Today’s guest post by Victoria Greene is full of blogging tips for authors and writers. Blogs are certainly a great way to connect with readers and to also gain more organic traffic. However, always remind yourself that writing books should come first. Prioritize that time and create a blogging schedule to accommodate. While it’s best to stick with a regular schedule, there are going to be times life intervenes. Regular readers tend to be forgiving, so don’t beat yourself up too much if you miss a post here and there. Like many things in life, follow the 80/20 rule and you’ll do fine. 

One note of caution I can offer when it comes to blogging tips for authors is to think carefully about veering into a blog that focuses mostly on the writing process. While this may be a natural progression for authors finding their voice and developing writing habits, such a blog isn’t going to appeal to most readers. Those who may potentially buy your books see reading as a form of entertainment or information. Sure, it can be fun to let on from time to time where story inspiration came from or what happened when you totally rewrote a book’s ending, but for the most part, don’t dwell on your idiosyncratic writing processes too much.

This year, I will be covering author websites, target readers, local marketing, and marketing audiobooks. Feel free to explore Word Bank’s archive marketing posts. In particular, you might find Build Blog Traffic by Guest Posting of interest.

Official Bio: Victoria Greene is a branding consultant and freelance writer. On her blog, VictoriaEcommerce, she shares tips on ecommerce and content marketing. She is passionate about using her experience to help companies develop their online brands.

Blogging Tips For Authors & Writers:

Drive Traffic With Your Words

Don’t be afraid to blog. Whether you’re already a successful author who wants to whip up a bit of publicity for your upcoming book, or you’re an aspiring writer just trying to get your name out there, blogging could be the key to building your brand and promoting your work. It’s easy, rewarding, and a very scalable marketing tactic that works across a whole range of genres. Here are some key things writers need to know about blogging to make the most of it. (Looking for tips on writing? Try these classic books on for size).

Start with Your Passion

Your blog may end up eventually having a VERY specific theme or topic, but it’s best to begin with what you know during the initial stages. You’ll find it much easier to write about your own field, so it’s a good idea to start close to home and focus on your core interests. You need a fair bit of content to get going, so let your imagination loose. If you prefer to highlight issues raised in your writing, you could theme your blog around a wider topic such as loneliness, nature, your local area, pets etc.

Establish what’s different about your take on your area and drill into that. As you start delving into blog post ideas (I suggest setting up an editorial calendar), you will start to see messages and patterns emerging. Keep refining and adding to these “natural” themes that crop up.

Keep It Real

Your usual writing may require you to use an authoritative tone and command attention from your audience by informing them. However, when it comes to blogging, you should approach your writing in a much more casual manner.

A blog is where your audience really gets to know you, warts and all. Think of it a bit like an online diary. If you’re having a slow day with writer’s block, then fess up–people really do want to know the gritty truth!

You will also need to get to grips with writing shorter, snappier sentences, and breaking up copy with lists and bullet points. The way people read online means that visual breaks and whitespace are almost just as important as the text itself.

Trending Topics

Don’t be afraid to comment on current news affairs or social issues–this is often referred to as newsjacking. Yes, some things may be controversial or out of your area of expertise, but it’s good to have current topics on your blog.

These hot-right-now topics are much more likely to pick up traffic from search engines–meaning your blog will be read by more people, who in turn, may be interested in your other blog posts or your publications.

Momentum Is Key

To build up a loyal blog following, you need to be consistent with your posting schedule. Writing one fabulous piece every now and again won’t keep an audience coming back for more. Create a schedule of perhaps two posts a week to begin with–and stick with it.

It’s also a good idea to tell your followers (either via the blog or on social media) which days they can expect to see a new post, and remind them when it’s live. Promoting a post should take almost as long as writing it, so don’t think you’ll get away with just one social share and email!

Don’t Forget about Images

Of course, your writing prowess is what will please your readership the most, but in an evermore visual world, images are very important too. Multimedia posts get better Google rankings and articles with images get 94% more total views.

Don’t sweat over making them particularly groundbreaking or artsy–a snap of your breakfast while you write your next chapter will definitely suffice.

Give an Insight into Your World

Going back to the idea about a blog being similar to a diary, it can become a place where you let your audience into your world. Revealing the ups and downs of the book writing process, or writing about what it’s like to go and pitch to a publishing house are experiences that other writers are going to naturally respond to.

If you’re funny–share your sense of humor with the world. Or, if you dabble in the creative arts, share some of that with everyone too. Living the digital nomad dream? Help others achieve their goals too. Writers online often thrive when they have very “complete” personalities.

Share the Love

It’s good to praise others within the industry and give back to your loyal readers. Why not craft a blog post about your own favorite authors? Or dissect and analyze a newly-released book? By writing about others and linking to their work and sites, you’ll be building up your network and doing some invaluable content curation for your audience.

The Longer the Better

Research suggests that 2,100 words is the optimum length for a successful blog post–by successful we mean that Google constitutes it as worthy, useful content. As writing is your skill, whipping up a lengthy post might not be so tricky for you! But as well as quantity, do vet your own posts for quality. If it’s not something you’d stop and read, don’t post it!

So from writing about newsworthy topics to championing your fellow peers, when it comes to constructing a blog, there are lots of things you can do to keep it interesting. Although we’ve given you some guidance on how to start up a successful blog, the most important thing to remember is to have fun doing it–if you really enjoy writing your posts, your passion will shine through.

“A blog is where your audience really gets to know you, warts and all.” @vickyecommerce #AuthorTip

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What blogging tips for authors and writers would you care to share either from personal experience or from another perspective?

You can connect with Victoria Greene on her Ecommerce website.

Please share responsibly. Jeri Walker, 2018. Image credit Pexels.