“There are millions of blogs out there.
What’s the point of adding another to the mix?
What are the chances that my blog will stand out from the hordes of others competing for the limited attention of readers?”
Sound familiar?
Many writers feel this way, but is it a sound argument?
Go ahead and change “blog” to “book” and re-read the above three sentences.
Uh-oh. See what happened there? You’ve just argued yourself out of a career in writing…
So, let’s assume that if you feel your book has a chance of standing out, despite all those that came before, then so does your blog.
But the bigger question that I think writers are really asking is this: will the results I receive from a blog be worth the time I put into it?
Many articles have been written–with proponents on both sides of the issue–as to whether blogging is a necessary and effective tool for authors wanting to “get known” and sell more books.
In some cases, people share what has worked (or not worked) for them and then attempt to extrapolate that as a general rule for all authors (or all fiction authors, or all new authors, etc.).
In other cases, writers are told to blog “for the love of it”.
And if you hate it, stop.
Normally, I’m firmly entrenched in the hate-it-avoid-it camp, but this can be disingenuous advice for writers who haven’t been given the whole picture and are searching for corroboration that blogging (and fingers-crossed, the whole marketing make-work project in general), is just a waste of writing time.
Stopping (or not starting) is also the knee-jerk reaction to posts that say blogging and social media are too distracting for new writers, and that they should just concentrate on their writing.
Fortunately, this isn’t just one more article to admonish you into starting a blog. But neither is it a get out of “blogging jail” free card.
Whether you blog or not should be based on more than “if you hate it, don’t do it” or “well it worked for me, so…”. Your decision should be based on your own answer to the question: will the results I receive from a blog be worth the time I put into it?
What follows are some things that may help you answer this question.
What’s On Your To-Do List?
One of the biggest drawbacks to blogging is that it’s time-consuming.
“Epic” content doesn’t just grow on trees, and there is often a direct relationship between quality content and the time it takes to produce it.
And that means more time away from writing, right?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, your pure writing time might be decreased somewhat, but your “writing career” time remains the same.
The issue for many writers lies more in the precedence they give to their writing careers: low priority = limited time invested.
What gets prioritized, gets done. What can wait, waits.
I’m not sure who started the nasty rumor that a successful writing career could be forged in your spare time.
Any prosperous career opportunity will demand a concerted and continuing effort that’s not limited to a few early morning social media moments and the 20 minutes of writing you can squeeze in before you have to pick the kids up from soccer practice. (“Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness,” according to Malcolm Gladwell.)
And in today’s world, being a writer no longer means you just write (if it ever did).
Can you get on the horn to your fairy godmother and let her know that you’re ready to blow this popsicle stand and start living the writer’s life of your dreams?
Probably not. But you can start mapping out a plan to scratch the “aspiring” off your job title, and replace it with “professional”.
Embrace the uncertainty, and jump in with both feet. It’s difficult to make an impact if you aren’t willing to do the work, so whether you decide to blog or not, prioritize your goal to be a writer, and accept that your time, attention, and focus will be required to bring your plans to fruition.
Learn To Write Out Loud
“Blogging is … to writing what extreme sports are to athletics: more free-form, more accident-prone, less formal, more alive. It is, in many ways, writing out loud.”
Blogging is not for everybody. Nothing is.
But one of the best things about blogging – like writing – is what you can achieve through the process.
To get a little Zen, there is much more to the practice of blogging than merely drawing traffic to your site. (Tweet this)
In fact, blogging helps you to do the following:
Encourage Self-Expression
Your blog reflects your interests, ideas, passions, and personality. It helps you to tell your story, and it strengthens the connection between the artist and the work.
Your blog will also reveal the passions and interests of your readers, and those you attract to your blog will often help shape your work going forward.
Share Your Vision
You write for a reason. You have something valuable to share with the world.
Clarifying and sharing your ‘Why’ or your purpose is not only important for you, but it’s inspirational for those who choose to follow you.
Reinforcing and re-committing to your reason for being through your blog content can lead to more than a book sale–it could lead to a revolution.
Exercise Your Writing Muscle
Writing requires discipline, focus, and the cultivation of your unique voice. Conveniently, so does blogging. Sharpening your blogging skills can also help you hone your writing skills as well.
And although blogging can include all types of media from images and video to podcasting and infographics, good writing is often the glue that holds it all together.
