Guest Post by Rebecca Munro - Staying Positive and Writing

Personally speaking; I really do dislike the world of blogging; this may be due to the sole reason that I just do not understand it and as a passionate writer that completely terrifies me. The acceptance that maybe I am not as adaptable as I first initially thought. But hey I love to face a fresh challenge. And I am therefore willing to learn and rapidly change my perception on the blogging world and I do believe I am slowly getting there.

Another thing I dislike is the fact that there are so many amazing authors out there that do not have their own websites or blogging sites. And if they do, there are many who have websites that are just so poorly put together and not maintained.  And I speak this from experience; I understand that spending hours trying to figure your website out can be a daunting, stressful and time consuming task. However I do believe that this is your most valued home base and asset and it is worth every blood sweat and tear feed into it. And as one of many website reviewers for McAfee; I see and come across many examples of exactly just what I am about to share with you now.

For example; there are many, many blogs which I personally find tedious, boring and bland. I’m not implying that this is down to an author’s writing as nine times out of ten their words are intriguing and all inspiring motivational pieces of literature. But it is mainly down to their sites lay out and poor management of it. Cleanliness is next to godliness (so my Grams always says) keeping a tidy web page gives for better thought and productivity.

I find more often than not that many marvellous bloggers/writers let themselves down through poor web designs on both spectrums of the scale. Some are overly fussy and over stimulating. Some are just too bland and lacking in life.  I have come across so many untidy, rushed and poorly composed websites. And yet underneath it all, I still see their every potential. So how do you learn from this? Well the answer is simple; research.  See what others are doing, of course what works for them may not work for you, it is all trial and error and continuous researching.

Over half the blogging pages I come across are far too confusing and at most completely in-accessible. Ah and we mustn’t forget those annoying pesky adverts flashing there spam at you constantly; this too really grates me. You have instantly lost me if your pages are infested and crawling with these advertisements. My brain and my imagination completely thrive from a clear and well-presented webpage (as I am sure many of yours do) as well as its maker's own unique stamp upon it. And it is wonderful when you do find them as it is usually a good indicator that these authors, end up going the distance.

'Sometimes, less is more' well it is quite a true statement;

I know all our taste differ vastly but it is still a simple more effective way to display and design your websites. And it can be your major selling focal point if applied in the right way. You do after all want people to come back to your site and enjoy their time with you.

Please, don't get me wrong, I am not meaning to discredit nor offend any writer/bloggers and their hard work. As there are many blogs that have me completely enticed and head over heels entirely. But hey what do I know right? Well OK that's a fair question; I'm just a small fish in a vast great big ocean. But think of your webpages from a reader’s perspective. As a reader, I don’t want to be chasing my tail (so to speak) around a poorly laid out website and inundated with annoying adverts.

As a writer your basic fundamentals are your creative writing skills and your amazing imaginative idea's and most important of all your own uniqueness. So get selling 'you' as the credited writer that you and we know you are.

So why is it I still find so many authors that just do not market themselves effectively? I spent a few hours this morning trolling through thousands of authors on Twitter (researching). And found that only as little as 45% of the authors that I had come across had their own websites or blogs. Shocking right? I know! Surely every author wants to be noticed, wants to shout out to the world about how they're the next big thing. And that their work is worthy, well where's is your website? Let’s move with the times and market yourself effectively as you may well be the next big thing one day. 

Tell me about yourself? No really! I love to connect with people from ALL walks of life, hence my Twitter addiction. But most especially so do the readers they want to get to know the authors too. They want to know the people that wrote their most cherished prized books. They want to know what inspired the author and what made them write that specific book; that human connection.

We are all human after all; it is in our very nature to connect with others. We are genetically made up as 'people person's' and we truly do thrive when we socialize successfully. I also understand as an author that you want to sell your latest novel/book. But I have noticed that many authors fall and stay content within one certain trap; links set up from their twitter page to an Amazon link. These links send their viewers straight to their Amazon selling page, truly fantastic and I mean this with heart felt sincerity, and it is a fantastic accomplishment on your behalf.

But again where is your complementing author website? You do not have me entirely sold with just an Amazon page and a couple of 4-5* reviews, remember readers want to know about their author as a person. Excel yourselves and market yourself effectively (research!) become the author you have always aspired to be and feed your passion furthermore.

I completely understand and get that not everyone is computer savvy. However we all have to begin somewhere right? What better way to learn and grow then to do it yourself and just do the research.

So ask yourself what is stopping you and why have you not taken this step already? If you have, great! Now ask yourself this; now how can I improve? Don’t always assume your work ends just because you have a basic website set up. Research, goodness I can’t stress this enough and see where improvements can be made.

So on wrapping up; I am only human too with an ample amount of flaws stacked sky high. OK and most will agree; a writer with far too much to say. My message is this; market yourself effectively and promote your uniqueness and there is always room for improvement and get rid of mess! Always stay positive and thrive.

Happy blogging and enjoy this wonderful day guys. And remember we are ALL constantly learning and improving. And maybe with some encouragement I’ll come round to the idea of effective blogging.

All words are that of encouragement and not intended any other way.

Rebecca Munro

Visit Rebecca's website at http://authorrebeccamunro.co.uk/ and follow her on twitter @missRmunro