The “should I start a blog” topic popped up on the forum yesterday, and I want to offer my answer to this question once and for all: Yes, of course you should start a blog!
Why wouldn’t you take advantage of this fabulous, free opportunity to not only practice your craft, but also start actively building your readership.
Every writer circa 2009 should have a blog. It’s free and the technology is accessible to all. Don’t worry yourself over things like SEO and RSS or HTML. You don’t need to know any of that to start a blog, although your knowledge of these things will naturally grow as you become more comfortable with blogging.
I’ve written many posts on website building and blogging. I highly recommend starting out with a simple Wordpress.com account for the most user-friendly, free service. Then, when you’re ready to expand into a full-fledged multi-page website, it’s easy to transfer those files onto Wordpress.org, which is a more flexible and powerful platform.
The most important thing is to start and stick with it. That puts you ahead of the pack in more ways than you realize.
Here, I’ve assembled a number of the posts I’ve written on blogging/website building in one handy post. If you’re just starting a blog, this will be more information than you need, so you may want to skim the information and come back to specific topics when you’re ready.
Choosing a Domain
Since I’m a writer and no techno-wiz, I’ve just gotten past a steep learning curve to build my website from scratch, and I wanted to share what I learned in a weeklong series here on Editor Unleashed.
I’m going to start from the very beginning, because I wished several weeks ago for one reliable resource to take me through all of the steps in a very basic way. Read more…
Website Software and Hosting
OK, so you’ve got your domain registered and you’re ready for the next big step in building your website. Now it’s time to figure out software options and hook up with a Web Host (aka server).
Several people here have spoken out in favor of iMac, and I’ve used FrontPage before with decent results. But after much research and discussion with other writers, I opted to go with WordPress. Read more…
Design
Now, let’s talk design. This is perhaps the most subjective element of building your website, because your website, after all, should reflect your personal aesthetic.
Here’s my thinking and why I chose to go with such a spare, minimal theme at least for now: if you’re going the DIY route, it’s best to stay simple. Simple works. Read more…
Advertising
It seems to me a lot of people are getting into blogging because they believe they can earn easy cash via ad networks like Google AdSense. Admittedly, it is an appealing prospect since Google does all the work of actually selling the ads, all you have to do is host them on your site right? Read more…
How to Start Building Your Platform
I spent much of last week following coverage from the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference. What was made abundantly clear is that the future of publishing is largely in the hands of individual authors. In a nutshell: All writers absolutely need to start building their community of readers. Read more…
Blogging to your Niche
I want to expand on yesterday’s blog How to Start Building Your Platform. I realized I didn’t get specific enough about a very important issue: Blogging to your niche. And yes this applies to both fiction and nonfiction writers. Read more…
Get on the Bus: How to Find your Peeps
No writer can be successful without a supportive group of friends. The reality is, when you start a blog, no one is going to go looking for you. You’ve got to reach out and start looking for those like-minded folks who want to go on a long ride with you—to get on the bus with you, metaphorically speaking.
The most common mistake most bloggers make is thinking they can simply turn out several clever posts a week and the masses will show up and greet you with open arms. Wow, that would be cool wouldn’t it? Read more…
Keep learning with me. Subscribe to this blog (free) and you won’t miss a post!
-Maria Schneider
Flickr photo by RiotJane
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Great overview, Maria! Unless you’re Stephen King, every writer should have a blog these days as the foundation of their online platform, and it’s not nearly as difficult or time-consuming as many seem to think it is. Nice job demystifying the process.
Very helpful post, Maria.
I agree that these days an online presence is pretty much a necessity if you want to write for a living, although for a Luddite like me, it’s an evil necessity. I also think that too many writers operate under the assumption that their online presence is all the platform they need. Sure, there are some examples of successful writers who only have a “virtual platform,” but I think the more common formula for success is a broad, multi-media platform, with blogs and webistes as just individual planks.
I’d also encourage writers, particularly nonfiction hacks like me, to look into partnerships with existing, high-traffic websites that might be interested in hosting your blog and even pay you for your words. It’s a heck of a lot easier to build readership when you blog through an already established site dealing with content related to what you write about, than it is to go it alone. And obviously, getting a check for every post takes the sting out of the crazy idea of giving your words away for free. ;-)
Great post Maria – as usual.
I’d add one more thing, and I’m the worst at this:
Blog about what you say you’re going to blog about. People may come to your blog from an Alltop listing or from reading a profile of your blog you’ve published in your Google FriendConnect account. If they get there and find all of the entries discuss topics unrelated to how you’ve positioned the blog, you’ll end up with what Google Analytics cleverly calls Bounces (oh, another thing. Install Google Analytics – ton’s of info about visitor activity while on your site); this is where people hit your main page and don’t find what they want – so they bounce out.
I started my blog seven months ago. Running and average of 2.5 posts a month, I have exactly Four (4) posts that get anywhere close to being about Writing, my Alltop identifier. Time to change I suspect – bounce rate is close to 60%.
No surprise there huh?
Sid.
Maria, I am so, so glad Alegra hooked up with you – your insight and advice has become invaluable to me.
