Connecting Readers and Writers discussion
Writer's Station
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How to build readership with your blog
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well said. I appreciate your insights though you approach the subject primarily from a writer's perspective. How would a reviewer/reader apply this information, especially when the blog was created specifically for book reviews?
Good stuff, Elle. :) I've been putting explanations of grammar rules in my blog on an irregular basis, and it has gotten some good comments when I've done it. Maybe I should make it a weekly feature. Hmm.
Mod
Yes! That sounds great. Anything to make yourself original and stand out.
I post writing tips fairly regularly on my blog, and those posts get fairly high page views, particularly when I tweet about them, as well.
Here's a really good article on it. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/...It basically says to go where bloggers go and write AROUND the topic; as in, write about those things that interest others, like Scott's writing tips, instead of those things that would just interest you. Timothy Ferris made the NYT Bestseller List that way.
Elle, how many hours per week, on average do you spend blogging out of curiosity?
I take pictures for my blog, as that's something I enjoy, and write stories around them. I think it helps people who might be interested in my books find me as my lifestyle and what I write about are similar. I live on a ranch in the western US, and people who find my blog are interested in my photos about horses and the other animals we have, plus the scenery, and ranch life.
Mod
Great question. I have an extremely active Facebook page as well as my blog. I try to spend 50% of my time on writing, and split the other 50% between my Facebook page and my Blog. You always need to devote more time to your advertising then you think you do.
OK. So, one (or two more questions): on Facebook are you working on ads or simply updating your status? When you say 50% between your Facebook page and blog, do you mean posting and updating your status? Also, if you don't mind my asking, is there monetary sustenance involved too? A friend told me that if you continually add content and invest in ad campaigns, then a blog can actually be lucrative.
Elle, I just tweeted your blog, hope you don't mind. People will find it really useful. I am definitely a faithful subscriber now.
Mod
Thank you so much! I hope my blog continues to help you. Here is my Facebook link if you want to check it out and see what I do.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elle-La...
I have over 3,000 fans on there. When I say I spend time on my Facebook and Blog, I mean doing posts and interacting with my followers. It took a long time to get my blog done but now that it is, I just do posts. You can make money from your blog, if you can make money from Facebook, I am not aware of it. You make money from your blog by having ads on it. A lot of people don't believe in doing that, which is fine, but if you can get a lot of people to your blog, you can make a little extra cash that way. I would say most of the money I make is just off of people liking my blog and then buying my books. I hope that helps.
Wow, so there IS hope for the rest of us struggling writers (by "us" I mean "me") after all! :) That's great that you actually make income while writing and promoting.
Since my blog has become so successful, people have asked me how I did it. Here is my blog post about making your blog work for you.
http://ellelapraim.com/how-to-build-r...
Even if you don't read the article, the one thing you need to remember above all else, is to be authentic. If you just have a blog because you think you need one, people will see that. If you love to write on your blog, and you have a passion for your readers, you will be the kind of blog that people bookmark and check everyday.