Become a Thought Leader
People may read your blog long before they’ll purchase your books. Offer them a fresh perspective and a site full of valuable, entertaining, or useful information.
Thought leadership can help you unlock a whole new level of your writing career, and making a difference (not just being different) is the key.
Take Control
Technology has leveled the playing field, and writers have more control over their writing destinies than ever before. But maintaining control hinges on owning your own assets.
No matter how robust your social media following, you don’t own it. The same can be said for blogs built on free-hosted sites like WordPress.com or Blogger.
There are many perks to having a self-hosted WordPress blog, but one of the most significant is that you have full control.
Command Your Author HQ
Your blog is where you can ground all your marketing live wires.
Your speaking engagements, book signings, blog tours, social media efforts, and so on, all need to drive readers back to your home base for more exceptional content, more engagement, and a deeper reader experience.
It’s there that they will get the full picture of who you are as a writer.
Build Trust Just By Being There
I may be a blog bigot, but if a company or a business doesn’t have a website (or worse, it looks like it was last updated in 2011), it does not leave a good impression.
An online presence is imperative: 61% of global Internet users research products online, and 131 billion searches are conducted per month on the web (Hubspot). (30 billion of those are me trying to find answers to the weird questions my kids ask me, but my point is still valid…)
A modern blog/website with a thorough and up-to-date About page, some activity in the comment section, and a decent number of shares on the posts, does wonders for the trust factor.
And if it’s a choice between an unknown author and one I can find more about – or better, connect with – online, which writer do you think has a better chance of getting read?
Experience Some Flexibility
No matter what social media platform you choose to navigate, there are always restrictions in some form.
With a blog, however, even writers with relatively little technical know-how can create and share content and interact with their readers without restrictions.
Earn the Right to Sell
Some authors visibly flinch at the idea of self-promotion. I’m sure I’ve said this before, but if it feels dirty, you’re doing it wrong…
If you use your blog to show your ideas and expertise, deliver valuable resources and content, and to connect and engage with your readership, you will organically build trust and credibility.
The more confidence people have in you, the more likely they are to support you and your work – without the need for high-pressure sales tactics and aggressive arm-twisting.
Build a Community
It’s not impossible to build a community around your brand and your writing without a blog. But a blog creates an ideal environment to bring together a group of like-minded people without any of the limitations previously noted.
You have flexibility, control, no imposed restrictions, a central hub of activity – and best of all? You won’t have to start all over again if Facebook, Twitter, WordPress.com, Blogger, or any other free platform decides to flip a switch, close their doors or delete your profile.
Strengthen Reader Engagement
One of the most underrated and underutilized aspects of a blog is the ability to capture email addresses and build a subscriber list.
A responsive email list of interested readers should be one of your top priorities, as it gives you direct access and insights into your community that other mediums can not.
Your blog comment section may also be a goldmine of opportunity for discussion, learning, and connecting with your fans.
Reach a Different Audience
Every platform has its own rhythm, its own ambiance, and its own crowd. Sure there’s overlap, but certain characteristics draw people to certain forms of social media, and blogs are no exception.
You can be a YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest rockstar, but adding a blog to your marketing mix will help you reach parts of your target audience that would never have found you on other social media outposts.
Connect With the Gods
Okay, maybe not the Gods, but popular authors, bloggers, and industry experts can often become more accessible when you play the fellow blogger card.
I’ve found that the more effort you put into your blog, and the more value you offer, the more help and guidance you receive from “up above”.
Blogging creates a shared interest, a common goal, and a conversation starter. It acts as a supercharged resume and it can give you the opportunity to network, partner up on projects, or even create a little reciprocity in the forms of guest posting and link building.
Increase SEO (Whatever That is)
Do you remember the Marvel Comics character Juggernaut? He’s described as having virtually unstoppable momentum. That’s kind of what you’re looking to set your site up for with good SEO.
SEO is a collection of tactics – one of which might be writing highly engaging, relevant posts – that can help you get your site a better position on search engine results pages (SERPs). Better results equals more traffic.
The more visitors to your site, the better your chance at winning over your true fans with your overwhelmingly useful, entertaining, sharp-witted, humorous, controversial, cutting-edge, *add your adjective here*, blog content.
The better you are at providing what your visitors seek, the higher your SERP ranking and the more traffic Google (and others) send your way…
Show Your Commitment and Professionalism to Your Craft
A well-maintained, active blog shows that you care about your brand and how it is perceived.
