by Anne R. Allen
“Blogging doesn’t sell books.”
“Don’t waste your time blogging.”
“Make book trailers! Email those newsletters! Spend more time on Pinterest and Instagram! Blogging is so over!”
I’m hearing this stuff every day.
But I still think a blog is one of the best uses of an author’s time. Even if you only blog once a month. (I’m a big advocate of slow blogging, but I think it’s best to post on a timetable: write at your leisure, but post to a schedule.)
Why do I think authors should blog?Because it worked for me. Let me tell you my story—Six years ago my career was over. My publisher had gone under. My fourth agent had dropped me. All my freelance writing gigs had dried up or stopped paying.
I was bloodying my knuckles on the doors of agents and publishers. If I got a response at all, it was to let me know that nobody wanted a washed-up author of funny mysteries. (Humor never sells; just ask any agent.) I was advised to change my name and start writing steampunk or YA zombie romance.
If you Googled my name you’d have to go through 10 pages before you found one entry about me or my books.
On a sad Friday the 13th in the late ‘oughties, I decided to start this blog as a place to post archives of my old columns from Freelance Writing Organization International.
I promptly lost the blog. Yeah. Don’t do this. Remember to bookmark that baby blog!
But three months later, I went hunting and found it again. And I started blogging once a week or so. For the first year, nobody read it. Nobody. I have posts that still haven’t had more than 10 hits.
But posting once a week to a timetable and treating the blog like a job gave me back some of the confidence I’d lost when my career fell apart. I felt like a professional again. I could communicate with other writers all over the world. (As well as close to home: a book blogger I met on an Irish site—so I thought she was Irish—turned out to be my neighbor in San Luis Obispo, CA!)
Then, in 2010, after I won a guest post spot on Nathan Bransford’s blog, more people started to drift over here. (Guest blogging is the key to building your blog traffic.)
Fast forward two years and miracles had happened.
- Four publishers came to me—I didn’t have to query. Instead I got to choose.
- I was sharing my blog with Ruth Harris: the NYT bestselling author.When I first started reading Ruth’s books in the early 1990s, I never dreamed I’d even meet such a famous author.
- I’d written a book with another NYT bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.
- I was being invited to speak at writers’ conferences and seminars—and magazines and anthologies actually solicited my work.
- When you Googled my name, you got 47 pages of ME before you got to Anne R. Allen the San Jose stockbroker (who must hate me. I apologize, Anne.)
And by 2013, this blog was named to the top 101 Websites for Writers by Writer’s Digest and I had 7 books in print, was published in numerous anthologies and two of my novels were on the Amazon humor bestseller list—where they each stayed for over half a year.
And good stuff keeps happening. I now have ten books out there. I chat daily with movers and shakers in the industry. I just got a hefty check from F&W publishing because they’d decided to excerpt one of my Writer’s Digest articles for the 2016 Novel and Short Story Market. A total surprise.
All of this happened directly because of my blog.
I’m not saying all blogs will do this. But with patience, a blog can help you meet the people who can take your career to the next level. And that’s what social media is about: meeting people and networking.
I know many authors who, like me, have met their publishers, agents, and writing partners through blogging. (And that neighbor I met on the Irish writing site? She’s now a literary agent.)
Do all authors need a blog?
Nope. Plenty of successful authors don’t have them.
But you need to be on social media somewhere. You can’t just have a launch party in your local bookstore and get a press release into your hometown newspaper and expect to make significant sales. (And even if you go the traditional publishing route, don’t count on your publisher for much help with marketing.)
Today, a writer’s market is global. Do you know the country where people read the most? India. Or where the 2nd biggest population of English speakers lives? India. Followed by Pakistan and Nigeria.
We’re going to have more info on the global marketplace next week from Mark Williams of the International Indie Author. He’s been helping me find translators for my books. Ghostwriters in the Sky and Why Grandma Bought that Car will soon be available in Spanish!
The advantage of a blog is that it can be your home in that global marketplace—a place where people can drop in and get to know you and find out about your books.
NOTE: Blogging isn’t for direct sales of books. No social media is about hard-selling. (See my post on Social Media Secrets .) Social media is about meeting people and making friends. (With people and with search engines. You want Google to be your BFF.)
As Chuck Wendig said this week, “Worry less about selling books online. Worry more about being a COOL HUMAN meeting other COOL HUMANS. That last one will take you far.”
Why blog?
1) You need a website anyway.
A blog is a website. It’s an interactive one, which is a plus when you’re starting out. People can comment and get to know you. Yes, you may want a flashy expensive static website later on, but if you’re not published, that can look pretentious. A blog is more down-to-earth.
Sending out a query when you don’t have a website is often a waste of time. Many agents and reviewers will reject on that item alone. (And yes, if you’re getting lots of form rejections on a polished query or book proposal, this may be the reason. Stop revising the query for the millionth time and start blogging.)
