Authors need a blog to help build up their author platform. So, we blog. But what do you blog about? Is your blog reaching your target audience? Are you getting the results you want?
There are many reasons why authors should have a really nice website. But that's for another topic. Here, we'll talk about the kind of blog you have. We are already weighed down by too many things, we don't want to waste our time blogging - if we are not getting the results we want, right?
What you blog about will determine the type of subscribers you'll get, if any. Are you blogging with a purpose? What type of blog do you have?
THE DIARY BLOG
If you just want to talk about yourself and spill your thoughts, don't expect too many subscribers. Unless you're Angelina Jolie or Kim Kardashian, very few people will subscribe to your rants about what happened to your life today or what you thought about the new neighbor. Would you subscribe to a blog like that? A blog can be used to share our thoughts and points of view, but it has to be useful to the reader at the same time, in some way. We can share experiences as an example, but we need to talk about how what we share can be relevant to their own lives.
THE BOOK BLOG
All authors must have a book website/blog where your readers can check out your books and know more about you. Your target subscribers for this type of blog would be fans who have bought and loved your book and fellow authors watching your career. A mailing list of fans, no matter how small, is like Gold. Since they liked your writing (your book), you have established credibility and authority. They are engaged. They will buy what you sell and recommend. If you have subscribers comprised of fans, they will move the needle when it counts. Every time you send out a newsletter about a new release, you can expect sales from your mailing list.
A book blog should have more than just the cover and the synopsis. Amazon has that already. Talk about the characters of your novels. Bring them to life as only you, the writer, can do. Make them real to the readers. So real that they'd want to know more about them and read the book,
Share your work in progress. Tell readers why they should look forward to it.
If you're a non fiction author, share your personal experience. Tell readers why you wrote the book and what you hope to achieve. If you wrote a how-to/self help book, show why you're an authority on the subject.
Fiction writers have a more difficult time getting subscribers. To make the blog more interesting, post about what you think your target audience is interested in. If you're a horror writer, post about the macabre and weird things. If you're an erotica writer, share sexy things. Share content that is consistent with your genre.
Which brings us to the next kind of blog...
A book blog should have more than just the cover and the synopsis. Amazon has that already. Talk about the characters of your novels. Bring them to life as only you, the writer, can do. Make them real to the readers. So real that they'd want to know more about them and read the book,
Share your work in progress. Tell readers why they should look forward to it.
If you're a non fiction author, share your personal experience. Tell readers why you wrote the book and what you hope to achieve. If you wrote a how-to/self help book, show why you're an authority on the subject.
Fiction writers have a more difficult time getting subscribers. To make the blog more interesting, post about what you think your target audience is interested in. If you're a horror writer, post about the macabre and weird things. If you're an erotica writer, share sexy things. Share content that is consistent with your genre.
Which brings us to the next kind of blog...
THE NICHE BLOG
Genre topics related to your book's theme. Are you concerned about relationships, health, happiness? I have a friend in our community who writes inspirational posts, which is consistent with her book's theme. Check out Traci Lawrence's blog. She motivates and inspires. If people find the blog helpful, they will surely subscribe and be interested in her books.
THE RESOURCE BLOG
Non Fiction writers like me often have resource blogs. I have 3 resource blogs that targets different audiences and 1 hybrid blog. The challenge in writing non fiction is that we need to establish authority before readers trust us. Who are we that we have the guts to tell people what they should be doing? So talking about our own experience in our books and articles shows our expertise (or lack of it) As writers, our target is often other writers looking for guidance.
If you want to grow that precious list of subscribers, blog for them. The readers you attract will depend on what you blog about. Be relevant. Be interesting. Be useful. Everyone needs a network to get anywhere. Give something to your readers and they will give your blog access to their Inbox and their lives.
If you don't have a blog yet, you can start one easily on Blogger or Weebly. If you're feeling more adventurous, you can use Wordpress. Popular bloggers like The Blog Tyrant recommend a paid self hosted Wordpress site, but I think that unless you're planning to monetize it in the future, free sites like Blogger will suffice.
Related Article: The Blog Tyrant - 8 Blogging Mistakes That Cost Me
You can also consider getting your own domain name, just to make it look more professional (Sorry, I'm sure there are better and more technical reasons, but that's my only reason for getting my own domain.) I host my domains on Namecheap.
What kind of results are you getting out of your blog? Do you have tips to share? Please feel free to leave a comment below. I'd love to learn from your experience.
Need a website that's easy to update? Are you a new blogger?
Email thebookkhaleesi@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd love to hear from you!