Not long after getting married, I bought laurenelkins.com. I could finally purchase my own name domain name. My maiden name was purchased years ago by somebody doing nothing with the site. Infuriating much? I mean, come on, laurencampbell.com owner. What a waste.
But I’ve got my name now and that’s a big step for me in creating my online writer presence. Because when the day comes and my book is good enough to pitch, I expect any interested (or even slightly curious) agents will ask the almighty Google what it knows about one Lauren Elkins. So I want ME Lauren Elkins, to show up as THE Lauren Elkins from the search. Not OTHER Lauren Elkinseseses.
Here are the things I’ve done to try and claim and create Lauren Elkins online:
- Own my name domain.
- Create a clean, informational site on my domain.
- Share my portfolio.
- Blog about writing.
- Blog about whatever I feel like.
- Be active on social media.
So what can I do better? A few things:
- Learn Klout and Tweetreach and optimize my social media impact.
- Increase my blog traffic.
- Blog more frequently.
- Include good images with each blog (pinnable images).
- Keep checking Google to see what it might tell a literary agent about me.
Now I just need more time in my life between raising little kiddos, writing content for small businesses, sleeping, eating, and showering, to actually do the above in addition to finishing my memoir. Maybe I should quit showering and use that time. Every little bit counts!