I’m not saying you should start blogging when you’re a total newbie, or when you’ve just started that book you’ve always wanted to write. Don’t scatter your energies. If it’s either blogging or writing the book, the book should always win.
But I’d say you’d benefit from starting one when you’re getting ready to send out queries or preparing to self-publish. (Which should probably be when you’re polishing up your second book.)
2) It gets your name into the search engines.
A static website gets less traffic, so the search engine spiders don’t notice it. Before a search engine can tell people where your website is, they have to find it. The way they do that is with special software robots, called spiders. To discover information on the hundreds of millions of Web pages out there, spiders build lists of the words found on Web sites.
The more active the site, the more likely the spiders will find it. Spiders will begin with a popular site, index the words on its pages and follow every link found within the site. (This is why you want to link to other sites from your blog, and you want to encourage other bloggers to link to you from theirs.) This is why blog hops are a great thing for new bloggers.
An active blog that’s getting hits and comments will get noticed. It may take six months to a year, but it will get Google’s attention, then when somebody Googles you, you’ll be on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page (known as SERP.)
Whenever you query an agent or publisher or reviewer, or you send a story to an anthology or literary magazine—pretty much every time you want to do business online—the first thing people will do is Google you. A blog is one of the best ways to get your name on that all important first SERP.
3) You’re a writer.
Blogging is writing. This is your medium. It’s what you do. Like in the Geico ads.
So do it. It’s a great way to polish your writing skills. And if you’re a fiction writer, you’ll learn to write better nonfiction and advertising copy, which you’re going to have to do when you’re marketing your books anyway.
You’ll also get used to writing to a deadline. An important skill.
4) You’ll learn to write Web content.
Writing for a blog teaches you to write for the digital age. You can see immediately what posts are getting the most traffic.
You’ll also learn to use keywords, bulleting, subheaders and minor headers to draw the eye through a post. This is useful for composing any kind of content for the Web.
Once you’re published, you’re going to need to know how to write guest blogposts (one of the best methods of marketing your book) as well as other web content. Why not start practicing now?
5) Other social media are subject to faddism.
Facebook is making it tougher and tougher for people to see your posts if you don’t pay to boost them. And the word is that Twitter will go the same way.
And trend watchers tell us Facebook mostly for old people now. Instagram is the place for younger people at the moment, but that can change on a dime.
We don’t want to forget MySpace…oh, whoops, I guess we already have.
6) Other social media can kick you out any time.
A lot of people have been finding their Facebook accounts deleted because they use a “fake name” (like they put “Author” after their real name.) They have to start all over again getting friends and followers. It can take months to get their following back, if they ever do.
And you can get kicked off through no fault of your own. I got put in Facebook jail for a week once because some troll reported me for spam (for something I posted on my own page.) And once they slapped a CAPTCHA on all my links for about six months for no reason I could see.
7) Control.
Unfortunately, the Internet is infested with trolls, rage addicts, and spammers. I know a woman whose Facebook account got hacked by some diet-drug spammer who hit all her FB peeps with insulting ads. Several promptly “defriended” her before she even knew what happened.
Another friend got hit by a porn site who “tagged” a bunch of amateur porn with my friend’s name so it went all over his page. Stuff like this happens every day.
But on your own blog, there’s that nice “delete” button. A troll, spammer or furious fool shows up and you click it. All gone.
8) It’s FREE!
Oh, I know everybody is going to tell you you need to have a professional, self-hosted blog and pay a designer to set it up for you and pay every month for a really good one, because OMG what will happen when you get 10,000 hits an hour and your blog crashes?
Sorry to pop anybody’s bubble, but that doesn’t happen to author blogs. Not even the superstars get that much blog traffic. We get up to 110K hits a month here, but not per hour. And this free Blogger blog has never crashed. If it ever does, we may move to a self-hosted site and start paying the big bux, but for our purposes, this little freebie blog has been doing very nicely.If you’re starting out, I guarantee a free Blogger or WordPress blog will do you just fine.
NOTE: I don’t recommend using the free blogs on dedicated book sites like Goodreads, BookLikes or SheWrites, even though the sites can be great for other things.
- Those blogs are not as likely to get picked up by search engines so the spiders won’t find it. (If you want your blog on Goodreads, just link to your Blogger or WordPress blog and it will go up on Goodreads whenever you post. But I get about 2 hits a week on the Goodreads version of this blog and 20,000 on this one.)
- You don’t own your own content. Technically the site owns it.
- Those sites can disappear. Lots of writers blogged on RedRoom until it suddenly died in 2014 and everybody lost their blogs.
9) You get to have fun and make friends.
I have made so many wonderful friends through blogging. Friends who live all over the world. These are people I never would have met otherwise. They have been encouraging and supportive as I rebuilt my career, and it’s been wonderful to see so many of them succeed too.
Plus it’s just plain fun to write for my loyal core of readers every week and then see new people come and comment and join the group. It’s a little informal get-together every Sunday that I really enjoy.
