ANN EDALL-ROBSON

Who Left The Dang Gate Open

4/27/2021

4 Comments

 
Ann Edall-Robson's latest CRLC Quiet Spirits column.
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“If you open a gate, you close it. You’re responsible for what happens if you don’t.” These are some of the live-by words my dad instilled in me from as far back as I can remember. They still bounce around the gray matter each time I open a gate – any gate. 

The consequences of not heeding his directive meant taking the heat over a gate being left open and the possibility of animals escaping. Even worse was trying to round up the stock before anyone became aware they were not where they were supposed to be! 

Your wake-up call comes when all you see at the end of the day is one lone herd member grazing. First and foremost, you are the one responsible for making sure you take every opportunity to close the gates. Always! When you are aware of what the repercussions can be, it is up to you to be the responsible landowner
Keeping the gates closed is a concept that should trickle down through the generations as a learning tool on how we handle our social media posts. The last thing we want is to lose visitors and possibly sales because we have been remiss in performing our due diligence.  Rotating stock in and out of feeding pastures is necessary; however, you need the knowledge to control the gate and where they go. The last thing you want is the herd breaking free before they have filled up on everything you are capable of feeding them.
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Blog writing, in my opinion, has to be one of the best ways to show the importance of closing gates to keep control of the herd, a.k.a., your visitors. We have all read about the benefits of sharing links to other information that resonates with your writing, but here is where you need to be on your A-Game. Those links to outside sources can be a nemesis or a feather in your cap.
The Nemesis—Links that open to outside information might mean your visitors leave your website and don’t come back. Why? Because the gate was not properly secured.

The Feather—Links to outside information that is properly secured show the reader that you are willing to provide additional material. If the gate is secured correctly, the visitor will wander in the new pasture with a view of the home corral still in their sights. An example of this is the links in my Bio at the bottom of this article. Each should open as independent pages without taking you completely away from this CRCL Quiet Spirits column.
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The goal should be to allow the reader to open links without leaving the original article. As they finish reviewing the material found through the link, the linked page can be closed, and the original piece is still before them. You have not lost this visitor. 

Opening content in a new window is an easy step to keep the herd (a.k.a. visitors) corralled on your land. Platforms offering blogs, in the majority of cases, provide the option to “open in a new window” when setting up a link. If you don’t use this option, I recommend you start. It is something I also use with links within my website. Why? Because I don’t want the visiting herd to get lost on my land and not know how to find their way back. 

The long and the short of all this is: Pay attention to how you add external connections to your work. Having links open in a new window will guarantee most visitors to your website/blog will stay with you when they close the external link. Losing them through an open portal may mean lost sales and followers. 
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The concept is much the same for any platform. If you forget to include opening links in new windows, you can go back and edit your work to make the change. Closing the gate after the fact isn’t the best choice, but it is a step in the right direction to keeping the herd where you want them in the future. 

I have created a free downloadable how-to cheat sheet fro help you stay on top of keeping the dang gate closed.

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."
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Ann Edall-Robson's latest Quiet Spirits column is available at CRLC. ​
Who Left the Dang Gate Open
Back issues of the Quiet Spirits column. ​
Open the Gate
 Link to the Past
Heritage Traditions
4 Comments

Old School or E-Reader

1/5/2019

8 Comments

 
I am old school when it comes to books. I like the feel of something tangible in my hand, the swoosh of paper as you turn a page and the smell, oh the smell of the ink melding with the paper. I could go on and on about being able to go to the book shelf to pick one of my favourites volumes to read. It's like having my own private library. 
Let's face it, we are not all like me and I have to say, I am open to downloading and reading ebooks. It's a convenience I have come to appreciate when I can't decide which book I want to take on a trip and end up taking several just in case. The weight factor of several paper published books makes for an additional piece of luggage and the ultimate need to still decide which one will be read. 
Enter the e-book phenom into my travelling life. I am able to take along ALL of my books if I want and have only to deal with under two pounds of weight and no extra luggage. 
Of course, there is a need for some sort of electricity to keep the iPad happy, thus me happy. But in the case of not knowing if I will have a place to charge my 'reader', and yes, that happens, I carry small charging cells that fit easily into my iPad case. 
I am not abandoning my books on the shelf. That is not going to happen. I am merely embracing modern technology. 
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The Quiet Spirits
Moon Rising: An Eclectic Collection of Works
From Our Home To Yours: Cookies
​From Our Home To Yours: Cakes & Squares
Birds in my Canadian Back Yard

All of my books are available in e-book format.
How do you read your book, old school or e-reader?
Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."
#BuyingEbooks #TheQuietSpirits #MoonRising #FromOurHomeToYours #ImWriting #TheSmellOf Ink#BirdsInMyCanadianBackYard
8 Comments

#Hashtag Advertising

3/31/2018

0 Comments

 
It’s always a joy to receive an email from someone I follow that reaffirms my thoughts and practises. This week, I received a link to a blog providing a list of 180 hashtags for bloggers. Reading through the article, I discovered this was not just for bloggers, but for anyone wanting to be noticed on social media. 

Hashtags have come a long way in their meaning and how they can help us advertise to get the word out there Following hashtags that are trending is made easier by lists compiled on social media platforms. 

“But I don’t Tweet and I am not on a lot of social media. Why would I need to use #hashtags?”

You certainly don’t have to; however, the use of one #hashtag using your business name or product at the end of anything you post, is better than nothing. 

Consider this. If you are working you’re butt off to get the books you've written noticed, you might want to end your blog, your twitter post or your FB post with a few hashtags like #BookMarketing #AmWritingFiction and maybe your latest book title #TheQuietSpirits.

If you only post on a specific day of the week, utilize the hashtags that direct people to the day along with a few highlighting the topic you are posting about - i.e. #MondayMorningBlogger #ThoughtsOnTuesday #WellnessWednesday #ThrowbackThursday #FunkyFoodFriday #SaturdayStomp and #SelflessSunday.

Selling specific products should include a #hashtag referencing direct to your business. If you do custom work include #CustomFiberArt. If your business is a service, use #CateringByXYZ or #RanchBandB or #AllNaturalSoap.

Instagram will tell you if the hashtags you are wanting to use is popular, has been used before, or this is the first time they’ve seen it. 

Each time you type in a #hashtag on Instagram, there will be a number beside it. Try to find a happy medium with around 5000 uses (my preference). Under 100 uses is okay, if it is something you want to use and plan to use over and over again as part of your #hashtag program. If the hashtag you want to use shows up with a red line under it, that means it has never been used before. Try a variance of the words to see if you can get it to register. If you’re set on using it, just know that no one out there is doing a search for information that includes the word(s) the way you have written them. 

Twitter is a little less forgiving in my opinion as their trending list will show up on the sidebar and is a rapid state of flux changing more often in a day than I care to speak on.  Using any of the trending #hashtags will most definitely push you up the ranks. 

Play with it, have fun with it, be creative. It is after all free and one of the easiest ways to promote yourself, your product and your business.

Some #hashtag samples from our Instagram and Facebook. 
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Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."


#AnnEdallRobson #TheQuietSpirits #MoonRising #FromWhereICome #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience
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