If you are an author, you should be blogging. Plain and simple. Why? Blogging increases visibility, creates connections with readers, builds relationships on of social media, boosts SEO, and helps to promote your book(s) without having to resort to “Buy my book” spam.
During our most recent #BookMarketingChat on Twitter (join us any Wednesday, 6pm pst/9pm est), we invited Barb Drozdowich to join a discussion on blogging basics. Our own BadRedhead Media (Rachel Thompson) jumped in with some tips as well!
Here are a few helpful tips to get you started:
Which platform is best for an author who is unsure where to start?
Barb suggests using WordPress.org or self-hosted. Why?
The first reason is with WordPress, you own the site rather than renting space from a company that dictates the rules.
The second is WordPress sites rank higher with Google than Blogger, and most other types of hosting sites.
What should you blog about?
Think about your author brand and your keywords. Focus on them to create content. What interests you? Write about it.
What interests you? Write about it!
Authenticity is key! Write about what YOU are passionate about, not what you THINK others want to read. Remember, we brand the author, not the book. If you write only about your current release (and create blog posts only about that one topic), what happens when you move on to the next book, and the next, and the next? You’ll have to continually re-brand your blog and website — too much unnecessary work.
You are a human, a three-dimensional being. Do you only ever talk to a friend about one topic? No. Write in your blog posts the way you’d speak to a friend. Choose a number of different topics that interest you, as well as the topics in your book. Create a schedule so you always have something to write about.
Example: Let’s say you write about vampires (groan, but hey some people do and love it). You’re also are a mom, raise puppies, love to refinish furniture and watch Supernatural. Here are some ideas:
Last night’s new episode of Supernatural was awesome! Dean ate donuts and… Here’s my take.
Raising {insert type of puppy} is a challenge because {whatever} but rewarding. Here’s why….
Here’s why I still love vampires and will write about them until one bites me…
Restoring furniture is my passion. Here’s my latest piece and how I went about it…
Being a mom of triplets ain’t easy. Let me tell you how I fit it all in…
Many authors make the mistake of writing about writing. Unless your demographic is writers, why are you doing that???
Don’t make your blog only about writing and your book, because snore.
When writing a blog post does length matter?
In terms of Google ranking, the longer the better. But overall, the goal of blogging is to connect with your readers. SEO makes you more visible, and that’s important, but don’t lose sight of building relationships and connecting with people.
Once a week is plenty to keep SEO up and connect with readers. Create a weekly deadline to write and optimize your blog post. Then share it on multiple platforms: Pinterest, Medium, Twitter, Facebook. Take advantage of popular hashtags such as #MondayBlogs and #ThursdayWrites. Share your post every Monday (no book promo posts, please!) and include the #MondayBlogs hashtag.
Aside from SEO, blogging regularly keeps your readers returning to your site for fresh content. Long periods between blogs posts encourages readers to forget who you are.
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Follow me on Twitter @RachelintheOC or @BadRedheadMedia for social media, branding, or marketing help. Increase your blog traffic by participating in #MondayBlogs (a Twitter meme I created to share posts on Mondays — no book promo)
[…] big part of what we do as authors and businesspeople is networking, aka, building relationships. Often, this has nothing at all to do with selling our books. For example, I started #SexAbuseChat […]
[…] Blog two to four times a month. If you don’t already have your own website, you need one (that’s a whole other conversation). You need to blog to start showing Google fresh content, create a name, visibility, and personal branding. (*Blog on your own site, not Medium or Huffington Post, which aren’t indexed by Google. Time: 60 minutes per blog to write and optimize. It’s fine to share your posts on Medium/Huffington after you’ve initially shared on your own site, however. Google doesn’t ding anymore for duplicate content.) This also helps make your site attractive to other high-profile influencers and their readers. […]
I love Barb and all her advice. She’s an awesome resource and gave me awesome tips on tweaking my site.
I’ve blogged since 2006 and I have to say, It has brought me abundance and love from my readers. Everything in this article is the gawds honest truth and if you aren’t blogging then obviously you don’t want traffic to your site, you don’t want to keep readers and you don’t want new readers.
