Saturday, March 26, 2011

Make Your Own Breaks as an Internet Writer

As internet writers, we do all we can to get our internet articles read by as many people as possible. We add our links every place we can think of. We tweet them. We post them to Facebook. We add them to similar work by other internet writers. Sometimes, it feels like we aren't getting anywhere. Seeing I don't believe really believe in luck, I am a firm believer we must make our own breaks as internet writer. Sometimes, those breaks we make come from the most unlikely places. This is an example of how I stepped out on a limb (and maybe "into it") and made my own break...

On March 4th, I wrote and published "The Westboro Baptist Church is Right" on Associated Content. Don't panic and think I've "gone to the dark side." Remember, I write teasers. I wanted as many people to know the truth about the Westboro Baptist Church as possible. I was getting page views, but I wanted more. What internet writer doesn't?

Just for fun or maybe from boredom, I decided to tweet the link to that particular article to Margie J. Phelps. I added "Thought you and your church would like this one! The Westboro Baptist Church is Right." I was expecting a nasty response from her and nothing more. I was so wrong about that!

For the record, Margie J. Phelps is the daughter of Fred Phelps, the founder of Westboro Baptist Church. The Westboro Baptist Church is that group of hate-spreading wackos from Topeka, Kansas that protest funerals all over the country. They hate everything, except themselves and their hatred.

She didn't respond to me directly. Instead, Margie J. Phelps retweeted my link, adding "best" to it. Obviously, she never read it. I quickly retweeted her retweet of my original tweet (that is a mouthful!), in case she caught her mistake. I also sent a "thank you tweet" for retweeting me.

After all the hate tweets had almost calmed down, some were even deleted and apologies sent out, I had another idea. I started sending Margie J. Phelps retweet to news organizations around the country. I sent it to MSNBC, FOX News and CNN. I even created a CNN iReport, telling the story of Margie J. Phelps major mistake on Twitter.

I was far from being finished. I wrote a follow-up article on Associated Content. This particular article was entitled "Westboro Baptist Church Member Makes Major Mistake on Twitter." It outlined the mistake made by "Mensa Margie."

My page views were increasing. After tweeting Margie J. Phelps and creating the CNN iReport, "The Westboro Baptist Church is Right" page views more than tripled in one night. They have been steadily increasing since then.

For those of you who know how tenacious I can be, you will not be the least bit surprised to learn I wasn't finished. I continued sending out all my links to all my Westboro Baptist Church articles to anyone and everyone I could think of. I was a woman on a mission - a multi-purpose mission. First, I wanted to spread the truth about the hate-spewing Westboro Baptist Church. Secondly, I wanted to increase my page views.

I wrote an additional article for Associated Content - "Is Westboro Baptist Church Avoiding Oklahoma?" Seeing I had to be relatively nice about the situation with the Westboro Baptist Church, I was not satisfied with the "nice" slant I had to use. The series of articles I was writing, that I'm still writing, were too politically correct for me.. I wanted to find a way to really "let it rip" and share what was really in my heart. That is when I was struck by what I consider a brainstorm...

I created a highly focused blog on Blogger that is devoted to my true feelings about the Westboro Baptist Church. I carefully created a URL that would be well-searched - "The Westboro Baptist Church." I entitled the blog "Westboro Baptist Church News." I wasn't too crazy about add the word "the" to my URL, but just "Westboro Baptist Church" was already taken.

Since this whole thing started, I haven't felt this energized to write in quite while. As you can tell I haven't been posting here as much as I should be. I haven't felt like it. My brief hospital stay didn't help matters either. I had been neglecting all of my blogs and my writing other places as well. With my failing health, it was easy to stop writing as much as I should have.

I've always known that I write my best when I am mad and something came along that "charged my battery." I created my own break. Not only are my page views increasing and I'm sharing the truth about the Westboro Baptist Church, I have my passion for writing back.

I want to encourage all of you to make your own breaks. Try new things. Mix it up. Step out on a limb and do something you never thought you would or could do. It certainly worked for me. I may not get rich with my Westboro Baptist  Church articles, but I am writing. With a smile on my face and ideas flowing. That is what all writers should be doing!

3 comments:

  1. I am like you- I need to get "fired up" in order to write with passion. Writing isn't always easy and I appreciate your sharing how you overcame life's obstacles (your illness) and found your writing passion again. You keep going! Not only are you doing good by spreading the word about these hateful people but hopefully you are getting your name out there and earning!

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  2. Interesting post about Making your own Breaks as an Internet Writer .. and the fact that we post in some of the most oddest places .. I logged into ListMyFive for the first time in months, almost a year, and saw that you sent me a note about the Examiner .. probably 50 people have sent me their affiliate link from the Examiner in the last couple of years .. but it's OK .. and that's not what I'm commenting on .. What I have found to be useful in promoting articles, blogs, websites, etc., is that you must post or comment on the blogs, articles, and websites of other people .. TONS of other people, as many as your time allows .. because this creates a link back to your blog or your website, and the blog that you comment on becomes a website that is now linked to your work .. Very interesting concept because success on the Web is inextricably tied in to the success of others .. Just as it should be in a spiritually perfect world .. We are One, and we excel when others excel .. Isn't that an amazing concept?

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