Guesting 101: How to Be a Good Guest on a Blog, Podcast, or Video Show

Writers must be promoters. After all, how else are new readers going to find us? 

One of the best ways to get introduced to new audiences is to be a guest for other writers. This could be a blog interview, guest post, podcast, or video show (pre-recorded or live). Traditional media is good too, but that's another article altogether. They introduce you to their community and vice versa.

Many people use guest appearances to get referrals for other guesting opportunities. Finish a show and ask the host if they have any recommendations or intros for you. The key to leverage that strategy is to be a good guest.

Here are Tips for Being a Good Guest ... and Tips for Hosts too

For Hosts: 

- Set Expectations. Send instructions - specs on your needs/what your guest can expect - ahead of time. Send connection requests on Facebook and LinkedIn. Ask for their short bio, headshot, and social media profile links (and follow their accounts). This will make compiling posts and sharing easier. 

For Guests:

- Follow the Instructions. This includes requests for your profile and social media info, as well as word count and deadlines. Also, if you are being recorded, be early, especially if it's a live broadcast. Follow your host's social media accounts, comment on posts; be an active member of their community.

For Hosts:

- Send a Calendar Invite. This is essential for audio or video recording appointments, especially live shows. However, you can send an invite as a reminder for the due date of a guest post or interview. 

For Guests: 

- Test Your Tech. Super-important for recording is to have good lighting, a nice background, and earbuds or a microphone (there's too much external noise when you use the computer speakers). 

For Hosts: 

- Make the Content Easy to Share. Send links for live events to your guests beforehand, so they can pass them along to their communities. That way, their people can watch in real-time. Also, send links - with custom images - to your guests after their blog post, podcast, or video interview goes up. 

For Guests:

- Share the Content. Also, keep an eye out for comments and respond to them.

For Hosts:

- Thank your Guests. Let them know you appreciate their time.  

For Guests: 

- Thank your Hosts. Let them know you appreciate their time. Also, if it's a podcast, leave a positive, thoughtful review.  

For Hosts and Guests: 

- Continue the Relationship. Stay in touch. Continue to comment on each others' posts. Ask how you can support each other. Suggest a blog or show swap. And see if they know of any good fits for your blog or show, as well as recommendations or introductions for you. 

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I host the Sunday night #GoalChat Twitter chat, Monday #GoalChatLive show (broadcast on Facebook and LinkedIn), and Thursday Podcast, called The D*E*B Show (which is the podcast version of my Live). I do blog posts recaps of each ep - along with links to my guests' websites and information they mention. It's a lot of work, but the idea is to create content that benefits everyone.

You want any guest relationship to be win-win.  

One thing is certain: All guests leave an impression. It's up to you what that impression is, so make it a good one.  

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What's your best tip for being a good guest? Please share in the comments.

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If you need some help setting and achieving your goals, please reach out!

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Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and founder of the D*E*B METHOD, which is her system for goal-setting simplified. A writer, editor, and project catalyst, Deb works with entrepreneurs, executives, and creatives to set goals and manage their projects through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and online support. She is also the author of Write On Blogging and Purple Pencil Adventures; founder of Write On Online; Vice President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women's National Book Association; host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat, #GoalChatLive on Facebook and LinkedIn, and The DEB Show podcast. She speaks on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

How to Prepare & Promote a Facebook Live Broadcast

Last week, I did a freebie book day for Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog. I submitted it to several book sites, emailed people who I used as examples in my book, and sent it to a few different writer forums. I shared it on all of my social media profiles leading up to it, and inside different Facebook groups the day of my promotion.

As I prepared for giveaway day, I realized I wanted to do something a little bit different. So I also scheduled a Facebook Live, to talk about blogging and answer questions from my community. Video is hot right now, and gets a lot of visibility in the Facebook feed. I determined that the primary goal was to share information via video, the bonus (or by the way) was the book giveaway.

Here's a peek into the process and a checklist of how to prepare and promote a Live video broadcast.

1. Set a day, time, and topic for your Facebook Live.

2. Create an event for the broadcast through your business page, and schedule it.

3. Invite people who you know will attend. Also message good friends to give them a heads up and make sure you have a base audience at that time.

4. Post reminders in the event discussion the days leading up to the event.

5. Share on all of your social profiles, not just Facebook. Add graphics to make them stand out. Also, add the event to your newsletter and do an email blast.