That you are willing to devote resources to enhance your readers’ experience of your work, as well as provide the opportunity for communication and engagement, speaks volumes about your commitment to your craft and your confidence in your writing talent.
Achieve Personal and Professional Growth
Blogging requires experimentation, creativity, and the willingness to explore new opportunities and ideas.
It often pushes you outside your comfort zone, and knowing you have an impatient audience awaiting your next post can do wonders for your writing productivity.
Your writing, your blog, and your community will evolve and grow over time. And you may find that the results you receive from your blogging experience can be internal as much as external.
“I Might Start a Blog If I Knew Where To Start.”
Again, this post isn’t about convincing you to start a blog. It’s about giving you the information you need to make a more educated decision on whether or not blogging is right for you.
But, to circumvent a potential decision-making roadblock, here are my top two recommendations for setting up your author website/blog (Bluehost is for do-it-yourselfers and Squarespace is for the “technology gives me allergies” crowd):
Bluehost: One of the 20 largest web hosting companies, Bluehost is a reliable choice and makes getting set up with WordPress super easy. Customer support is excellent, and you can be up and running in minutes! I highly recommend using Bluehost to satisfy your author website web hosting needs. For more information on self-hosting, WordPress and Bluehost, check out this post on how to Set Up Your WordPress Blog in Under 15 Minutes.
Squarespace: provides software as a service for website building and hosting. You use pre-built website templates and drag-and-drop elements to create beautiful websites. It’s an ‘all-in-one’ platform that gives you everything you need to run your author business website.
[Please note: I will earn a small commission if you buy a hosting package from one of my links, at no extra cost to you. This helps Your Writer Platform continue to provide loads of free, quality content. I appreciate your support!]
Bottom Line: Is Blogging Really Necessary for Writers?
Necessary? No. But blogging presents an exceptional opportunity for those writers who feel – given the information above – that their return on investment with blogging is a positive one.
What do you think? Can a blog help take your writing ‘hobby’ to the next level?
If you have a blog, what benefits or advantages do you feel it brings to your writing and your writing business? What are some of the drawbacks that you’ve experienced?
If you don’t have a blog, what are the obstacles? Time? Lack of interest? Technology issues? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Kimberley, thanks for another great article. I’ve explored many of these same topics, and come to many of the same conclusions.
“One of the most underrated and underutilized aspects of a blog, is the ability to capture email addresses and build a subscriber list.”
I think this is the crux of the matter for many nonfiction authors. Establishing a sustainable business, really getting a return on your investment in blogging, getting to the next level of engagement with your readers, and actually making a profit for many bloggers will depend on how well they build a list.
For fiction authors, blogging may be something they want to add to their overall writing and marketing mix. For nonfiction authors, I consider it almost a necessity to have a blog and to know what to do with it, and your site is a great place to learn.
P.S. You probably meant “horde”
Thanks for your input, Joel!
I find it interesting that fiction and nonfiction authors are often treated differently in regard to platform and business building. For me, there is not much of a distinction.
From my perspective, a blog (or at least a frequently updated website), an email list, and some social media activity all wrapped around a solid brand and purpose are things that all writers should have nailed down. They are the foundational underpinnings of a solid platform.
Blogging, engagement and profitability should be a “necessity” (or at least a priority) for both groups, no?
I’d love to hear your take on this, Joel! (Oh, and thanks for the catch on “horde” – I could use an editor… 😉 )
I’ve heard this thought expressed many times – that platform building for writers is essentially the same, whether they write fiction or non-fiction. I’ve done both, and in my experience they’re two entirely different beasts. Yes, both use the same tools – a blog, social media, email lists, etc.- but the content is worlds apart. Non-fiction is focused on becoming a thought leader, in sharing information, in showing expertise. I’m still trying to figure out how to translate that into fiction, without turning it into a non-fiction blog about publishing. My readers don’t care about the nuts and bolts of indie publishing, and since I write fantasy, I suspect they don’t want to look behind the curtain to see how the magic happens. I’d love to hear your take on this!
So interesting, Tricia, because I usually hear the opposite – that platform building is for nonfiction authors, and that fiction authors (especially new authors) should primarily focus on their writing.
