Sign up for the MFRW Steam Hop on 23 June 2020 #MFRWsteam #MFRWOrg

The MFRW Steam hop is a monthly event hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. Focused on authors who write spicy or erotic fiction, it's a chance to connect with readers who like their romance to sizzle! 

You can post an excerpt from your current WIP or any previously published book - and don't be shy about turning up the erotic heat! All sub-genres and orientations are welcome. 

Readers who are looking for books with erotic content will have the chance to jump from one author to another, using the list of links at the bottom of each post. Use the MFRW Steam hop to build your fan base as well as to meet other authors. 

All MFRW authors are invited to participate. Authors should be aware that excerpts may be sexually explicit.

The Steam Hop will take place the second Tuesday of each month. Join whenever you can. On the Friday before each Steam hop, a post will also go live on the MFRWsteam blog giving you the ability to sign up. When the hop goes live on Tuesday, the full list will increase visibility.

How Do I Participate?

1.    Create a post on your own blog that includes the MFRW Steam banner, an excerpt from your book, your book cover, blurb and buy links. Schedule it for the hop date. You can get the Steam banners here.

2.    Add your blog link to the list below. There will be a new blog post, and a new Linky List, for each hop. Be sure to use the exact link to your post, not a general link to your blog.

3.    Also include the Linky List code. To get this code, click below the list where it says "Get the Code here...". Insert it into the bottom of your blog post in the HTML window. For Wordpress use the alternate link provided. If you have difficulty using the code, please link instead to: http://mfrwsteam.blogspot.com. 

4.    Use a unique post title in the Linky List form and in the post itself - don't just title it "MFRW Steam #1". 

5.    Place the Steam banner in your blog's sidebar to help advertise the meme.

6.    Use #MFRWsteam in your tweets and title.

7.    Jump around using the Linky List to see what other authors are writing. Leave comments to let them know you were there. Tweet about their post.

8. Right click and download the banner here (it is 400x400):

What Are The Perks?

1.    Your blog link listed in each of the other participating blogs.

2.    Your blog post shared on social media by other authors.

Signup for June 23 Steam Hop closes at 11:59 EDT on June 22nd

Please do not use hashtags in the signup form. Save those for your post.

Any questions or concerns about the hop (including requests for link removal) should be directed to Lisabet Sarai at lisabet [at] lisabetsarai [dot] com.

Banners for the MFRWsteam hop #MFRWorg #MFRWauthor #MFRWsteam

Welcome to the MFRWsteam blog hop site! This post is where you can download the hop banner, double check instructions, and make sure you have the right hashtags.

Use the MFRW steam IO group for discussion. The banners are at the end in three sizes, 600x600, 400x400, and 200x200. If you need another size, please let us know.

Instructions

Here is the basic process:

1) Create a blog post (for this hop, presumably featuring an excerpt from one of your steamier titles!) and schedule it for Steam Tuesday. Ideally, you should set up your posts to appear very early, e.g. 3AM if you are in the US. Don't forget that there's a big world out there! Some of us are 12 or more hours ahead of the US. You want the largest number of people possible to see your post!

2) Go to the Steam sign-up blog (https://mfrwsteam.blogspot.com) on the Friday before the hop. Be sure you have the *exact link* to your own post - not just a general link to your blog. (I can tell you how to get this on Blogger; hopefully someone else can provide the same information for WP.)

3) The Linky List signup will be available near the bottom of the sign-up post. Look for "You are next... Click here to enter". Click on the link, then type in your information: link title, link URL, your name and your email. Then click "Enter Your Link".

This will put the link to your post into the list for the hop.

4) NOW - to make the hop effective, you need to go back to your own post, and add the list of links at the end. How do you do that?

Under the list of links on the Steam sign-up blog, you'll see another link labeled: "Get the code here". When you click this, you'll see two different snippets of JavaScript code. Copy the one that is appropriate (it depends on your blogging platform). Then go to your own blog, edit the hop post, switch to HTML (that is, not "What You See is What You Get"), and paste the code snippet at the end of your post. Then save/republish your post.

The cool thing about Linky Lists is that your post will show everyone who added their link - even if they signed up after you put the code in your blog. So whoever visits your steam post will be able to easily click over to visit the other participants - and vice versa!

Any questions, feel free to ask! That's what we're here for. 

~ Lisabet Sarai - Hop Coordinator