Precious Moments in Poetry

Sunrise Christian Writers held a tea and a poetry read today. Eight members and two guests enjoyed  delicious food, tea and great fellowship.

We usually don't read to each other, but today was different. We had fun hearing our members recite their poems as well as poetry from famous authors. Mary sang her Hillbilly Bible song, Eras reflected on what it was like to be a teen with skin allergies, and Leota made us all laugh with the Llama poem. Some of the poems were about love and others were about faith. Each and every one were awesome. Thank you for sharing!

I don't know how we could top this event, but our next fifth Thursday is August 29. Do you have any ideas?

Tea Time Reminder

Thursday, May 30 is our fifth Thursday and we are having tea in our usual room, B107, at 10:00, Sunrise Community Church, 8321 Greenback Lane, Fair Oaks, CA. We will read poetry to each other. If you would like to share copies of your poem, that would be great. Please bring your tea cup, saucer, dessert dish, flatware and tea time treat. We look forward to seeing you!

Master SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is probably the most important factor in setting up a blog or writing articles for the Internet. Master it and you could earn a residual income. While blog title and domain are important, unless you can figure out how to draw an audience, they don't count for much.

Here are five ways to make your blog SEO savvy:

1. Use catchy post titles and subtitles. Put them in your tags/labels.
2. Determine keywords or key phrases for each post that will draw from search engines. 
3. Use links from other blogs or websites that helped in the research of your article.
4. Bold and italic print attracts SEO attention. Use them in titles and subtitles. Do not overuse them. 
5. Don't overuse keywords or phrases in your posts. You could end up on a blacklist.

Read other blogs and comment on them. Read all you can about Internet writing. Don't worry if some of it's over your head. Keep reading. It will make sense to you as you write.

Check out this great article, "How to Build a Residual Income With SEO & Yahoo Voices" by Alexandra Romanov. Valuable information.

Tea Time

Our fifth Thursday is fast approaching. That means tea time and poetry with Sunrise Christian Writers.

When:  May 30, 2013
Time:   10:00 a.m.
Where: Sunrise Community Church
             8321 Greenback Lane
             Fair Oaks, CA, Room B107

Plan to attend and bring at least one poem and a treat to share. We look forward to seeing you.

Ten Steps to Create a Blog

Have you started a blog yet? Blogging gives writers practice in writing short, tight and well. By creating an editorial calendar, you make your own deadlines and commit to them. Consistency helps build an audience. Here are a few things to consider when you start your blog.

1. Determine the purpose for your blog. How will your content be different from other blogs? Can you keep new posts coming on a regular basis?
2. Choose a blog provider (Blogger or Word Press). There are many.
3. Choose a domain name. 
4. Choose a template that will complement your purpose.
5. Choose a layout (2 columns--main content area with 1 sidebar or 3 columns--main content area with 2 sidebars).
6. Make an outline how you want to organize your blog. How many pages? Page titles?
7. Schedule your editorial calendar. Start with posting articles once a week. Then go to twice, three times or five times a week, but don't wear out your welcome with your audience.
8. Research post topics. Include links to points of research. If you interviewed someone, make sure you link to her website. If you wrote a book review, include links to the author website and her book sales page. If you researched a topic, link to the articles where you found the information.
9. Gather links to your blog roll. 
10. Read and comment on other blogs and watch your traffic grow.

Have you found things that work for you? Please share them in our comments section.