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Monthly Archives: April, 2008

“Promoting Your Book” Links

Written by Beth April 19, 2008

Some Author Blogs You May Want to Check Out:

Malcom Gladwell, The Tipping Point

Gary David Goldberg, Sit Ubu Sit: How I Went From Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog a Lot Less Hair

Keith Ferrazi, Never Eat Alone

Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns

David Meerman Scott, The New Rules and Marketing and PR


Blogging

Book Publicist Stacy J. Miller talks about why blogs are a great idea for authors

Typepad – A terrific, cheap blogging tool

Wordpress – Another great tool for starting a blog

Amy Gahran of Contentious.com offers great advice on commenting


Social Bookmarking

Digg – A great social bookmarking tool.  And it’s fun to say, “I digg that.”

Erica Sadin offers advice on getting started with Digg

Submitting your own content to Digg – It’s also quite fine to say, “I digg myself.”


Facebook

Facebook, main site – start here to set up a profile and start connecting.

Getting Started with Facebook Guide

Facebook Pages - Establishing a presence for your book (or you as an author) on Facebook


Microblogging

Twitter

Newbie’s Guide to Twitter

Leave a Comment | Posted in Uncategorized

The Woman and Her Cow

Written by Beth April 18, 2008

Maleyka_3
I just got turned on to Kiva.org, and I’m enamoured.  You’ve heard of micro-loans?  Small loans given to small business owners in developing countries?  This site lets you become a lender, and lets you select individual entrepreneurs to finance.  The loans themselves don’t earn you any interest as a lender, but you get to see these people’s faces and hear their stories.  Once their projects are fully funded and the put their loan money to work, you actually get updates on how they are doing and what’s happening with their businesses.  Isn’t that a GREAT idea?  This website has apparently already loaned more the $6 million dollars to folks all over the world in the journey toward obliterating poverty.

This has been a good month for me at BloggingwithBeth, so I went looking for a woman entrepreneur to fund, and I found Maleyka Jebrayilova.  She lives in Azerbaijan and she’s looking for a loan of $1075 to buy another cow to expand her cattle-breeding business.  Can you help, even a little bit?  Kiva will process loans for as little as $25, and you will get the money back in monthly payments (there is risk, as in any microfinance project, but I think it’s low – you can read more about it here).  It takes literally a minute to register for the site and set up a profile, and then you can process your loan money for Maleyka through Paypal.  It is INCREDIBLY easy, and I’m not just saying that because I’m an Internet teacher.  :)

This is an AMAZING organization, so please consider giving it a whirl.  And definitely consider helping this woman buy a cow – I’ll bet she would be very grateful. 

1 Comment | Posted in Giving Back

“10 Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Website or Blog” Class

Written by Beth April 17, 2008

If you want new, effective ways to increase your blog’s readership,
or to increase the amount of customers who see your traditional
website, you’ll want to check out "10 Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Website or Blog".

In this class, we’ll discuss -

  • How to take part in the conversations already going on all over the Web – your participation converts directly to more traffic!
  • How to submit your site to the right places – so that people looking to read blogs in your niche will be able to find you
  • Researching keywords that people are searching for and
    incorporating them into your content – without trying to "trick" the
    search engines
  • The secrets to getting more return traffic
  • Utilizing your site’s RSS feed to build a loyal readership

You’ll leave the class with a list of new traffic-building ideas as
well as lots of great handouts.  You can bring your own laptop to the
workshop if you like, or you can follow along with the presentation
I’ll be doing on a projector – you’ll learn plenty either way.

Registration is $60.

Sound interesting?  The "10 Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Website or Blog" class will be held:

Sunday, May 18th, 2008, 9:00-11:00 AM

The class will be in Boulder, location TBD. 

Class size is limited. To hold your spot in this
class, please submit your full registration fee by four business days
before the class.  Otherwise, I may have to give your spot away.

