Am I on the right track?

Hi all. I am 80% through a non-fiction book about the scientific evidence for the afterlife (yep, there really is, plenty!) and was advised to start a blog early because no-one wants to go to a blogsite that starts out trying to sell a book. So I started one 2 months ago and have posted two so far. The problem is that I don't want to use chapters or even large excerpts from the actual book so I'm trying to come up with something to say and am a little worried it's getting boring and is not friendly and chatty enough for a blog (Guess I'm still in book-writing mode!). Would anyone care to give me an honest opinion? https://heavenknowsdotcomdotau.wordpress.com/

Also, I'm only doing it once a month because (a) I'm devoting most of my time to writing, and (b) I think these days people don't want to get bombarded every few days with a blog to read. Agree or disagree? Any help gratefully received.

HI there L. O'Brien, and many thanks for your feedback. I've only been at it for 4 months, which is why I only have 4 articles and therefore not a lot of archives, but I was advised by a close friend to do it only once a month. She's an excellent self-promoter and has had over 200 books published (in fact, her blogs are all about the writing process so you might find them interesting - and lots of archives!) https://valerieparv.wordpress.com/ She's only been blogging for 10 months and already has 597 followers so I figured she must be doing something right. No doubt her site would offer more advice and ideas about blogging than mine! She keeps it brief, chatty and friendly so I've tried to do that also. But you're right - trying to find time to write AND blog can be a difficult balance.

I had a look at your blog - very impressed! I see you have a few comments, I've only had two so far, but I promote it on facebook and get numerous comments (always good) in there - just wish they'd write them on the blog itself!

One thing Valerie instilled into me is that if anyone leaves a comment, always answer it - however briefly - so the commenter and others feel comfortable about commenting again on your next article.

Once again, thanks for your input

L. O'Brien, most writers I know work under the "Imposter Syndrome", i.e. "I'm not good enough and I wonder when someone is going to wake up to me?" I think the day we believe we're great writers and the world needs our books is the day to give up writing! Believing we're imposters keeps us honest!

And yes, having lots of books published does help bring people to blogs, but most find facebook pages that deal with the topic and also use twitter to let people know each time they post a blog. Don't just rely on google to find you. I haven't braved tweeting yet, but I am a member of 3 near-death experience facebook pages with about 10,000 members in total, so posting a link to my blog in those pages at least ensures that I get a few views! Have a search around facebook for pages that deal with similar interests, and if you can't find any, create one and invite people from similar pages to join. Worth a try!

It also might be worth looking for other blogs on a similar topic and offering to promote theirs on your site if they promote yours on theirs.