To Blog or Not To Blog…it's not the only question…

[image error]I'm befuddled. (I love using that word.) I cannot, for the life of me, figure out the best use of my blog. It's a bit absurd that after all this time I still don't know what I'm doing. But it's true. (Don't tell anyone, this is embarrassing enough as it is!)

Most "expert" advice out there says it's important to blog consistently. No more or less, but on a regular schedule with bite sized posts that people can sink their teeth into without becoming gluttonous on excessive word consumption.

Writer's Digest just posted a blog on 10 Ways Writers Lose Blog Traffic and Alienate Readers. The bottom line? Not blogging enough, blogging too much, blogging about too many topics and not sticking to a theme…

All sins I've committed. I'm surprised you're reading this at all.

I have noticed in the past that I get the most hits on posts that deal with the publishing industry. This tells me two things. One: most of my followers are other writers. Two: I'm not doing a good job at targeting my intended readership.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE other authors. I've met some of my greatest friends through these online forums. (Including my fiance, Dmytry Karpov, and our partner for our new site WordOne2Done.com, Patti Larsen.) And it's a good thing most writers are readers, though not necessarily of the paranormal genre in which I write.

So this leads to my dilemma. What should I be blogging about? How does a genre fiction author create a theme for a regular blog that showcases her writing style and skills to her readers? I post snippets of my book, talk about publishing, writing, etc. But I don't usually go to blogs to read works of fiction.

John Locke, in his book "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months" talks about how he uses his blog to sell books. It's a pretty brilliant strategy that relies on knowing his demographic well, writing creative non-fiction blogs that incorporate the story telling elements his readers love, and letting those posts sit on his blog to age like a fine wine. He then uses twitter to send these posts viral. And he rarely posts more than once a month.

I love this strategy, if I can figure out how to effectively pull it off for myself. Check out his book for more information on his techniques, there is more than what I'm explaining.

But how do I write theses kinds of posts for paranormal young adult novels? This is what I'm trying to figure out. What do my readers actually want to read on my blog?

So help me out here. I know I'm just now launching the first of my YA novels, Rent-A-Kid (to be released next month through Evolved Publishing, where I have signed as an author and editor, woohoo!) But I want to be ready for my fans when I actually have a few. For those of you who like my work, what would you want to read on my site regularly? Do you know of any other genre fiction authors who use their blogs well to attract and entertain their readers?

Should my whole blog be showcased on my home page? Any other site changes, content changes you notice that would make you want to spend time here?

I look forward to hearing your ideas!