SELF PUBLISHING How to develop and maintain a web presence AND THE - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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SELF PUBLISHING How to develop and maintain a web presence AND THE - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Oct 17, 2022 40 likes •350 views

SELF PUBLISHING How to develop and maintain a web presence AND THE WEB for authors INTRODUCTION My name is Andrew Hicks. I am a teacher at Columbia College, a freelance web designer, an author, and I run my own business. I am writing a book

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SELF PUBLISHING AND THE WEB

How to develop and maintain a web presence for authors

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INTRODUCTION

My name is Andrew Hicks. I am a teacher at Columbia College, a freelance web designer, an author, and I run my own business. I am writing a book that I plan to self publish in the fall of 2014. The book is called Gamer to CEO and it’s about video games, learning, and leadership. I have made many, many websites for musicians, artists, and small

  • businesses. These days I’d rather make a website using WordPress or

SquareSpace rather than making it from scratch.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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4 MAJOR STEPS

1. Register domain name 2. Get hosting 3. Design online presence

1. Marketing 2. Working with a designer

4. Maintain content

1. Blogging 2. Images 3. SEO

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

G e t y

  • u

r n a m e

  • n

l i n e Find a place to put your files Do it yourself or pay $$ Writing for the web is fun but Let’s be honest, It’s a business

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PAID HOSTING OR FREE BLOG?

Planning for a website is all about what you want for your site. Do you want to pay about $100 a year and have more control over your site? Or, is a free solution going to work? PAID: You register a domain name and buy hosting. More control over design and features. Can look better on mobile. FREE: Your domain name is not in complete control. The design is not in your control either. May not look great on mobile.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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BIG PICTURE: HOW THE INTERNET WORKS

Internet and www

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

andrewhicks .net

Hosting on a Server Domain Content

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PAID: REGISTERING A DOMAIN NAME

What is a domain name? The domain name is your web address, the part that comes after www I own andrewhicks.net, bigshouldersmedia.com, and gamertoceo.com How do I get one? Search for “register a domain name” and you’ll get links to various companies.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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REGISTERING A DOMAIN NAME

I prefer and use: iwantmyname.com

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

Built by nerds Easy to use Very helpful

Do not use: Godaddy.com

Confusing Hard to use Not helpful

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PAID: HOSTING

What is hosting? When you buy hosting you are buying space on a server. You have access to these files. You point your domain name to your server and the files become visible to the Internet. How much does it cost? Minimal hosting costs about $5 a month, but is purchased by the year. How to get it? Search for “best web hosting” and you will get links to many companies.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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HOSTING

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

I prefer and use: Bluehost.com

About $5/month Easy to use Very helpful

Do not use: Godaddy.com

Confusing Hard to use Not helpful

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OTHER HOSTING CONSIDERATIONS

eCommerce Maintaining a mailing list Keeping a blog Event Listings

The more stuff you want to do with your website, the more you need your own hosting and domain.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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BIG PICTURE: PAID

Internet and www

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

andrewhicks .net

Server bluehost.com $70+ Domain iwantmyname.com $15 html files images audio etc.

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BIG PICTURE: PAID WORDPRESS

Internet and www

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

andrewhicks .net

Server bluehost.com $70+ Domain iwantmyname.com $15 WordPress template

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BIG PICTURE: FREE

Internet and www

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

Server bluehost.com $70+ WordPress free theme

andrewhicks.wordpress.com

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FREE SOLUTIONS

wordpress.com wix.com weebly.com virb.com

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

but your domain name will look like this: http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com http://janefriedman.wordpress.com

This is an example of a free WordPress template

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WORDPRESS: INSTALL VIA THE CPANEL

If you have purchased hosting through a service like bluehost.com then you will have access to a cPanel.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

The cPanel is how you install your custom WordPress theme.

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SQUARESPACE: PICK A TEMPLATE AND GO

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

www.squarespace.com Hosting, domain name, eCommerce, bloging all in one place Starting at $10 a month or $96 a year

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DOMAIN NAME + HOSTING RECAP

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

Free if you don’t have hosting wordpress.com wix.com weebly.com virb.com Free if you have hosting

you’ve paid $70 a year for server space and you have a domain name Custom WordPress You have complete control

  • ver the look and feel of

your website

Complete solutions Squarespace.com Hosting, domain name, eCommerce all in one place $10 a month or $96 a year This is my new favorite

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DESIGN YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

  • 1. Choose themes to help define your brand
  • 2. Understanding the administration interface
  • 3. Images, video, and audio

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

What do you want from your site?

