That is the question!
BY BUNNY MINER
Author Blogging 101: When to Start a Blog
Whether you want to hear it or not, blogging is your friend. You’re probably thinking, but who wants to hear what I have to say? or I’m no expert, nobody will read it anyway. (Did I detect a note of whining?).
When it comes to marketing your book, it really comes down to you. Here at Xchyler Publishing, we have a great team to help out our authors, but in the end, the one with the most invested in your book is you. This is your hard work, your blood, sweat and tears, your baby.
Hi, I’m Bunny Miner and I’m the point of contact here at Xchyler Publishing for bloggers and reviewers. Bloggers help an author get the word out about their upcoming book and are able to reach more than just the author’s circle of friends.
Authors often ask me when they should start a blog. Do they wait until they’re well known so they have a following? Should they wait until their book is in print and on the bookstore shelves? My answer is a resounding NO! Do it now.
Don’t worry about all the fancy bells and whistles, you can add those as you go. Just get your blog up and running as soon as you can, before you submit that manuscript to a publisher.
Blogging is something an author does to build a following. Even if the only people you know who would read your blog are your family and friends, start anyway. Include in your blogs a flavor of who you are.
If you’re not literary and high minded, don’t act like you are. If you’re chatty and fun loving, make your blogs sing of your personality.People want to know you and what you think, not what you think someone in an office that may or may not publish your book wants to hear.
Blogging is all about building relationships. So you start with the relationships you already have—back to those family and friends. Often this group of people is called your Sphere of Influence or SOI. With your early blogs, they’ll be there to support you and encourage you.
As you get a few posts under you and they see that you’re not going to flake out on them, they’ll start investing themselves in your blog and start expecting it. With that in mind, please be consistent! You don’t have to blog everyday but do blog on a regular basis, at least every week or two. The more you can blog, though, the more quickly you’ll develop followers. If you can, blog everyday.
Your SOI is just your jumping off point. What eventually is going to happen is that your friends and family will start telling their SOI about you and your blog (because you’ll ask them to!). Then they’ll tell two friends and so on and so on and so on (hey, wasn’t that a commercial . . . showing my age!). This will add followers to you and your marketing efforts.
Remember though, that you should follow them as well. This is about building relationships. There is strength in numbers and authors really should band together to get the word out about each other. Don’t worry, there are more than enough readers to go around. Chances are, if you find someone who likes something similar to what you write, they’ll like what you write as well. It’s not a competition, it’s a collaboration!
When following another author or blogger, don’t just lurk on their site. Add comments and encouragement. Always be honest but also be genuine. I’m a firm believer in Karma, what goes around comes around, so help and uplift one another!
Nothing happens unless you put it into action so I’ll challenge you at the end of each of my blogs to give you something to work on. Please comment back and let me know how you do with the challenges!
1. If you haven’t already, START YOUR BLOG.
2. If you have a blog but don’t post to it regularly, sit down and figure out when you can realistically blog and stick to that schedule. Re-evaluate it every 30 days to see if you need to tweak it.
3. If you’re already blogging regularly, go out and find a blog similar to what you write, whether it’s a genre based blog or another author that writes in your genre, take a look at the blog and see if you can pull any of the elements into yours (asking permission to use their idea with your own tweaks and adjustments helps build the relationship). Also look at the blogs and see if you can comment kindly, honestly and genuinely and then do it.
That’s it from me for this post. Go take on my challenge and report back.
Until next time,
Bunny
Bunny Miner joined Xchyler Publishing in May 2014. As our point of contact for bloggers and reviewers, she spends much time on the web looking for her next victims…er, um, assistants. Bunny feels that bloggers and reviewers are an integral part of our marketing team and is very grateful to them for all the work they do on behalf of our authors.
If you’d be interested in being a blogger or reviewer for Xchyler Publishing, please contact Bunny at BunnyMiner@XchylerPublishing.com. Bunny will be blogging along with the rest of our Marketing Team so check back often for their combined words of wisdom.