Online Presence
What It Is and Why You Need One
Think of anyone’s “online presence” as the size of their footprint on the internet. When you post something, how many eyes see it? From a publisher’s point of view; when you post something, how many potential buyers see it? Do you have a network of people that both read what you write and would like to see more?
In the eyes of anyone promoting an artist, every single thing that the artist can do to promote themselves reduces the promoter’s risk a little. Like any publishing venture, releasing and promoting an author carries definite financial risk on the side of the publisher. The more friendly eyeballs you can entice, the more confident the promoter becomes.
In this case, we’re talking about publishing; but the concept applies universally. Don’t expect every agent you query to rush off to read every post on your blog, but in the internet age you can rest assured that someone will be googling you before you get offered any money for your work. One of the goals of your online presence is to make sure that there’s something for that agent or editor to see when they do, and that they like what they see.
When an editor googles your name (or pen name), you want the first page full of results that are about you. If you use a creative pen name, that might be fairly straightforward. If you’re using your given name, it will be a little tougher. “John Smith” would focus on coming up in searchers for “john smith author” or “john smith <insert relevant keyword>.” Still, all you have to do is be diligent about getting your name out there in a way that associates it with your writing. The spirit of this site is to help any serious author of erotica to do just that.
First, you need your own website or blog. If you have a personal site that isn’t focused on your writing, you need a second one. Somewhere you can post your ruminations on your craft, to one day be pored over by thousands of devoted fans and all the editors waving contracts at you. That visualization is important, because it will help you keep focus regarding what you post. When you’re an entertainer you have two “bosses:” your fans and your publisher. Your writer’s blog is aimed at them, and the internet is forever. I’ll say that again, because it’s deadly important to doing business in the digital age. The. Internet. Is. Forever.
Everything ever posted online remains out there in the ether, somewhere, waiting for someone to put together the right collection of search terms to have Google throw it at them. Never post anything under your “professional name” (be it given or assumed) that you wouldn’t want your boss or a prospective employer to read about you. If you write erotica, any reasonable person would expect sex on your website; but it’s not the place for strong political or religious opinions that don’t directly impact your work, for example.
You want agents, authors and readers to see the online presence of a professional writer who has their act together. Posting in any online forum that relates to topics you’re interested in is a great way to build online presence, but make sure that you want your professional name associated with them before attaching it to your username or using it in public. A thousand posts on some inflammatory forum isn’t going to inspire confidence in people thinking of doing business with you.
You don’t have to take on a new job as a blogger, either. Start now posting one or two things a week, and in a month all of a sudden the first page of your blog will be filled up. When you’re struggling with a choice regarding a character or storyline, your blog is the perfect place to jot down a few paragraphs about the artistic struggle.
Your professional site is not the place to discuss what you had for breakfast this morning. Absolutely let it be a window into your personality and who you are as a writer, but be selective. Let your guideline be “would this tell an editor or fan something about me that impacts my work in some way?” We live in the Age of the Over-Share, and I’m trying to fight it one un-submitted post at a time from my end.
I’ll update this once I get a bit of wisdom from some friends who have worked hard to build presences utilizing MySpace and Facebook. Social networking sites are something I’m trying to master myself, so I won’t speak on them until I feel like I have real, valuable information.
Getting Your Blog/Site Started
These days it couldn’t be easier to start a blog. If you don’t have web design experience, that’s probably the best way for you to go about it anyway. Search engines love blogs; and the more often they’re updated, the more the SE spiders like them.
The two most popular options for blogs you don’t have to host yourself are WordPress and Blogger. You may want to test-drive both and see if you like one more than the other, but either will do the trick nicely. There are a lot of helpful tutorials, and even a novice can produce a decent looking blog. Blogger is now owned by Google, so your blogger account attaches to your Google account (if you have one).
Click Here to sign up at WordPress.com (new window)
Click Here to sign up at Blogger.com (new window)
Remember that you want to keep your blog friendly to readers. Flashy graphics are all well and good in theory, but in a lot of cases “less is more” when it comes to web design. Pages should be easy to read, and avoid insane color schemes.
Once your site is up and you’re contributing here, I’ll put a link to it in the “Contributing Authors’ Blogs” menu that appears on every page of the site. You put a similar link back to Twisted Erotica, and the process of building networked traffic has begun.
Just Released!
