Self-published authors face many challenges, but one of them is marketing and promotion. Drawing attention to one’s books is difficult. Especially in an environment of increasing information and resources.
In this context, an author blog can help you build an audience and promote your publications. Yet, the strategy may backfire if not done properly. Here are 8 mistakes to avoid if you want to run a successful author blog.
Why create an author blog?
The first thing you must be wondering now is why to do this at all. An author blog has two main purposes: audience construction/engagement, and promotion.
Traditionally published authors usually have these pages for marketing purposes, like the case of George Saunders (Penguin Random House). They are supported by the publishing house to promote the author and his/her work. Audience construction is not the main goal here as the house has its own followers.
But the self-publishing industry is a different story. Promotion, in this case, is secondary. These authors first need to create a community of followers who will eventually buy their books. Thus, creating a blog can help achieve this and other goals too.
Advantages of an author blog
- Generate traffic to your website
- Sell your books
- Get followers and readers
- Get subscribers
- Create a database of followers
- Develop a brand (or reputation as an author)
- Find work and new opportunities
8 mistakes you want to avoid in your blog
Blogs have been around for three decades now. It’s an industry in and of itself and, as such, it has its secrets.
Building and running a blog can bring benefits for any business (including self-publishing) but it must be done right. Luckily, certain guidelines have been proven to work during these thirty years. To help you get started, we present 8 common mistakes that beginners do when blogging.
#1 – Speaking about you in the third person
When writing the ‘About me’ section, make sure to find the right voice. If you are a beginner, is quite obvious that you won’t hire a person to write your biography. Writing about you in the third person can look pretentious and artificial. Simply tell your story to others and outline your objectives. This alone will help you gain the reader’s trust.
#2 – Using your blog as a place where to write your opinions
If you have strong principles, there are other channels to state them. Make sure that the blog has a clear purpose and brings value to the reader. If expressing your personal beliefs is important for you, you can use other platforms like Facebook or Twitter.
#3 – Using your blog for spamming
Don’t use your blog to send spammy messages or massive publicity. Only send promotions to people that are already interested in your content. This takes us to the next topic.
#4 – Underestimating the power of a mailing list
Make sure your followers have the option to subscribe. This will help you create a list of pre-qualified followers that can turn into clients. There are many tools to segment this audience and send them valuable information. This is the best approach to build and grow a community of followers, which is the blog’s main goal.
#5 – Overuse of pop-ups
While these were popular a few years ago, now they have been proven to bring poor results. In general, they are annoying and get in people’s way. Try to lure your followers with content, not pop-up ads. Although more difficult, this strategy is far more effective.
#6 – Not inserting a link to your book
Make sure that visitors can easily find the link to your book’s selling page. Also, the payment methods available must be popular and easy to find. In some cases, you can use an e-commerce plugin or simply insert a link to a third-party checkout page.
#7 – Not paying attention to the blog’s layout
Your blog must be nice-looking and functional. Readers should have a pleasant experience and be able to find what they are looking for easily. Nowadays there are plenty of DIY tools to help you achieve this. These include WordPress, plugins, add-ons, and page builders.
#8 – Speaking only about yourself
Yes, we know that the author blog is to promote your books and get yourself out there as an author. Yet, this can be achieved in many ways. A clever approach is to discuss other writers’ work and bring guests. Don’t be afraid to publish guest posts, write entries together with other writers, and interview people relevant in your field. This can only enrich your blog and make the content interesting.
Conclusion – 8 mistakes to avoid when writing your author blog
After presenting the 8 don’ts of running an author blog, we’d like to close with a bit of advice. All these tips must be implemented with one goal in mind: provide valuable and unique content.
Although the SEO experts recommend publishing from one to three entries a week, quality always beats quantity. Make sure you always prioritize the former, even if this means publishing only once a month.
Finally, don’t overestimate the value of uniqueness. Find a topic/service that only you can provide. Even if it seems lame, you’ll be surprised at how many people will be interested. It’s always better to have 10 faithful followers than a thousand non-dedicated ones.
Apply yourself and work relentlessly. Succeeding in self-publishing is possible with these tips.