It’s no secret that I advocate to all authors to start a blog. The fact is – for those marketing products, just having a blog will (on average) double the number of marketing leads. For authors (especially self published ones), this is absolutely true and your blog will contribute to getting more sales, potential readers, and fans.
Here are 5 easy tips for blogging to promote your books:
1. You don’t need to write long posts. Aim for 200 (minimum) to 500 words maximum. This is long enough that it will be treated properly by search engines when indexing. Exceptions: sample chapters, posts with lots of photos, “how to” posts with steps, or the occasional post that you’re really passionate about!
2. The posts don’t always need to be text. I know many writers that are most comfortable blogging with words (and you should be!) – but it is also ok to make a post of a video or photos. A video blog/diary (such as once a week) might be a great way to attract a crowd and let your readership get to know you.
3. Don’t always be an Eeyore/Debbie Downer. It’s tough being a writer and there are times that it seems like the world is against you! Avoid the temptation to dwell on it too much on your blog. I want to be clear – it is absolutely ok to talk about having a hard time, dealing with rejection/bad reviews/jerks/illness/family issues/etc. – (actually, it’s good to share some with your reader), but don’t do this in every post. If you can’t help it – at least insert some occasional humor or post like “I’m still having a difficult time, so I googled ‘baby <insert animal>’ and watched this video to feel better today.”
4. Be yourself. I’ve seen authors pretend to be something they’re not, hoping to get extra fans. This is hard to do over the long term and likely won’t get you as many fans as being your genuine, interesting self.
5. Post regularly. At a minimum, you should try to post 3-5 times a week. This has two purposes:
- Higher ranking in search engines
- Nurturing existing blog readers (getting people to come back to your site).
Yes, you can blog more often than that, but unless you write a “how to” blog – most blogs only get a marginal amount of additional traffic…and since most authors have limited time, I ‘d suggest spending any additional time doing Facebook or Twitter marketing.
Solid Advice – Like the idea that it doesn’t always have to be words in the post!