Ninja News, Tumble Blogfest, and Followers Part Two

Did you guys miss me this week? Sorry, I unplugged for a while. Needed a break and I wanted to complete my guest posts for my blog tour.

Ninja News

The video contest for the A to Z Challenge continues! Be sure you check the A to Z Blog every day for tips and news.And TODAY I have tips on selecting a theme for your posts!

Lynn Rush revealed the cover art for her upcoming release, Awaited. You can find it here on Goodreads. Looks awesome, Lynn!

Don’t forget the Origins Blgofest is next Monday! Sign up HERE

Sean McLachlan’s book, A Fine Likeness, is on sale at Amazon for $2.99 through Valentine’s Day.

I’ll Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest

Hosted by Nicki Elson, Suze, and M. Pax.

Who was your 80’s celebrity crush?

Back in the mid 80’s, when MTV still played music videos (the nerve!), several videos for a band called Heart caught my eye for one reason, and one reason only:

Nancy Wilson!

She was smokin’ hot, played the guitar, and had a beautiful smile.

And the sexy outfits they put her in didn’t hurt either…


Who was YOUR 80’s crush?

Followers Part Two

Since my post on handling followers was so popular, thought I’d continue with how to get followers. Again, instead of a ‘how to,’ this is just what I’ve found works the best. There will probably be a part three as this stuff is the mechanics.

Follow other bloggers. (60-80% will return the follow. Really helps if you go back and leave a comment as well! However, don’t follow a bunch of blogs just trying to get people to follow you back – that’s shallow and lame.)

I gained between five and twenty new followers a week this way.

Participate in platform building groups.

I gained quite a few followers through the BBT group two years ago, and many of us are now part of the BBTCafe Yahoo Group.

I also participated in Rachel’s campaign last fall. I followed everyone in my genre, although I think only about fifteen followed me back.

Do a guest post on another blog

Depending on the size of the blog, this has resulted in five to fifteen new followers.

Participate in blogfests

I’ve joined them and hosted several of my own. (The latter gains a few more followers.) Usually I’ll get between ten and thirty new followers this way.

Be selected a Blog of Note

Yeah, over a hundred new followers from that honor!

Participate in challenges

Namely the A to Z Challenge! So many new blogs to explore – it really is the most effective way to gain followers. Don’t believe me? Know how many I gained last year? Over 350! (Which is nothing compared to Lee, who gained well over 600.)

But all of these followers won’t mean anything if you don’t connect, interact, and build a friendship.

Bet you can guess what part three is all about!

And yes, I just realized I'm over 1300 followers now. Whoa...

Any other news? Do you have an 80’s crush? Know of other ways to gain followers? Seeing a good movie this weekend? Can I come?

Digging the Low-Budget Films!

Today I am letting author Stephen Tremp take over and trash my blog with some low-budget movies. But don't worry - I invaded HIS blog today with an old, neurotic post of mine. So jump on over when you've finished here.

Hi everyone, and welcome to the second stop of my Grand OPENING Tour! And an enormous thanks you to Captain Ninja Alex for having me here today. Thanks Alex!

During a low point while writing OPENING, I took a break to research low budget films that made it big, some even receiving iconic, cult figure status. This was just the diversion I needed to give me back my vision and my hope and inspired me to do something really really big. It helped get me on track and finish my book.

Hence, my Low Budget Films That Made It Big List. Sorry, but no Sharktopus. (Damn! - Alex)

American Graffiti (1973) Budget: $777,000 (estimated) Gross: $115,000,000 (USA) An almost 9,000% return on investment must have made Universal Pictures extremely pleased, especially since they only took on the project after it was turned down by 20th Century Fox, United Artists, MGM, Columbia Pictures, and Paramount Pictures.


 





Clerks (1994) Budget: $777,000 (estimated) Gross: $115,000,000 (USA) This independent film reached out to a generation of slackers, spotlighting two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof. I've worked at a 7-11 in a previous life and can relate.





Fargo (1996) Budget: $7,000,000 (estimated) Gross: $60,611,975 (Worldwide) Love this show regardless of the most annoying accent in the human language. Ya! I think the wood chipper was nominated for supporting actor.






 
Halloween (1978) Budget: $320,000 (estimated) Gross: $60,000,000 (Worldwide) Who needs character development? Did you know the original budget was so low the actors wore their own clothes and Jamie Lee Curtis was paid $8,000?






MST 3000 The Movie (1996) It doesn't get any better than this! Born from the Saturday morning cult-classic, Mike Nelson, Crow T. Robot, and Tom Servo are still forced to watch the most hideous of stinker movies. Oh, has anyone seen my interociter?






