Blogging with C.B. Cook

Hello! I have C. B. Cook here with us today to talk about blogging. Ah, blogging, one of my favorite forms of marketing. I get to talk a bunch and have people say things back to me! It's brilliant. And I need to get to be a bit more consistent. I mean, sometimes I'll post one post a month, other times, twenty in a day. It's ridiculous.

Anywho.

C.B.'s an awesome friend of mine, author of a fun little Superhero book called "Twinepathy." You should check that book out.

Find her on the interwebs:

Blog~Amazon~Goodreads~Pinterest

Blogging

C.B. Cook

Blogging is something that all authors should do, but many of us don’t. Or, if we do, we don’t do it regularly (*slowly raises hand*). And we really have no excuse not to! It’s free (check out Wordpress or Blogger), and it really doesn’t take that long to write a post, depending on the size. So I thought I’d go over a few of the things that are important to keep in mind when blogging as an author.

Blog About More Than Writing

While blogging about writing is a good thing, it probably shouldn’t be the only thing you blog about. With posts on writing you’ll tend to attract writers, not readers. So think about things related to your book. Is your book about old-school ninjas in the 21^st century? Write some posts about the research you’ve done on ninjas. Do you like to write fantasy and create your own story worlds? Start writing posts exploring the various countries and traditions in your worlds. Find something you enjoy writing about that relates to your book, and then run with that topic.

As a side note, though, ask you blog readers what they want to see, too. You don’t want to start writing posts that your target audience doesn’t want to read, so ask them what they think of your post ideas. Plus, they’ll feel more involved in your blog, which will help a lot, too.

Blog Regularly

Keeping a consistent blogging schedule is very important, and also very difficult. Out of these three, this is the one that I struggle with the most. To blog regularly, you don’t have to have a set out schedule of posting a different post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but you could just set a certain day of each week to post. Maybe Fridays are the days you have the most time, so you decide to post them. Whatever works best for you! If you can’t settle on a specific day, try to post at least once or twice a week. This will keep you present in your followers’ minds, but it won’t be too overwhelming for them.

Blog With Others

Ah, the blogging community. We are a crazy group, but we love to welcome newcomers. The best way to get others’ attention is to follow them and comment on their blogs. But don’t do this just to get followers. Find some blogs or people that you are truly interested in making a connection with and start up a conversation. Chances are, you’ll make a lot of new friends. Blogging is all about building new relationships.

After you’ve made friends and connections through blogging, find a few of those friends and offer to do a guest post swap, where you each write a post for each others’ blogs. Not only can this be a ton of fun, but it also helps their readers discover you and your readers discover them. Also, participating in group events, like blog tours, cover reveals, and Indie Author E-Cons can help you meet more people with similar interests, not to mention discussing your favorite things with those people.

(A/N Kendra stepping in - Just wanted to point out that participating in link-ups like Beautiful People, Character Encounters, and Top Ten Tuesdays are also great ways to network with other bloggers.)

So get out there, blog, and enjoy making new online friends!

Do you have a blog or are you planning on starting one? What’s something you love, hate, or have learned through blogging? If you’re new to blogging, what questions do you have? Comment below, and don’t forget to leave a link to your blog!