How to Start Blogging: A Definitive Guide for Authors

Photo credit: M one x y via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-SA

Note from Jane: This station was first published successful 2012. I proceed to update and grow it truthful that it remains applicable for today’s author.

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This will beryllium a unusual measurement to statesman a guideline to blogging, but I want to prevention you time, trouble, and heartache.

The mean writer does not use overmuch from blogging.jo

Yet blogging continues to liking authors, and beryllium discussed, arsenic a measurement to marketplace and promote. Why? Because blogging does work, if definite conditions are met. The problem is that few authors meet those conditions. This station will delve into what it intends to blog successfully and successful a meaningful measurement for an author’s semipermanent level and book trading efforts.

For clarity: I specify “blogging” arsenic publishing worldly to a site that you ain and control—usually your writer website. Blogging is sometimes conflated pinch penning for different websites aliases blogs, but that’s not what I’m discussing successful this post.

Another complication: “Blogging” has go a somewhat dated term. Some group usage it to picture a believe that isn’t each that communal now: keeping a alternatively individual “log” aliases diary of one’s thoughts and experiences. Blogging arsenic discussed present is champion described arsenic online penning you do for free, or—better yet—an online contented strategy wherever you create absorbing articles, columns, interviews, etc. that get shared connected societal and discovered done search.

What it takes to go an effective blogger

If you attack blogging arsenic thing “lesser than” your book penning aliases published writing, you’re much apt to neglect astatine it. While blogging tin beryllium little formal, little researched, and much geared for online skim-reading aliases societal sharing, to do it good requires nan aforesaid benignant of believe and accomplishment arsenic crafting a novel. You get amended astatine it nan much you do it, but I spot galore authors springiness up earlier they’ve put successful capable hours to understand nan medium.

Furthermore, to instrumentality pinch blogging agelong capable for it to salary off, you person to really bask what it intends to blog, and really online penning tin beryllium different from print.

If you dainty nan believe seriously, each nan contented that you make for your blog tin person different life, successful different format aliases wrong different publication. For example, nan champion of my blog contented is condensed into a book, Publishing 101. That required a batch of editing and reformulation (online penning can’t beryllium dumped into people without a batch of work), but it reflects nan worth and extent of what appears connected my blog.

Blogging is often straightforward for nonfiction writers, little truthful for novelists

Nonfiction writers and experts person it easy: their taxable matter lends itself to blogging, especially if they’re school workshops aliases regularly interacting pinch their target readers. Such writers astir apt cognize disconnected nan apical of their caput nan questions that get asked astir frequently, nan topics that are astir popular, and nan problems that aboveground again and again. This is invaluable starting fodder for a successful blog: knowledge of one’s audience. 

Fiction writers tin person successful blogs arsenic well, particularly if they’re capable to attraction connected a circumstantial topic, theme, aliases subgenre. But it tin beryllium astir difficult for unpublished novelists to summation traction pinch a blog; only after nan novelist has built a sanction for herself does a blog readership thin to develop. With nonfiction authors, nan other is nan case: blogging tin thief build a level that leads to a book deal.

This is why proposal astir blogging tin beryllium truthful contradictory and confusing: overmuch depends connected what genre you’re penning successful and who you’re penning for.

Consistency is captious for effective blogging

There are two types of consistency: wave and taxable matter.

Frequency: To summation immoderate benignant of momentum, you should perpetrate to 2-4 posts a week. Some group whitethorn beryllium capable to get by connected 1 station a week, but it’s a struggle to summation traction without volume. Ideally, starting out, you should sprout for respective times per week. The longer you blog, and nan much of an assemblage you build up, the more you tin easiness backmost connected frequency.

Subject matter: Think astir this successful position of your headlines for your blog posts. If you look astatine a month’s worthy of your blog headlines, they should convey a beardown connection astir what you screen connected your blog and who it’s for. A potential scholar should beryllium capable to easy show if they’re going to use from aliases bask reference your posts connected an ongoing basis.

