Internet Marketing Tips

The November/December issue of Writers’ Journal is now available! Pick up your copy today so you don’t miss the first segment of the three part series on Blogging. Angela’s column has run since 2007 and addresses the electronic issues concerning marketing for today’s writer.

Balticon 43 will take place May 22-25, 2009, and Angela Render has been invited back. This time, she and editor and writer Ally E. Peltier will present a two hour workshop on building a writers platform. More to come.

For more information on Balticon 43, visit the Baltimore Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers website.

Angela Render offers her three most popular classes as well as her much demanded advanced marketing courses for the winter session at the Writers’ Center in Bethesda, MD.

Intro to Marketing Platforms
Getting published is hard, especially for a first-time author. Publishers want you to come with a platform and this workshop will discuss what a platform is and when to start building it. It will also give a brief overview of the tools available to writers for building a platform on the web, and discuss internet privacy and copyright. Participants will brainstorm what types of internet media might be right for them to use.
Saturday January 31, 2008 - 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
$45.00 (Member) $65.00 (Non-Member)
[Register Now]

Blogging for Beginners
This class will go into more detail about blogging. It will cover several blogging software options, the basics on how to set up a blog, how to post and how to insert images. Participants will get a feel for what sort of content should be included in a post, how to organize their content, how to invite comment and how to promote themselves on other people’s blogs. The class will brainstorm topic ideas for their own blogs.
Saturday January 1, 2008 - 3 PM to 5 PM
$45.00 (Member) $65.00 (Non-Member)
[Register Now]

Blogging Tips and Tricks
An intermediate level workshop that is best suited for people who are already blogging and want to take their blogs to the next level. Students will learn techniques to improve their posts and their exposure. Basic graphics editing, search engine optimization (SEO) and ways to come up with sustainable topics to write about will be discussed.
Saturday March 7, 2008 - 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
$45.00 (Member) $65.00 (Non-Member)
[Register Now]

Getting Found
This advanced workshop discusses techniques for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as well as integrating various web media and finding places to promote your web presence both online and offline. Participants will learn how a blog and a website can work together to help build their platform. The class will also address how to use web traffic analysis tools to judge how well sites are performing.
Saturday March 7, 2008 - 3 PM to 5 PM
$45.00 (Member) $65.00 (Non-Member)
[Register Now]

Advanced Marketing
This class will focus on building a mailing list and finding avenues for free advertising. Advanced techniques for collecting prospect data will be discussed and participants will begin to design sales and marketing packages.
Saturday March 21, 2008 - 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
$45.00 (Member) $65.00 (Non-Member)
[Register Now]

Designing a Roadmap
The advanced class will discuss individual platform needs and how to design a personalized marketing campaign. Participants will leave with a strategy for building their platforms and marketing their work. (10 seat limit)
Saturday March 21, 2008 - 3 PM to 5 PM
$45.00 (Member) $65.00 (Non-Member)
[Register Now]

Join Angela Render for an afternoon of fun and literature at Baltimore’s own Ukazoo Books. On Sunday, December 20th, 2008 from 2pm-4pm, nine authors featured in the Maryland Writers’ Association’s anthology, New Lines from the Old Line State, will read their work, answer questions and sign autographs. Experience the unique perspective of these Maryland authors and enjoy snacks in a relaxed and nurturing atmosphere.

Featured authors include:
Angela Render, Eric Goodman, Austin Camacho, Sonia Linebaugh, Sherry Bosley, Al Karasa, Gary Lester, Ami Spencer, Barbara Morrison

For more information and directions, visit Ukazoo’s website.

Author and internet marketing expert Angela Render will be a speaker at the 12th Annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference, to be held February 21, 2009.

Her session, What the Internet Can Do For You: Building a Marketing Platform, will last one hour and is scheduled for 3:45 - 4:45. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and hand-outs will be given.

The one-day conference features workshops, speeches, and panel discussions on a wide variety of topics pertaining to the craft of writing, the publishing business, and the intricacies of particular genres. The 2008 speaker lineup included Maryland Poet Laureate Michael Glaser, Emmy award-winning TV writer Danny Tepper, Shar McBee, best- selling author of motivational books, mystery novelist Donna Andrews, literary agent Gail Ross, and former Writer’s Digest editor Melanie Rigney.

Bay to Ocean Writers Conferences always sell out prior to the conference, so participants are urged to register early. Registration for the 2009 conference opens this fall.

The BTO conference is affiliated with the Eastern Shore Writers Association. It attracts writers and speakers from surrounding states and the District of Columbia to its base on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The BTO is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization. Our mission is to inform, encourage, and inspire the region’s beginning and intermediate writers and help them unravel the mysteries of the ever-changing publishing business.

October 26, 2008 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Watermark Gallery, in the Bank of America building across from the Baltimore harbor. The event will feature readings from seven MWA authors featured in New Lines from the Old Line State: An Anthology of Maryland Writers as well as music, refreshments, an intermission, live music, and an open mic.

Other Authors to be featured are: Amy Spencer, Sally Whitney, Chris Bancells, Sherri Woosley, Lauren Eisenberg, and Eric D. Goodman.

The Watermark Gallery is located in the Bank of America Center Skywalk Level, right across from the Inner Harbor, at 100 S. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland. The phone number is (410) 547-0452.