Friday, December 21, 2018

How Blogging Helps Authors



Blogs can be an author’s best friend, even if it seems like a time suck to read, share, or post on blogs.  But let’s take a look at how many successful authors strategically use the world of blogging to advance their brand and promote a book.

There are lots of blogs out there of varying sizes and shapes.  Some have millions of followers and others have only a handful.  One of the first uses of blogs is to inform the author of what’s going on in the world of books and publishing, as well as the subject area he or she writes on or the industry he or she works in.  You can easily monitor what’s being said out there by connecting to popular blogs on a targeted topic.

The next thing authors should do is try to connect with these influential bloggers and befriend them.  Offer to write a guest-post or provide comments to their blog.  They can help you build up your following by sharing your voice and exposing it to their tribe.

Look at who else comments on the blog.  Try to connect with them as well.  They, too, want to be active in the online community and perhaps you can help one another.

Of course, one of the best ways to establish yourself is to write a blog and post regularly.  Share your posts with others and invite your family, friends, and social media followers to sign up for the blog.

Now just because you have a blog, it doesn’t mean everyone’s reading it or even knows it exists.  You must promote the blog just as you would a book.  You may ask:  Why bother?

Well, it depends on the pay-off that you seek – and that’s attainable.  A blog can outlast a book.  A blog could be a lifetime thing, where a book comes and goes.  The blog is your epicenter, a reliable, consistent place where people can connect with you.  As you build the blog up, it will be there for you for your future book releases.  You’ll have built up a following that’s hungry for that next book.

There are cons to blogging.  For one, it doesn’t earn you money until your following is large enough to attract advertisers or requests from others to pay you as an influencer to mention their product.  Most blogs don’t earn money.

Blogging is time consuming.  You must write, research, edit, post, and share your blog on a frequent basis.  If you respond to comments, that’s even more time used that could be applied to knock out a book.

One way to keep a blog going is to write short posts, invite guest-posts, interview others, or to use visuals that get a message across without having to labor over a long post.

Blogging is not for everyone but I think once you get into it and stick with it for a few months, you will find it rewarding.  To take your book marketing to the next level, strongly consider being an active blogger.


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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.

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