10) It’s the only form of social media where you don’t have to act all “OMG I’m totally still in high school!
My favorite reason for blogging. You can be a grown-up. You can discuss complex ideas. You can share them with like-minded people, who can also bring up complex ideas.
If you like to read and write and think, blogging is probably the best medium for you. Most other social media are more about the visuals.
For more on how authors can benefit from blogging, see Robin Houghton‘s guest post on this blog from last spring, “10 Reasons for Authors to Blog.”
by Anne R. Allen September 13, 2015
What about you, Scriveners? Do you blog? Have you tried guest blogging? What part of blogging attracts you? What stops you from blogging? Do you have advice for new bloggers?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
I agree. A free blog is a great way to get started. When I go back to some early posts and see that nine people read it, and then look at what was actually there, I can see that most precious of commodities, progress. It's free. You risk nothing.
Louis–Isn't it amazing when you go back to those early posts and realize nobody was reading? I didn't have a clue how to check my stats for at least six months. I'm not sure I would have kept going if I had. But the upside of that is it's kind of like writing in a personal journal, so you don't feel so afraid of being judged. I think that's why I encourage people to use free blogging platforms. A big, expensive self-hosted blog won't get a bunch of readers right away either, which can feel humiliating. But a little freebie blog–it's kind of like playing. A baby step. Great point!
I am just getting back into the swing of things with my blogger, just as I am with my writing (I stalled a tad and over edited a novella… which is finished). Question for you though, I have short stuff on Amazon and Smashwords but looking over them I think they're crap, do I keep them as is or rewrite them into new versions or just delete and start over?
Piotr–The indie movement has done a lot of writers a disservice by pushing them to publish too soon. I would definitely take the early work down. The handful of sales you might make will not offset the damage to your reputation. You may want to rewrite them later and republish, but having them for sale in a version you think is "crap" is not in your best interest.
Would never have met you, without your blog, Anne! And we both know that THAT would have been a cryin' shame! Excellent post. My college Crafting a Novel class starts this week, and I'll be pointing everyone to this blog, once again.
I'm grateful every day that someone in 2011 coaxed me into starting a comedy blog. Why? Not only does it allow me to reach out to people, but it is also a great place to give many of my comedy credits a second life.
Melodie–That is so true. I met you when you asked to guest post! Otherwise, I'd never have found your wonderful books and bought them! So blogging DOES sell books. 🙂
And it's so true that a blog is a great way to give new life to your older work. I used this one for my Inkwell columns and you used yours for your comedy pieces.
Thank you, COOL HUMAN, for another fine bit of advice. Brava!
CS–I loved that quote from Chuck Wendig! It's all about being Cool Humans together!
Those are all excellent reasons!
And awesome this blog kick started your career again.
My blog indirectly helped my first book hit the Amazon best seller list and stay there for months. Because I was consistently blogging and didn't quit o pull back after the book came out. Because I was involved online. And because of starting the IWSG. It all adds up!
And thanks for mentioning the IWSG Anthology Contest!
Alex–You're another bestselling author who got there because of your blog! Joining your blog community is a great place for new bloggers to start making friends. I highly recommend the Insecure Writers Support Group!
Thanks, Anne. I will circulate this. Just today I was discussing the usefulness of blogging, concluding that it’s necessary but not effective. You’re making me reconsider. BTW what’s the name of the Irish writing site?
Maggie–I think it is effective, if you use it in the right way. (Not for direct sales.) That site was called the Writers' Chronicles or something like that. Long dead now.
I got into social media very reluctantly because it's a time suck. I've never cared much for Twitter, which seemed like being a cocktail party where the one thing I want to do is leave. Blogging has always been my choice because I can control visibility of my content. All I need to do is write a post and publish it. I could post a link on FB and maybe my father sees it (though he does get all the cat pictures!)
I have tried getting guest blogs, but have been largely unsuccessful. Writers tend to think they can dash off a craft how-to post as a bit of promotion and then they see the blog, and I never hear from them again. (The blog is called Soldier, Storyteller. I do a weekly most about women in the military, and then writing topics that are not for beginners, as well as whatever else I want to write about).
If you are interested in guest blogging, you really need to be a regular reader of the blog in question. It does not do to send a request for a guest blog to do a post about Facebook when the blog doesn't talk about social media!
Linda–Facebook is great for cat pictures. Ha! For selling books, not so much.
I really hear you about the guest bloggers who don't read the blog!! I get requests every week and I have a standard reply. "We only invite guests who are familiar with the blog." I'm amazed at how many people want to write about fashion or political issues (or sex) and don't even check to see it's a writing blog. Then there are the 1000s who want me to review their books. Um, see any book reviews around here? Sigh.
I started blogging because one of the mom's in Monster's pre-school told me I should. That was six years ago. Problem is, once I started publishing, it got harder and harder to maintain. Even once a month. And a lot of the people I started with who were super-bloggers, have also fallen by the way-side, preferring, I'm assuming to write instead of blog. It's a cruel conundrum.
