Blog All About It

I started a blog to help support my book last spring. I just jumped in and signed up for a blog on blogger and then checked out books on blogging. (Note you should probably do this in the reverse order, don't be so anxious to begin.) Next I started reading blogs as much as I could and one day day I discovered a significant number of my writing hours were getting sucked away as I trolled the Web for food blogs, and I soon became hooked on more than a few blogs myself.

• Hit the library and check out all the books about blogging that you can find.

• Take your time, give your topic some time to gel before you jump into the blogging world.

A blog can enhance your platform and it can be fun writing practice, but once you get followers don't change the topic on your blog and expect them to automatically follow you. It's irritating when you read a blog and the blogger changes topic or even quits blogging a few months down the line.

Read other blogs and think about what attracts and repels you. Check out this or this one and read the comments. What do these readers connect with? I love good pictures and simplicity. For me, get to the point. And I like a story, but I want one that's compelling. Think "Once upon a time . . . " Some blogs are disjointed and head down the road like drunk drivers. Clean up your writing before you hit "publish post." Blog readers spend and average of 90 seconds scanning the post, so make that 90 seconds count. Use bullets, numbers and bold titles.

• Make your blog compelling and the text easy to read. Keep the topic of your book in mind. No one cares what you had for lunch.

I hate ads that flip across the screen as I try to read a post, or reading some blow hard blogger's account of some movie they just saw that has no real point for the topic at hand. Remember your blog readers. And if you haven't started blogging because you think someone won't read your blog for free, why would they pay $25.00 to read your book?

• Make the information on your blog useful; don't fill your blog with excess clutter and too many ads could make you look like a money grubber.

I broke down and ordered Problogger: Secrets for Bloging Your Way to A Six-Figure Income, not because my goal it to make money blogging but this book contains so much useful information about blogging. Probloblogger also has a Website for all kinds of helpful tips about blogging, in face I just found a post on there today that I should have read last year when I just started blogging. Check it out. Then link your blog to FaceBook or bookstores.

• Link your blog to Amazon author pages and when anyone wants to see a sample of your writing they can do it for free.

Remember when you blog to support the blogging community by reading and making comments on other blogs. Your comments can lead people back to your blog. You can also guest blog.

• Guest blog on another person's blog or write a blog for a bookstore or volunteer to blog for an organization. I'll be writing on a blog at this bookstore this summer. The only thing that might prevent me from writing on a company's blog is if they don't fit with my platform.

• Keep focused on your platform on any blog.

• Make friends with other bloggers.

When you become friends with other bloggers and they like your book, it's another way to get the word out about your book. (One link at a time is still moving forward.) Anyway, I love this funky Seattle behind-the-scenes at the market blog and she wrote a really nice review of my book. Another blogger friend writes about lavender and who doesn't love lavender? She listed my book in a gift guide for Mother's Day.

• Don't rant on anyone unless it's yourself and link, link, link to other bloggers and Websites. And if you mention bookstores or other authors let them know.

• Whatever you do have fun, and remember it's only a blog.