6. Plan what you will say. Don't necessarily write a script. Instead, create an outline with key points you will cover.

7. If you are doing a live Q&A, source questions ahead of time, so you are sure to have something to talk about.

8. Set up and test your camera ahead of time. Set your audience to "Only Me" to run a test.

9. Message the people on your event that you will go Live on your Facebook business page. Then, go Live. And ave fun.

10. After the event, share the replay on your personal profile, write a blog post and embed it, and share on your platforms yet again.
Bonus:  Repeat ... when inspired or regularly.

Live video is a wonderful way to get who you are in front of your fans. When you film yourself, and interact with people in real time, it enables to form a connection. And as people get to know you, they are more likely to become your clients and customers. 

What do you think? Have you gone Live on Facebook? How have you promoted it?Please share your thoughts in the comments. 

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Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. Like the Write On Online Facebook Page and join the Facebook Group. 

She is author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages and host of the Guided Goals Podcast.

Debra is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

5 Ways to Use Video for Promotion

Most writers are shy. They prefer to be behind the computer screen, not on it. (Full disclosure: I am not one of those people.)

Video is, however, one of the best ways to promote yourself as a writer ... or really as any business professional. You know how important it is to have a picture of yourself on your website so your audience get a sense of who you are? That connection strengthens manifold when that picture comes to life.

Filming is also relatively easy, since most people have a camera - in their mobile phone - at an arm's reach at all times.

Here are 5 simple things you can create on video to promote yourself. And, yes, you can be off-screen for some of them. Even if you are uncomfortable on camera, you can still use videos to stand out in the social media news feed.

1. Create a Book Trailer. There are wonderful online tools, such as Adobe Spark and Animoto, where you can use images and audio to create a video to promote your book. The best thing about these tools is they have templates, so you can upload pics, add text and music, preview, and publish. Then share your trailer on your website or blog, add it to your LinkedIn profile and Amazon author page, and more.

2. Do a Quick Live-Video Stream. Between Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Periscope, and Live Streaming on Instagram, you can broadcast whenever and wherever you want on a variety of social networks. Feeling inspired? Jump on-air, share something, and jump off. (I recently recorded a quick live video to promote the fact that my event host planned to live-stream my entire workshop. See tip #4.)

3. Plan a Live Video Event. Create a virtual event, such as a book launch. Then, invite your friends and fans to watch, and interact with them. Ask questions, hold little contests, make it fun. Maybe even read an excerpt from your book. Since live-streaming is no longer solely mobile, you can easily set up your camera, watch for comments, and respond in real-time.

4. Record a Workshop. In January I gave a goal-setting workshop at the LAX Coworking Space. When I arrived, they asked if it was okay to live stream. I was thrilled. Not only could those unable to attend watch live, I now have a great example of my workshop embedded on my speaking page for potential future gigs.

5. Give a Quick Tip or Several. Set an appointment with yourself every week or so to record a few short videos. Offer quick insights or easy tips that showcase your expertise either in your genre or field. If you prefer not to be on camera, showcase images and record voice-over with your tips. This enables you to show people you know your area of expertise through content you create for your blog and social media channels. 

Video may seem scary, but - like writing - it gets easier the more you do it. Plus, it helps you to better connect with your current and potential audience, which is a great thing for any business.

What do you think? Have you promoted yourself via video? What sort of videos did you create? How did it go? Please share your experience in the comments. 

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Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of Guided Goals and Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. 

She is author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages and host of the Guided Goals Podcast.

Debra is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Tis the Season

Here's a short video (less than a minute animation) with our holiday wishes for you:




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Blogging Smart

By Karen Cioffi

It’s a give-in that you need to blog to make connections, to gain readers, to increase visibility, to increase your authority, to increase ranking, and to become the go-to person in your niche.

But, did you know that as of early September 2015, there are 1 BILLION websites online. That's a lot of noise . . . and competition. So, blogging smart is even more important than ever.

But, how do you blog effectively and smart? What does that mean?

To blog smart, you want to ‘prove’ to your visitors and subscribers that what you’re writing about or doing actually works.

How do you do this?

Simple. Show them.

For example:

A blog post at Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing (site has since been deleted) on email marketing and spam got over 3700 views in just a couple of days. 

