Category: Blogging

Blogging, Books, Writing

Embracing Change: My Journey to Substack

Mona Alvarado Frazier

While I haven’t left WordPress, I no longer blog here, but I send a monthly newsletter on Substack.

Here’s the link to subscribe: Mona’s Substack. I’d love for you to join me there. It’s free to subscribe.

Why the change? I encountered some issues with Mailchimp distributing my monthly newsletter, and Substack makes it easier to connect directly with you.

My intention on Substack:

Where life’s challenges meet creativity and culture. A space for encouragement and finding beauty in every chapter.

Recent posts on my Substack have explored the joy of traditions. One example is “Tamale Making Time: It’s That Time of Year.” They also delve into the challenges we all face, as seen in “Balancing Creativity with Responsibility: Acknowledge the Struggle.”

I also explore the power of community in Thankful for the Power of Community: Family, Readers, Writers and finding resilience in Finding Strength in Every Step: Moving Forward.

Thank you for being a part of my journey. I’m grateful for your support and our shared love of creativity and connection.

Looks like my newly adopted cat, Selena.

Happy New Year!

Blogging, Writing

What a Blog Makeover Taught Me

Mona Alvarado Frazier
Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

After several years of blogging and now transitioning to shorter posts and a monthly newsletter, I thought it was time for a website makeover.

If you’re a new author, most of the marketing advice is to have a website with a home page to display your book or books, a biography, a photo, a blog, and an event/news page.

I had one of the above.

After a few hours of trying to add pages and create a new banner. I became very frustrated. I already know I’m not much of a techie, but this experience had me feeling like the dumbest person to power up a computer.

So, I decided to hire someone to help me because my attempts were too time-consuming, and I’m supposed to be writing.

But, before you hire someone, I suggest you do the following:

  • Create a vision for the website. Decide on a theme, colors, pages, and fonts.
  • Before selecting someone, have a look at their previous work.
  • Define what is essential.
  • Decide how you’ll communicate: email, phone, instant messaging.
  • Agree on the price beforehand
  • Be willing to delete the unessential parts of your blog if needed.

I had a great experience with Sandra Proudman, a fellow writer, and graphic artist.

After a discussion on the points above, we agreed on the vision for the website. Sandra then created banners and pages.

The colors in the header reflect the book cover of THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES, while the hummingbird and flower are symbolic. (I go into more detail in the newsletter).

On my home page, you’ll find the book cover and an area to sign up for the monthly newsletter.

A makeover can be easy if you keep it simple and if you’re good at graphic design. If not, know your limitations and get help. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, energy, and frustration.

Thanks for stopping by!