My answer is probably more suited to a post than a comment, but here’s my take on the topic:
1) ‘Platform’ is just all the things you do to create awareness, authority, influence and so on for yourself and your brand. Blogging, social media, speaking engagements, business cards, and even the content you create are some of the tools that can help you achieve this awareness. But regardless of the tools you choose to use, attaining the awareness/authority/influence is a must for anyone who has something to ‘sell’.
2) What you are ‘selling’ can be more than just a physical product. It could be an idea, a philosophy or even a movement. It could have a price, or it could be available for free, but what you ‘sell’ must have value to a group or market.
3) Your platform, then, evolves from the specific (and hopefully) successful combination of tools and tactics you choose to use to facilitate your (valuable) product getting into the hands of those who recognize its value. So, from my perspective, it’s irrelevant whether you write fiction or nonfiction, sell handmade notebooks on Etsy, or run a brick and mortar business – a platform gives you an advantage.
4) How you reach those who are ‘buying what you’re selling’ (both figuratively and literally), is the tricky part. But it doesn’t negate the need for a platform. The key to figuring out the ‘how’ is intimately knowing the ‘who’. The better you know the needs and desires of the people you are trying to connect with, the easier it is to create the content that will resonate with them.
Find out what your readers want and need, Tricia, and give it to them. Not as easy as it sounds, I know, but valid nonetheless.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Excellent advice as always my friend! I shall pass this along as always and keep learning! 🙂
Thanks a bunch, Debby! Super grateful for all your support! 🙂
Kimberley,
Thanks for a great post. Timely for me and your insight and analysis are much appreciated. I’ll soon be publishing a nonfiction book and intend to establish a blog–and want to build it on a sound and specific editorial agenda (just as I would if publishing a magazine). I find your breakdown of subject headings useful in trying to think through that editorial agenda. I bet others would, too.
Keep up your good and generous work!
Glad this post came at the right time for you, Ryan!
What also might be helpful is to do a little research on what other nonfiction authors are doing in your niche. What’s working? What’s not?
Then look outside of your topic area, and get inspired by other authors – and even other industries. What are designers, musicians, online marketers, photographers, gardeners, personal development bloggers, etc. doing with regard to their editorial calendars? With a little tweaking, what might work for you?
Congrats on your new book, and best of luck with the blog!
Kimberly, I can say that all of your points have been true for me, and then some. I’ve been blogging for a year. Trying to attract more subscribers, I wrote a short ebook for those who signed up, then put it on Amazon for $.99 just as a convenience for my followers who preferred that format. And then I made some decent money without expecting to!
My ebook in turn netted me a radio interview this past week–without my asking for one. I am now working on a series of teleseminars based on the ebook.
I’m also writing a full-length work of creative non-fiction. Since the idea for it was first expressed on my blog, the book moved from having a little bit of personal experience to being half memoir. I would not have written it this way were I not blogging.
Yes, blogging takes a lot of my time, but it has been the way for me to build an audience and a community, and dip my toe in the water before diving in.
Thanks for all your advice and links. I am using them with success!
Woo hoo! Isn’t it amazing how one thing leads so unexpectedly to another, Connie? I dig how the universe works!
You are more than welcome for any advice or tips that have helped, and I appreciate you sharing your blogging experience. Just think, maybe something you’ve mentioned from your journey has now sparked an idea for someone else!
Kimberly,
You must be my magical fairy Goddess! I had to read this article from steeple to stern to get the full ride…or visit. Yes, ma’am, I am pleasantly satisfied: I know that my first mind has been confirmed. I’d already said I was returning to my frayed relationship with my blog…but one thing led to another and I didn’t make time for it! Now I see where I could have and where I will.
I stepped away from my beloved blog, which I miss, thinking that I had no time to do it. Ten writing projects were all calling my name and digits simultaneously. Yet if I am honest, painstakingly so, I will admit that I’d had time. (I’m nocturnal! Am up half the night Facebooking and chatting and doing 1,000 things other than maintaining my blog). See, I can be honest with Miss Claudia!
Now, Kimberly, I’m inviting you to my blog home. Let me clean up, pick up, wipe off, flap out and polish the brass. Maybe sharpen a pencil or two. And then I’d love for you to come for a visit. Yes, I know you’re busy, but how else will you know you had a major impact on this little Florida chick?
Again, thank you! Merci beaucoup!
