Authors, Blog For Profit Now!

  

No time. Too many other priorities standing in the way.

Not inspired.  I don’t feel a calling to it.

No content is available to utilize.

Don’t believe it works -- or don’t know how to get readers for it.

These are some of the answers given to me when I ask them why they don’t blog at all or often or consistently.  

Let me say that blogging can be an immensely useful tool for authors. Why?

 

• Because it showcases your writing style.
• It defines your brand. This is your chance to define your voice.
• Blog posts work well for social media.
• It’s expected. Writers blog. It’s what they do.
• It’s free and within your control. No permission needed.
• It’s cathartic and actually provide a therapeutic jolt to you.

Just trust me. If blogging is done properly, it will yield results and lead to book sales, championing your voice, and positioning you for other rewards, such as speaking engagements. But, if you labor over the process, you will waste time, not do a good job, and fail to generate a worthwhile pay-off. 

Blog, but do it with passion, energy, vision, and success. 

Here are some tips to blogging:

 

1. Start today. Don;t put it off any longer. Use Wordpress, Blogger or some other platform-or have it emanate from your web site. 

2. Name it after your name or a book title/series name. Otherwise build around your subject matter or area of expertise in your blog’s name. 

3. Set a schedule for posting – craft an editorial calendar. Commit to a publishing schedule. Monthly won’t cut it. Even bi-weekly is weak. Go with weekly, three times a week, or daily, including weekends. 

4. Write in a voice/persona that best represents you and what you stand for. Develop a mission statement that identifies your core message. 

5. Title your individual posts with a handful or words, especially ones that people tend to search for.

6. Every blog post needs an image.  

7. Every blog post should end with a two sentence description of who you are and lead back to a link to your website and a mention of your book title. 

8. Include 4-5 old blog posts at the bottom of each post, displaying the post titles and links, so people can easily see recent or outstanding posts. 

9. Aim to be interesting, either with your wit, information shared, ideas presented, questions raised, statistics, analysis, stories, or images. Keep people coming back for more. 

10. Ask yourself before posting something: Could someone else have written this? If so, it lacked uniqueness. Toss it. Only publish what is essentially worthwhile and reflective of your style and values. Hold yourself to some standards.  

11. Think like your targeted reader. Feed them what they want or need - not just what you have to offer. 

12. Don’t think blogging is just about posting. No, it’s about sharing and using the blog to net you more website visitors and book sales. Make the effort to write, edit, and post regularly but also to tweet, email, and showcase your blog entries. 

13. To save you time, avoid running out of ideas, and to get exposure to the readers of other  writers/experts invite guest bloggers to contribute posts. Or, offer to interview them for your blog. They may return the favor. They will also, presumably, share their guest post on your blog with their followers and connections, opening you up to their world -and potential readers and book buyers. 

14. Create a list of planned posts, based on general themes that get rotated. For instance, let’s say you are a therapist who wrote a self-help book. Many common problems that people seek help are for relationships, family, career, money and kids. Maybe once a month, you tackle each of these few topics, and so you’ll need to f. And 4-12 posts per year, per topic for a weekly blog. 

15. When in doubt do a blog that offers:

Do’s and dont’s

5,7,11, 20 Ways to do this or that 

Lessons learned

Top 10 lists

Eye-catching images/stats/quotes 

16.  Tie your blog post into things in the news, celebrities, holidays, honorary days, anniversaries, or major events such as an election, Super Bowl, or graduation season. 

17.  Vary your length. Blog posts can be any length. 600-700 words might be typical or work best -- not too long to bore or overwhelm; not too short to lack substance. However, you can do 400 words today, 1200 words next week. Mix it up. The topic will implore you to write a lot or a little. 

18.  Look to touch upon what people care about -- life/death, entertainment, health, wealth, sex, family, travel, house, beauty, nature, charity, culture, animals, politics, faith, education, and other institutions. 

Remember, you want a quality blog that is published often. Each post is an advertisement for your site or book, even though it should never come across as such. Blog posts can be shared on social media and should be done so often. Your blog will get the cash register to ring, especially when you branch out and have more than one book, additional products, or other services to sell. A blog can boost your online footprint and yield a profit, so pursue it, keep at it, and don’t make any excuses as to why you don’t have one or stopped posting to it.

 

 

Need Book PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  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. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.