But I like the idea it's a website, and with the widget to have readers sign up for my post by email, it works like a newsletter as well. Once a week, once a month, it goes right to their inbox. I also like the interaction. Just this week alone, several long-term friends who had disappeared have now come back. It's great to catch up with them. To see how far we've come since our newbie days. lol. I think I was one of those nine people who first posted here.
Anne–I think we started blogging just about the same time and yes, I think you were one of my very first commenters. We've come a long way, baby!
But I hear you about it being harder to maintain a blog when you're a published author.
Great point that a blog with a subscription function covers both newsletter and blog bases. And how cool that people are coming back. I think blogging may go in cycles. Everybody gets burned out, then they realize they miss the people.
I like blogging because it lets me expand on ideas. Twitter is limiting and who knows if anyone on FB bothers to read long status updates. My blog also helps me network. I have had guests who have invited me to their blogs.
Patricia–I'm pretty sure people on FB don't read long status updates. I've left a few really important news items and nobody even liked them. But put a cat video on, and you get hundreds.
It's the networking that's all-important. Visiting and guesting on other blogs is one of the best ways to do that!
Always good advice, Anne. Thank you! I found you through your blog and you are one of the few I consistently read (and bookmark). Your information is timely and explains the often "huh?" guidelines to this newbie author. lol But I'm still confused on whether I should do a newsletter along with a blog.
Lucy–I'm glad you found us!
I don't think you need a newsletter as well as a blog, as long as that blog has a subscription function.
That's because I think writing books (and stuff like eating and sleeping) is more important than sending out tons of repetitive stuff that annoys people and 99% of recipients delete.
But many marketers disagree with me. They believe that "keeping your name in front of people" is the way to sell them books. I unsubscribe from people who annoy me, but apparently that's just me. So you'll have to decide for yourself how annoying you want to be. 🙂
Thanks, Anne. I quite agree.
Anon–Thanks much for testing the CAPTCHA. I'm glad you got through, David, but I apologize for the Blogger "peanuts."
So inspiring Anne. I can't shout loud enough how much I love my blog, it's been very fulfilling and has really helped me to advance whatever craft I have by just thinking about it. I never got around to making it regular as you advise, and that's on me- it would be so simple, like you say- just stockpile stuff. So far, I can't- I like what I've just written so much I could never save it, have to hit Publish and see what folks think. So now, no surprise, I'm in a drought and haven't posted in a month because the day-job calls. I must get a backlog of stuff to issue on my blog, MUST. All the other benefits I can vouch for in spades.
Everybody- do what Anne tells you here. I mean, do whatever she tells you, all the time! But this.
Will–I'm glad to hear your blog has been good to you, too. I think my parents trained me well to defer gratification. We could never open Christmas presents until after breakfast. Ha! The training has served me well for things like waiting for reactions to blogposts. 🙂 Building a backlog does pay off, if you can channel your inner control freak. 🙂
What a decent human being you are, Anne, to share the intimate information you do with complete strangers. Just when I'm feeling like I'll never be published, a blog post will appear in my inbox from you, and I'm reassured again that I will get there. I don't remember how or when I found your blog, I'm just so glad I did!
Tamara–I don't know if it's being a good human being, but I do want people to learn from my mistakes. Otherwise they were wasted. Ha! Yes, you will get published if you keep at it!
I've been blogging for ages, promote a lot of authors, write reviews, give writing advice, talk about what I feel like talking about, and promote my own books. I love blogging, love Facebook too, not so keen on the rest of the stuff. I do what I like to do and what works for me. good post, as always.
Marilyn–You've hit on the key to all of this. Only do what's fun. If it isn't, it shows, so it will be pointless. You're a veteran, and you know what works for you!
There're so many flashy websites out there that are nothing but self-promotion. Your simple free Blogger site is a breath of fresh air. A great place to be and learn. So glad it's going strong.
I think blogging is here to stay. I hope so. Also, regarding static websites, you can have a free WordPress blog (and a Blogger blog, though it's a bit trickier) set up as a static website. You'll still have a blogging option, but your home page will be static.
Thank you for the post, Anne, happy blogging!
Sasha–I feel the same way, which is why I keep this site homey and friendly. If a site is too slick and flashy, I click away. So many scam sites look like that, so I feel scammed as soon as I land. Especially if there's a pop-up.
Great point about WordPress allowing a static first page. It can look like a paid website. I don't know how to do it on Blogger, but I'm sure a techie could help. Thanks!
