Blogging is a great way for authors to stay in touch with their fans and attract new fans, too. For many authors, though, blogging seems a little scary. How do you set up a blog? What do you write about? How do you get people to read your blog?
Here are some tips to help you be a better author blogger.
Be the master of your own domain. A free blog on Blogger.com or WordPress.com may seem appealing, but you need to have your own URL and complete control of your blog. Which looks better and is easier to remember:
JaneyAuthor.com or
janeyauthor.blogspot.com?
Buy a domain name, get your own hosting (it’s not expensive) and own your blog.
Get technical help when needed. Blogging does not require you to be a techie. Creating posts is simple if you have ever used a computer. However, setting up a blog and getting it to look and work the way you want it to might be beyond your technical comfort zone. If that is stopping you from blogging, hire someone to handle the heavy lifting of setting up your blog, then get on with it.
Blog often. Do not let weeks or months go by without letting your readers hear from you. Keep your blog fresh and up to date by posting at least weekly. Remember that blog posts do not have to be long. A couple hundred words, a short video, a few photos from a recent event…any of these can make a good blog post.
But not too often. Blogging every day can keep you away from working on your next book, so do not use blogging as an excuse not to write the stuff that pays the bills.
Engage with readers. Be grateful for comments, and respond whenever possible. As your blog grows in popularity it may become impossible to respond to every comment you receive, but at the start you should be able to acknowledge the readers who take the time to leave comments on your posts. Give your readers a voice, such as asking their opinions on the name for a new character, so they feel that they are truly a part of your books.
Give stuff away. Everyone loves free stuff. Give away copies of your books or ebooks, bookmarks, autographed bookplates, etc. You can send readers digital “autographs” with Kindlegraph.
Guest post on other blogs to reach new readers. Do you have author friends who also blog? (Of course you do!) Guest posting on each other’s blogs is good exposure for all of you. Also consider interviewing your author friends, or reviewing each other’s books. It benefits all of you and your readers. You can find guest posting opportunities in Blogger LinkUp. It’s free.
Blogging doesn’t have to be complicated, and it can help you to sell more books by growing your audience. Get started today.
Maybe I should seriously consider blogging too, since my book sales have become somewhat stale in the last few months. I’ve always thought that my time was better spent writing more books, but if I can’t sell them, then there’s no point in writing them either. The world is changing and writers need to adapt with the times or they’ll fail. I believe I’ll have to start adapting or I won’t be working as a writer for too long.
I agree – blogging can be beneficial for almost all types of business, including writers. It is not even necessary to write a full blog post every single time. If you find something relevant and interesting, either pictures or videos, etc. you can share those on your blog too. The same goes for Facebook. If things are updated and interesting, it will keep your readers involved.
Ruth Martin recently posted..How to Choose the Right Templates for Your Web Design
http://myfavoritewebhost.com/ (get your own hosting) does not work!
Sorry you had a problem with the link. It appears that it may have been a browser problem only affecting Firefox. It is working for me now in all browsers I have tried.
Thanks!