World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Do you blog?
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Agree that the average author does not benefit. Another point is that blogging might have been more effective 5-10 years ago when blogs weren't as high in supply as they are now. In many ways, social media has changed the blog landscape. A couple sentences typed on twitter or Facebook gets exponentially more attention than paragraphs-long blog posts now. It's also way easier to read and write comments on the post. People are all about the comments now. I really don't like reading a blog post that makes me sign up with an account or jump through hoops in order to read or write comments. With Facebook, you can comment instantly without having to confirm email addresses or type in extra info on your identity. I think this setup is more attractive to people who like to comment or read comments. I think that if an author already likes to blog, especially if they already have a following, then blogging is great for their business. Not so much for authors who struggle to come up with content for the sake of blogging. I personally would not enjoy writing 2-3 posts per week. However I can get on Facebook and write 2-3 posts per week (just a paragraph or less) and that gets more response than any of my blog posts have. So I agree to save the time, trouble, and heartache and not worry about it :). If I blog, it's about news of my books or whatever random thing I feel like writing about at the time lol.
I do but definitely need to blog more. I tend to blog about book marketing, my takes on video, Amazon, publishing, writing, etc. You can blog about your book every once in a while but don't make it a habit or topic. I've heard you need to pick three topics your passionate about and blog about those. Seeing as I write about and am passionate about horror and poetry I feel I need to write about those more. The idea is to draw attention to your blog and write about what you know and the more knowledgeable you look on the topic the more people will start to notice.
I blog. Theoretically, my blog was meant to be my author platform, demonstrating my marvellous writing skills.What it actually is, is my soapbox!
Here it is if anyone wants to check it out. https://leonierogers.me
I've been blogging for ten years now. But I didn't start with an ulterior motive, merely to publish some thoughts, information, and photos. The blog's changed a lot over time, and readership comes and goes. I have received some (editing) income either directly or indirectly from it, but I suspect that's because regular readers know something about the person behind the blog.Literary/book blogs are difficult to get right – they can be very dry and dusty. The odd personal post doesn't go amiss.
And the most important rule is: always spen at least half of your blogging time visiting others to build and maintain a community.
Alex wrote: "The average author does not benefit much from blogging...."If I may view the group as an opportunity for interactive blogging, I can testify how intangible are my benefits -:)
I doubt an independent author will sell many books by blogging, so the main plus is that it trains people to write every day. The main minus is that you will be writing blog content instead of your next book. If you try to build a network with other bloggers, that will generate read statistics and comments but are they really reading your posts with interest or just going through reciprocal routines? I'm not an author so far and my blog doesn't carry advertising so the tangible reward is zero. I get a buzz from telling people I've discovered a cool novel but my seventy thousand words in reviews this year would have repaid me better if I'd poured them into my own book instead - it would be better to have a book to my name than a pundit blog, if they have about the same readership. Most of my blog's followers are authors who went there to see their own review. How many fully independent members of the public who shop for books read blogs for suggestions? It's probably best not to think about it.
Leonie wrote: "I blog. Theoretically, my blog was meant to be my author platform, demonstrating my marvellous writing skills.What it actually is, is my soapbox!
Here it is if anyone wants to check it out. http..."
Same approach - some stuff on writing and my own efforts but now it's me venting to a silent response.
Faith wrote: "my seventy thousand words in reviews this year would have repaid me better if I'd poured them into my own book instead..."Knowing the market - not necessarily -:)
Anyhow, hope you'll accomplish a book soon, Faith
hey all, been a while. how are you all doing?I do blog, I blog about my podcast, I blog about random mummy things that occur in my life, I blog about books
I haven't read said article but blogging for me is fantastic.
It gives search engine spiders something new to index on my site, it helps me rank for keywords outside of books. I'm not sure how but my few followers seem to not only like my random posts but they recommend it to service users especially those who are looking for guest post opportunities. My podcast also gives people a reason to check out my blog, so overall, my page rank/domain authority keeps increasing.
So the benefit to me of blogging is not immediate, I just know that the more I do, the more my blog/website shows up in search results, leading to more site visits which potentially leads to more book sales/podcast downloads.
Phew that was a mouthful
Segilola wrote: "how are you all doing?..."Much better now that you are back, welcome, Segilola!
Nik wrote: "Segilola wrote: "how are you all doing?..."Much better now that you are back, welcome, Segilola!"
awww you sure know how to bring a smile to a girl's face ;)
Segilola wrote: "awww you sure know how to bring a smile to a girl's face ;) "-:)
Philip wrote: "Leonie wrote: "I blog. Theoretically, my blog was meant to be my author platform, demonstrating my marvellous writing skills.What it actually is, is my soapbox!
Here it is if anyone wants to che..."
I've scored a fair few followers, which is nice, and I've done two radio interviews, and had a number of blog posts reblogged as a result. All these came totally out of the blue, but the radio interviews came as a result of me tagging appropriately - the radio host was searching a particular thing and I popped up!
Leonie wrote: "I've done two radio interviews, and had a number of blog posts reblogged as a result. All these came totally out of the blue, but the radio interviews came as a result of me tagging appropriately - the radio host was searching a particular thing and I popped up! "@_@ never underestimate the power of metadata.
I blog about political economics (my soapbox ?) and just what science is about, because they are the background aspects to my books. I have no idea whether they do any good, and for some people, I suspect they are just as likely to turn them off trying a book, but there you are.If anyone is interested in the blog,
http://ianmillerblog.wordpress.com
Leonie wrote: "Nice blog Ian"Thanks Leonie
Here's an interesting article.Thoughts?