Here's the how-to on static Blogger home page:
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/search?q=static+home+page
Hi, Anne, great post as always. I have a small blog on Goodreads that's linked to my author website. I get a good number of hits on Goodreads but not sure what happens on my website. I'm so not a tekkie. But I find that the blog is a good way for me to talk through some of the issues of being a writer, being gay, living through the AIDS epidemic, and other things I've kept to myself for years. In fact, after reading this post I think I'll write something on my Goodreads blog before our Central Coast Writer's Conference next week. As you know I'm teaching the first LGBT Lit Intro ever there and it's quite daunting. People keep saying, "Just be yourself," and "Keep it simple," and plenty of words of encouragement. Still I need to curb my anxieties and do the best I can in an hour for the participants and hopefully meet all their varied needs as writers. Hmm. Rambling so will close. On to think about my blog now. I wouldn't have even gone there if I hadn't read your wonderful post today. See you at the conference. Looking forward but still a little scared. 🙂 Paul
Paul–It would be an interesting experiment to post a blog entry first on your website (if it has a blog function) and link it to GR, and see if you get more hits on the website or GR. I don't know if a blog inside a website is any more visible to Google than one on Goodreads.
Blogging does allow you to practice "being yourself" in public that's very freeing. I know you'll do fine at the CCWC. It's very cool that they've included classes in LGBT lit! I'll see you there!!
Great post, Anne. I used to blog regularly and met you when I was part of the WG2E group blog, but this past year I got overwhelmed with work and my blog was one of the things I chose to drop. Meanwhile, I love reading the weekly posts from you and Ruth as well as a few other friends' blogs. You've inspired me to give it a try again. 🙂
Alicia–Great to see you here. I miss the old WG2E blog!
I hear you about being overwhelmed. I feel that way about 90% of the time. I'm evaluating what I can cut out and what is essential, and I decided the blog is essential for me. That's because it also functions as a newsletter.
But I just don't have the time to visit and guest blog the way I used to and it has probably hurt my visibility. Finding a happy medium is always a challenge. Good luck if you decide to re-start your blog!
Thanks for another timely post, Anne. I'm looking at promo strategies for my first novel and feeling overwhelmed, esp since the bulk of it pertains to authors with multiple books, or so it seems! It also seems I should have done the social media thing long before I even began writing my novel according to what I've been reading. I was seriously thinking of just putting up the book and letting it be, since I am so far behind in the social media thing. Your post is insightful and sensible, as always and answered some questions I had . And I didn't know a blog could also act as a newsletter with the right widget! Glad I saw this posting and its comments! Thanks again.
Cee–Best of luck with your first novel. I think this is a great time to be starting a blog and getting into social media. You should also be working on your second book.
If you're self-publishing I would suggest not launching your first novel right now, but wait until the second is done. If you're looking for a traditional career, when you're querying is the perfect time to be building your platform.
Love it, especially the bit about 'you're a writer' ~ even when I'm not currently writing a novel, having an blog means I write every day – AND, as you say, it keeps your skills honed for things like advertising and blurb writing, and noticing what GETS THE MOST CLICKS – which is what it's all about. Many of my blog posts now feature on about page 4/5 of Google searches ~ so important! I don't know how writers can NOT have a blog – I'm always thinking of stuff I NEED to write about!
Terry–I know my blog has improved my writing in many ways and it has helped me write tighter, more up-to-date prose. Congrats on getting your blog into those SERPs! It sounds as if you love blogging and that will show in your writing!
Thanks so much for this, Anne! I've been reading your blog for a while, but I've never commented before. This time I just had to because you were so inspiring. I never realized the value of a blog, and although I actually like blogging, I tend to neglect it whenever I feel it's not going well. And so, I wanted to say thank you for your generous heart and words, and thank you for sharing your vast experiences. I always learn so much from your posts!
Jan–Thanks so much for jumping in and commenting! It's really important to me to hear from the people who benefit from this blog. It's what keeps me going.! Keep at it!
I was petrified when I first started my blog. Of what, I have no idea. Now, it's my happy place, where I get together with friends and talk crime. I, too, have met so many great people I now call friends, good friends, who support and encourage one another. You find out just how wonderful the writing community really is once you start blogging. Great post as usual, Anne!
Sue–It is a little scary. It's writing in public, and you have no idea if people are going to like it or not.
Community is the most important part of blogging to me, too. A blog is like your living room where you invite people in to chat. Then you can go visit theirs.
Such great advice. I like the last one best. Twitter gets so mean at times I can stand to be there and Facebook is like high school at times. And my blog friends are real.
Susan Says
Susan–Ha! I know. It's been a lot of years since I was in high school and it wasn't that much fun in the first p lace. Blogging lets you be a grown-up.
I laughed over #10! Those are all great reasons. I think its more connective to the author too. I read blogs of my favorite, best-selling authors and love to hear their tidbits of wisdom or oops moments.
Southpaw–I like blogs when I'm wearing my reader hat, too. I love reading blogs of my favorite authors. And you're right about the oops moments. Maybe Ruth and I should share more of those. We all have them.
Anne-Great stuff as always. Blogging is a natural as you say, and content doesn't need to be long anymore. A good image with a paragraph can be a blog piece. One thing I'd like to add about Facebook–even though numbers of 18-29 are declining in active use, it's still the biggest platform they use according to Pew whose data I trust above all else–they have no motive for skewing. Also, older demographics are growing there, but they are not the main audience. They are, in fact the smallest audience ( at only 52% of online adults). 18-29 is still largest at 84%. Thanks again–love this piece!
