Should Authors Blog?

Blogging is one way to assist you with your marketing efforts. With regards to being an author, blogging is intended to gain readers. Although it is unnecessary, you must consider whether blogging would be productive for you. If you are unsure, you need to answer some questions. Can you commit to writing consistently so that you stay fresh and relevant? Do you have topics or expertise related to your book that can gain you credibility? Do you have a newsletter that you email out regularly? Are you looking for influencers to support your work? If you answered yes to these, writing a regular blog may be a good component of your marketing plan. If unsure, consider what would turn you off from writing a blog. Would it cut into your book-writing time? If you think writing a blog may cause delays or procrastination in completing your manuscript, don't do it. Also, if you expect to be easily and generously paid, that often does not happen due to much competition. However, it is not out of the question. You can find platforms such as Medium, where you can pick up supplemental income, but you need to be patient because it takes time to build momentum.

Suppose you are willing to write regularly and believe you have information your readers would be interested in to solve their pain points. In that case, a blog is a great avenue for staying in front of your audience and drawing new followers to become loyal readers.

If you have never written a blog and think you would be interested in starting one, here are some tips to consider in your execution:

Consistency: You must devote time or develop a writing schedule to stay on task with creating a regular blog posting. If you post one month and then fall behind and don't post for a few months, your material will appear outdated, and your readers may lose interest and drop off.

Expertise: Write in your field of knowledge or on a topic related to your book. If you already appeal to a specific audience, keep your subject focused on a nuance in which your readers are looking for enlightenment. If you want to build an audience, then be prepared that this will not happen overnight. You need to keep writing and providing valuable information to delight your readers and build trust over time.

Cross-promotion: Work with media influencers and other authors to share each other's posts. You can swap content on newsletters, link to others' blogs, or be a guest blogger on another's site. Make your blog accessible to comments and questions, which can help you gain the social proof you need to demonstrate your authority on a subject.

Relevant subject matter: Create content that answers frequently asked questions and tackles issues and problems often experienced by your readers. If uncertain, you can survey your audience or find out what words or phrases they use in their search engine queries. You can get search query data from Google Analytics.

Choose a blogging platform: There are forums like Blogspot, WordPress, Squarespace, Substack, and Medium. However, the best place to blog is on your website since that is your home base, and you can drive traffic with SEO.

Readability and clarity: The subject matter should be clearly understood in the title or tagline, and it must grab attention or offer a benefit. Don't worry about the length of the text, as long as it is scannable. Use bullets, white space, subheadings, and at least one image to break up the wording and make it less cumbersome to peruse and more attractive to the eye.

Call to action: Although blogs are about warming your audience, not selling to them, you would like to gain a following in hopes that they will eventually buy your books. At the end of the blog, include a way to contact you or provide a link to your About Page or Bio. If you give access to comments, ask a question at the end of a blog to spark conversation, which can increase engagement, thus ranking.

Make it easy to search and share: Enable your post to be shared and allow your audience to search your archives by category or most popular posts so they can easily read the breadth of your work. They will appreciate this, and it will hopefully give them a reason to return.

SEO: Each blog should be categorized and tagged. Use keywords in the title and subheadings that your readers would use to search your topic.

If you can devote the time to writing a regularly scheduled blog, blogging is one piece of marketing that can go a long way to promoting your writing to your readers. By making it a habit to write a blog, you can improve your writing over time while driving traffic to your website and developing a loyal readership. In addition, you can build advocacy through your blog by giving and receiving support through feedback, swapping, and guest posts with other authors, podcasters, and media influencers. However, you should only blog if you think it will serve your purpose and not bog you down or distract you from your other writing.