I give workshops on book marketing, and a common question I get from attendees is, "What should I blog about?"
Good question.
Blogging is an art, not a science, so there's no exact formula for doing it right. However, if you're an author, I think it's best to blog about things that have to do with your book in one way or another.
Here are some suggestions:
- If your book is nonfiction, your marketing goal is to position yourself as an expert about a specific topic. A blog can help you do that, whether it's reporting on industry news, sharing your experience at a specific industry event, or just offering your opinion on something related to the field. You can also blog about the experience of becoming an author, especially if you're venturing down the path of self-publishing. There are a lot of people out there wondering if indie publishing is for them, and they love to read about the firsthand experiences of others.
- If your book is a novel or a memoir, your options are bit more limited because positioning yourself as an "expert" might not necessarily be part of your marketing plan. However, you too can blog about your experience of becoming an author, which is always interesting. Or you can do what I do, which is blog about the process of writing and marketing books. You could also blog about subjects related to your book. For example, if your book is a political thriller that takes place in DC, you could blog about the upcoming presidential election.
You don't have to blog every day. The key is to provide interesting content over time that makes you seem interesting. Then, eventually, your blog readers may just buy your book. I will never understand why people blog about what they ate for breakfast, but maybe that's just me.
-Maria
Maria Murnane is the best-selling author of the romantic comedies Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, and Honey on Your Mind. She also provides consulting services on book publishing and marketing. Learn more at www.mariamurnane.com.
This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2012 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Thanks Maria. I struggle with blogging and maybe that's partly because I'm a bit of an introvert and don't think everyone wants to hear about my ramblings. Some of the comments have been helpful too. I'm trying to blog around some of my writing processes and topics relating to my books. The tips you provided are great. I have also read that so many people are blogging about writing these days, it's good to offer a unique perspective if you are going to blog about writing.
I love to blog!! I have no idea what i should or shouldn't blog about, perhaps my blog would be more popular if it were more generalised and less of my quirky ramblings. I haven't mentioned my book in progress because i wanted to write pressure free and i keep my blog as a bit of a personality outlet
I began blogging specifically on the advice of a publishing agent. "If you want to sell your book, you must develop an online presence" she said. Now I spend more time blogging, and probably not as much time as I should on finishing the book. Blogging does bring the satisfaction of instant publication which being a novelist lacks. It also forces me to write...something which I put off WAY too easily. That being said; I've now moved on to 'rebranding'...so my site is down for the next 24 hours which is stressing me out; a situation I wouldn't have to deal with if I were working on my book:)
I blog about my books and offer free stories and poetry at freewebs.com/william2233
I have to agree with Autumn. Most people don't necessarily want to go to a writer's website to learn about writing. I want to hear more in that person's voice while getting a glimpse into his or her life. I suppose it depends on the end goals. So much of it is about engagement and getting people to be excited about what you have to say. I'm forever trying to do that on my blog.
Mmmm, interesting points here. I can say that I love reading writers blogs because I want/need to learn how other writers DO IT, as if by reading about their experiences that somehow I too can learn how to 'do it' too! Of course I know that the way to be a writer is to write.....still after a few hours of writing I love to read about the process of others writers, to learn about their writerly life! And that's the sort of blog I want to write and share too. Problem is that I don't feel as if I have anything very interesting to share! :-( However I must add that so far I'm not hugely interested in the details of publishing, probably because I'm not 'there' yet!
I think this is a good question: what do you blog about? If you blog about "the process of writing and marketing books", are you blogging for readers or for other would-be writers? I'm not being snarky--one look at my blog tells you that I certainly haven't mastered the art of blogging--but I have to say that I get the suspicion lately, through participating in 'blog hops', 'blog fests', etc. that the hoppers and festers are nearly exclusively other neophyte writers, trying to plug their own book. I can't help but think that we're missing the mark here, thinking more what a writer is interested in reading than in what a reader is interested in reading. The most interesting blogs I can think of, and those that I revisit, give slices of the writer's life or interests, with just a glimpse of the business of writing. Funny is good, thoughtful is good, but it seems to me that most readers want to believe in a little magic, and that is easy to bog down in the minutiae of publishing. Just a thought.
Thanks for the timely reminder of why I started blogging in the first place. It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog and found that while my own writing has increased, I couldn't for the life of me remember what I wanted to blog about. Now I do! I set up my blog to write about my personal journey in becoming a writer. Thank you! ;-0