Chris–Actually, early blog content was about 300-500 words, but now most blog gurus recommend 1200 words or more, since people can feel annoyed when they click through to something that isn't a satisfying read. Tumblr is good for those visual posts, for people who are more into photography than writing.
I don't understand why that 18-29 demographic is supposed to be so special anyway. All advertisers think 20-somethings are the only people who matter. But Boomers have more money and more time to read. And lots of Boomers blog.
I guess they think they are special because at the end of this year, they are predicted to pass boomers as the largest generation out there (according to Pew). I agree about the misgivings of their reading habits. 🙂
Sage advice, as usual, Anne. I agree 100% that's it not about selling bit connecting. I don't know how many direct sales I've made through social media, and I'd be surprised if it was in the five figures. What I do know is that I've made fabulous connections and met some truly cool people. Six of us, authors all, met in person and are now fast friends. We do an annual weekend retreat in which ww share, offer encouragement and bounce ideas around in between general girl silliness and off the wall fun. None it would have happened without social media. Does it sell books? In the long run maybe. But that's not what it's about. We're already booking our flights for next year's Beach Babes getaway.??????
Eileen–Thanks so much for sharing your story of your Beach Babes! Social media can truly make life-long friendships. Being on social media is more like being at a big book fair or writers conference. The networking can help your career in so many ways!
Eileen, those little bathing suit icons didn't show on the blog, but they showed up in the emailed version. Very cute. I have sand in my shoes all the time. I live on a sand dune. It gets old 🙂
Excuse me while I shake the sand out of my shoes 🙂
I'm no novelist but the same rules seriously apply even for poets and essayists. Social media is everything. If you can present yourself in a way people want–kind of like selling your personality–people will hear what you have to say. It's something I preach a lot.
I think it's great you've managed to get your name out there so far with this blog! That's seriously incredible. At one point I had a bit of notoriety with my blog, but the last year has been a bit all over the place in terms of my social-ness(?–I just woke up. Can't find words right now), and actually posting consistently. I think im getting back on track though.
And even though some people take blogging as a serious business, gosh. It's just fun.
Jennifer. Yes. A blog is the best place to establish your "brand" no matter what you write.
Ha! Socialiety? Socialisitude? We need a word!
I think a lot of bloggers do get burned out and need to take a blog-cation. Or at least lighten up. You're right. It needs to be fun!
I love your posts, Anne. This one hit home – I've been struggling with blogging for a good number of months. No matter how many other blogs I read about what a writer can blog about, I feel like I have no focus. I'm told I shouldn't blog about writing if I want to reach my reading audience. But I'm in the middle of a MG time-travel set, and I've got women's fiction stories to write after that. So who are my target readers now? The posts that get the most views come from Google and are on oddball thoughts like optical illusions and the Nat Geo camels, or snuggling into an electric blanket – nothing I can keep going. Writing just for me resulted in too many rants and whines, but somehow one of the comments about treating it like a journal is clicking with me today. 🙂
I've got new-adult kids and their experiences, horse stories, garden musings . . . what's your take on doing blog post series? And since I used to do a writing fiction column for an online content site, I have loads of writing posts to re-vamp. My latest thought was to do one personal and one writing post a week (if I could keep that up), but now I've got a deadline with an editor, so the book comes first.
It will come, I know. And in the meantime, between my earlier work and my blog, my name comes up high on page one of a Google search! Cheers, and thanks for the company today.
Jennifer–Actually, it sounds as if you're doing things just right. An author blog should be about the author's interests, whatever they are. Anything that might interest a potential reader.
Fans like to hear about "oops" moments, as Southpaw said in the comments. Or what inspired you to write a certain scene or character.
And everybody likes to read about animals and pets, so camels are good. 🙂 Anything that's entertaining or funny or makes people want to engage with you can make a good blogpost.
What I'd suggest you do with your writing tip posts is post them once a month and call it "writer's week" or something like that.
Blog series do well for us. Ruth had a very popular one last year on "the Writer's Toolbox", and I've had popular series on blogging and "social media secrets".
Love this post. You hit the proverbial nail on the head with each of your examples for how authors can benefit from a blog. Best of all, blogging helps you connect with your readers and talk with them via blog comments. You can learn so much about your readers through a blog. I can't imagine not having one.
Frances–Yes! I agree that connecting with readers is the top reason for published authors to blog. But even unpublished writers can benefit by networking and making friends with fellow authors and people in the business. Thanks!
Fabulous post as always Anne! 🙂
Debby–Thanks!
The best post I've ever read about why writers should blog. I'm going to bookmark it and reread it when I go through the "Oh so sick of my blog" phase. I remember when you were first starting out. I've followed your blog through the years and one reason I believe you've had so much success with it is you've stayed focused on keeping it real yet professional. Plus haven't gone off on a lot of different tangents or reinvented yourself numerous times.
