Lunarpages Sits Down with WOW
Author: Tiara Rea![]()
Women always tend to be rare in the technology and web hosting fields, though every year we’re seeing a great number of them literally taking over the world. Or at least, that’s our plan…
So imagine my incredible delight when I was looking for the perfect website to interview for this month’s Lunarpages-Hosted-Site Interview and found Angela Mackintosh, founder and CEO of WOW! Women On Writing! I was in fact elated to find another super-successful woman, hosting on a massive server and running an amazingly-popular ezine for female authors. Not does she run an SEO column on her blog, the Muffin, as well as a successful graphic design company on the side, but she’s also drop-dead gorgeous!
I emailed her instantly, pretty much overwhelmed with adoration for her cause, and she was more than kind in her prompt responses and assistance. I am very proud to see Lunarpages hosting sites like this and was floored to get to chat with her about SEO tips, web hosting, and most importantly, writing!
So, Angela, I know your site has nothing to do with Web Hosting, but I absolutely fell in love with your ezine and its purpose. If you don’t mind, can you tell us a little bit about your website? What do you do and what kinds of things can users expect to find on WOW-WomenOnWriting.com?
Thank you Tiara for having me; I’m honored. And of course, I love to talk about WOW!, so be prepared for an earful!
WOW! Women On Writing is a free online magazine designed to support women’s creativity, blood, sweat and tears, throughout all stages of the writing process. We combine the hard content of a writing website with the glossy graphics of a women’s print magazine, to produce a unique experience for the end user. We feature interviews with authors, editors, literary agents, publishers and readers. We’ve been lucky enough to interview some of the most fascinating women—some memorable interviews include Ann Moore, CEO of Time, Inc. when she first announced her push to digital media only, which is, of course, great news for webmasters, proving that the shift to ezines has arrived—to celebrity interviews.
How long have you been hosting with Lunarpages and how have your experiences been thus far?
Lunarpages has been amazing! We made the switch from another (unnamed) host in July and I couldn’t be happier. My webmaster, Glenn Robnett, recommended you, and I have to say, your customer service rocks! I could get into the nightmare that we experienced with our previous host, but I don’t think that would be too nice…
Did you personally design the look and coding of your site? If so, what tools did you use and can you recommend some for all of our future webmasters out there?
I’ve owned a graphic design business for nearly ten years, but I mostly did work for print magazines, catalogues, and tradeshows—with the occasional website being outsourced through my company, Mackintosh Multimedia. So when I started to focus more on writing, the thought of starting a website came quite organically. I was on the computer all the time anyway, doing artwork or visiting websites that I enjoyed, so I figured, why not design my own?
I first designed the site in Adobe Illustrator because of my love for vector graphics, then converted it to spec in Photoshop. I’d done some flash before and dabbled in Dreamweaver, but I had a friend in my writing critique group I contracted for the initial programming. I honestly didn’t think it would go anywhere. If I did I probably would’ve done things a tad differently. For starters, there’s an incredible amount of artwork that goes into each issue, and there are many aggregators that I would’ve included in the initial design, instead of adding bits and pieces in later. Actually, we have a whole other launch ahead of us, to take WOW! into Web 2.0 and 3.0—there are some great things in store.
Your site has a pretty decent Alexa Ranking and Google PR. Do you utilize special SEO tools and/or techniques, did you rank so high by natural interest, or does Google just love your site because it’s run by women?
I love exploring the world of SEO and have done it by trial and error since the beginning. Honestly Tiara, when we started I hadn’t a clue of what SEO or even meta tags were, so it was a quick learning curve, and I’ve done all of our SEO since. And in less than a year we managed to outrank our competitors who’ve been in our industry for over ten years! Actually, there are some simple techniques I use, and I’m learning all the time. I don’t know if these will be of any help to your experienced readers, but here goes:
• Definitely get the Alexa toolbar installed. This is great for sites that feature hosting, or webmaster tools, etc. because Alexa only counts visitors with the toolbar installed. It’s not great for women’s writing sites like ours because most of the ladies are new to the technology, but there are ways around it. If you get the developer’s corner widget installed on your site, which I just did a month ago, then that will count a unique visitor as if the toolbar was installed in their browser.
• Use relevant titles. Since Google uses titles primarily in their search relevance, adding a descriptive title with the key words contained in the page’s content will help boost your placement.
• Be sure to use Google’s “Webmaster Tools” section and verify your site with a snippet of code. Adding a sitemap with Google’s free generator is highly recommended as well.
• Use website submission services, there are a ton of them, but they all do the same thing—submit your site to all the search engines every 30 days, so you don’t have to worry about it! Before you do this though, make sure all your metatags are relevant and use the words and phrases that you use in your homepage. (20 only!)
One more tip that I personally use, as mentioned in this blog post, that I’ve never heard of anyone else using (to my knowledge): put a Google coop search engine box on your site, then each time you update your site, enter those specific pages into your coop search engine, so Google is forced to search your page.
If your readers are interested, I have a column ‘SEO Sundays’ on our blog, The Muffin.
I’m definitely interested!! Those were amazing tips, Angela!!
Have you ever had another website? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Not of my own, but my graphic design business has done several websites for clients, although I’m not really involved in them. Of course, like many web enthusiasts out there, I own a TON of domain names in hopes that some day I’ll have time to complete that vision!
WOW is now commemorating its First Anniversary!! Congratulations! How do you guys plan to celebrate? Some champagne and fine cheese? Maybe a massage session for all of your loyal readers like myself?
Thank you Tiara, and yes, free massages for all! We’ve been celebrating, you better believe it. WOW!’s editor Sue Donckels and I have online wine-tasting parties. But seriously, we’re excited because we have a lot of things in store for this year. We’re launching the WOW! virtual classroom and workshops, due to popular demand, and incorporating other kinds of media—such as video, books, and a freelance union for women writers.
