The blog post title is a bit of a pun on the book, How to Win Friends & Influence People
10 Tips on Book Blogging That Will Help You Win Friends & Influence People
1. Looks Matter
Do NOT use a stock template without customizing it in some way, otherwise, your blog will be indistinguishable from all the rest. Take the time to learn basic HTML and CSS - make sure your font size & your blog is readable, and easy to navigate.
2. Reviews Only = B-zzz-oring
Book bloggers are UNIQUE because content/ reviews, never become stale since people don't just read the latest books. But it has to be mentioned time & time again to stay current.For example, a book I really liked is Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. A few places I've discussed it:
3. Find 1 Way to be Social and DOMINATE
It could be Twitter, Facebook, Commenting, Pinterest - whatever. Just don't do many different ways and be mediocre in them all. Instead pick 1 (or more if you have time) - and spend a lot of TIME doing it, but make sure that you are getting results i.e. that you have measurable goals. It could be an increase in comments, subscribers, twitter followers. retweets etc.
4. Get Inspired by Events Around You
For example, put up a spring, summer, fall & winter reading list when the season comes around. Or The Pulitzer Prize committee didn't award a prize for Fiction this year (2012) - do like Chris Bohjalian (author of The Night Strangers), and put up your own list - Pulitzer Committee and Jury Options - Plenty of Choices {A List of 8}. Or, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is coming out in June. Review that book, or some other vampire books during that month. Make some lists that reference the movie - for example, 5 Books That Are Better Than Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.
5. Use Blog Memes to Get Traffic to Your Blog
Make these memes your own with a catchy title for your post and then COMMENT like crazy on the other participants posts. Eg. this blog post & most of my posts on Tuesdays are lists for Top 10 Tuesday. My book reviews are part of It's Monday What Are you Reading (but I never use that title). Just adding your link to the meme won't do much - COMMENT on the other participants too ... I can't stress that enough.
6. Schedule & Plan Ahead
This takes the stress off more than anything else - and your blog posts will be better too.
7. Do NOT Only Review the Latest Books
People tend to comment on books they've read. If it's always the latest and greatest - chances are they haven't read it yet - hence, there won't be much to say. So stop falling into the "advanced reader copy" trap.
8. Get Friendly With Other Bloggers
Friendly means you interact with them and they do the same with you - especially through comments & the occasional email. You'll be able to link to each other, guest post for each other when necessary, and you'll have somewhere to vent if you need to - don't do it on your blog.
9. Basic Blogging ANALYSIS is a MUST
Obviously you have Google Analytics, PMetrics, or some other program that measures your website visitor statistics. But don't just look at home many unique visitors & page views you have. ANALYZE. Eg. Check your highest traffic day for the last month - what was special about it? Can you write about that topic again? Or was your post linked to by a certain website? What are the days you get the lowest traffic - why? Is it that you don't post on those days? Or you don't comment on blogs on those days? ... But let's not obsess okay - look at these things once a week tops!
10. Make Your Blog a Place You Would Be Proud to Tell Everyone About
When I was interviewing for jobs, people Googled me and found my food products reviews website (iAteApie.net). I was able to leverage it into a positive since it looks professional, the reviews are well written, personable, yet still professional in tone - not snarky & bitchy even when I didn't like a product - and I could show potential employers that when I'm passionate about something, I'm detailed, thorough & well-read on everything related to it.
So, TODAY - do 1 thing to promote your blog that you wouldn't normally do). Examples - comment on 20 blog posts; Re-tweet 10 blog posts you liked today; Interact with 2 of your favorite authors in some way - either add them on twitter & tweet them a message, or subscribe to their blog if they have an active one. Are you up for the challenge?
- Inspired by Top 10 Tuesday @ The Broke & The Bookish.
See more -> Blogging Tips
Challenge accepted ;)