One of the tools that many authors use to promote themselves, their book and their writing is a blog. I use my blog to pass along marketing information to authors to help them sell and promote their books. You can be the Stephen King of blog-writing, but if nobody is reading your blog, it won't really matter. Your blog has to have traffic.
Traffic is the number of readers who check in and read your posts on a daily or weekly basis. The more web traffic your blog experiences, the more exposure you will get. Too often, people start a blog, post to it a few times, and after a week or two they give up on it, deciding that the effort isn't worth it. That's a sure-fire way to kill the effectiveness of a blog.
So, how can you build traffic and hits to your blog?
1. Be persistent, and patient. Just like it takes time to make a book a bestseller, it takes time to develop a successful blog. It doesn't happen overnight. Once you start a blog, keep at it. Fill it with worthwhile, informative content. Don't post to a blog just for the sake of posting, but don't let long gaps of time go by without posting, either. Which leads us to...
2. Post often. The most successful bloggers are those who blog on a daily or near-daily basis. The readers who are interested in your content, once they discover your blog, will check it almost every day. If they notice it isn't being updated, they will simply move on. Post at least 3 times a week.
3. Develop 4-5 "pillar" posts, and have links to them on your front page. These should be posts that are informative, timeless and form the backbone of your blog. When readers are Googling your blog's subject matter, these should be the first blogs that you want them to see. You may have to write for awhile before you develop these posts, but make sure you have them up and available on your blog as soon as possible.
4. Check out and post comments on other blogs, too. Find the ten most-read blogs that relate to your blog's subject matter, read their posts every once in awhile, and post comments to them. The comments should be thought-provoking and add something to the conversation. Include a link to your blog in your post. If readers like your comments and want to read more, they will check out your blog.
5. Keep your blog focused. Develop a central theme to your blog and stick to it. Don't go off on tangents or write posts that have nothing to do with your blog's topic. My blog is about marketing and promoting books, although I may sometimes write posts about noteworthy things going on in the publishing industry, at Tate Publishing, or one of the causes I feel strongly about. Don't stray from your blog's central theme too often, however. You may lose readership.
Do you blog? What things have you done to build traffic? Tell us in the comments section!
Traffic is the number of readers who check in and read your posts on a daily or weekly basis. The more web traffic your blog experiences, the more exposure you will get. Too often, people start a blog, post to it a few times, and after a week or two they give up on it, deciding that the effort isn't worth it. That's a sure-fire way to kill the effectiveness of a blog.
So, how can you build traffic and hits to your blog?
1. Be persistent, and patient. Just like it takes time to make a book a bestseller, it takes time to develop a successful blog. It doesn't happen overnight. Once you start a blog, keep at it. Fill it with worthwhile, informative content. Don't post to a blog just for the sake of posting, but don't let long gaps of time go by without posting, either. Which leads us to...
2. Post often. The most successful bloggers are those who blog on a daily or near-daily basis. The readers who are interested in your content, once they discover your blog, will check it almost every day. If they notice it isn't being updated, they will simply move on. Post at least 3 times a week.
3. Develop 4-5 "pillar" posts, and have links to them on your front page. These should be posts that are informative, timeless and form the backbone of your blog. When readers are Googling your blog's subject matter, these should be the first blogs that you want them to see. You may have to write for awhile before you develop these posts, but make sure you have them up and available on your blog as soon as possible.
4. Check out and post comments on other blogs, too. Find the ten most-read blogs that relate to your blog's subject matter, read their posts every once in awhile, and post comments to them. The comments should be thought-provoking and add something to the conversation. Include a link to your blog in your post. If readers like your comments and want to read more, they will check out your blog.
5. Keep your blog focused. Develop a central theme to your blog and stick to it. Don't go off on tangents or write posts that have nothing to do with your blog's topic. My blog is about marketing and promoting books, although I may sometimes write posts about noteworthy things going on in the publishing industry, at Tate Publishing, or one of the causes I feel strongly about. Don't stray from your blog's central theme too often, however. You may lose readership.
Do you blog? What things have you done to build traffic? Tell us in the comments section!
2 comments:
Terry,
I've enjoyed your marketing tips. I've actually started using many of them. One way that I increase traffic to my blog is to send out a weekly newsletter that has links to my blogs and its content.
Thanks for your great tips. I put a teaser on my facebook page with a link to my blog.
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