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Today's post is in regards to the Book Blogger Convention. There are a few key topics being discussed at the convention, and I've decided to talk about one of them, which is marketing your blog.
I've been a blogger since 2000, way before most people even knew what a blog was. I've blogged on blogger, Livejournal, and Wordpress. It wasn't until I started this blog that I really began to care about stats and getting my name out there. My other blogs were personal, and I wasn't appealing to a broader reader group.
I've had this blog for about two months, and I have about 100 followers. I think I've amassed this many followers so quickly because I participate in weekly memes in the book blogging community, like the Book Blogger Hop, and so on. I like to think I keep readers by making an active effort to blog, and to include original content. Memes are fine in moderation (I participate in three every week) and are a great way to add content to your blog, especially on those days where you're not sure what to blog about. But nothing but memes should not a blog make. You don't have to blog every day, but if you want to have a blog that attracts a large group of readers, you should carve out time in your week to write posts, and if you're a review blog, to read books, obviously!
I personally like the blogs best where I know a bit about the blogger, even if it's information gleaned from their profile. You should never talk about more than you're comfortable with sharing on the internet, but even if you add some information in your profile about yourself, it's a start. Like I know blogger A is married with kids and lives in New Orleans, or blogger C is a single girl in London. It gives me some perspective when I'm reading their posts, and I feel like I can connect with the blogger a bit more than someone I know absolutely nothing about.
Good old fashioned commenting is another great way to get new readers. But there are two ways to comment. The good way (or some variation of the following):
Hi there book blogger! I discovered your blog via x. I've taken a look around and I really like your blog! I'm your newest follower. I really liked your review of x book, or what you had to say about y topic. Have a great day!
and then there's the way that irritates me to high heaven:
Hi! Stopping by via x! I like your blog! Please visit my blog, and enter my contest!
This is wrong on a couple levels.
1. Don't just cut and paste comments into blog after blog. People will notice. If you want to C&P, make an effort to at least include the name of the blogger or their blog in your comment if nothing else.
2. There is a big difference between self-promotion and SPAM. Don't leave comments about contests or other special events on blogs you don't follow, or have no intention of following. If you have a relationship with the blogger, ask if they wouldn't mind talking about your contest either in a post or in their sidebar. Also, it's up to you whether you want to include an additional link in your comment directing towards your blog. I've heard differing opinions on this, some people think it's no big deal, while others see it as a hare spammy. I generally just comment and figure that if the blogger is interested, they will click my profile name to learn more about me.
One last piece of advice: you really should be on Twitter if you're not already. I admit I was way late to the game in joining Twitter, mainly because for a long time I didn't really see the point. Twitter is a great way to connect with other book bloggers, authors and to keep up with the publishing industry. The latter is especially interesting if you're an aspiring author. You can also tweet when you have a new blog post, so people can click over right away instead of reading it in their reader. I follow all my favorite bloggers, and when they say they have an update in their blog, I click right on over!
I do have to admit I'm no guru when it comes to blogging, and this advice is what works for me, not everyone may agree with it. I've gotten several pieces of advice from Parajunkee and The Story Siren that have been very helpful to me along the way.
Do you have any blogging tips? What are your blogging pet peeves?
Commenting on a post about commenting always makes me paranoid - am I going to commit a faux pas myself? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI did find you via the Book Blogger Hop this week, and like you I've been blogging since about 2000 and my book blog is also the first where I've cared about expanding my audience.
I can't stand copied & pasted comments - I don't need every comment to be a dissertation, but a little personalization goes a long way for me! I also like to hear where people have found my blog, partially out of curiosity and partially as a networking thing - do I have a lurker fan who's never commented on my blog yet has linked to me? It's always interesting to see where links to my blog end up!
Also: I totally love Twitter. I tweet when I have a new blog post, but also use it to share book/publishing news that may not be worthy of a full post, so it's not just a miniature re-hash of my blog.
Some great advice! Good commenting does take a little thought. Sometimes a meme just doesn't beg for indepth comments so I don't feel bad leaving something like "hello, nice meme. I'm doing it, too." It's good to remember there are so many newbies each week and that spam-type comments are just apart of being new and not knowing what to say.
ReplyDeleteI like your advice about Twitter. I'm new to it and had't thought about looking up my favorite authors! Duh! Now, I'm excited.
I also posted on Marketing for the Archair BBC. Check it out if you get time this weekend!
@ Angela: good point about using Twitter for topics probably not worthy of a full blog post! I will keep that in mind. I do find most of the new bloggers I follow via the Book Blogger Hop, but I generally do try to comment if I find them elsewhere.
ReplyDelete@ Chelle: I'm understanding of newbies-I myself am not too far off from being one, at least in the book blogging community. Everyone has to get their feet wet at some point. :) It seems like just about everyone is on Twitter, from author, editor and publisher! Have fun finding them.
agreed Ive noticed it in the past when someone copy and pastes and more than anything its just a let down, because you were hoping that person had stopped by genuinely because they liked what they saw, so good honest post, ps also stopping by book blogger hop :)
ReplyDeleteI really loved your post, you're so right...and you phrased everything so well.
ReplyDeleteI've been blog hopping for about an hour and I've noticed several people with copy & pasted "Hi, I'm hopping...my blog is HERE" posts, and I find it so obnoxious. What is the point of that, I'd like to know?
I'm having a great time finding new blogs, I just launched my blog today and I love seeing the different ways people have of expressing themselves :)
You made a great point about memes too, I'm trying to decide what memes I personally want to participate in, I certainly don't want to do them everyday!
Anyway, I love your blog...now I'm off to follow you on twitter as well :)
@ blueicegal: exactly! When I get an e-mail saying I have a comment, I'm hoping it's a thoughtful one like you see in this post. When I see a borderline spam or obviously c&p'ed comment, it is disappointing!
ReplyDelete@ Allison: congrats on starting your blog! As for memes, there are a lot. Some are not going to be applicable every week (like In My Mailbox) and some are "post this on x day every week", so hopefully you'll find a couple that work right for you!
Very interesting post! I have to admit that I think memes can be overdone and I hesitate participating in them myself. For example, when I go through my Reader, I often will skip over certain memes. So, when it comes to these, I think you have to be particular about which ones you participate in . . . then again, you did kind of say that here!! :)
ReplyDelete