Authors Need SEO

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Authors need SEO too, thats what Jock Brocas of Authors Websites is claiming. He maintains that authors often forget the Optimization of their websites. Jock Claims your site should be an integral part of your marketing tools and that you should not overlook SEO.

Consider this; you have just finished your first book, you are so proud of your achievements and luckily you have found a small publisher to publish your work. Your’e excited and this is understandable and soon your excitement breeds a new dream. You dream that you will buy a new house with the proceeds that you will make, or perhaps a new car. You believe that when your book comes out, you will be rolling in the money, no more financial concerns, and you can pay your medical bills that have accrued over time. These dreams are understandable, but unfortunately, they will often not come to fruition, and not because your book is not good enough, but because all those sales that you thought would come – won’t. Here’s why; your publishers won’t sell the book for you. Even though the publisher put it out there, gone are the days when publishers would throw Pr and money at selling titles. It is now up to the author to do most of the marketing themselves. The publisher will support you, but not with money or costs towards marketing, the support came when they thought your work was worth publishing. The industry now widely accepts that authors will have to promote and sell their own books, while the publisher takes most of the profit, that’s just the nature of the beast.

Its not all doom and gloom though, because Authors can sell vast numbers of their books through the internet, which is why most new Authors start off with the self-publishing business model. Ask yourself what are the most important tips for writers to self promote themselves? The first thing is to establish a good website and make sure you consider your book marketing in the design and coding of the site. You should realize that you are not only selling your book, but you are selling yourself too, after all who better to sell the work than the individual who wrote it. Your website therefore is an ambassador for you and speaks volumes about your work. If it looks great you’re on your way – right? Wrong!

If you can’t be found, you won’t sell

Your website will be one of the most important things you do to sell your work and to sell yourself. The truth is that your website may look brilliant and have moving images and flash embedded, but you are no where in the top rankings within search results. Many writers do not even consider that a website should be built around the genre they write about and therefore just go for a fancy looking site with no marketing under the hood. They believe in the old saying “Build it and they will come,” but they can’t come if they can’t find you.

Consider this, I want a book, I know what I like to read and you have written one of my favorite subjects. So let’s say I want a book about fly fishing in USA. I search for the keyword fly fishing in USA in books and you don’t show, but your competitors books do. That’s because you have not taken your book into consideration and added the appropriate keywords into your site. Sure, the cover looks great, but unless you are a well known author, you will find it difficult to get noticed. So before you jump into online forums, and promotion on social media. Think about getting your site right first time round. Don’t just get someone to design your site who has no real idea of modern and up to date Search Optimization Techniques that will get you, your site and your book noticed on the web. Don’t think for one minute that if your site looks cool, you will attract the readers and the sales, you won’t. No matter how flashy it is.

Search Engine Optimization – one of the ways forward

Search Engine Optimization is one of the way’s forward for authors to get a head start on selling their books. The website can become a hangout for readers, a place to share more information and share important links. What you want is to have a website that is optimized using the latest seo strategies so that your site and your work will rank favorably with search engines. It is more important than ever to get it right, especially with the advent of ebooks and electronic ebook readers. Millions of people are searching and downloading books directly from websites and online stores. The upshot of all of this is that you have to consider your seo as part of your overall strategy for selling your books.

Research

Its not all about keywords either and meta tags, sure its an important part of the seo process, but you also have to consider obtaining quality back-links that will ensure your site gets a vote from the site linking to you, which in turn results in better ranking in your search engine results page (SERPS). Research your competition and your keywords, then ensure that your site is coded well and has the relevant anchors in relation to your content. These are also other factors that help your website to rank well, therefore its safe to say that you do not have to just research for your book, but research for your site too.

There are many web design companies that will design a tidy looking site and build all sorts of bells and whistles into it. The truth is that a great percentage of web designers do not know much about SEO practice. They will know a minimum amount to get the basics done but they also have little knowledge of the publishing industry that you have to compete in. It is important that your design and Search Engine Optimization works hand in hand as well as the research of your target market.

If you would like any information on Web Design for authors or SEO for Writers.

Authors Websites

Make the right choices, tips for a new beginning by Jock Brocas Psychic Medium

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It’s a new year and a new beginning, make the right choices.

2012 is upon us and with all the previous years controversies throughout the world, there is a certain amount of angst throughout many countries. Many people believe in the end of the world and that it is imminent or that great changes will change everything dramatically. Personally I believe this is a time for change in mass consciousness, but the responsibility lies with man himself. A reason of choice of you will.