Reservoir Dogs (1992) Budget: $1,200,000 (estimated) Gross: $2,832,029 (USA) Tarantino helped helped make indie films mainstream with this pop-culture masterpiece. Tarantino made careers for some actors while revitalizing those of others.




Rocky (1996) Budget: $1,100,000 (estimated) Gross: $225,000,000 (Worldwide) My all-time favorite sports movie and still inspires me today. Is there a better theme song to get you up and ready to do something great? I don't think so.








SuperSize Me (2004) Budget: $65,000 Worldwide Gross: $29,500,000 Did we really need a documentary into America's obsessive consumer culture to tell us eating fast food is anything but healthy?








  The Blob (1958) Budget: $248,000 Grossed: $12,000,000 A young jobbing actor named Steve McQueen was tapped for the lead and offered a choice: he could take a $3,000 fee upfront or get 10 percent of the gross box-office. Figuring The Blob would be just another creature feature, he opted for the former. Bummer. The movie grossed an astounding $12m, which would've earned McQueen $1.2m and set him up for life (back in the day).


 


I hope you had as much fun with this list as I did. Feel free to agree, disagree, or add a movie or two of your own in the comments! And remember, you don't need a huge budget to hit it big!

Stephen Tremp is author of the recently released suspense thriller OPENING, the second book in the BREAKTHROUGH series. You can visit Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs for $1.99. OPENING is available for download at: Amazon for $1.99 Smashwords for $1.99

Have you seen those movies? At least one? Come on, Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie is a classic! All right then, YOU name some low-budget winners then! And don't forget to visit Stephen's SITE for a glimpse at me two years ago...

How to Handle Blog Followers

I have the honor of an interview with Anne Gallagher at The Piedmont Writer. Anne is a fantastic author and one of my awesome critique partners. She asked some really interesting questions, so please visit her site today.

Thanks again to all who posted for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group this week. The struggles and triumphs were very moving and you guys showed such great support for one another. Always remember the purpose of the IWSG – to share, encourage, and make new friends. I’d hate to see the integrity of this group damaged by mockery or abuse.

Since I’m often asked how I handle so many followers, I thought it would be a great topic for today. It’s not really a ‘how to’ as much as just how this one lone Ninja gets it done.

If someone follows me, I follow back. (The exception being a spam site or not in English.) Sometimes the icon in the Google Friends Connect doesn’t lead to a blog, so I can’t return the follow. If that person leaves a comment, then I can find him! (Or her, as I seem to be in the minority here. Although I have no objections to being surrounded by women!)

Once I hit two hundred followers, I had to devise a system and started using Google Reader. I created folders for my blogger buddies (regular commenters), specialty sites like movie or book reviewers, and divided the rest among the days of the week. I also created a file called new followers. Those blogs remain there for a few weeks until I see what happens and then they are moved to a permanent folder.

How many blogs are in my blogger buddies folder? See my blogroll to the right? That is maybe two-thirds of them? (And right now I am having issues with the blogroll. Once it hit two hundred, it wouldn’t let me add or remove any more, so I may scrap it this weekend and make several smaller ones.)

So my daily routine is blogger buddies first, then new followers, then specialty blogs, then the day of the week, and then comments from the previous post.

As you can well imagine, it keeps me busy! Yes, there are days I don’t make it through my whole routine. Throw in a blogfest or the IWSG and I’m really challenged.

However, I do try! You guys are really amazing; following me and commenting when there are so many other blogs out there. For that, I owe you my best!

Any questions? How do you handle your followers? And does anyone have a time machine, because I could sure use it!

Don’t forget to visit Anne at The Piedmont Writer.

Finally, I leave you with a very short clip. This the Muppet’s response to Fox News claiming they have a liberal agenda – hilarious!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

My insecurity today stems from a date that is approaching fast –
February 28, 2012.

The release date for CassaFire, my second book.

What’s going to happen that day?

I’m throwing a big Catch Fire! Blog Party that day and participants have a chance to win one of five copies of CassaFire.

But you know how the saying goes – what if you threw a party and no one attended?

I’m not a big name author and I’m uncomfortable with promotions. So it’s likely to be a small party.


In fact, I never even planned on a second book, let alone a party for it.

Some days, I still have no idea what I am doing. All of my efforts might be for nothing. And that’s a scary feeling.

I appreciate all of my blogger friends and hope I’ve been able to return the support you’ve shown to me.This stuff isn't easy and some days we wonder if our voice will even be heard.

So, I will extend the invitation to join the party one more time. (Full details HERE.)

Are you ready for your big release day? Ever throw a party and no one showed up? Maybe if I served Hot Tamales…?

Please visit other members of the Insecure Writer's Support Group today-