YEAAAAA
Amor & Luz,
Claudia
I’ll take Goddess over Godmother any day, Claudia! 😉
Thanks for the kind words, and I’m happy to be at least a little responsible for re-igniting your blogging flame. And I most certainly know how easy it is to “feel” busy without actually getting much done!
Let me know when you’re ready to give the blog tour – I’ll be there!
This is a long one, I’ll have to come back and read the other half later.
There was an author on one of the publishing forums today showing off their new site design. It looked pretty good, with their books all displayed nicely, but they didn’t have a blog and their email sign-up form was on every page.
They mentioned that they just took down the blog because it didn’t seem worth the trouble. There’re very few times when I can’t respond to something because I’m flabergasted, but this was just one of them.
Like I mention in the post, blogging isn’t for everyone, Greg. But for those of us who do choose to blog –and enjoy the results– it’s hard to understand why someone would feel like it’s a waste of time.
That said, there are many authors valiantly blogging their hearts out, but experiencing relatively few results. The problem, though, is that it’s not blogging that’s flawed, but usually their application of it. (And hopefully that’s where I can help!)
Thanks for your input!
I have more than one blog. One to promote my book (just published), one to promote our events that we do, (actually I think I can re-name it?) and one to help promote other Renaissance Performers and Merchants from around the US and now the World which now has over like 60k hits or something.
I think blogging is a great tool to use for free marketing your business or service and especially for your book. The trick is to keep to the theme of the book or blog, so for instance, my book is a picture book for kids, so I need to make sure that all what I write on it is at least PG 13 rated.
I also want to add that if you comment on other blogs such as this one, the SEO rank goes up for YOU and or your book.
Gia
Great advice, Gia! Thanks for adding to the discussion.
It’s funny how some people struggle with the time commitment that one blog requires, while others flourish with two or three! Good for you!
And regarding blog commenting, a link pointing back to your site from a relevant, popular blog does help with SEO, but it also helps you get noticed by other readers of the blog (perhaps some of your future fans), as well as the blog owner (build relationships). Win, win, win! 🙂
To blog or not to blog ?
1. To blog: it’s one of the easiest ways to mine your creativity if words are important to you.
2. To blog: It can be the rough draft for a book.
3. To blog: it can be a lonely place or a party.
4. To blog: it can be where you go to sort things out, ask questions, tell stories, hang out, meet like-minded people,
rant, set an intention; find yourself, be yourself, reinvent yourself
5. To blog: it can start out being one thing and morph into something else
6. To blog: it can be an invitation, a passion, a calling; a Grandiose Idea, a doorway or a dead end
7. To blog: it can get you started, it can hold you back
8. To blog: it can challenge you, provoke you, be a still small voice or a shout out that screams, “Pay attention!”
9. To not blog: If you don’t get excited about the possibilities of what might happen, then blogging may not be for you.
Agreed!
And a much more succinct version than mine… 😉
Thanks for taking the time to share your insights, Kathy!
Thanks for such a great article, full of practical advice , hints and tips.
My pleasure, Maria! Glad you found it useful. 🙂
You are simply amazing. So much more I have to say that I’m going to have to read your post again to reduce it to the “bullet points” I’ll take away – which will then fuel my next article. You are an inspiration and a great read. If I sound like a raving fan, then you get me!
Also, seeing that you respond so immediately to people who comment is fascinating. Again, you inspire!
Please thank Molly Brown for posting your stuff on Facebook. I might not have found you, otherwise.
Brian Rouley – http://brianrouley.com/
That’s awesome, Brian! I LOVE raving fans! 😉
And THANK YOU, Molly Brown!
Thank you so much for writing this. Your article is really one of the best I have read on the subject of blogging!
Thanks, Maria! 🙂
Very informative article and excellent comments by readers. As a new author with a non-fiction book due out early in 2014, my disappointment due to inexperience is getting readers to my blog. Blogging & writing is fun but stimulating participation is the challenge.
Glad you found the article helpful, Howard! Getting traffic to a new blog is another post (or 20!), but you can make your life easier by knowing exactly whose attention your trying to catch.
A problem for new bloggers is that sometimes they’re also new authors – which could mean that they haven’t identified exactly who their target audience is. If you know your ideal reader intimately, it’s much easier to create content that really speaks to them. You won’t have to wonder what to blog about; you’ll already know.