It is up to you to forget the trammels of the past and to recognize the miracle we live in the present moment. There is a very poignant Buddhist saying that sums up all that we should consider ‘The past is gone, the future is yet to arrive and the only time to live is now.’ What a true saying, and when you contemplate on the fact that you can do nothing about the past except learn from those missed opportunities, what is the point of worrying? It is surely better to look toward the future but live in the present moment by becoming aware of your present here and now, the reality of your life presently.

Life is a spiritual journey and it is up to you how you live it. We are faced with choices every day, we make some good choices and we make some bad choices. No matter what they are, the important point is that we learn from them. You have the gift of making wize choices now, to change things about yourself that are not in accordance with the real you or the higher self. The year 2012 is a time to make fruitful your desires, dreams, and to learn at last to live a spiritual life of continual development with love and compassion.

The truth is that many people who remain asleep to the reality of their spiritual selves forget there is a higher power to turn to. Instead we seem to continually fight for material things with the humanistic mind. If only you could realize the power that we hold internally to awaken to the spiritual power that is right at your finger tips – life would be so much easier and you would see beyond the illusion that you create with false assumptions.

It is time to embrace the changes that lie before us and to make the right choices. Worry will get you no where and I know this is easier said than done, but if we learn to live with awareness and recognize the lessons, the spirit, and the power of the present moment, we can affect the positive changes that are required to change ourselves for the better. So how do you do this?

I have waited to send out this article till now. Why? Because this is the time just after the holiday season when all good intentions seem to fall by the wayside and we fall into the false pit of materiality and material values. This is the time to make that extra effort to grow spiritually and to harness the power of your own spirit, for all the answers that you need lie within you. Is that not what all the great luminaries of the world have said?  How do we change for the better? It does not mean that you have to change everything about you immediately or start meditating every day or go out your way to do something out of the ordinary. That would not really be you and you would be untruthful to yourself for doing it. Slowly, slowly catch the monkey. Perhaps if you want to learn to meditate, you could begin by doing it once a week. You don’t have to sit on a cushion and emulate the Buddhist monks, you could just have some quiet time listening to gentle music or sitting somewhere in nature to quietly be with yourself. You will be amazed how this can change you, even with such a short time. Another thing you could do is decide to do something beneficial for someone, a group or a charity once a week or once a month just to make a small difference. Don’t make a song and dance about it, just be discreet.

Mindfulness of your speech

What comes out of your mouth can often do more damage than you think, even though you may not see it or recognize you are doing it. You send negative waves of destructive emotional energy. This is the year to become more aware of how you speak and treat others. To change anything In life you first have to learn to become more aware of what you are doing or saying, and all this In the present moment. Before you say anything, ask yourself if what you are saying is correct and if there is any chance that your tone or your choice of words would hurt someone. Is it right for you to make a judgment when your judgment is based on only assumptions of what is perceived. Is it right for you to take part in idle talk when all you are doing is fueling the negative energy.

Don’t Complain

If you sit down in your local coffee shop and listen, it will not take you long to recognize that all we seem to do is complain about things. We truly are a world of complainers and the subject matter of our complaints can be anything – better if it is a personal attack on someone or something. When was the last time you heard of someone being grateful for what they had, or indeed the opportunities that often fall at heir feet. I can tell you that most of the time, all I hear coming out of people’s mouths is complaints. Perhaps it is time that we took stock of what we truly should be thankful for and stop complaining about things that don’t really involve us or make a difference to who we are. Think about something you are grateful for every day.

Be a domino

Be a domino; If you consider that when one domino falls into the other in a line, the effect caries itself through to the end – rather like a ripple on a wave. Think about this when you do something positive for someone or something positive in your life. You are the cause of the ripple that will carry on, the domino effect. In short we have the spiritual law of ‘Cause and Effect.’ You are the cause, and the effect that you create is abundant with positive energy not only in your own life, but those around you and even in the far reaches of the earth. So be positive and do only positive things to make a change.

The reality

It is up to you how you wish your year or indeed your life to go. You are the captain of your own ship and you are the only one who is driving. If you are spiritually asleep, it is time to wake up to the reality of who you are – a spiritual being having a unique human experience. You have the power of co-creation and so you have the power to be happy and to deal with life’s lessons in a positive way. For me, I am choosing to be a domino. What will be your choice?

