The Duplicate Content Penalty Myth
A reader recently wrote to me, concerned that my suggestion to recycle blog content would result in duplicate content penalties from search engines such as Google.
To clarify this myth and alleviate your concerns, read this excellent post by SEO (search enginge optimization) expert Jill Whalen: The Duplicate Content Penalty Myth.
In summary, don’t be afraid to syndicate your content and articles to selected sites. You’ll reach potential new readers who aren’t already part of your audience and get links back to your website. Google’s filtering mechanism should be able to determine the original source of the content (you) and even if the duplicate content appears in search results the link will take people back to your originating site.
Recycle Your Blog Content for Even More Publicity
Recently, reader Jane Beman asked my opinion about recycling blog posts. Actually, I think this is a great idea. It’s a big timesaver and also gets your message out to a wider audience.
I’ve taken material from my blog posts and reposted on my Amazon plog and on others’ blogs. I’ve also expanded blog posts into articles and created blog posts from sections of articles. Also consider converting blog posts into ezine tips and discussion group postings.
The only caveat is to be wary of recycling when someone expects original material (for example, you’re being paid to blog or write an article). Otherwise, get creative and start thinking of new ways to reposition your existing content.
Tags: author blogs, book marketing, book publicity, online book promotionRelated Posts
15 Favorite Ways to Develop Your Author Platform
Here are my 15 favorite ways to develop your author platform. Please use comments to add your own. And don’t forget to read my original post on author platforms below!
- Get credentials related to your specialty
- Join and participate in professional associations
- Create a website that demonstrates your expertise
- Publish a blog
- Publish a podcast
- Write and publish articles (online or in print publications)
- Publish an ezine
- Volunteer or do perform pro bono work
- Serve on committees and panels
- Teach — online and off
- Get quoted in magazines and newspapers
- Participate in social networks
- Give speeches
- Get on radio and TV
- Create a PR campaign — both online and off
Related Posts
Recycle Your Blog Content for Added Promotion Punch
Do you recycle your blog content? If not, you should. Here are six ways to get more mileage out of your existing blog content:
- Republish your content in your ezine.
- Reformat your content as tips and offer them to related websites and ezines.
- Republish your content as a podcast.
- Add your content as tips on message boards or discussion groups.
- Rewrite your content as articles that you publish on your website, in targeted publications, or on article marketing sites.
- Rewrite your content as a book (think of the “blook” concept).
Any more ideas? Add your own as a comment attached to this blog post.
Three Easy Ways to Increase Your Book Sales–Fast (Tip 1)
Do you want to generate more sales and publicity for your book, but can’t afford to wait weeks or months for your efforts to pay off? I’ve created a series of tips just for you.
#1 Comment on High-Traffic Blogs
Find several high-traffic blogs that serve your target audience and add interesting and insightful comments to current postings. To generate results from this technique, you have to do more than say “nice post.” You need to offer some additional information of real value, provide your own meaningful insight into the topic, or provide an alternative view to generate some excitement.
You can state that you’re the author of a related book and include a link back to your site, but avoid direct promotion. In other words, don’t participate in comment spam. This will only damage your reputation, not enhance it. You want to use your comment to provide useful information and illustrate your background as an expert and author.
The right combination of blog, post, and comment will send a stream of interested traffic to your site.
Do You Digg It?
A reader recently asked me about the little icons under the Share and Enjoy heading on each blog post. They come from a WordPress plug-in called Sociable, which makes it easy for you to link any of your favorite postings on The-Web Savvy Writer blog to your favorite social bookmarking site, such as del.icio.us or Digg.
I recommend that you use a similar tool to make it easy for readers to do the same on your blog. Social bookmarking has a viral affect and a popular post that many people bookmark can draw more traffic to your site. My blog analytics already indicate a number of new site visitors who found out about my blog through a social bookmarking site.
Why Combine Your Ezine and Your Blog?
Several readers have sent me email asking why I combined my ezine and blog and what benefits that provides. I recently read a great blog post on this topic: How and why to combine an e-newsletter and a blog. Take a look.
Promote Your Fiction Online: Tip #1
Several people have asked me for tips on promoting fiction on the web. Here is the first tip in a series. Non-fiction authors: these tips can easily work for you as well. They just represent my favorite ways to promote fiction online.
Tip #1: Get Talking
Many fiction authors do readings, but reading an excerpt from your book to a small local audience is unlikely to lead to a large stream of sales. To have your spoken words attract a worldwide audience, you need to go online. You can record and post a basic excerpt on your website or blog (try Flash Audio Wizard, Audio Acrobat, or Gabcast) or or create a podiobook, a serialized audio book delivered via podcast (see Podiobooks for an example).
If you follow the serialized approach, it is up to you to determine how much to provide for free. Some authors podcast their entire novel with the goal of selling print books to new fans; others deliver only a few chapters and encourage sales to listeners eager to find out what happens next. Another option is to podcast a series of short stories for free that may help develop an audience for your novel.
The advantage of a podcast is that you can generate additional publicity by listing it in podcast directories such as Yahoo! Podcasts or iTunes and by encouraging subscribers. The advantage of an audio excerpt is that it’s faster and easier to create.
Great Tip for News-Hungry Authors
Want to get links to your blog posts on major news sites? Check out the following: Technorati Teams With The Associated Press to Connect Bloggers To More Than 440 Newspapers Nationwide. Technorati, which currently tracks 42.2 million blogs, now connects your blog to any AP article to which you link. Here’s how it works:
- Find an AP article that’s relevant to your blog. Go to The Associated Press website to search for stories if you haven’t chosen one already.
- Create a blog post that mentions the article and link to it.
- Ping Technorati that you have new content. You can ping Technorati directly, use a ping utility such as Pingoat, or configure Feedburner to automatically ping Technorati and many other sites whenever you post to your blog (my personal favorite).
- Go to the AP article to which you linked (give it a little while to discover you) and you’ll find a link to your blog post in the Technorati Related Blogs section. To see a sample of this, click the link BookExpo Confronts Changes in Publishing in my BookExpo America News blog posting.
If you blog about a hot story, expect to see your blog traffic increase when your blog becomes linked to it.
New Methods of Book Delivery: It’s All About Choice
I recently interviewed Tom Evslin for my upcoming book The Web-Savvy Writer: Book Promotion with a High-Tech Twist. Tom is the author of hackoff.com, an Internet murder mystery due out in print format this week (you can buy it on Amazon
The web is all about choice. Different people prefer to access their entertainment in different ways. So each edition broadens the number of people reading and listening to the story. RSS serialization of text has been the most popular so far but podcast serialization started recently and is growing very fast. Note that either text or audio can be accessed online or through text or email serialization and the podcast is also available through podiobooks and iTunes. The email option is getting a steadily higher share of serialization as our audience, which initially started as almost all blog readers, expands to those who don’t know what RSS and feed readers are.
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About the Author
I'm a freelance writer and author specializing in business technology.