This is blogging smart.

The image below is a screen-shot of that particular post's views in less than 24 hours - a couple of days later it was over 3700. A little after that it was at 3841. I haven't checked since then to see how far it has gone.

Okay, I’ll admit that sometimes it’s the ‘luck of the draw’ or the ‘right content at the right time,’ but if you’re not blogging smart to start, it’s unlikely you’ll get that far.

So, some things you should be including in your posts are:

•    Screenshots to aid in comprehension and prove what you’re saying
•    Links to relevant content bringing the reader deeper into your web pages, further demonstrating your knowledge in the niche
•    Links to other useful information that will further benefit the reader
•    Tips on what you should and shouldn’t do and why
•    Strategies that work for you and proof
•    Problems you’ve overcome and how
•    Doable step-by-step guides
•    Personality (a bit of personal tidbits)
•    Videos
•    Audio
•    Images
•    Call-to-action (CTA)

These are the elements you should be including in your blog posts, obviously not all at the same time - mix it up. This is blogging effectively and blogging smart. And, this strategy will motivate the reader to model your processes. This is one of the best compliments.

Even more important, it will motivate the visitor/reader to say YES to your CTA and SHARE your content.

Note: Images and CTAs should be included in everyone of your blog posts.  And, in regard to images, at least one image should be at the top of the content. It's this image sites like Pinterest will pick up when you share the post.

Another part of blogging smart is to optimize your blog posts. Part of this includes using:

• Grabbing titles
• Keywords
• Tags
• Categories
• Descriptions
• Sharing your posts to your social media networks

Get started today and watch your website traffic increase.

~~~~~

More on Writing and Marketing

Creating 3D Covers in Microsoft Publisher
Strategies to Get Book Reviews
You Know You’re a Writer When

Using video to promote poetry

Once upon a time poetry was seen as an elitist occupation.  The more obscure and inaccessible the better.  Well to be honest I'm not sure it was ever like that, but certainly that perception is still bandied about among those (perhaps in some publishing quarters and certainly among those with little exposure) who would have poets marginalised as the unprofitable, effete cousin of prose.  Multimedia puts paid to that, bringing in the very visual, modern reader as participant.  For poets, the process of writing is all about meaning and connection, and so whatever works to create that moment of awakening; the shiver of recognition in a reader (or viewer), is good.  Using multimedia is a perfect way to promote poetry as I feel very lucky as a poet to find myself in a world where there are so many different ways to transform each poem to awaken something different in a reader.  These little videos can be made quite easily by culling freely licensed public domain  images that seem to pick up the meaning in each stanza, and with some voice work, good music, and a neat video program or webcam, there's really no limit to what you can do.

There are a few free software packages that can help you achieve different effects and for poets with a visual flair, it's quite fun (if a little time consuming) to play around with tools like Prezi, Movie Maker, 64studio, and Animoto which I used to make the following video, from a poem taken from the collection Deeper Into the Pond by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and me.  The music came from Moby and their amazing gratis artists resource site.  You have to request it and tell them what you're doing but they're really generous and in the end you get something totally unique that functions as a completely new piece of art. It's something I feel that most poets should consider to take their work out to a broader audience, and also, and maybe mainly, because it's a lot of fun to do.  Text of the poem follows the video.

Only a Dress

Down beneath the dirty cobwebs
wet and torn
neglect and weathering
damaging the social fabric
your pretty silk dress
discarded
into landfill.

Yes there are racks full
in the shiny mall of your dreams
or is that nightmares
corridors and white teeth
loom against your loss.

It was only a dress
sheer floral organza floating
above real satin
forties style
neatly fitted against your narrow hips
flowing with possibilities
now shrunk into mere threads
shot through with stains
disintegrating
amidst other detritus
carrying, like silver sequins
a weight of desire
shrugged off.

You could just buy
another
re-align yourself
on the hampster wheel
run run run
back
the route you’ve travelled
detached, near complete
or you could sit, breath in the fresh salty air
and let the dress go.

About the author: Magdalena Ball is the author of Sleep Before Evening, Repulsion Thrust, Quark Soup, and a number of collaborations and anthologies. Find out more about Magdalena and grab a free copy of her book The Literary Lunch at www.magdalenaball.com.