~ tomi
Very nice post Maria. I agree with you 100 percent. Here are a couple other things to consider before starting your blog:
@build up a following on twitter. Do this by “micro-blogging” about your topic before you launch your blog. These followers will be your potential readers, muses for posts, and potential guest posters.
@start writing blog posts before you launch your blog. If you’ve had a tough day at work etc., it’s always nice to have a blog post in the can.
@leave comments on other blogs that cover your area. This will pave the way for asking other bloggers to include you on their blog roll.
@Figure out how to use Stumble Upon and Digg. This will help you “meet” other people who are interested in your topic. It will also help you generate Web traffic once you’ve launched.
@Join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your topic.
@Oh yeah, read Maria’s blog. It’s a great source of wisdom about writing and blogging!
I actually started a blog in response to your advice a few months ago, and I now get about 100 hits a day– and I just recently ballooned from 10 to 15 whopping followers! Ok, so that’s not much, but people who aren’t related to me read my blog daily, so I’m pretty excited.
One question, though– I blog about life adjusting to Israeli culture, but that’s not a topic that relates to the novel I’m writing. Would I eventually want to start a blog as more of a book promo tool about… what? My novel is YA, while my blog readers are “A.” Is that a bad thing? I don’t think I could sustain a blog if I tried to start it PURELY as a promotional tool.
P.S. The wacky profile pic actually relates to a blog I toyed with starting that is a spoof of celebrity gossip blogs and fairy tales, which– oddly– DOES relate to the book I’m writing. Check if out if you’re interested! I never actually promoted this blog, though, so you’re the first to see it: brothasgrimm.wordpress.com
My regularly-updated blog: howtobeisraeli.blogspot.com
Blogs as purely promotional tools don’t last long nor attract much of an audience. You should be looking to connect with people who share your interests — or can intelligently debate them — because those connections are the people most likely to be interested in reading your books and recommending them to others.
It’s the cocktail party analogy: the most interesting people usually aren’t talking about their day jobs.
Congratulations! I have chosen you to receive the “Premios Dardo” Award. Please check out my post at: http://www.thewritertoday.com/2009/05/premios-dardo-award.html
Thanks for the thoughtful comments all.
@Maya, I agree with Guy, a blog shouldn’t be used as a promotional tool. You should write about what naturally interests you and what your readers (your target audience) finds compelling.
I always recommend Nail Gaiman as a blogging role model for writers: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/ He’s really been brilliant at developing a social media following.
I remember all these posts. They were great advice then and remain great advice now. And I second Sid’s advice, use Google Analytics (or a similar tool). Know your audience.
~jon
Where will this info be available in the future? I don’t have time to print it out now and have 2 articles due (1 today and 1 by Monday) so I surely don’t have time to start my new blog and learn about everything everyone said to make it successful. I was successful on MySpace in attracting my target market for my book. Will this work in a similar fashion? I am tweeting but only following and accepting followers that relate to writing (magazines, publishers, etc.) which is how I found this forum.
Susan – Copy the address from the address bar and save it in a file on your desktop. When you find time to breath & blog the address will take you back to this very page. No printing required!
My guess – Maria will leave the page here for you for at least a few days… :-) (<– There, I did it! I emotaconned on a blog; though only in comment form… Does that count Maria?)
@Susan, Just bookmark this post (copy and paste this hyperlink: http://editorunleashed.com/2009/05/28/the-editor-unleashed-guide-to-good-blogging/ and you can come back to it whenever you like. I might also give it its on its own page one day next week.
Sigh! Sigh! Damn!
Maria, I know it is fear that stops me, but I can’t seem to make it happen.
Thanks for your encouragement. I read this and think, okay, I can do this. And then there is great advice from Cheapskate, Sid, Steven and of course Jon the Master.
I guess I need someone to hold my hand through this.
I enjoyed Darren Rouse’s 31 Days to a Better Blog B (there is another B but I don’t remember what it stands for) but it was for people who already Blog.
How do you choose a name? Maria, I remember you posting the name thread in the Forum for days and there were like a hundred ideas and suggestions. I don’t have anyone to bounce my ideas off.
How do you choose a focus? Just writing? Just life?
Since I am always trying to solve problems, I wonder if we had a protected thread on the forum for new bloggers? With a task for each day.
Or, maybe that is another form of denial and procrastination?
Guess I just need to learn more and get a kick in the butt.
Jon the Master? Who dat? I had to laugh out loud (unless you’re referring to someone else, in which case I need the URL so I can start following him.)
As to names…
The Ulrichian
Mary’s Musings
My Word, Today
From the Heart (because I think writers should write from the heart)
Stepp’n Out (since you’d be stepping out into the world of blogging)
Quite Contrary (if you wanted to blog about gardens)
And So On (which actually works rather well as a blog name, I think)
Check with the continuing education department of your local community college and see if they have a class on starting a blog. I think attending a class like that would go a long way to alleviating the fear factor for you.
~jon
I am a former freelance non-fiction writer. After the last 18 years in marketing I am now embarking on a novel. One of the issues I am struggling with is how much I should reveal on the blog about my novel. I am thinking perhaps sample chapters, short stories about characters that serve as background info. I want to develop interest, but not give away the farm.
Tim Sunderland, author
Rules for Giving, WIP