Your Book (Without Begging, Bribing or Resorting to Subterfuge) from Kimberley Grabas at Your Writer Platform

Struggling to get reviews for your book, but have no idea where to start? No problem! This post will cover several options that won’t require nefarious means or begging your family members.

Tumbler 101 for Authors from Adrienne from Duolit Self-Publishing

A thorough guide on how to set up your Tumbler account, gain a following and promote your books.

Creative Entrepreneur: The Tools I Use in My Creative Business from Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn

Highly successful author and businesswoman, Joanna Penn, shares a list of the tools she uses for writing, publishing, business and productivity.

Best WordPress Plugins: 40 Experts Share Their Favorite WordPress Plugins from Devesh at WPKube

Devesh asked 40 blogging and social media experts about their 5 favorite WordPress plugins and not only tallied the results for us in this post, but shared their reasons for choosing them as well.

5 Ways Blogging Sells Books from Molly Greene at Molly Greene, Writer

Although Molly notes that blogging may not be for everybody, she makes some great points as to why it can really work for many.

Branding 101: How to Promote Your Blog Like the Big Guys Do from Leo Babauta at Write to Done

A fantastic post on how to develop your core message, get it out into the world and ensure it “sticks”.

The Most Important Part of the Creative Life from Jeff Goins at Jeff Goins, Writer

Jeff discusses the importance of space, and what you must do to create it for yourself.

No, Things Were Not Easier “Back in the Day,” and Other Narratives We Cling To In Order To Avoid the Hard Work Of Success from Dan Blank at We Grow Media

Dan reveals how we create simple narratives for ourselves which cause action–and inaction–that can significantly affect our results and our careers.

Secrets to Crowdfunding Your Book from Paula Krapf at Marketing Tips for Authors

A video outlining tips and things you should consider before deciding if crowd funding your book is right for you.

Just For Fun

Since I spent some time cruising around on SlideShare today, I found another presentation you might enjoy:

Before You Kick the Bucket List from Empowered Presentations

Hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Wrap-Up! Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Filed Under: Blog, Tools & Resources Tagged With: author, author brand, author website, blog audience, book marketing, book promotion, platform, Weekly Wrap-Up

Comments

  1. Janis Friesler says

    at

    You hit the jackpot again. I think you have wonderful content. I am so glad I found your site.

    • Kimberley Grabas says

      at

      Thanks, Janis! Compliments are always welcome! 😉

      Glad you found the site, too!

  2. Sherrey Meyer says

    at

    Absolutely my favorite email of the week! You always have something significant to share. 🙂

    • Kimberley Grabas says

      at

      Ooo, thanks Sherrey! 🙂

      I appreciate that, and I’m glad you found this useful!

  3. Deb Atwood says

    at

    Thanks so much for this useful and easy to use alert information! I’m going to tweet this, but no doubt you will already know.

    • Kimberley Grabas says

      at

      Lol! Thanks Deb! Let the espionage begin! 🙂

  4. Neuoogle says

    at

    If you are a fan of Google Alerts, then check out Neuoogle in the iTunes and Google Play stores.

    Neuoogle is an alert based search tool just like Google, but has the benefits of operating all within a single application; No more need to open your browser, mail client, RSS reader and back to the browser to manage and view your alerts.

    Neuoogle creates and stores your searches and alerts you via a push notification, telling you exactly which search has new results. It’s a simple and elegant workflow.

    We support all of the advanced search features of Google such as AND, OR, Quotes “…”, LINK, and range (e.g. 1..100). We also allow you to monitor specific sites only (Great if you gravitate to one or two sites for inspiration).

    Neuoogle is free and is currently available for the iPhone and Android.

    We are very much community driven, and are more than happy to include features out users want.

    The Neuoogle team

  5. Stavros Halvatzis says

    at

    Very useful article, especially for indie writers. Many thanks!

    • Kimberley Grabas says

      at

      Thanks, Stavros! Glad you found it useful! 🙂

  6. Leonard njuguna says

    at

    thank you so much for this very helpful article

    • Kimberley Grabas says

      at

      My pleasure, Leonard!

  7. Mary Tinat says

    at

    Thank you for sharing this. I agreed with you, Google alert is awesome, I get many ideas for writing from Google alert.

    • Kimberley Grabas says

      at

      It is helpful, isn’t it Mary? Glad you enjoyed the post.

Authors with Platforms Sell Books.

It’s that simple.

Get on the Insiders List to receive the free Quick Start Guide to Building Your Writer Platform, exclusive content via email, and instant access to a growing library of downloadable resources.

LET'S GO

  • Home
  • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • Blog
  • Legal

Copyright © 2023 · yourwriterplatform.com · Developed by WP Help Club

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Before you go...
Get your free "Quick Start Guide to Building Your Writer Platform", plus regular email updates delivered straight to your inbox!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.