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 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
4 MAJOR STEPS e i n n l o m e n a r o u y e t G 1. Register domain name Find a place to put your files 2. Get hosting 3. Design online presence 1. Marketing Do it yourself or pay $$ 2. Working with a designer 4. Maintain content 1. Blogging 2. Images Writing for the web is fun but 3. SEO Let’s be honest, It’s a business ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
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
BIG PICTURE: HOW THE INTERNET WORKS Internet andrewhicks .net and www Domain Hosting on a Content Server ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
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
REGISTERING A DOMAIN NAME I prefer and use: Do not use: iwantmyname.com Godaddy.com Built by nerds Confusing Easy to use Hard to use Very helpful Not helpful ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
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
HOSTING I prefer and use: Do not use: Bluehost.com Godaddy.com About $5/month Confusing Easy to use Hard to use Very helpful Not helpful ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
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
BIG PICTURE: PAID Internet andrewhicks .net and www Domain Server html files images iwantmyname.com bluehost.com audio $15 $70+ etc. ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
BIG PICTURE: PAID WORDPRESS Internet andrewhicks .net and www Domain Server WordPress template iwantmyname.com bluehost.com $15 $70+ ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
BIG PICTURE: FREE andrewhicks.wordpress.com Internet and www Server WordPress free theme bluehost.com $70+ ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
This is an example of a free WordPress template FREE SOLUTIONS wordpress.com wix.com weebly.com virb.com but your domain name will look like this: http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com http://janefriedman.wordpress.com ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
WORDPRESS: INSTALL VIA THE CPANEL If you have purchased hosting through a service like bluehost.com then you will have access to a cPanel. The cPanel is how you install your custom WordPress theme. ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
SQUARESPACE: PICK A TEMPLATE AND GO www.squarespace.com Hosting, domain name, eCommerce, bloging all in one place Starting at $10 a month or $96 a year ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
DOMAIN NAME + HOSTING RECAP Free if you don’t Free if you have Complete solutions have hosting hosting Squarespace.com wordpress.com you’ve paid $70 a year for server space and you wix.com Hosting, domain have a domain name weebly.com name, eCommerce virb.com all in one place Custom WordPress $10 a month or $96 You have complete control a year over the look and feel of your website This is my new favorite ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
DESIGN YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE 1. Choose themes to help define your brand 2. Understanding the administration interface 3. Images, video, and audio What do you want from your site? ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
THEMES + TEMPLATES 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. ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
ADMIN INTERFACES SquareSpace WordPress ANDREW HICKS, BIG SHOULDERS MEDIA, WWW.BIGSHOULDERSMEDIA.COM
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
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
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
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, or 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
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
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
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
OPTIMIZING FOR SEARCH ENGINES If you are writing a blog post, find a unique key word or 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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