Blog or mailing list suggestions?

If I was going to do one and not the other, I would do the blog. I think there is more potential benefit to being easily found on search engines with a full book/series list, than being able to tell committed fans about new releases--which I would see as the core purpose of each.

For my blog, I use Wordpress. I use Mailchimp for my newsletters. I think you can do a blog frequently and the newsletter for announcements.

I don't do a blog anymore. I just have my website and a mailing list. It works for me because I then have my social sites to be social without long posts etc. Then I have my website and the newsletter for releases, and only that. I think I'm just obsessed with not bothering people in general, too, lol. Even with the newsletters, I'll only do one or two a year, but it feels better with the mail list because readers have signed up for it and shown an interest in wanting to hear news.

Fallen said:

I don't do a blog anymore. I just have my website and a mailing list. It works for me because I then have my social sites to be social without long posts etc. Then I have my website and the newsletter for releases, and only that. I think I'm just obsessed with not bothering people in general, too, lol. Even with the newsletters, I'll only do one or two a year, but it feels better with the mail list because readers have signed up for it and shown an interest in wanting to hear news.

Click to expand...

I'm still going strong with my site.

Do both, but...

It's known that readers don't do blogs anymore, either. Unless you're producing interesting content (not just about your books, writing, etc), then you won't get a lot of readers on the blog. It's best to just use Wordpress.com as a website instead to list all your books, then a mailing list like Mailchimp to attract readers.

I'm sure you've browsed to a website or blog and noticed the popup that's right in your face as soon as the page loads. That's the mailing list form. They both work together.

Alternatively, you can start with a free website maker like Weebly or Wix and use Mailchimp with it. When you have the money, upgrade to a paid site. Also, remember most emails now-a-days filter advertisement emails as spam. So if you're sending Mailchimp updates via Hotmail or Gmail, these can get vetted by the reader's email and they might not see them. It's really a good idea to spend a little extra to get a professional email address such as: [email protected] .... of course, that is if you're planning on building a mailing list.