There are two ways to pay - 

  • You can submit your payment via Paypal using the
    "Pay Now" button underneath the class time (above). 
  • You can mail a check (made out to Beth Hayden) to
    Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO 80301. If
    you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you’d
    like to attend, and make sure to include your email address.

Please email me with any questions, and I hope to see you there!

Leave a Comment | Posted in Classes and Workshops

“Going Further with Blogging” Class

Written by Beth April 17, 2008

Got a blog, but need to do more with it? This class is for more
advanced bloggers. I’ll give you ideas for doing more with your blog,
including content ideas, adding
widgets, using social bookmarking tools, and more.

This class also includes a half-hour phone consultation with me.  I’ll look over your blog and  give you a
complete written review including suggestions for additions, content
and marketing, and then we’ll go over that plan during our consultation. 

This is what blogger Cynthia Morris had to say about her consultation with me:
"I’ve been blogging for three years now, and while there are a lot of resources available for new bloggers, there aren’t as many resources for established bloggers. I love blogging, feel comfortable with it, and am always striving to improve my blog. Hiring Beth for a one-one consultation was invaluable. She gave me a sense of what I am doing well, what could be improved upon, and valuable suggestions for developing content that is easy to post, interesting for readers, and serves my business goals. After our conversation, I had a map for things to work on and I’m excited about it. A one-one consultation with Beth is a worthy investment that will pay off manyfold."

Registration for this two hour class, which includes your half-hour consultation with me, is only $75. 

Monday May 19, 9:00 – 11:00 AM


The class will be held in Boulder, location TBD.  Registration fee for the class is $75.  Class size is limited.
To hold your spot in either class, please submit your full registration
fee by four business days before the class.  Otherwise, I may have to
give your spot away.

There are two ways to pay - 

  • You can submit your payment via Paypal using the
    "Pay Now" buttons (above).  Please make sure
    you’re choosing the correct class date and time.
  • You can mail a check (made out to Beth Hayden) to
    Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO 80301. If
    you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you’d
    like to attend, and make sure to include your email address.
Leave a Comment | Posted in Classes and Workshops

May “Basics of Blogging” Classes

Written by Beth April 17, 2008

Want to know what the blogging buzz is all about?
Would you like to get started with building a new website or updating
an old site using blogging tools? Do you just want to find great blogs
to read? My "Basics of Blogging" class is for you!

During this workshop, I’ll cover the following topics:

  • What’s a blog?  What blogging is (and isn’t) and why it’s a GREAT marketing tool for any business
  • The parts of of a blog post and why they’re important
  • How to find blogs you’ll like to read
  • How to use feeds to make reading blogs and other sites easy
  • How to get started with building your own blog
  • What commenting is, why it’s important for getting involved in the blog world, and how to develop a commenting strategy

Everyone will leave with a solid grasp on blogging
basics and lots of good handouts.  You can bring your own laptop to the
workshop if you like, or you can follow along with the presentation
I’ll be doing on a projector – you’ll learn plenty either way.

Sound interesting?  Sign up for one of my May sessions!


Thursday, May 8, 6:00-8:30 PM

Wednesday, May 21, 6:00-8:30 PM

Class will be held in Boulder, location TBD.  Registration fee for the class is $65.  Class size is limited.
To hold your spot in this class, please submit your full registration
fee by four business days before the class.  Otherwise, I may have to
give your spot away.

There are two ways to pay - 

  • You can submit your payment via Paypal using the
    "Pay Now" buttons underneath each class (above).  Please make sure
    you’re choosing the correct class time! 
  • You can mail a check (made out to Beth Hayden) to
    Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO 80301. If
    you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you’d
    like to attend, and make sure to include your email address.

Please email me with any questions, and I hope to see you there!

Leave a Comment | Posted in Uncategorized

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About Beth

Beth Hayden is a social media specialist and technology trainer. She has provided training, consulting, blog coaching and development services for New York Times bestselling authors, political commentators, personal development coaches and university professors; she is also the creator of the popular “Basics of Blogging” workshops.

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