MFRW Bloghops is Born! @MFRW_ORG #MFRWorg

MFRW Firsts Hop

 Have you seen the hashtag #MFRWorg lately? If you haven't, you soon will. It's being used my members of the Marketing for Romance Writers organization to promote various activities. Since there are more than 1700 of us, we expect it to be all over the Twitterverse before long.

Our motto is "Seek, teach, share, learn, succeed." We are open to the entire literary community. We teach our members about marketing and publicity, and work together to provide opportunities. We brainstorm ideas, get feedback, and find others for mutual promotion. 

I founded the group in 2006 to help a dozen friends. We now there are more volunteers than that. We are involved all over the web, and are constantly looking for ways to help our members promote their books and their brand. This weekend, we're launching a new program -- MFRW Bloghops.

This isn't a Linky Follower hop. Those are great -- I take part in them myself. Instead, this uses a unique software that creates a ribbon across the top of the screen and enables readers to ride along and visit sites in the hop, without worrying about losing their place. If they stop, look around, go visit Twitter, or jump over to some other site, when they come back or go to the beginning site, they are immediately back in queue and can go right to the next stop. Easy peasy. We plan to do four types of hops: mainstream, erotic, GLBT, and Young Adult.

To that end, we created a position for Bloghop Coordinator, and that is filled by the very capable Kristyn Phipps. She's done a bang up job on the hop program so far, and this weekend will be her chance to shine. Hop assistants are Mona Karel, Qwillia Rain, Scarlett Metal, Wt Prater, Ana Kenley, Nicole Morgan, Danita Minnis, and Catrina Barton. (click links to find them on Twitter)

To take part in our hops, visit this site: MFRW Bloghops.

Our "Firsts Hop" Navigation Bar

We also have Facebook pages where authors and readers can interact. See the list below for the one that appeals to you. Authors who are interested in joining us can visit the first site to sign up. Membership is free, and includes training, opportunities to promote, and places to serve and help others.

Come find us on the web:

MFRW Group http://is.gd/mfrwgroup

Website http://is.gd/mfrworg

Resources http://is.gd/mfrw_resources

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MFRW_ORG

Facebook http://is.gd/mfrwfb

Pinterest http://is.gd/mfrw_pin

MFRW Workshops http://is.gd/mfrw_ctr

Author Blog: http://mfrw-authors.blogspot.com/

Marketing Blog: http://mfrw.blogspot.com/

Newsletter http://is.gd/mfrwnews

Ezine http://is.gd/mfrwpaperli

MFRW Banner Project http://is.gd/mfrwbanneropp2013

MFRW Bloghops

MFRW Bloghoppers Author Workspace http://is.gd/mfrwhops

MFRW BlogHops Home http://is.gd/mfrwbloghops

Mainstream http://facebook.com/MFRWBloghopsMainstream

Erotic http://facebook.com/MFRWBloghopsErotic

Rainbow http://facebook.com/MFRWBloghopsRainbow

Young Adult http://facebook.com/MFRWBloghopsYA

Skype Phones: Save Money on Calls #moneytips

Hello?

How much do you spend on phone calls in a year? Not cell phones -- a landline. If you need a phone you can use at home (or anywhere you have computer access) you might consider getting a Skype phone. I have one, and I love it. People can call me just like they would any phone. The difference is that I answer it sitting at my computer, wearing a headset. I got mine to use for my at home business, The Author's Secret.

It saves a ton of money. Unlimited calls, voice mail, and call forwarding cost me about $60 year through Skype.  It stores all my contacts and I can call with a click of a button. I can instant message anyone on Skype, too. If they have a Skype app on their cell, I can text them. Text is available for other phones too, for an additional fee. People who have Skype can call each other without a phone -- you just use your headset. It's free between users.

I can drag a huge document into the window and it sends the file. My son works with me making banners, and we regularly share photoshop documents. These are huge -- bigger than you can email. It's a simple click + drag to send it.

I don't get anything for recommending the service. I just think it's the coolest thing ever. I've had mine since 2011, and I love it. You can even give Skype gift cards. Might be a good thing if you have a student away from home. There are international rates and numbers. Find out more by going here. http://skype.com