All of this couldn’t be possible though without the camaraderie of our staff, which is growing in numbers. We’re truly blessed.
I’ve noticed that you run some contests on your site. What contest is running at the moment and what kinds of responses have you received thus far?
Our writing contests receive amazing responses! Currently, we have an essay contest sponsored by the Globe Pequot Press’ skirt! books. They’re a perfect fit for our ezine. So far we’ve received entries from all over the world!
We also hold one of the biggest flash fiction contests online. We offer over $2,000 in cash & prizes, and have 35 winners total. Every single winner gets a goodie bag of gifts, hand-packed with care. Most of the boxes are well over $100 in value and contain author-signed books as encouragement for contestants to follow their writing dreams. The stories that come from these ladies are incredible. Our last guest judge, literary agent Jennifer DeChiara, just submitted her final decision, and we’re getting ready to announce our Summer Flash Fiction Contest Winners October 1st.
You can find out more by visiting our contest page.
Your columnists often write about technology (blogs, web hosting, creating a niche) and its coexisting relationship with writing. Do you think technology plays an important role in the modern life of a writer?
Most definitely. Now more than ever, writers and authors of print are using blogging, websites, and social networks as promotional tools. Even the big New York publishing houses have admitted that they’re slow to catch on using the internet as a vehicle to drive sales. And they’ve even incorporated the ‘author’s website’ as part of their requirements for taking on the publicity of an author.
Over the last couple years, there has been a grand emergence of women in technology. Even at Lunarpages, we have a bunch of women who do everything from Affiliate Marketing to IT Development and beyond. What do you think about this new trend in what was once considered a strictly-male profession, and how do you see this progressing in the future? Personally, I think women are going to take over the world, but many argue that we already have.
It’s like most avenues of business, women will continue to succeed and reach all aspects. Women business owners are on the rise, and with marketing, hands-down, women are the most sought after market. The power of the purse, sister!
I honestly don’t see it as a trend, but more as something that’s here to stay, and only going to continue to grow. I’ll give you an example: when we first started kicking around the idea of a writing website, my previous partner and I had considered marketing to both men and women, but I suggested that we go with what we know. She thought we’d be missing half the population… and while that’s true, there’s something even more true: women have great communication skills. We handle business differently than men, we talk things out, and feel the need for community and camaraderie. If you look at the purchasing aspects and amount of time that women spend online, it would be silly if business owners and IT Development etc. didn’t acknowledge this.
Many of us here at Lunarpages Web Hosting use blogs to write, both in our free time and while we’re at work. Do you think blogging is an integral part of a writer’s life these days? For me, it’s always been a great tool for daily writing practice, as well as reading and reviewing feedback in an easy-to-control environment.
You’re exactly right Tiara, blogging is a super tool for daily writing practice. It forces the writer to craft short pieces with great hooks and juicy content, much like a flash fiction piece would, or the first chapter of a novel. I think blogging is a great way to get your words out there, and plus, search engines love blogs! They’re highly SEO friendly. I notice that after a blog post it shows up on Google within minutes! That’s why you see some great numbers for those willing to take their blog to the next level.
If you are in the business of writing, there are many things to consider, but if you’re promoting something such as a book, yourself, or are trying to build traffic or sell your website, then giving out free content is a great way to get attention. Advertisers will take notice, and of course, the world will know if you’re getting the numbers. I guess it all depends on what exactly you’re striving for in your writing… but any buzz is great if you’re trying to get known as a writer or aspiring author.
I have participated several times in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Have you ever done this and would you recommend it to your readers or ours? (for those of you who don’t know, NaNo is a month-long buckle down time for writers, where the goal is to write an entire novel in one month!)
Isn’t that fun?! How inspiring is that! I’ve never participated, something always seems to come up at the time, but I’d heartily recommend taking part if possible. Not only is it a wonderful month of literary madness, but you learn a lot about the way you write. In fact, Jean Lauzier, WOW’s editor, is dedicating the month of October to plotting NaNo novels (for those who like more structure) with an workshop which will take the author through character development, plotting, creating the story arc, and research just to name a few topics. Her workshop will also include one on one critiquing of your draft to help get started on the road to revision. For more information on that, you can email Jean at jean@wow-womenonwriting.com.
Who is your favorite female author? (For women, mine include George Elliot, Susan Kay, and Elizabeth Cook)
Now you’re really trying to get me in trouble!! Of course, I love every woman author on our website, and I don’t have favorites… but meeting Amy Tan was definitely a monumental interview for me. Also, Diana Abu-Jaber’s books are always fantastic. Most recently, I read Kris Carr’s book, Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, which was such an inspiration to me…
Finally, what are your future plans for WOW?
We have monumental plans! I think I mentioned the launch of the WOW! Classroom in January 2008, and the integration of forums, as well as services for women writers (AKA: Freelance Union), which would incorporate healthcare for freelancers and other resources. Print media, such as a WOW! Women On Writing series of books. And a social network for women authors, editors, agents, publishers, and readers.
And lastly, a bit of fun: Would you prefer…
Poetry or prose?
Prose
Nonfiction or fiction?
Fiction
Short stories or novels?
Novels
Writing your own work or reading your favorite author’s?
Writing
Pen or pencil?
Pencil (so I can sketch as well)
Hand-writing or typing?
Typing
Thanks so much for setting aside some time for this interview. We really do appreciate it and look forward to seeing the growth of your site in the future!
For those of you who would like to recommend a site, please do let us know by emailing affiliate@lunarpages.com. You are more than welcome to nominate your own website, as well, so get to it!