Unfortunately, authors person problem staying focused and disciplined on one taxable aliases taxable matter, often because they get saturated aliases they deliberation readers will get bored. But again, it’s difficult to summation traction if you’re switching it up each nan clip and not accordant successful what you offer.

If you’re willing successful blogging, but interest astir nan clip commitment, past see creating a multi-contributor blog, wherever respective authors successful nan aforesaid genre (or targeting akin audiences) set together. That helps trim nan load arsenic good as increase nan size of your assemblage starting out—since much group will beryllium trading and promoting nan blog.

It takes patience to build a readership unless you’re already well-known

It whitethorn return people months earlier they moreover go alert that your blog exists. This isn’t needfully done immoderate responsibility of your own; there’s an unthinkable magnitude of sound astir us, and enormous demands connected everybody’s attention.

But if you make a continual series of impressions complete a agelong play of clip connected nan aforesaid topic, past it starts to click: “Oh, this personification is blogging, and they’re regularly covering this topic.” Some writers assume, “Oh, everybody knows I’m blogging because I posted astir it,” but no. That’s not nan case, and that’s why consistency is truthful important.

Only astir 10% of your readers (or moreover fewer) will make themselves known to you aliases prosecute pinch you connected your blog, truthful it takes a while earlier you scope a tipping point, wherever there’s a actual denotation of increasing activity aliases interest.

What should you blog about?

The concatenation of events goes thing for illustration this:

1. An author’s book nears its publication day (or possibly nan writer is attempting to unafraid a accepted book deal). She knows she needs to marketplace and beforehand nan book and/or build a platform.
2. She finds (or hears) proposal that blogging is simply a bully measurement to execute #1.
3. She wonders: What do I blog about?

My unproven theory: We person galore authors blogging poorly because of this bid of events.

So really does this reply nan question, “What do I blog about?”

Well, if you person to ask, possibly you shouldn’t beryllium blogging. In that, my position is somewhat stubbornly Zen: if nan action is excessively forced aliases contrived, nan blog whitethorn beryllium doomed from nan start. The champion bloggers person seldom been told to spell do it. It isn’t an activity authors should beryllium dragged into, kicking and screaming. Nor should you consciousness for illustration it’s a load to travel up pinch ideas; ideally, your problem is too many ideas.

However, I don’t want to beryllium wholly defeatist here! I want to promote experimentation. If you tin attack blogging because it benignant of does sound for illustration fun, past let’s spark your imagination arsenic to what you mightiness blog about.

Here are respective models to consider, based connected really challenging I deliberation they are (assuming you want your blog to “pay off”).

Easy: The literate citizenship model

If you’re not acquainted pinch literate citizenship, you tin publication more astir my views connected it here. It fundamentally intends celebrating and bringing attraction to authors, writing, and books—the things you presumably emotion and want to support. This exemplary is perfect for unpublished novelists, memoirists, and poets.

Blogging pinch nan intent to beforehand literate citizenship opens up a batch of station possibilities, including:

• Informal book recommendations aliases reviews
• Q&As aliases interviews pinch group successful nan organization (usually authors)
• “What I’m Reading Now” types of posts and different “media consumption” lists wherever you talk astir what worldly you’re watching, saving, listening to, collecting, etc.

Key benefits: You’re building a awesome web of contacts arsenic you build immoderate fantabulous contented astatine your site. Every writer loves to get attraction (or find a caller fan) for their work.

Where nan trouble lies: Lots of literate citizenship activity exists online, successful galore forms. To get a ample readership will require a unsocial perspective aliases spin—although this is existent of immoderate blogging effort.

Easy-Medium: Write for different writers

This is what I do. Many authors person sizeable proposal and penetration for others successful nan field—and nan assemblage of aspiring writers and established authors is massive. The downside: Connecting pinch different writers doesn’t needfully turn your readership; you extremity up successful an echo enclosure pinch different writers.

Key benefits: If you already thatch penning aliases mentor different writers, you astir apt person immoderate contented you tin re-purpose to substance your early blog posts. Initially, you’ll person nary shortage of ideas, and your first readers will stock your insightful proposal connected societal media and thief you build a postulation base.

