Got a Blog...now what?

JustJas · Mar 10, 2012

Ok, so I've jumped on the bandwagon and started a blog to promote my books. Now I'm wondering how I actually get traffic to it, apart from family and friends.

Obviously there are forums like this which help. I've read about the importance of subscribing to other blogs, but does this really help? Seems that there are so many writers and blogs out there now that you've really got to have something speical to get people's attention.

I feel a bit like I'm riding a creaky old bicycle on the edge of a massive highway, watching the traffic fly past me, but with no clue what I have to do to keep up. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Mac H. · Mar 10, 2012

Hi Francene,

A couple of quick thoughts:

Q1. Who are your readers?

Q2. What can you put on your blog that would interest them?

Good luck !

Mac
(PS: Unless you are aiming at an Aussie audience you might want to publicise your blog as ' (blogname).blogspot.com ' instead of '(blogname).blogspot.com.au'.

The '.au' is just some nonsense redirect that viewers in Australia see - it is the same.

If you want to stop it from redirecting for a while (to save editing links) then just go to francenecarroll13.blogspot.com/ncr .. the 'ncr' code turns off the redirect for a while on your machine.

It doesn't matter - every reader (except US ones because they are magic and special) will be redirected to their local one - so it doesn't make any difference .. it is just an appearance thing)

JustJas · Mar 10, 2012

Mac H. said:
Hi Francene,

A couple of quick thoughts:

Q1. Who are your readers?

Q2. What can you put on your blog that would interest them?

Good luck !

Mac
(PS: Unless you are aiming at an Aussie audience you might want to publicise your blog as ' (blogname).blogspot.com ' instead of '(blogname).blogspot.com.au'.

The '.au' is just some nonsense redirect that viewers in Australia see - it is the same.

If you want to stop it from redirecting for a while (to save editing links) then just go to francenecarroll13.blogspot.com/ncr .. the 'ncr' code turns off the redirect for a while on your machine.

It doesn't matter - every reader (except US ones because they are magic and special) will be redirected to their local one - so it doesn't make any difference .. it is just an appearance thing)

I figured it was easier to turn my blog address into a hyperlink. Thanks for pointing this out though, I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.

PulpDogg · Mar 12, 2012

Don't just blog about the book or about promoting it. Blog about something that interests you and will get readers to come back to your blog - preferrably something that has nothing to do with your book.

Getting blog readers to come back is crucial - and you won't get them to come back if all you blog about is "Hey, look I have a book out - it is great, you should buy it".

MKrys · Mar 12, 2012

I can only sympathize with you, as I'm having a bit of the same problem with my blog. I've had it for maybe 3 months now (which I realize isn't that long), but I post regulargly, participate on twitter and in forums like this, etc etc, and can hardly convince anyone to follow the damn thing! In terms of page counts, it has improved steadily in the last month or so, but it's still not all that great.

I'd love to hear what others have to say

veinglory · Mar 12, 2012

As already mentioned a blog that just promotes your book won't get readers. A blog's main purpose is to attract readership, it's secondary purpose is to funnel them to your books. If you don't have anything else to blog about, you may just want to put up a static website and use your efforts in other areas. Even best sellers with popular blogs don't blog exclusively about their books, although they can get away with doing it more often.

Robbert · Mar 12, 2012

@JustJas
I just had a look at your blog. I'd have read some of it, if I had seen less red. It's straining my eyes.

Marian Perera · Mar 12, 2012

veinglory said:
As already mentioned a blog that just promotes your book won't get readers.

I once saw a blog that did just that. Each post went something like this:

"Hi everyone! Here's a trailer for my book. Hope you like it."

"Hi guys, I've got something really exciting for you to check out - an excerpt from my book!"

"How's everyone doing today? Sadly, James and Cathy weren't doing well at all when they met. They're the main characters of my book, and today I'll be interviewing James..."

thothguard51 · Mar 12, 2012

Push aside writing time to think up things to write about...

The more prolific and interesting stuff you blog about, the more your blog will get hits...

But, also be aware that you might get challenged by some of the readers who might feel your full of it... Never get into an argument on your blog. Just thank them for their time and move on... Or, turn off the responses.

JustJas · Mar 13, 2012

Robbert said:
@JustJas
I just had a look at your blog. I'd have read some of it, if I had seen less red. It's straining my eyes.

Thanks for pointing that out. It looks ok on my screen and it never occurred to me there might be too much red....Please check out the new look. I promise it's much easier on the eyes!

veinglory · Mar 13, 2012

If you want a blog review. There is a forum for that in the blogging sub-forum.

randi.lee · Mar 13, 2012

MKrys said:
I can only sympathize with you, as I'm having a bit of the same problem with my blog. I've had it for maybe 3 months now (which I realize isn't that long), but I post regulargly, participate on twitter and in forums like this, etc etc, and can hardly convince anyone to follow the damn thing! In terms of page counts, it has improved steadily in the last month or so, but it's still not all that great.

I'd love to hear what others have to say

Following

As well, I have the same issue. It seems like once you get the audience it increases steadily; it's getting the audience that is the hard part (i.e. need to have money to make money.)

That being said, I'm probably not the best person to answer this question, but I will give my .02 anyway.

I agree with those who have said to not only promote the book, but blog about things that will interest readers. Perhaps decide on a steady theme for your blog (book reviews, celebrity news, etc.) and stick with that so return readers have an understanding of what to expect when they return.

And make sure to write about something you're passionate about! Your enthusiasm will transfer to your audience and get them more interested in what you have to say.

JustJas · Mar 13, 2012

veinglory said:
If you want a blog review. There is a forum for that in the blogging sub-forum.

Did not know this. Thanks!

Yukinara · Mar 13, 2012

do you have facebook, twitter, goodreads accounts? If you do, link all of them to your blog. It will help tremendously

Sweetwheat · Mar 16, 2012

MKrys said:
I can only sympathize with you, as I'm having a bit of the same problem with my blog. I've had it for maybe 3 months now (which I realize isn't that long), but I post regulargly, participate on twitter and in forums like this, etc etc, and can hardly convince anyone to follow the damn thing! In terms of page counts, it has improved steadily in the last month or so, but it's still not all that great.

I'd love to hear what others have to say

Same! But I'll admit I haven't been that active. I'm only starting, too. I'll follow you, though

Yay!

cray · Mar 27, 2012

Queen of Swords said:
I once saw a blog that did just that. Each post went something like this:

"Hi everyone! Here's a trailer for my book. Hope you like it."

"Hi guys, I've got something really exciting for you to check out - an excerpt from my book!"

"How's everyone doing today? Sadly, James and Cathy weren't doing well at all when they met. They're the main characters of my book, and today I'll be interviewing James..."

yep. i've seen a ton of similar blogs too, queen of swords.
and btw, love your avatar!

woodtop255 · Mar 27, 2012

I started my blog not too long ago as well. I was going to use it only for promotional purposes at first, but I found it's much better to provide information that could be helpful to others new novelists and freelance writers. I'm also going to do a few book reviews as well since I have some free time coming up. We'll see if this helps increase traffic or not.

Got a Blog...now what?

JustJas

Mac H.

Board Visitor

JustJas

PulpDogg

I should be writing

MKrys

Quietly obsessing

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Robbert

Practical experience FTW

Marian Perera

starting over

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...

JustJas

veinglory

volitare nequeo

randi.lee

Certified Non-Genius

JustJas

Yukinara

The Exile

Sweetwheat

cray

Superior Life form

woodtop255

Heather Topham Wood