Karen–I'm so pleased to hear from you! You were one of my first blogfriends. I'm so glad you like the post.
You bring up an interesting point. I think most people in the tech era believe they must reinvent everything in their lives on a regular basis for no particular reason except love of change. But change=stress. For instance, we all have to relearn how to use computers every couple of years for no particular reason except tech companies want to force us to buy new ones. It's a lot of stress that doesn't benefit most people one bit.
So I try to keep things familiar and not change things up too much. I know it soothes me, and I hope it soothes my readers, too.
Oh and I also meant to say, I'm going to share this on WiDo Publishing's Facebook page. I know a lot of our authors struggle with what to do on social media and you are so right that blogging is a natural for writers. It makes no sense NOT to do it!
Karen–Thanks so much for sharing this with your authors!
Anne, you're right on the money here. Before I wrote a book, I started a blog about my male stripping career. It turned out that I was one of the only male stripper bloggers around. Certain stories garnered more attention than others, and before long, I gathered a following. On top of that, Cosmopolitan magazine and Huffington Post used my blog as a reference. I pretty much went through each and every point you listed, Anne.
Dion–Welcome! I don't think I've ever had a stripper on the blog before! (Or a photo of a shirtless man–Ha!) How very cool that Cosmo and the HuffPo discovered you through your blog. Yes, you are proving exactly how beneficial a blog can be. Thanks!
I've been blogging now for roughly 8 1/2 years and I love every minute of it. There really isn't much I don't like about it, except maybe getting worn out from time to time meeting those self-imposed deadlines to get something written.
The one thing I really like about my blog is that it allows me to fully explore my inner Walter Mitty. Unlike good ol' Walter, wimp by day and avenger by night, my inner Walter is the reverse: avenger by day, wimp by night.
Above all, it still allows me to practice my writing skills, especially since I have weekly recap blog elsewhere that requires me to write short succinct posts (about three paragraphs in length).
About the only advice I would give newbies is that if you're gonna blog, make sure you have a valid reason to do it and above all, stick to it.
I'm notorious for not sticking to things, and blogging has been one of the few (besides writing) that I've consistently performed on a weekly basis since 2008.
As for a valid reason, that is key. Don't do it because someone told you to do it. Do it because you want to. Do it because someone elsewhere told you you couldn't voice your opinion properly (corporate censorship is a completely different animal that self-censorship). Do it because a repository for old stories, etc. Whatever the reason, just make sure it's a valid one.
G. B.–Great advice from a long-time blogger! You've hit on the key: blog because you want to, not because somebody says "all authors have to blog" (they don't) or just to "build platform" or impress agents. You need to have something you want to say. Then let it take you where you want.
Thank you so much for this motivating blog. I started my blog four months back.I was really apprehensive if it would work out. I also dont have any social networking site account. As you said, when I googled my name I could see http://www.rakhijayashankar.blogspot.com or the blogs shared in plus.google.com.
I was fed up of the small number of hits and stopped writing but reading your blog, I decided to restart.
THOUSAND THANKS
Jayashankar–Four months is a baby blog. It will take several more before you'll make the search engines, so I'm glad to hear I've motivated you to keep going. Twitter and Google Plus really help get the word out about your blog, so I'd suggest joining them too if you haven't already. Best of luck!
Very cool article, Anne. I'm going to relay some of your thoughts (giving you credit, of course) during the panel discussion on social media at the Writer's Book Camp (Central Coast Writer's Conference) this Friday.
Sandra–I had no idea you were on a panel on social media. I wonder why I wasn't asked? Hmmm. I'm on the panel about how to get book reviews. I have seven on my new book. Ha! This conference should be an adventure.
Honestly, Anne, I can't say why. I was given the choice between 2 topics. One was co-writing. As I've never co-written anything, I took the second choice.
Sandra–Ha! Thanks for giving this blog a shout-out when you were on the panel.
Absolutely, Anne. I blog. I blog like there's no tomorrow. At Writers' Village, I blog because I have to blog. I put out a new post every week (or sometimes a guest post) for two reasons:
(a) to warm my list. I have a big list but if I neglect it for a month they'll forget who I am. (That would be sad because, just now and again, I have to send them a sales promotion to pay for my little daughter's shoes and I don't want folk to ask 'Who's he?')
(b) for fun. Because what else can a man in his dotage do, if he hates television?
Seriously, blogging has brought me into correspondence with many hundreds of authors and serious writers. Several have become close friends. (Last week, one flew to central England from Australia, just to meet me. Or so he said. Another dropped in from Berlin. And more are promised. My local pub is getting crowded.)
It's fun What more reason do we need? And never mind our Amazon book rankings. They can take care of themselves…
Dr. John–And where would you put all that writing humor? Great reasons to blog. Your blog is fun and we can see you enjoy it.