Where nan trouble lies: In my experience, pain out. After a fewer years, it’s reliable to support things caller and interesting. Your readers, arsenic they advance, whitethorn besides outgrow your blog.

Easy-Medium: Write successful your section of expertise

This is nan champion action for anyone penning and publishing nonfiction. It useful beautifully pinch how-to aliases prescriptive nonfiction categories, and it tin besides activity pinch memoir arsenic well. For example, if you’re penning a memoir astir addiction aliases caring for aging parents, your blog tin connection accusation and proposal (and stories) for group going done nan aforesaid thing.

Key benefits: You’ll apt beryllium intimately alert of your readership’s needs and tin quickly travel up pinch contented that interests them. If you thatch aliases speak, you’ll besides person contented that tin beryllium readily repurposed for a blog.

Where nan trouble lies: Some categories are fiercely competitive, specified arsenic recreation and cooking. You whitethorn person to do immoderate activity successful coming up pinch an perspective aliases sound that stands out.

Medium: Behind nan scenes

You tin constitute astir nan research, news stories, aliases existent events that play a domiciled successful nan building of your books aliases different work. You mightiness besides create competitions and events that attraction connected scholar engagement, specified arsenic having readers name your novel’s characters, take nan champion cover, etc. Presumably, readers will bask knowing much astir nan discourse and ideas that impact your penning and being progressive successful your early work.

Key benefits: For astir writers, it feels earthy to talk nan things that power their work, and you will apt uncover and prosecute your astir important fans.

Where nan trouble lies: You whitethorn tally retired of worldly quickly, aliases not person a very precocious wave of posts. Or you whitethorn despise nan thought of involving readers successful your work. For unpublished novelists, this attack is challenging since group aren’t acquainted pinch your activity and whitethorn not attraction astir your process (yet).

Difficult: Personal effort aliases regular life

Some writers are successful pinch informal missives that remark connected what’s happening time to time aliases that bespeak connected their individual life. This could besides impact regular posting of circumstantial media, specified arsenic photos aliases videos.

Key benefits: It tin beryllium a bully imaginative outlet aliases practice, particularly if you’re committed to blogging connected a schedule. Fans of your activity whitethorn bask nan intimacy (though immoderate authors for illustration to person an aerial of mystery).

Where nan trouble lies: Not everyone tin constitute entertainingly astir themselves (and immoderate don’t want to). For writers who aren’t yet known, it will beryllium difficult (if not impossible) to liking different group successful nan specifications of your individual life, unless you’re a superlative writer.

This is not an exhaustive database of what you could blog about, but it gives you an thought of nan astir communal options.

Do deliberation done really tin you bring your own voice or position to a topic, theme, aliases taxable matter without repeating what’s already retired there. This is easier said than done. It took maine 18 months to find nan right angle—to realize I do champion erstwhile I attraction connected business proposal and integer media topics for authors.

The astir successful blogs person a very focused angle and entreaty to a very specific audience. This makes it easier to pull attraction and build a organization astir communal interests aliases perspectives.

No 1 should blog successful a vacuum

Before you commencement a blog, place the other cardinal group already blogging successful your area—the influencers. Start reference and sharing their content, and remark astatine their blog. Eventually, if possible, you should guest blog for them. See nan different bloggers not arsenic competitors, but arsenic organization members who whitethorn yet become supporters of your work. If your blog is high-quality, and generates conversation, they’ll beryllium apt to urge you aliases nonstop you traffic. So identify nan notable organization players, or the group who you’ll want to build relationships pinch complete time.

Choose nan correct blogging platform

The champion level to usage is immoderate you usage for your writer website—do not beryllium tempted to build your blog location else. You want everything under nan aforesaid umbrella for hunt motor optimization and semipermanent trading strategy. So, for example, if you person an writer website connected SquareSpace, past commencement your blog there; don’t commencement 1 complete astatine WordPress aliases Blogspot.

If your website level does not support blogging, past it whitethorn beryllium clip to move platforms. I talk about the basics of writer websites here.

If you don’t person an writer website, aliases if you’re doing a multi-contributor blog, past I urge utilizing WordPress. It’s well-supported, continually developed, and runs about 20% of each websites today. Here’s my step-by-step guideline to hosting your ain website aliases blog, which doesn’t return longer than 10-15 minutes.

Before you motorboat nan blog

Before you start, see nan following.

• Blog title and tagline. There are nary hard-and-fast rules here, but it should beryllium clear to caller visitors what your blog is astir and what they’re going to get from it. If your blog title is metaphorical, clever, aliases not clear astir nan blog’s taxable matter (or if it’s conscionable nether your name), adhd a tagline that tells and sells nan angle. Even Michael Hyatt, who is very well-known astatine this point, has a tagline: “Your Leadership Mentor.”
• Readability. If your blog is meant to chiefly beryllium read, past don’t hamper readability by making nan matter excessively small, excessively tight aliases (worst of nan worst) achromatic type connected a achromatic background. Be alert that ads aliases a hard-to-navigate layout tin besides hamper readability and thrust readers elsewhere.
• About page aliases bio. If your blog contented is interesting, people will want to cognize much astir nan personification down it. Don’t make them hunt for this. Create a abstracted page, and beryllium judge to see a measurement to interaction you.
• Comments. You should create a argumentation for really you’ll grip aliases mean discussions. Will you o.k. each remark earlier it goes live? Will comments beryllium automatically published if they’re not spam? An open commenting argumentation that doesn’t require sign-in helps you get much comments, but you’ll want to make judge you’re receiving email alerts erstwhile caller comments are posted, conscionable successful lawsuit you request to delete thing spammy aliases inappropriate that gets through. Fortunately, major blog platforms (like WordPress) thief you streamline your remark strategy to automatically destruct spam activity. If you person immoderate trouble, past install Akismet, the industry-standard plugin to destruct spammy comments.

How to craft quality posts that get publication and shared

Quality tin beryllium a squishy term; much depends connected what your assemblage aliases readership considers “quality” aliases what benignant of contented is engaging to them. The amended you cognize your audience, nan amended your posts will be.

However, here’s really to guarantee that your posts are much apt to beryllium engaged pinch and shared.

• Don’t beryllium acrophobic of length. For immoderate unusual reason, group started reasoning that perfect blog posts are 500 words, moreover less. That’s simply not true. In fact, erstwhile it comes to hunt ranking, Google looks astatine nan substantive quality of nan content and will rank your contented little if it appears shallow. Social media is typically amended for speedy shares, brief commentary, aliases short statements—or anything that doesn’t merit much than a fewer 100 words. The astir successful posts astatine this tract are regularly longer than 2,000 words. However, nan longer nan content, nan much readable it needs to be, which brings america to nan adjacent point.
• Improve scannability. Most group skim online contented and make a very speedy judgement telephone arsenic to whether it merits person attention. If so, your contented whitethorn beryllium saved for later, aliases readers will slow down and publication nan contented from opening to end. To make your contented easy scanned, add subheads, plentifulness of paragraph breaks (one-line paragraphs are acceptable), bulleted lists aliases numbered lists, bold lead-ins—whatever it takes to make your posts much easy to grasp and spot if it’s valuable.
• Add at slightest 1 image. You’ll announcement that I ever statesman posts pinch an image. Psychologically, this typically improves nan perceived worth of nan post—plus these images get pulled and utilized erstwhile nan station is shared connected societal media. It’s OK if nan image isn’t straight related to nan content; it tin beryllium metaphorical, arsenic agelong arsenic it’s attention-grabbing aliases colorful. Blending successful is nan other of what you want.
• Ask a mobility astatine nan end. If you want to get group progressive successful nan comments, you’ll do amended if you extremity nan station connected a question, wherever you inquire group to stock thing circumstantial astir their knowledge aliases experience. Active comments are mostly seen arsenic a bully point because it increases nan clip group walk connected your content, which is simply a awesome of engagement for hunt engines and frankincense contributes to amended hunt ranking for your blog.

Your station headlines are critical

If group saw only your post headline (e.g., connected Twitter), would they feel compelled to click connected it? Remember, nan header is often nan only point group spot erstwhile they’re surfing online and looking astatine hunt results, truthful it’s 1 of nan biggest factors successful whether your station gets read. Here are a fewer considerations:

• Is nan header circumstantial and clear? There’s very small room to beryllium clever, cute, aliases absurd pinch blog station headlines. Plus, for hunt motor optimization, you request to beryllium reasoning of keywords that beryllium successful that header that will thief group find your post.
• Is nan header intriguing aliases provocative? I’m not advocating clickbait headlines, but it doesn’t wounded to create mystery, intrigue, aliases play connected people’s curiosity. You transverse nan statement into clickbait erstwhile nan header doesn’t present connected nan committedness made, aliases if nan header is overly sensationalized to get clicks.
• Does nan header connection a benefit? All of america person constricted clip and power to devour contented online, truthful we’re ever reasoning WIIFM? (What’s successful it for me?)

Here are immoderate existent blog station headlines that I helped an writer improve, to beryllium much circumstantial and attuned to keyword search.

• Original headline: Total Randomness, Mostly Related To Books That Aren’t Mine
• Improved headline: My Summer Reading List: Books I’ve Loved (and Books Still Waiting)

• Original headline: Turn, Turn, Turn
• Improved headline: What If You’re Dreading nan Change of Seasons?

• Original headline: Wanna Have Coffee?
• Improved headline: Overcoming nan Obstacles That Prevent You From Meditating

Create cornerstone content

Cornerstone contented refers to immoderate article, post, aliases page astatine your tract that draws caller readers to your blog consistently, usually done hunt aliases by referral from different sites. Cornerstone contented often is a comprehensive, definitive portion that tackles a often asked question, issue, aliases problem—or features a very celebrated writer or thing successful celebrated civilization that is searched for often.

The cornerstone contented connected this blog tin beryllium seen correct nether “Most Popular Posts”—each 1 points to my 101 posts connected really to get published.

Sometimes, cornerstone contented mightiness beryllium a manifesto aliases download successful PDF form. Chris Guillebeau is well-known for 279 Days to Overnight Success that drew thousands (if not millions) to study astir his blog and his message.

If you’re a nonfiction writer, past this astir apt comes naturally: Put together a 101 guide, FAQ, aliases tutorial related to your taxable aliases expertise—something group often inquire you about. (My astir visited assets connected this tract is Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published.)

If you’re a novelist, this strategy whitethorn return immoderate imaginative thinking. Consider nan following:

• If your book is powerfully regional, create an insider’s guideline aliases recreation guideline to that peculiar region. Or deliberation astir different themes successful your activity that could animate thing fun: a postulation of recipes; a character’s favourite books, movies, aliases music; aliases what investigation and resources were basal for completing your work.
• Create a database of favourite sounds by genre/category, by mood, aliases by occasion. Tie into existent events aliases “look-alike” media whenever you can; for example, if you constitute romance and you cognize your readers love The Bachelor, create a database of books that fans of nan show would bask reading.
• If you person a beardown avocational pursuit (or past profession) that influences your novels, create FAQs aliases guides for nan curious.

Having moreover 1 portion of cornerstone contented greatly reduces your load to pull readers to your tract done brand-new content. If it does its job, nan cornerstone portion will bring a dependable watercourse of caller readers complete a play of weeks and months, some of whom will go loyal followers.

If you’re very superior and strategical astir this, I urge reference How to Increase Website Traffic.

Make it easy to browse and stock your posts

Some blogs person specified a minimal creation that it’s difficult to spot nan bigger image of what nan blog offers. Even though location are benefits to a minimalist design, I get much engagement by having a sidebar that offers devices to navigate nan history of my blog and nan hundreds of posts that unrecorded here.

• Calendar/archive. People caller to your blog whitethorn want to excavation astir successful your older posts. Make it easy for them to do truthful by offering a station almanac aliases archive.
• Category search. Blog contented should beryllium organized into 5-10 different categories that are of precocious liking to your audience. For example, if group publication an question and reply aliases book reappraisal connected your tract that interests them, they whitethorn want to browse each erstwhile interviews aliases book reviews. Make this easy by categorizing nan posts correctly and making nan categories visible pinch posts.
• Most celebrated posts. For caller readers of your blog, it’s adjuvant to person a accordant container aliases sidebar that tells readers what your astir celebrated posts are.
• Sharing functionality. Make it easy for group to stock your posts connected Facebook, Twitter (or conscionable astir anyplace else) by adding sharing buttons to nan bottommost of your posts. This functionality is usually built-in to astir blogs.

Improve your content’s discoverability done hunt engines (SEO)

Search motor optimization really requires its ain post. However, you’ll beryllium doing a bully occupation pinch your SEO if:

• You usage WordPress aliases Squarespace, which are already optimized for search.
• You make judge each station is categorized and tagged appropriately.
• You deliberation about how readers would hunt for your content, and incorporated those hunt keywords into your station headline, station subheads, and more. If your tract is self-hosted, then install WordPress SEO by Yoast, which will springiness you some nan devices and acquisition you request to optimize your contented for search.

If your tract is self-hosted, past you should person Google Analytics installed. If not, get started today—it’s a free work and easy to group up. After Google Analytics has collected astatine slightest 1 period of data, return a look astatine nan following:

• How do group find your blog? Through search? Through your societal media presence? Through different websites that nexus to you?
• What hunt words bring group to your site?
• What pages aliases posts are astir celebrated connected your site?

By knowing nan answers to these questions, you tin amended determine which societal media networks are worthy your finance of clip and power (at slightest arsenic acold arsenic blog promotion is concerned), who other connected nan web mightiness beryllium a bully partner for you (who is sending you postulation and why?), and what contented connected your tract is worthy your clip to proceed processing (what contented will bring you visitors complete nan agelong run?).

Create lists aliases round-ups connected a regular basis

A very celebrated measurement to make group alert of your blog is to nexus to others’ blogs. If you tin do this successful a adjuvant way, it’s a triumph for you, for your readers, and for nan sites you nonstop postulation to.

In nan penning and publishing community, play nexus round-ups are very common. (See Elizabeth Craig for 1 example.) You can create specified lists aliases round-ups connected immoderate taxable aliases class that interests you capable to stay dedicated, enthusiastic, and accordant for nan agelong haul—at slightest six months to a year, if you want to spot a tangible benefit.

Run regular interviews pinch group who fascinate you

Believe it aliases not, it’s uncommon to travel crossed an informed, thoughtful, and observant interviewer and question and reply series.

Think astir themes, hooks, aliases angles for an question and reply bid connected your site, and tally them connected a regular basis—but only arsenic often arsenic you person clip to put successful a well-researched and value interview. Such bid besides connection you an fantabulous measurement to build your web and organization relationships, which has a measurement of paying disconnected successful nan agelong run.

Be a impermanent connected different sites

Whenever you impermanent aliases look connected different websites, that’s an opportunity to person aggregate links backmost to your ain tract and societal web accounts.

A meaningful impermanent station intends pitching sites that person a bigger assemblage than you, but they should besides person a readership that’s a bully lucifer for your work. If you request a beardown preamble to impermanent posting how-to, sojourn this fantabulous Copyblogger post. If you’re not nan type to constitute impermanent posts, past see proactively offering yourself up to beryllium interviewed arsenic portion of different bloggers’ question and reply series.

Whenever you make an quality connected different site, ever beforehand nan question and reply connected your ain societal networks and create a imperishable nexus to it from your ain website.

Above all: You request patience

Here’s what my blog postulation looked for illustration successful its early years.

1. December 2009. This is erstwhile I started utilizing WordPress connected this domain. I posted 3-4 times per month.
2. Mid-2010. This is when my postulation reached astir 100 visits a day.
3. January 2011: I began a play bid astatine my site, unrelated to penning and publishing, that featured mother-daughter interviews.
4. July 2011: This is erstwhile I began regularly blogging astir penning and publishing astatine JaneFriedman.com (rather than astatine Writer’s Digest).

After astir 2 years of consistency, I reached astir 60,000 visits per month.