It's been a while!

Call it the New Year clean-up or what you will ... it's about time I announced that this blog was closed, although a version of it may well be rising from the ashes in 2015, in which case I'll post details here and on the Blogging for Creatives Facebook Page.

Blogging for Creatives was published in 2012 and written during the second half of 2011. It's still on the best-sellers lists. Browse the Featured Bloggers on this site for inspiration and ideas. Some of them have new blogs now, so bear with me if there are some changed links!

UPDATED AUGUST 2015:

In the last couple of years I've written Blogging for Writers (Nov 2014) and The Golden Tules of Blogging and When to Break Them (May 2015) published by Ilex/Octopus & F+W HOW Books:

- here's the Blogging for Writers website with more details (including links to Blog Tour posts)
- here's where you can buy Blogging for Writers on Amazon UK should you wish (affiliate link)
- or if you're in the US, at the Writers Digest Shop

The best way of staying in touch with me and finding out about my latest publications is to follow me on Twitter.  If you're a writer, I also have a Social Media for Writers blog with a rich archive of useful tips and links, examples and more. You can also sign up for occasional email updates.

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to connecting with you!

Robin Houghton

Featured Blogger: Dan Blank

I think I first came across Dan Blank on Twitter. I've certainly enjoyed his weekly email newsletters over the years, with their nice blend of latest blog post, news round up and a couple of fun photos. One of the regular features is 'Owen of the week' - a photo of what Dan's young son has been up to - a charming note, but also a bold relationship-building technique that many would steer clear of in the name of privacy.  It's noticeably different to most email newsletters in that it feels like a concentrated dose of Dan: great business insight and information sharing, with a big dollop of openness and humanity thrown in. And well written, which comes as no surprise when you find out that Dan's background is in publishing, and his business We Grow Media helps writers and publishers to build and manage their online presence.

Dan Blank's blog at We Grow Media

The blog is a section on Dan's main website where he posts regularly on topical media issues of relevance to writers, explores new ideas and ways of doing things and offers insights into his own experiments. For example, he posted recently about his return to podcasting, explaining his reasons and how he went about it in detail right down to the equipment selection.

Dan Blank's YouTube Channel

Dan has also recently started video blogging (sometimes called 'vlogging') and has used video and audio in various ways on his blog.

There is a simple honesty and understatedness about Dan's approach that I love. In being both generous and genuine, an absolute expert in his field but also curious to learn and develop, he is someone who most definitely walks the social talk. Do take a look at his blog - and sign up for that email newsletter, it's a gem.

Talk at London Writers' Cafe

I had a lovely time at the London Writers' Cafe meetup on Monday evening. The invitation to speak to the group came from Lisa Goll, who found me through Twitter. Lisa wanted someone to come and talk to writers about blogging - why it's worth doing, how to get started, how to maintain and promote it.

It was a mixed group of authors (published and unpublished), commercial and creative writers, and there were plenty of interesting questions, many about issues surrounding privacy (whether to separate your blogging voice from your private life) and how to connect with the blogosphere. The answers aren't always black and white - more often 'it depends' or 'it's whatever you feel happiest with' are my best advice. We looked at a few examples of successful writer-bloggers including Scott Pack's Me and My Big Mouth and Sara Crowley's A Salted.

Some super comments from people afterwards both at the event and on Twitter, which I was really pleased about. The London Writers' Cafe is a really vibrant group with regular meetups and lots going on - if you're a writer in the London area it's definitely one to check out.

With Lisa Goll of London Writers' Cafe