Do you blog? Why? Many authors do so as a means to help bring attention to their books and services. But are you using your blog to the fullest capacity? You want to promote your books and services, sure! But you won’t get many followers unless you also provide information, resources, ideas, techniques and tips that they can use.
Mix it Up
By this, I mean try to use variety when choosing your topic and style of presenting it. Your readers would tire of seeing the same material presented in the same format every time they click over to your blog site.
Keep it Up
Likewise, if the terrain doesn’t change very often, visitors won’t be hiking those trails. So post often at your blog site to keep people coming back for something new.
Here are some ideas for blog posts:
• Essay-style posts are always popular. They’re easy to write and read. Just make sure you are presenting information and material that is pertinent to the theme of your blog.
• Bulleted blogs keep things neat and tidy. I like to provide bits and pieces of information or instructions using bullets. It makes for a quick and organized read.
• Give a generous dose of resources. Everyone who is interested in your topic will welcome more information in different forms. If you learn about a site that would be useful to your readers, share it. List some of the best books on the subject. Talk about conferences and other programs for folks interested in this topic. My readers particularly like it when I list directories of book review sites, directories of freelance writing jobs, etc.
• Interview other experts for your blog. Or invite a guest blogger in.
• Provide a Q and A format occasionally. Simply feature the questions you get most often—these are the same questions your readers have.
• Review a product or book related to your topic.
• Play devil’s advocate using a controversial subject within your industry or the topic of your book.
• Provide lessons for your followers. It’s easy to do. Just give a one-through ten list of steps on how to bathe a dog, make a latte at home, start a recycling hobby, make a low-fat brownie, write a resume, etc.
• Revise an article to use as a blog post.
• Relay your thoughts/activities. Probably way too many people do this as a way of maintaining their blog sites. But it isn’t something you would want to do every day. It is okay, however, and it can be interesting to your readers, if you let a little of who you are and how you actually operate trickle into your blog posts. I enjoy reading how other writers manage their work days, what they do for fun, how they refresh their creativity and so forth. If your book features how to create curb appeal when selling your house, you may want to include some personal stories, your thoughts/opinions about some of the sellers you’ve met and some of their attempts at creating curb appeal, etc.
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I’m a fan of mixing it up and keeping it up. I hope that this post will give you some ideas about how to spruce up your blog.
Remember, I’m offering a discount on my online courses on memoir writing, self-editing, book promotion, self-publishing, writing a book proposal and article-writing during the month of June. Check my May 24, 2010 entry. Learn more about the courses I offer here: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm