Want to start a self-publishing blog? Advertising costs are up and I’ve received many questions about starting a blog to market your books.
In this post, we won’t be talking about WordPress and brand colors and similar trivia. It’s not important. Consider that you’re blogging to sell books, so 1001 blog visitors oohing and ahhing about your pretty blog are 100% useless.
Let’s start at the beginning. Do you need a blog?
Do you need a blog for your self-publishing business?
The short answer is: no, you don’t. There are many ways to market your books.
Moreover, blogging is tricky, because authors are by nature shy. I’ve looked at author blogs where the author makes no attempt at all to sell his books — unless you’re psychic you’d have no idea the author had books to sell.
Your self-publishing blog MUST be a sales tool.
Luckily, you can sell on your blog quite painlessly. This article, Blogging for Authors: Increase Reader Engagement and Sell More Books, suggests:
- Ask for the Sale. At the bottom of each blog post, mention your book and include a link to purchase.
- Share on Social Media. Share each new blog post across your social media networks. Include the post title with a link to continue reading on your site.
If you’ve decided that you’d like to create a blog, these tips will help.
1. Take ten minutes and create an “index card” business plan
The more you know about your goals, the better. That said, your business plan can and must be simple. I love this one from Susan Hyatt:
I wanted to map out a business plan ASAP.
I grabbed a napkin and I wrote on the back:
COACHING BUSINESS
Network your ass off.
Start with 8 clients a week at $125 per session.
4 workshops a year.
Start a blog.
Get on local TV.
2. Your blogging persona: who are you?
You need to decide who you'll be as a blogger. What image will you project? Be yourself of course, but decide how much personal information you'll share. If your blog's all-business, you won't be talking about your partner, or the movie you saw last night.
Choose a couple of audience personas too. These are the book-buyers for whom you'll be creating content. Personas work because once you’ve got a couple of personas, you’re no longer talking to air; you’re talking to real people.
Give each persona a name and a mini-bio. For example: “Melinda is 32 years old. She's been married for 6 years. Her reading happens during her lunch hour and at bedtime. Her son is six months old and she’s just returned to her day job from maternity leave. She and her husband want to….” etc.
When you're creating blog content, you're speaking directly to Melinda.
3. When you’ve got something to say, say it on your blog
Keep the bulk of your book marketing content on your blog, rather than on Facebook et al. However, be aware that there’s not an immediate correlation between your blog posts and book sales. Your blog’s visitors won’t magically turn into buyers immediately. Your audience will build slowly.
When you want instant sales, advertise. Advertising on Amazon, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest is becoming more expensive, so expect to spend more than seems to make sense.
A couple of days ago I chatted with an author who told me that he’s spending more on AMS than he’s getting back in sales. It’s worth it to him for now, because he’s building visibility.
However, a big ad spend isn’t sustainable longterm. The biggest benefit of a self-publishing blog is that it’s sustainable, and your sales increase over time.
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