Last week I wrote a brief post about blogging for authors with a couple tips to help you get started. Blogging is a great way to build content and use that content to promote your book. This can be done in a variety of ways.
As a non-fiction writer, you may use your blog to further discuss the topic in your book, or similar topics. If you are currently writing your book, your blog posts can help you develop the material to include in your book. If your book is already published, your blog may serve as a networking tool to bring in potential new readers through the content you post on a regular basis.
As a fiction writer, you may use your blog to gain the attention of your reading audience or simply to network. Your blog posts can include short stories, descriptions of the characters in your book, historical or geographical sketches relevant to the setting of your book, biographical information about you as the author or anything else that would help the readers learn about you, your book, your writing style and all of the things that would make them want to read more by you.
The key to success in blogging is consistency. Post on a regular basis. If you can only commit to one post per week, then stick to a schedule and post something new one day every week. If you can commit to more, that’s even better. You can schedule your blog posts ahead of time, so if you know you won’t have time on your regular posting day, you can do your writing early and schedule the post to “publish” the day you want it to go live.
The more valuable content you put on your blog, the more “traffic” your site will get. This traffic means that more people are viewing your site, reading your message and being exposed to your book. Your blog should contain a page or sidebar section about your book, including a direct link to where viewers can purchase a copy.
Happy Blogging!
~Kelly Schuknecht