websites – Jean's Writing

Which social media sends you the most readers?

Published on December 11, 2017December 10, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell8 Comments

Is WordPress Reader, Google, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, or Twitter the best choice?

Or how about Reddit, StumbleUpon, Medium, or a market I’ve yet to discover? Seems a new one pops up every day. So how do we discover which is best for our blog?

Do you have a favorite you search engine?

Okay, Bloggers hold on to your hat! Deep diving for answers today.

All of these questions were rolling around in my head this past weekend and got me to thinking…

Am I wasting my time on the wrong platforms? Should I concentrate on just one or two and not spread myself like mayonnaise on bread.

Time for research. Which translates into dropping down the ole rabbit hole.

The first place I started, of course, was the Stats page in WordPress. But that was just a starting point. You can see from my image, according to WordPress, most of my referrers come from WordPress Readers.

But, does that tell me how readers actually discovered Jean’s Writing? I’m not sure. The term “referrer” is referencing online sources – specifically sites or services that the referring page or link clicked on to get to my site. Clear as mud, right?

Look at this section on your STATS page to get a better idea of how many people are seeing your blog. Below is how many views, visitors, likes and comments made to my blog.

However, that still doesn’t let me know which social media gets me the most bang for my time.

So, I did a little more digging.

Another great source is Google Analytics. Takes a little while to set it up but once you do you can see which social site is sending the most people to your website. I set up my account last year but hadn’t checked on it since. So, I headed over to see what was what.

Holy Cow! Google Analytics had zero stats for my website. Please don’t judge me too harshly. Because I’m embarrassed to tell you, I’d forgotten one very important step. The freaking Accept button. You know that button that says you agree to terms, yadda, yadda yadda…

So y’all tell me…

How do you figure out all this stuff?

Or do you just go with the flow and not worry about who or how?

Do you concentrate on one social media outlet more than another?

Which social media do you think helps your blog the best?

Want to read more about which social media is sending visitors to your website? Click on the links below.

Who is Driving Visits to Your Site

What social media channels drive the most traffic to your website?

WordPress Stats

How to See Which Social Media Platforms Are Sending You the Most Traffic

I HOPE YOU’LL TAKE A MINUTE TO FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

Writing and need help? Check out this terrific list

Published on November 17, 2017November 28, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

Thanks to Erica Verrillo over at Publishing… and Other Forms of Insanity, for providing us with such an extensive list of websites.

There is something here for every writer. There is information on queries, marketing, publishing as well as how to write a good book. So get ready because if you’re like me, down the rabbit hole, you’ll go, once you begin to click.

Which of the 27 websites is new to me?

Agent Query. Although I’m nowhere ready to send out queries, this will definitely go on my “hope to need” list.
Free Writing Events. Yay! Who doesn’t want to submit without the added cost of submission fees? Oh yeah, this one is a definite must-read.
The Grinder. Like Erica, I once used Durotrope until they became a paid service. I can’t wait to check out this one.
Jae Writer. Now this one sounds like the perfect website to learn more about the craft of writing. Count me as a new follower.
Manuscript Wish List (#MSWL). Whoa! What writer wouldn’t want to get inside the mind of agents and editors?
The Passive Voice. Again, a great blog to learn what agents think. Plus, a bit of legalese from an attorney.
Pub Crawl. Here you can find an insider’s perspective from authors and publishing professionals. Cool!
Savvy Writers. Almost a million followers! Doris-Maria Heilmann blogs cover everything you ever wanted to know about publishing your book.
Susan Dennard. Her blog is filled with writing and publishing resources for aspiring authors. Everything from story-telling to the finished book.
Women Writers, Women’s Books. All things about women authors. Well, I definitely qualify.
Writing Career. Provides places that actually pay writers. Alright!

Not bad! I’m familiar with 16 of the 27! Now I can’t wait to dive into the other 11 websites. I just love learning new stuff! Gonna be a busy weekend of reading. See you on the other side of that rabbit hole. LOL

Want to know more!

Click and read about all of the great links on Erica’s website.

27 Great Websites for Writers by Erica Verrillo

Did you discover a new website?

Are any of the 27 a favorite?

Do you use any of these websites? Which ones?

Leave me a comment. I can’t wait to read your thoughts or suggestions.

And take a minute to follow me on social media, just click on the buttons below. I’ll leave a light on.

Do you make money with WordAds?

Published on October 20, 2017October 19, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell16 Comments

Are you making enough money to offset the slow down of your website?

Time to do a risk/reward valuation. Or something like that. But you get what I mean.

This is what I had to ask myself. I began to feel as though the pop-up ads were as annoying as those bedeviled, in your face sign-up boxes. And if I didn’t like boxes popping in my face, I thought maybe my readers didn’t like commercials popping in theirs.

You may have noticed my blog looks a little less cluttered because…

I’ve disengaged WordAds on my website.

Now, that’s not to say you may NEVER see something for sale on my site, but I’m no longer using those flashing pop-up ads that I can’t control. If I use advertising I want to know ahead of time what I pitching.

My pages now load faster and smoother. I think so unless you guys tell me different. There also seems to be fewer glitches too.

Another change I made was to re-size the images on my pages. Large images slow down a website and no one wants to sit and wait as images slowly come into focus instead of reading your awesome wisdom and brilliant writing. So check those image sizes.

What do you think? Yes or No to Wordads?

Like the website without the Wordads?

Do you use WordAds on your site?

Ever thought about it?

Want to read more about WordAds? Here you go…

My Experience with WordAds by J.D. MOYER

MY EXPERIENCE WITH WORDADS By Moritz

WORDADS VS ADSENSE – HOW TO MAXIMISE REVENUE FROM YOUR BLOG? by cafearjun

Tell me what you think in the comments.

I’d love it if you’d stop by my other locations and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

OR CLICK THE “WRITE ME” TAB AND SEND ME AN EMAIL.

Do you know the visibility of your website?

Published on October 13, 2017October 13, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell27 Comments

Want to know how your blog is doing?

Well, there is an easy, great way to assess, improve and create a better website.

After reading the post from Story Empire Blog below, I followed one of the links provided (WEBSITE GRADER) and here is what I discovered about my blog.

Yay, at last, I managed to get the security part right. But let’s look a little deeper.

First up Performance, grade 22/30.

Hmm, looks like my HTTP requests need to come down. But not bad.

Uh Oh, got an X. I must confess that JavaScript and CSS stuff always leaves me scratching my head. But this weekend I will read up a little on it. After all who wants an X?

Alright, alright! 30/30 on Mobile! Moving on…

To SEO. Another scary, confusing acronym that totally baffles me. No wonder my website scored 15/30 AND received a big fat X in two areas.

Page Titles, I can handle. Meta descriptions, those may take a while to figure out.

Using the website was super easy. But now I’ve more work to do. The WEBSITE GRADER then gave me a list of suggestions to improve my website.

Guess what I’m doing this weekend?

The article also has a couple of other suggestions and links you may find interesting, especially if you are new to blogging. So you might want to read the entire post.