Lost loved ones

Christmas and even just after Christmas is a notorious time for individuals to feel the tremendous loss of their loved ones who have passed on to spirit. It can be a time when you feel the loss even more. The truth is that your loved ones are never far away from you either in your mind or the presence of their energy around you. A prayer, a thought or a simple memory is all that is needed to draw the power of their love to you. Many times the signs that you are looking for are so blatant they are under your nose; its just that in your own desperation, you miss the signs. Evidence that you may receive will be simple in nature such as a confirmation of what you have been doing or discussions you have had or even certain events in your life. It could be that special song or poem or picture; nevertheless, your loved ones want you to know they are alive and well and are more a part of your life now than ever they were before. Opening your heart to the possibility that your loved ones will already be communicating with you will help you to overcome the dramatic loss that you feel now or may feel throughout the year. Reach out and touch them with a loving thought.

Check out <a href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/113385927697304991180” rel=”author”>John’s Google+ profile</a>

Jock Brocas is a professional Psychic Medium and Available for personal consultations.

Christmas – Reality Forgotten by Jock Brocas

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Christmas – Reality Forgotten

It’s that time of year again and rather than it being a joyous occasion, it often tends to result in stress and is also the highest levels of suicide at this time of year. OK, so I am perhaps being a bit gloomy, but unfortunately the truth hurts. We have long forgotten the values of what Christmas really means and no one needs to suffer during the holiday season; at lease that should be the way it is, but in the world we live in today, it is not like that. Many suffer needlessly.
I remember years ago when money was scarce, we had only just returned from abroad and had only enough to have a wonderful home cooked meal this Christmas. We had little furniture in the house we were renting and not enough money to buy presents, yet it was my favorite Christmas ever. It felt as if I had gone back to a time when there was little materialism then, and the holiday meant a time for gratitude, prayer, reflection and celebration of family values and life. My wife planned a lovely meal, and even though we had only enough money for the food, we were more excited at the prospect of being together and having a lovely meal together whilst watching Christmas TV. On Christmas-day, we walked along the river whilst the turkey was cooking in the oven. We were happy and never a thought of lack passed through our minds, and we were especially grateful of having each other. We realized how fortunate we were as so many were lonely and had no one to turn to. Yes it was the greatest christmas we spent and being together at the time was more important. We never had gifts, yet this was more a strength than a weakness and we did not see this as a lack of anything.
Let’s come back to reality for a moment and make a few observations that I experienced over the last few days. I have noticed increasingly, the desperation in people as they struggle and panic to survive the Christmas period, making sure they get everything that their loved ones desire. I noticed that it was all about what someone was getting or what they wanted while they maneuvered around a tramp who had his hands out looking for alms. “Just enough for a cup of tea” he said and the two women held their noses high – pretending he did not exist. Another person intimated they would be getting the new Ipad and a new 3D Tv; they were all asleep and I was saddened at how material the world had become.
Everyone is frantically buying for someone and sometimes even for people they do not really see or even like. I often wonder if many people really know what Christmas is about. When did we become so material? In the greed that exists within this period, we often cause more suffering than is necessary. We gorge ourselves into destruction and are often jealous of other people and what they have or why they should have it.
Everything in life is a simple choice and you can choose to be happy, to be forgiving or to be angry, it really is up to you how you live your life. There are many who are obsessed with being the best and winning at all costs, but the reality is that winning only creates suffering. No one needs to suffer and again, we can make the choice of helping others through their suffering. One point that I must make is that just because it is christmas, you should not do something good for someone out of guilt or give alms because it makes you look good. Give silently and with a prayerful thought. Help someone without making too much out of It and the next time that you are desperate for that new gadget, think of how much you really need it if you have everything else around you, don’t give to get, give to love and show love.
Christmas is also a time of forgiveness and this could be the greatest gift that you could give this year. Is there someone either in your family or in your circle that you have had issue with. Ask yourself If the issues you have are from a lack of understanding or ignorance. It is not easy to forgive and forget, and before you can truly forgive anyone else, you must learn to forgive yourself and truly love yourself because you are a child of God like everyone else, and god has no favorites. What is the point of harboring anger for something that can’t change immediately. Think about how much wasted time you put into being angry. Is there not an easier way to use that time in learning to understand and forgive. Think about this, if you could learn to forgive someone who in your eyes has committed that gravest of injustice against you, then you are treading the path of Christ. You can then truly understand the real power behind the Christmas period. Its not about gifts, its about love and forgiveness.

God Bless you all,
Jock Brocas
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