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Why have a blog?
Inspired by one of the other threads, I wondered what everyone's wider thoughts are on blogging. Why do you have a blog (if you have one of course)?
- Is it to help publicise your books/services. (This is my reason by the way.)
- Is it just to help organise/record your thoughts? A bit like a traditional diary really, except that everyone can take a peak.
- Is it just because you think you ought to have one?
I put quite a bit of work into my blogs (markhempshell.blogspot.co.uk and marketing-inspiration.info). Sometimes I get hundreds of visits in a week, which is great, but sometimes there are hardly any and so I wonder whether there is really any point.
Would be really interested to hear what everyone thinks.
- Is it to help publicise your books/services. (This is my reason by the way.)
- Is it just to help organise/record your thoughts? A bit like a traditional diary really, except that everyone can take a peak.
- Is it just because you think you ought to have one?
I put quite a bit of work into my blogs (markhempshell.blogspot.co.uk and marketing-inspiration.info). Sometimes I get hundreds of visits in a week, which is great, but sometimes there are hardly any and so I wonder whether there is really any point.
Would be really interested to hear what everyone thinks.
Tagged:
Comments
Attracting readers - as opposed to hits - is the key.
We have some very popular bloggers on TB and I think their success can be measured by how many hits are transferred into readers that post comments.
As to your question, is there any point in having one if you don't get many hits (let alone readers)? Yes - evaluate why that might be and see if you can edit the content to improve the stats.
I've found from looking at my stats that some subjects get persistent high numbers both at the time and for months after, and other items that don't seem popular at the time can get quite a few views later on...
I have tried to set up a blog a couple of times - because I keep being told that I'm supposed to have one - and found them very un-user friendly. (I'm not a great techie, but I'm not completely hopeless.)
Anyway, I haven't persevered because I never read peoples' blogs and don't see why anyone would read mine. I spend enough time on the computer/on-line without spending even more reading or writing blogs.
p.s. for those who don't know, I'm not a novelist with a book to promote which may explain my reasoning!
You can have a blog just for fun, but in that case you wouldn't worry about the stats.
Every week I post links to free to enter writing competitions. That gives me an extra reason to look for these and encourages me to enter some. I also put links to free ebooks or give aways by my friends and contacts.
Like everything you get out what you put in. If you regularly post something interesting and/or useful you'll get readers. If you have nothing to say or rarely post then there's no reason for people to visit. Same goes if it's just a series of adverts.
For him it was certainly a good move!
Thanks for comments everybody, some interesting views.
Liz Fielding is always popular, but recently datco2014's book is bumping around quite nicely. I bet he never thought he'd be in a tussle with Liz F.
Today's hits reveal sallyj is chasing him!
But I'm not using it as a platform to sell anything. At least not yet. I started another thread asking if anyone had time to read a book I wrote and give their opinions on whether it was worth putting back on the market - but I'm laying that one to rest. I am working on a new novel but I've always planned to send that off to agents to get representation.
I set my blog up in April two years ago to take part in a blog challenge - a blog a day for a month (except Sundays) on any subject, but each entry had to begin with successive letters of the alphabet.
I did mine on endangered animals, and have done it twice since, it was great fun.
I think the secret is to have something someone is interested in, and not just you.
Part of the deal of the above challenge is that you have to read 5 other blogs a day doing the same thing.
The most boring blogs were people advertising their book by doing successive letters on their book's character names and plot points etc - who cares? If the novel is good enough even, you wouldn't want to pick it apart after you read it, let alone before.
The best blogs were those that gave interesting info, had a sense of fun, even if it was only a tiny scrap a day, or offered something, and weren't obsessed by their own wonderfulness. Doesn't sound like you will be!
Also, just day to day happenings were interesting, ie a mum with a baby, an author who had sent something off and gave her feelings about it, and the next day talked about pens that went missing, or gave an opinion on an article from bookseller.
You can get online magazines like Bookseller free, and that often sparks ideas or opinion.
Tricks are:
Decide who you are speaking to and that focuses your content.
Make sure your entries are SHORT!!! And make sure the paragraphs are only 3-4 sentences at most - paragraphs, treat them differently on the internet, large blocks are tricky to read and offputting.
Use photos, always brightens something up, You can Google Flikr creative commons and use the first in the list, the attribution only photos, then all you have to do is give credit. Fab photos there.
If you find someone you're interested in, you'll probably see a list of blogs they're interested in and may find blogs you're interested in, and they'll have a list and so on.
Just look at those links, or ask people you know for recommendations.
Have a look at our blog updates post too.
http://www.google.co.uk/blogsearch
Other blog search engines are available!