Get The Word Out – Marketing Your Book Through Blogging

Blogging

As an author, you’re probably familiar with the term blog. Put plainly, a blog is somewhat of an online diary, where entries are added continuously and in chronological order.

“Blogs are a way to keep people in your circle involved with you, while also inviting others in,” Coers said. There are several Web sites that offer free blog hosting, such as Blogger.com, BlogSpot.com or even MySpace.com. According to Coers, the service that offers the most to users is WordPress.com. While the previously mentioned blog sites remain useful, he said WordPress is the most user-friendly, especially to anyone seeking self promotion.

“It’s a very sophisticated engine that allows you to make a website without knowing a lick of (HTML) code,” he said. “It also gives you site stats, such as the number of people who looked at your page, and the keywords used to find your page. You can also interlink your blog with similar blogs.”

Typically, the blog’s content is centered on a particular subject, and it is not uncommon for the blogs themselves to evolve into a manuscript. And if the content is interesting enough, what started as simply a means of self expression can easily become the next big novel. But as with any project, it requires some level of dedication. “Before you start up a blog, you need to be sure you can write at least three entries per week, preferably five,” Coers said. “They don’t have to be long entries, but people want to be engaged. If your blog is kept up-to-date, that keeps people coming back.”

You can use a blog to promote your new self published book in various ways. For starters, it’s easier than you think to build up a fan base by posting regularly to your blog. Readers can comment on your posts, offer up suggestions, and even resort to some form of viral marketing by recommending your blog to others.

“Besides creating your own blog, it’s good to contact other bloggers too,” said Coers. “Some have existing networks with thousands of readers, who also might find your stuff interesting.”

When the time comes, use the incredible networking power of blogs to announce your manuscript to your audience! Who better to promote your material than people who already enjoy your work?

You can learn more about self publishing books at www.wwaow.com.