The Blogging Writer: Why Running A Successful Blog Benefits Every Writer
So maybe you’ve heard the dirty and unsettling news; survival as a writer these days depends on a platform. I used to shudder upon hearing those words. Like many beginning writers, I had a tendency towards introversion and the mere thought of putting myself, or my work, out into the world seemed very perilous. However, one of the surest ways to build that platform while still not selling your creative soul, is by establishing a blog.
WHAT’S A BLOG AND WHY DO I NEED IT?
- A blog is a conveniently sized bite of information (think 800-1200 words). Short enough to be read in lieu of the back of a cereal box. They’re good because they write fast. They’re tricky because you have to say something that’s engaging and/or useful in fewer words.
- Blogs are excellent forums to educate, promote, and reach thousands of readers. They can be anything; informational, expositional, or just plain entertaining. Yours can be whatever you choose, (just please don’t make it dry).
Beyond these things, blogs are an excellent addition to your website, which you NEED TO HAVE as an author (check out these free or low-cost websites: www.weebly.com, www.wix.com, www.wordpress.com).
Blogs on your website can be as long or short as you like, cover any topic, feature guest bloggers, and you never have to worry that your work is going to be rejected (unless it’s REALLY bad and then you need a come-to-Jesus-meeting with yourself about why you never went to welding school like your mom wanted).
HOW DO I BEGIN BLOGGING?
I highly recommend taking some time to think about the following factors:
- WHAT do YOU want to write about?
I follow beautiful blogs that are nothing but poetry. I follow blogs that are nothing but writing craft. I follow blogs that are sometimes promotions, sometimes commentary, on the state of our social decay, and sometimes about birds. I love each of them, but what’s important is that I KNOW what I will get when I sit down to read that blog.
So brand yourself. If you’re into writing and love it, blog about it. If you’re a poet, use your blog for poems. If you’re a murder mystery writer, blog about true crime. It doesn’t really matter as long as you have a consistent topic and writing style.
My blog, The Beautiful Stuff, is a “blog about writing and fostering a creative and balanced life which aims to help new writers get their start.” I’ve offered ‘classes’ each week a new topic (characters, dialogue, plot, structure, setting, poetry). I’ve also pontificated on social justice as it pertains to living a balanced life and how we use our words as writers to effect change. I’ve talked openly about mental health and depression because, again—balancing life with a creative mind, is often difficult.
DO write about something you’re passionate about.
- WHEN do you want to blog?
Is this something you can do every week for 500 words? A haiku every two weeks? Do you just want a monthly newsletter?
No matter the frequency, I highly recommend that you always drop your blog on the same day. The last Friday of the month. Every other Monday. Every day (who are you?) Some websites will even allow you to schedule blogs so they will automatically post on your day and time.
DO pick a day and DON’T miss it.
Once you’ve gotten a good idea about the purpose and the frequency of your blog, make sure you schedule time in advance to write, proof, and post it so that it always lands on the same day around the same time.
HOW DO I MAKE MY BLOG SUCCESSFUL?
- It has to offer something useful, be efficient, and having a unique niche doesn’t hurt
- Build your email list either by putting a sign-up on your website, or through giveaway contests like Crave, Goodreads, Bookstr, Book Riot etc.
- Link it to every site you have. Put it on your Facebook, your Pinterest, your Instagram, your TikTok. Sign up for a free account at LinkTree to link all of your sites so your blog is the central meeting spot for anyone looking to get to know you and your work.
- Run promotions, contests, and offers for guest blogs. This will get readers engaged, want to share your blog, and may follow you. Promotions don’t have to be complex. It could be: “This week I talked about strawberry pickles, comment on your best strawberry pickle recipe and be entered to win a case of pickling jars!” (or whatever floats your blogging boat). It creates interest and engagement and connects you to your audience (maybe other writers).
- Ask other writers to “guest blog”
- That’s a blog you don’t have to write.
- It promotes someone else’s work and they can put on their platform that they’ve been featured on “Strawberry Pickle Press”
- They may return the favor. Then their readers may become your readers too if they like what you have to say (i.e. building your platform)
So there you have it. Blogging is nothing to be afraid of, and it doesn’t have to be highly technical or an everyday affair. It just has to be consistent, written with heart, and engaging to audiences. After all, we’re writers, that’s what we do best.
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S.E. REICHERT is the author of Raising Elle, the Southtown Harbor series, and two poetry anthologies. For the last two years, she has won the Wyoming Writer’s Short Story competition for “213” and “A Man of Few Words.” She earned a B.A. in biological and cultural anthropology with minors in women’s studies and religious studies from the University of Wyoming, an A.S. in General Sciences/Aviation Science from Casper College, and she is also a certified massage therapist and holistic health practitioner.
In addition to being a prolific novelist with memberships at North Colorado Writers, Wyoming Writers, and WyoPoets, she is a teacher, a blogger at The Beautiful Stuff, an instructor at the Kaizen International Black Belt Academy, and a mom. She currently resides with her family in Fort Collins, CO, where she practices and teaches Kenpo Karate as a 2nd degree Black Belt.
https://sarahreichertauthor.com
RAISING ELLE
From the author of the Southtown Harbor series and two poetry anthologies comes a powerful story of healing and the power of love. In Raising Elle, the first installment in a three-part series, Elle Sullivan comes back to her hometown, Sweet Valley, Wyoming, bruised to hell and hiding a big secret. Determined to start her life over, she embarks on a journey to take back her power and help her family save their small horse ranch. But running into her old high school sweetheart, Blake O’Connor, reminds her that no road to success is easy. Raising Elle is a journey through hardships and forgiveness, and all the ways love heals even the deepest wounds.
BUY HERE
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips
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Yeah, I agree that blogs are excellent forums to educate, promote, and reach thousands of readers. Keep going and enjoy. Have a great day.
Thank you for your post. You are so right about the need to have a platform in order to be a successful writer, but there is nothing new in this. When my first books were published in the 1980s, the publishers set up the platform. Yes, as an introvert, I had to have the courage to speak all over the country, on radio and TV, and to lead writing workshops, but at least I didn’t have to promote myself. So successful was this, that I had major publishers commissioning me to write other people’s memoirs, one of which became a Bestseller.
Because things gave changed so much, I’ve given up writing bookd and am now about to relaunch my blog. Having, in the past, blogged on Resources for Authors, Book Club Leaders & Readers, I shall now continue with my third genre, Relationships & Lifestyle. Thank you, again, for your prompt reminder – a resource of great help to all writers, I’m sure.