The HNS conference is over (sniff), and I had a killer time meeting people I’ve chatted with online for the last year. I even had the good fortune of having dinner with Diana Gabaldon and Anne Perry, multi-published best-selling authors! I teared up over a wonderful, inspiring speech by C.W. Gortner, and I booty danced with a pack of fun-loving chicas, including a cameo performance by Kate Quinn. (And that glorious photo was the view from my hotel room!)
From the businessy angle, I participated in a panel called: “Virtual Salon–The Historical Fiction Blog”. My first task was to break down EFFECTIVE BLOGGING STRATEGIES. And as I promised to the audience, I planned a big write up on the topics we discussed…then I realized I’ve already covered the information here on my blog in this post:
AVOIDING BAD BLOG BEHAVIOR–Blog layout, topics, comment behavior, and more can be found there.
My second task was to talk about EXPANDING YOUR AUDIENCE along with Amy Bruno of Historical Fiction Tours. Our advice goes a little something like this:
To expand your audience try:
- Giveaways
- Blog hops
- Visiting other blogs & leaving comments
- Finding your niche, aka, what makes you unique
- Link to other social media sites like Triberr
- Tweet catchy phrases and titles to draw in your target audience
Anyone with questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly! I’m happy to go through the topics more in detail with you! And P.S., I’m already looking forward to the next HNS conference…
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About Heather Webb
Heather’s historical novels have received national starred reviews, been featured in print media including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and have been chosen as a Goodreads Top Pick in 2015. To date, her books have sold in a dozen countries. She enjoys helping other writers and may often be found tweeting helpful links, writing craft articles, or speaking about the industry and her love of books at conferences and retreats. For more information, see her AUTHOR page.
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I would’ve liked to have seen your session, Heather. But I did see something even better: you in action on the dancefloor! Thanks for a fun, silly night.
Girl, you’ve got MOVES and I have the pics to prove it. lol! Great to meet you, Erika.
Heather, sorry I missed your workshop while we were at the HNS conference — looks like I’ll have to scour your blog for the information instead. Love your picture of the marina — I grew up in St. Pete, and it’s always interesting to watch other people experience it as visitors!
Thanks for sharing the information about blogging. It sounds like an awesome workshop!
It was great meeting you at the conference. Looking forward to some joint promotions when my Napoleon book finds a publisher!
All the best,
Margaret