Blogs for eBook Authors
Blogs are powerful tools for authors. A blog is a way to personalise your eBook journey with your fan base. You can write about how you got the idea for your eBook, how you started, how long it took, where your passion came from, how long it took to complete the eBook, your next step with writing and so on.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, maybe you have heard of a blog but have no idea what it really is. A "Blog" is short for "Web log" and is basically a place on the internet where you can post your own journal entries. People create blogs about anything and everything. As an author, blogging is a great way to connect with your readers.
Blogs can be incorporated into your website or they can be stand alone sites with your own domain names and blogging platform.
It is also a great way to provide the reader with some learning material or informative articles about writing or your niche topic.
Don't overload your blog with advertising banners or material. It will only distract the reader and in many cases make your site look tacky. Your primary goal is to build your brand and then sell!
Include links on your blog to your eBook sales page as well as your author profile page. One common and annoying flaw with many links on a blog is that they are broken. Search engines also hate broken links so always check that your links are working and active.
You Can Start a Free Blog Using:
1. Blogger.com
2. Wordpress.org
3. Wordpress.com (just choose your keyword rich name and start immediately)
4. Livejournal.com
Wordpress.com
My first blog was using a free blog at WordPress.com. This is a great way to get started in the blogging world as it gives you a start in learning the skills and techniques required to become a successful blogger.
WordPress.com has many tools available for you to create an eye catching blog along with a good selection of templates to choose from that will suit your niche. If you don't have a blog yet, then can get a free one up and running within minutes using this easy software.
Why Are Blogs Required Marketing Tools for Authors?
1. Important component of your author platform
2. Network and connect with people of the same interest
3. Helps to build your brand
4. Provides another option for people to find you on the internet
5. Provides you with a platform t promote your own eBook
6. Distribute sample chapters of your eBook
7. Provides you with a dynamic platform to improve your writing skills
8. What Makes a Great Blog for an eBook Author?
Have you ever wondered why some blogs become very successful and others seem to attract very few readers? Maybe it's because there are over 200,000,000 blogs on the internet.
Some blogs are poorly maintained, provide very little benefit to the reader or are poorly designed. If you are going to blog then you need to know what is required to make it successful otherwise you will be doing a lot of work for nothing and wasting your time. Why write a blog if no-one is going to read it!
(1) You Must Provide Quality and Informative Articles
You won't see the top bloggers putting out articles that are just full of "fluff." You must aim to deliver an article of high value and quality every time you write. The day you think that you can just write for the sake of writing or post for the sake of updating your blog is the day that your readers will start to switch off and go elsewhere for their information.
You need to enjoy and be passionate about the topic of your blog. If you just blog to make money then you will find it harder to stay motivated. Choose a topic you love, choose a topic you have knowledge to share with people and writing will be a lot easier.
The great thing about blogs is that the content you provide can come in many great formats. You can write an article, produce a video, pod cast, give away an eBook or add a forum to your blog so readers can become more interactive.
(2) Know Your Audience
You need to focus on a "niche" topic for your blog. If you choose a highly popular topic such as "weight loss" or "making money on the internet" then you will find that there is an incredible amount of competition already out there and that you will have to provide something exceptional to draw those readers away from related blogs to your blog. For example, maybe create a blog for "weight loss for women in their 60's" or "how to make money from writing an eBook."
The golden rule is to provide quality information that is relevant to your readers. If they are finding that they are learning or having their lives "enhanced" by the information on your site then they will keep returning to your blog. The day you drop off in quality is the day that they may also drop off in reading your blog and go elsewhere.
Some Questions to Ask Yourself With Regards to Understanding Your Target Audience Include:
1. What is the specific reader or audience that I'm writing to?
2. What's keeping them in this situation?
3. What can I write or what other areas can I write about that may help them?
4. Why would this reader need help in this?
5. How can I write more informative articles to help them?
6. If you don't have anything of benefit to write about or add to the topic then don't write about it. The internet has enough websites and blogs that are full of useless information. Write to inform, not to just fill up space.
Write real content that contains real value for the reader.
How About You?
1. Do you write "value for time" content?
2. Who is the reader you are writing the next article for?
3. What is the problem you are solving for the reader?
4. If someone with this problem is reading your article, will it help them out of their situation?
5. How is it going to benefit them?
(3) You Don't Always Have to Work Harder, Just Smarter!
You can't expect to just write a lot of articles and expect people to flock to your blog. You will need to do some marketing for your blog utilising some of the market tools and techniques that we have outlined in this eBook.
Quality over quantity! One great article will draw more readers than five articles of little value. Try to write about topics that no-one else is writing about. Provide your reader with new and original tips, advice and help for the problem they are trying to solve.
(4) Practice What You Preach
If you want to be a successful blogger then you need to lead by example. This is true for many people such as sports coaches, teachers and leaders of all industries.
Once you realise that what you say could influence someone then you will take your work more seriously. Readers will come to you for advice. Many will then follow through and use your advice. If your advice works then they will keep coming back for more.
I have found many "so-called experts" on the internet writing about a specific topic but when you actually do some research on them they have never been able to succeed in what they are trying to preach to you.
For example; I have been involved in the eBook industry for nearly a decade now. I once read an eBook on how to write a bestselling eBook that will make you huge profits and allow you to give up your day job. When I did some further research and asked the author some questions I soon found out that he had never written an eBook before and had never made money from an eBook. Yet he was claiming to be some guru on eBooks.
These guys just pull content from various sources and then just put it all together. You cannot con people and if you are going to claim to be an expert then you need proof to back your claim up.
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