And if you’re producing content that your readers love, they’ll not only keep coming back, but they are also likely to share with like-minded friends…
Hi Kimberley
Great post, thanks
I entirely agree with you about the value of a well-maintained blog. I think the secret, for a new author (particularly fiction) deciding whether or not to have one, is in figuring out what the point of it is. As you say, it isn’t about sales, but about creating your brand and a place that can be the hub of your operations.
When i started, I had no idea what i wanted to blog about and found the first six months hugely dispiriting, as well as creating some truly horrible content 🙂 However, once I worked out that my blog was a place for me to share the stories that don’t make it into my novels, and hopefully in the future, other peoples’, the whole thing made sense and is now a pleasure.
I think for many people, whose passion is writing stories, a factual blog can be a real drain, so it’s about figuring out where you can add value in a way that resonates with you as an author.
I think 🙂
btw, I’m impressed at how much time you spend finding answers for your kids. My daughter’s only two and a half, and already catching me out 🙂
cheers
Mike
Oh Michael, at two and a half the questions are still easy! It will take your daughter a couple more years to come up with the really tricky stuff! 😉
I think your early blogging experience is typical of many writers. It’s not blogging in itself that’s the problem for many newbies, but the “application”.
Blogging is a form of communication. If you don’t know what you want to say, or whom you want to say it to, things fall apart pretty quickly. And often writers will see less than stellar results and come to the conclusion that blogging is a waste of time – which it is, if you’re not clear on your objectives.
“Figuring out where you can add value in a way that resonates with you as an author”, as you said, is key. I’m glad you’ve found your stride, Michael!
Kimberley: Very well conceived arguments for having a blog. For me as a tax attorney, it hits many of your points but most important is that I do like doing it. It also let’s my readers learn about the law. It also gives back to the world by giving strategies and prevention measures. My only problem is the time commitment as I still have a law practice to run and a life to live. But the effort has been well worth it and gratifying.
I agree that despite the numerous perks to blogging, to do it well does require a significant amount of time.
I think that it would often be easier for people to justify the time if they could correlate their efforts directly to book sales (or at least some form of income). But it rarely works that way. In fact, much of the success of a marketing strategy comes from the coordination and synergy of multiple tactics, all working together to create momentum and excitement for your book.
I’m glad that for you, Steven, the time has been worth it, and from your comments I believe your readers are grateful for your efforts as well. 🙂
Love the comparison to extreme sports. It is like that, isn’t it? Half the time you’re winging it, not knowing how or where your thoughts will land, but it is refreshing to just think out loud. And when someone comments, there’s bliss in knowing you’ve actually connected with someone in this beautiful universe. Thanks for such a thorough overview.
I’m experiencing bliss right now, Diana! 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and I agree with both your points. Two fantastic rewards to blogging is the “voicing” of your thoughts and that -on occasion- you may even get to experience someone’s affirmation of those thoughts. Very cool!
I’m thissss close to completing my first novel and it’s been a struggle–between family stuff and full-time work stuff, I don’t have much writing time, and I’ve always wondered how I could possibly find time to blog. In addition to my fear that I don’t have anything interesting to share, I worry I can’t blog consistently. But after reading this post and the comments, I’ve decided my writing is important enough for me to find the time and blog. Thanks for the overview and encouragement.
Good for you, Ellyssia! Congrats on your first novel, and for deciding to give your writing the time and commitment it deserves! 🙂
I know a lot of writers struggle with this, but your writing career shouldn’t be so far down on the list of priorities. It’s kind of like a “what came first: the chicken or the egg?”, thing. If you don’t put time into your writing career, it can’t flourish; and if your writing career is not flourishing, you feel guilty spending too much time on it…
Right?
Kimberley, thanks for a VERY inspiring and confidence boosting article. I’m a newish eauthor and blogger (4 months/40 odd posts) who’s been agonising over my blog. I understand the wisdom of having one, but the time required and coming up with ‘great content’, then little reward are hard to swallow when I feel I could be spending that effort on books. Am I being impatient? Probably. Am I going to give up? No, because I believe I will improve with experience and just need to get over this little sppedbump which seems like a uphill marathon. Is this more or less how it is for some of us?
Leonie, I think this is more or less how it is for ALL of us! 😉
I think you hit the nail on the head when you noted “great content, little reward”. I think that many authors have the expectation that there will somehow be a direct relationship between the work they put into their blog, and the results that they see.