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THEMES + TEMPLATES

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

Define your brand

Decide what features you want

Blog Events Build a newsletter subscription eCommerce Social media integration Photos

You as the author need to decide what your site is going to do for you.

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ADMIN INTERFACES

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

SquareSpace WordPress

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IMAGES, AUDIO + VIDEO

Using a system like WordPress or SquareSpace it is simple to add or link to other media.

Easy to embed images Easy to link to existing youtube or vimeo videos Easy to embed your own audio (you could start a podcast) Images are helpful with search engines and can help drive people to your site

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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WORKING WITH A DESIGNER OR FIRM

What can you expect to pay?

Friend, nephew, beginner: $100 to $1000 Freelance web designer: $500 to $2500 Web Design company: $2000 to $15,000+ The friend option is very tricky. You are likely to be disappointed and have to wait a long time. The freelancer is better, and is probably your best option, but they are very hard to find. The web design company is the best if you have money.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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PREPARING CONTENT FOR A DESIGNER

Images Reduce in size to 72dpi Don’t make them too huge (under 1000 px wide) Learn to use a graphics editing program to size images correctly Text Many developers don’t have Word. They may ask for just plain text files Detail and direction Always provide as much direction and detail as possible

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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GENERATING CONTENT

Define what you want your site to do for you

  • 1. Landing page: static or blog?
  • 2. Blogging + communicating with your audience
  • 3. Social Media: twice a week at least. Best daily.
  • 4. SEO (search engine optimization)

You need to ask yourself if you want a static placeholder style of site,

  • r a heavily used interactive site. Either way is fine, but it helps to

define what you want from the site.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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WRITING CONTENT

Blogging: The importance of fresh content

Just because you have a WordPress theme it doesn’t mean you have to have a blog. WordPress is just a container. If you do want to have a blog WordPress is great for the task. How often can you write? Want comments? Avoid spam, which means you have to moderate comments as well Installing plugins (sharing, events, calendars, social media, etc.) Link to other writers and blogs

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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WRITING FOR THE WEB

Look at what other authors do and copy from them. This website is a business, not a soapbox, not a diary.

4 Rules for writing online Branding, brevity, consistency, and networking SEO (search engine optimization) Paying attention to SEO means writing with search engines in mind. Why do you want to do this? To attract more people to your site.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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WRITING FOR THE WEB

Four simple rules to writing for your blog

  • 1. Branding: Find your value and package it.
  • 2. Brevity: Keep it short and sweet and often.
  • 3. Consistency: Maintain appearance and content.
  • 4. Networking: Link out to other posts and to other pages.

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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OPTIMIZING FOR SEARCH ENGINES

If you are writing a blog post, find a unique key word

  • r phrase and exploit it as much as possible.

Focus on low-competition key phrases Choose one key word or phrase per post Use Your key phrases in your post title and title tags Repeat the key phrase in your article, especially first paragraph Use the key phrase in your meta description tags Find images related to your key phrase

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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FINAL THOUGHTS

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

Determine what you want your site to do for you. The more you want to tweak the design and features, the more you pay. Finding cheap, reliable, good web designers is nearly

  • impossible. Expect to pay $1000 - $10,000 for quality
  • work. DIY costs $100/year for hosting and domain name.

All content should work toward driving customers to your site. Blogging + social media is a daily task.

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END OF PRESENTATION

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

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$500, 2HOURS, AND YOU’RE GOOD TO GO

A bigshouldersmedia.com offer for you

  • ne single 2 hour custom session*

you go home with your own website, domain name, and hosting solution

  • You will be able to post fresh content whenever you want
  • You will know how to link video and audio
  • You will get content posting guidelines and advice
  • You will have a beginning understanding of how setup a navigation
  • You will know how to set up SEO properly for good search results

ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM

*includes two 30 minute follow up phone calls