200!!!!!
200!!!!!
It’s hard to believe, but this is my 200th consecutive blog. Over four years, each Sunday.
When I started this blog, I thought I’d blog about writing. That’s what I do, I’m a writer. But even though I have learned a lot about the craft and business of writing, I don’t learn something new every day. It also occurred to me that if I only write about writing, I will only attract writers. I want to attract potential readers of my future books.
As an alumnus of Quattro University, the Entrepreneurial College, I am also familiar with the principal of KNOW, LIKE, TRUST. You get to know a person, from there you start to like them, and then you trust them. It’s the principal celebrity endorsements are based on. You already know Andy Griffith, you already like Andy Griffith, so you trust him when he says Ritz is a goooood cracker. (Am I reaching too far back? Perhaps I should have gone with Sandy Duncan and Wheat Thins? Parker and Lady Penelope endorsing ice lollies? Too British?)
In my case, I want people to get to know me, hopefully to like me, and then trust I can write a good book. So, my philosophy behind this blog is to treat my readers like they’re a friend that comes over and visits every Sunday. I’ll talk about what I’ve been doing, any interesting places I’ve been or anything that catches my interest.
And now I’ve given you my marketing strategy for this blog in a nutshell.
It’s not always easy. Sure, if I go to a con or a writer’s conference, I will have a lot to talk about. But I don’t do something interesting every week. There have been weeks where I haven’t figured out what I’m going to write about until an hour until I sit down to write it. And there have been times where my blog hasn’t been much more that, “I’m sick, see you next week.” and there’s times where my wife’s given me suggestions or written the blog to give me a break for a weekend. But through it all, I’ve written and/or posted a blog every Sunday for 200 weeks.
And for my 200th blog, my I.T. Department has been working behind the scenes to improve this blog and the web site it is on. I’ll let my I.T. department explain the techie stuff…
Hello, it’s the head of Dennis’s I.T. Department, i.e., his wife, Kristine. The occasion of this rebuild of his website is twofold – it will prevent the monumental crash of the ‘site last year due to the outdated software it was running on. Ironically, I was in the middle of rebuilding the ‘site when it took a header and died.
The second reason it, as he mentioned before, to celebrate his monumental 200th blog in a row. I am very, very proud of him accomplishing this as I know very few networkers so devoted that they will reach such a marker in their blogging.
So while I was rebuilding his website, we sat down on New Year’s Day and looked at what he wanted to put into this shiny new website that would improve its functionality and make it easier for his readers to use and enjoy it. So, with that in mind, I fixed the mobile menu so it actually works now and added a button to jump people back to the top of the page when they are further down than they want to be. You the readers also now have sidebar links that will hook you up to his most recent posts and search for anything on the website.
I hope these are tools you find useful and will increase the ease and enjoyment of his website for you. If you have any suggestions for future improvements, please feel free to drop us a line in the brand-new Contact Us form (another improvement).
Hope to see you around for the next 200 blogs,
Dennis
200th blog completed.
First Steampunk novel: 76,240 words. <– Past 76,000. Goal: 80,000.
Second Steampunk novel: 783 words.
Second Steampunk screenplay: 157 pages.
First Steampunk screenplay: Need to update with notes from the novelization.
Third Steampunk screenplay: 38 pages.
And my 200th blog is a good excuse to get a tuxedo cake from Costco.
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