Vook offers an enhanced, alternative reading experience by publishing books combined with videos into desktop and iPhone applications called Vooks.
Sounds simple enough, but what do readers think?
So far I’ve downloaded two Vooks and I’m mostly impressed with what I see. There are a few areas for growth, which I’ll get into. First, the good stuff:
What strikes me about a Vook is its downright remedial simplicity: a story in text complimented with video. We’ve been doing this for years with blogs, but never have we seen it constrained and packaged into linear book format. [Read more...] Will Readers Embrace the Vook?
March 29, 2010 By 7 Comments
Vook offers an enhanced, alternative reading experience by publishing books combined with videos into desktop and iPhone applications called Vooks.
Sounds simple enough, but what do readers think?
So far I’ve downloaded two Vooks and I’m mostly impressed with what I see. There are a few areas for growth, which I’ll get into. First, the good stuff:
What strikes me about a Vook is its downright remedial simplicity: a story in text complimented with video. We’ve been doing this for years with blogs, but never have we seen it constrained and packaged into linear book format. [Read more...] Why You’ll Never Get Rich Blogging
March 24, 2010 By 3 Comments
I concede: I will never get rich blogging and I don’t recommend you try it, either. It worked well for some people at the right time, but it’s not ever going to work for me…and likely you.
The reason why is because blogging for money tends to evaporate creativity and the Linchpin. The majority of bloggers entering the scene are compelled to produce content that meets the goal of making a sale.
Opportunistic bloggers with little experience usually find a popular marketing blog or two to help get them started. These popular blogs are rooted in the “make money” formula, which is based on three things: [Read more...] Linchpin Book Review: The Pursuit of Indispensable
March 18, 2010 By 2 Comments
Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin, gets right to the heart of the matter with this question: Are You Indispensable?
The essence is this: Within each of us is a brilliant and generous artist, but fear and social conditioning stops us from realizing it. Linchpin challenges us to identify and overcome this resistance by pursuing the virtue of being indispensable.
Rather than serving as yet another guidebook on how-to-succeed-in-life-and-business, Linchpin constantly strives to empathize. Seth’s quirky, potent style serves as the catalyst that urges us to rethink our daily slouching and self-distractions.
I found myself relieved to know that I’m not the only one who’s deeply frustrated by: [Read more...] Scribe SEO Review: How a Little SEO Goes a Long Way
March 10, 2010 By 22 Comments
Scribe SEO is a paid WordPress plugin with a catchy name that helps your content rank higher in search engine results.
With a click of a button, your content is analyzed and given a score based on its structure and keyword density. If your score is less than 100%, Scribe will tell you exactly what to do to make it higher.
The higher your score, the better chance you have of ranking. Think of it like having a personal SEO consultant look over your content every time you publish something.
It really works.
I’ll make a long story short: the day after I installed Scribe SEO and optimized this blog’s most popular post, I saw its ranking in Google go to #1 from #3. [Read more...]5 Gentle SEO Tips for Creative Writers
March 8, 2010 By 3 Comments
For the sake of clarity, the term “creative writer” in this article refers to anyone who considers their writing a gift of art long before it serves a function of marketing.
Not everyone who blogs or writes online is trying to get a sales lead or talk about their business. And not everyone who reads online is looking for a product, service or idea to solve their problems.
Some writers just want to express themselves more creatively, hoping that—somewhere along the way—a community of impassioned readers take notice.
So it’s understandably frustrating when the web feels like one big marketing machine and the only way to get a respectable search engine ranking is to [Read more...]