Tips for Writers Who Blog
The following tips will help writers tweak blog
posts to increase their chances of selling books. Which
tips will help you attract more potential readers? Are
there any additional tips that you would like to share
with us? Feel free to post your comments.
• Keep your posts “on topic”. Promote
your book and website, so you need to keep your posts and
blog on topic.
• Make your posts informative and interesting. You aren’t
doing this just to entertain your visitors. The idea is to
give them more information so they can make an informed
decision to buy your book.
• Do not recycle old information. Your readers already
know about things that happened months ago. They want you
to share new information. The only exception is to relate
some past event to a present situation.
• Have a realistic and consistent schedule. Once you
establish your blog, post fresh content on a regular
basis. Your readers come to expect that from you and will
lose confidence if you lag behind.
• Keep your message clear and easy to understand. It
doesn’t need to be elaborate and technical. Use a
conversational and easy tone.
• Maintain a certain level of quality. You also need to
use keywords in your posts. Search engines love blogs and
will give additional references to you and your product.
But, don’t post mediocre content just to attract search
engines. Keep up the quality and weave keywords into your
posts.
• Proofread your work. The old adage is to: edit, edit,
edit and edit again. If your post is full of errors and
typos, the visitor will not be motivated to buy a book
with your name on the cover.
• Be passionate about your topic. If you are excited about
your subject, that should carry over to your visitors.
Pass that excitement to your readers and they will rush to
buy your work.
• Figure out who your target market includes. It’s
critical that you identify who needs your book. These are
the people you need to attract with your promotional
efforts. I cannot express how critical it is to identify
your target market.
• Finally, when you post comments on other blogs, include
your blog URL under your name. Don’t post an elaborate
message or blurb about your blog. All you need to do is
post a relevant comment to attract attention and list your
name and blog address. Another person’s blog is not the
place for blatant self promotion.
• Include pictures on your blog. Do you have pictures of
yourself and/or your books? What about pictures of your
promotional activities? When you meet your readers in
public, take pictures and post them on your blog. This
free software that will help you. One can be found at:
http://hello.com If you want to
add audio clips – use:
http://www.audioblogger.com. If
you would like to add streaming video – use:
http://instantvideogenerator.com.
None of these things are necessary, but these are the
links in case you want to explore the possibilities.
Nikki Leigh - Fiction and Non Fiction
Author
http://www.nikkileigh.com
