In this virtual world we live in,
blogging is often used as an effective method of promotion. Readers need a
reason to come to your blog though and a constant barrage of sales ads rarely
encourages them.
You need to write blogs that are
interesting, post them fairly regularly, and keep your style consistent. A
reader who likes your post and decides to come back expects to find the same caliber
of writing and the same interest level. Think about watching a television
series – if you try out an episode or two and like it, you’ll most probably
tune in again and again.
There is room for promotion in your
non-advertisement blog. You might discuss a topic that is featured in your book
and make a single and unobtrusive reference to your book. You can choose any random
subject that your reader might connect with and then make reference to one of
the characters in your book. I did this in a recent blog post about pretense, “Like
Samantha in A Chaunce of Riches, are you leading a life others expect of
you or are you living your dream?” In just a few words, I connected my readers
with my character and hopefully created interest in the book.
Whether or not you have subtle references
to your book in your blog, you need to have obvious and easy to follow links on
your blog-site to lead to your books and buying links, your web-site and other
important info. Although your readers should not have to deal with constant “buy-me,
buy-me” in your blog posts, your blog-site can be an attractive billboard.
Promote your blogs by tweeting,
Facebook and other social media sites. Be sure to use tags so that search
engines can find each post. For instance, for my blog about pretense (Keeping
Up With Appearances) I used the following tags: A Chaunce of Riches, appearances, Chelle Cordero, fun, pretending,
pretense. Don’t forget to promote your blog posts in email and groups also.
Promoting your post is especially important if you’ve been allowed a guest spot
on someone else’s site, this way you can pay them back with increased traffic.
Writing Exercise: What
do you have in common with any one of your characters? Find a topic and write
up to 300 words on that topic. Mention the character and yourself no more than
one time.
Writing Prompt:
Think about the books and/or TV shows you select most often. What are
the top five priorities/interests/topics you look for that draw you to these
sources?