You say, "Do all authors need a blog? Nope. Plenty of successful authors don't have them."
I agree.
Then you say, "But you need to be on social media somewhere."
I disagree. There are a few writers with great marketing skills who can avoid having a blog and even avoid all social media and still end up with a blockbuster selling book.
What stops me from blogging is that I have come up with 75 to 100 of my own unique marketing techniques that 99 percent of authors and book marketing experts are not creative enough to come up with. I have used similar unique marketing techniques to get 111 books deals with various foreign publishers around the world without using a North American foreign rights agent. (My books are now published in 22 languages in 29 different countries.) These techniques involve what my competitors are not doing — instead of what my competitors are doing.
As book marketing expert Bob Baker stated, "Think in terms of opposites. Make a list of all the specific things that major book publishers and mainstream authors do to promote their books. Then imagine what would happen if you did the exact opposite."
It's all about creative marketing, which has helped me sell over 875,000 copies of my books worldwide. This is not about being a copycat and doing what everyone else is doing.
Regarding creative marketing, I like this quip by an author whose nickname is “The Name Tag Guy”:
“I once saw my book for sale on Ebay. For two dollars. (sniff) So, do you know what I did? I bid $250 on it. Then bought it. That’s marketing baby!”
— Scott Ginsberg (The Name Tag Guy)
In short, I suggest that authors who want to be much more effective than 99 percent of authors in promoting their books go against conventional wisdom. Stay away from social media. Also stay away from other things the majority is doing such as the trendy free ebook promotions on Amazon. You will find, as I have found, that you will attain greater success than 99 percent of authors attain. As Scott Ginsberg says, “That’s marketing baby.”
Ernie J. Zelinski
The Prosperity Guy
“Helping Adventurous Souls Live Prosperous and Free”
Author of the Bestseller “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free”
(Over 260,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the International Bestseller “The Joy of Not Working”
(Over 280,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)
Ernie–You sound like the Donald Trump of book marketing! Congratulations on being so much more creative than the rest of us. Enjoy your success!
Oh Anne! What a delight your post was! I have to confess that I have a blog and I have let it just wilt and float about without any of my input in ages. You have inspired me to get back on that horse. Thank you! You've got a new subscriber who is truly grateful.
Kelly–Welcome! I hope you can get your blogging groove back! Remember to have fun with it. 🙂
Hi, Anne!
This feels my heart with stupid, unwarranted hope…I'm a few years (I hope) behind you – I have just published my first humor/chicklit novel Shizzle, Inc. Humor never sells? Not if you have a blog! I've had mine for about three years, and the first couple were slooooowww, but now I get several thousand hits a month, even up to two thousand in one week. I think it was thanks to the blog and the parallel Twitter with 22K followers, that I managed to get to #72 on Humor bestseller list on Amazon (even if I didn't stay there for very long).
I blog about my journey as a self-published author, and for me personally there's another benefit – I get to write down what I did and what worked, both in publishing and marketing. When the time comes to publish my second novel, I will use my own blog to remind me how to get those darn page breaks to work on a Kindle edition…
Thank you for this article, it made my day 🙂
Ana–I'm glad to hear the blogging thing is working for you the way it does for me. And that's a whole passel of Twitter followers. Congrats!
And yes, humor does sell. Several of my books have been bestsellers and they're all comedies. People like to laugh, even if they don't all laugh at the same things. Thanks for the positive feedback!
All very good reasons to have a blog! I've been writing articles online for several years, but only recently started my own blog. One of my reasons (besides all the excellent ones you've listed above) is because sometimes I want to write about a topic or experience that won't fit on one of the other platforms I've been writing on.
Diana–A blog is a real boon to a freelance writer. It's a perfect place to showcase your work and draw new customers. And yes, you can write on whatever topic you want and it doesn't have to fit anybody's editorial policies.
Thank you Anne for writing this article about blogging. I'm still getting used the habit of trying to post regularly (right now I'm trying to do at least a post a week). Also thank you for speaking at the conference this weekend. The lecture on dealing with reviews had really helpful information!
Benny–I'm so glad you liked our review presentation. We had a whole lot more to tell you, but our time got cut because things started late. Welcome to the blog. I'll have much more on blogging in the next few months. Once a week is best if you can do it. Preferably on the same day, so people will know when to stop by.
Great post! I'm trying to blog about once a week as well. Still very early into it, so this was very helpful. Do you think a blog has to be focused on one narrow area, or can it be broader? Laser or sunlight sort of thing… should one consciously restrict topics to keep it focused for the audience?
Gene–Welcome to the blogosphere! I do think once a week is best when you're starting out. I feel author-bloggers are better off not focusing on a niche, but keeping things fluid. There's a lot more blogging advice on the "how to blog" page. The menu is in the sidebar. You might also want to read my post from last August "What Should a Novelist Blog About". http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2015/08/what-should-novelist-blog-about-dos-and.html