While this tends to be true over the long term, ask any entrepreneur and you’ll find that a ‘start up’ requires a huge amount of initial investment (time, resources, and yes patience), before any significant return is actualized.
Short answer: don’t give up! You’ll get there! 🙂
I loved this article — it was just what I needed. I love my blog but it has so few readers that there are days I chide myself for having it at all. Still and all, it’s likely I’ll keep at it — thanks for the article encouraging us all to keep trying. Ho ho Ho!
If you’ve been at it for awhile, with no real results, consider doing a little investigating, Juleee. There is no benefit to being a blog martyr and continuing to sacrifice time and resources for little to no gain.
Consider this:
1) Do you know your ‘why’ and exactly what you have to offer to your readers?
2) Do you know your readers inside and out? Have you identified their wants, needs, pain points? Are you providing what they are searching for?
3) Are you spending about 80% of your blogging time promoting your content; about 20% of your time creating it?
4) Is the content you do create, top notch and worthy of sharing?
5) Have you done your homework on how to create, manage and market a blog? (Hint: the ‘build it and they will come’ approach, doesn’t work).
Doing more of what isn’t working, isn’t a good business plan. Try to shake things up a bit to see if a different approach gives you different results.
Keep at it, but focus on getting the results you want from your blog, Juleee, not just valiantly ‘hanging in there’. 😉
Good luck!
Thanks for sharing such great information and a fresh perspective! This is different than any blogging advice I’ve researched so far. I just created my blog in October and I’m slowly (but surely) learning the tricks and technicalities of it every day. So far, I’m getting limited traffic, but I’ve only just added a lot of content/extras with tabs and such and don’t have very many posts. (I wrestled with adding the Facebook button FOREVER but finally figured it out through research.) I’m also on Facebook/Twitter and have been advertising my new content there, which earns me a few page views, but I still have few followers and no comments.
However, coming from a person who used to despise writing about herself, I am thoroughly surprised by how much I adore blogging and becoming engaged in social media, because not only does it let the world know you exist, but it really makes me feel like a professional in my chosen career. Plus, I just love helping people, and if one of my posts or informative sections inspires someone or points someone in the right direction, then that alone is worth blogging for! 🙂
And I love your bit about writers thinking they can make a career in their spare time when the reality is different, because I am completely dedicated and wouldn’t want anything less than doing everything I can to establish myself as an author. 🙂 (My book is finished and I’m currently seeking agent representation, but I wish I would have begun building my platform even sooner.) God bless and thanks again for sharing; you’ve definitely inspired ME! 🙂
Congratulations on starting your blog, Kristina! That’s a HUGE step, so kudos to you for taking the leap!
I think mindset is very important, and valuing your work enough to represent it, and yourself, in a professional manner will make a huge impact on how others will perceive you. It will also make an impact on how you perceive you. 😉
If you don’t believe in your work enough to invest time and money into it, why should anyone else take you seriously?
I love how most of your reward so far has been internal: feeling professional, helping others, feeling like you’re being heard. Keep at it, Kristina, and when the readers start to increase, you’ll find that the internal–and external rewards–increase exponentially.
For more resources on getting your author blog off to a great start, check out these two resources: 11 Author Website Must Have Elements and 13 Blog Post Blunders (And What You Should Do Instead).
Best of luck on your journey!
Kimberly, this is an excellent post. As a beginner, I have struggled with providing fresh content, but it is beginning to come together now that I have defined my niche better. I am about to publish the first of a series of crime novels that have a background in the Saddlebred show horse industry. I am going to do a series of posts about horse shows and some of the iconic horses and breeding. I hope the blog will help support the books.
Sounds good, John! Your own experiences in the show horse industry will really add some depth, plus some real life examples of insurance fraud and racketeering might also be fun.
Good luck! 🙂
I think you’re premise is totally correct. In fact, in a little over a year of blogging, my education blog (Dr. Kimberly’s Literacy Blog) is ranked at 240 out of the top 500 education blogs. And, a blog post that keeps getting lovin’ has morphed into a book which was wanted by two publishing companies (and I got to choose). The bottom line is that blogs are one very important piece of building an author’s platform.
That is fantastic, Kimberly!
A blog alone is not going to drag you from obscurity to notability, but it is a significant part of the foundation that helps amplify what it is you want to share with people.
Congrats on your success so far! You’ll find that as you build momentum with your blog and your platform, more and more opportunities (like books, speaking, consulting) will present themselves.