11 Ways to Supercharge Your Blog
By Rusty Fischer, author of Zombies Don’t Cry
http://zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com/
Copyright © 2011 by Rusty Fischer
All rights reserved.
Cover credit: © Andrey Popov – Fotolia
Author’s Note
The following is a FREE “special report” designed to inform, enlighten, inspire and educate YA authors about supercharging their blog.
All the ideas are based on the author’s personal experience only; not science! Try at your own risk. (But they worked for me, so… I hope they work for you as well!)
It also wasn’t designed to win any special editing awards!
Therefore, any editing errors, typos or grammatical mistakes are all the fault of the author and will be cleaned-up prior to publication.
Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Introduction
The First Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Revisit the Layout
The Second Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Update It Regularly
The Third Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Make it Easy to Follow
Fourth Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Have Something to Say!
The Fifth Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Say it With Pizzazz
The Sixth Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Give Something Away
The Seventh Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Share and Share Alike
The Eighth Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Think of Your Reader(s)
The Ninth Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Write a Guest Post
Tenth Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Host a Guest Post
The Eleventh Way to Supercharge Your Blog: Pretend You’re Not Promoting Anything!
Conclusion
About the Author: Rusty Fischer
Introduction
What do people see when they come to your blog? A dusty, old site that hasn’t been updated in weeks? A “placeholder” for tired, generic and boring ideas? Another “billboard” for your book?
Or do they see an active, vibrant place full of lively interaction between you and your commenters? A site that’s updated frequently, energetically and personally by you? A place with lots of followers and book covers and reviews and blurbs and awards and contests and giveaways that is as interesting and informative as it is inviting?
The fact is, too many of us consider blogging a promotional “chore” versus a creative opportunity to really connect with our readers.
I used to feel that way myself, until one of my YA writing friends-slash-bloggers made a great point: “Your blog is just as important as your book. Both have your name on it, and both help to build your author brand in much the same way. So why would you treat your blog as anything less than another book?”
Since then, I’ve worked hard to make my blog an active, refreshing, informative and personal site that folks actually want to come and visit. I can’t remember a week or, lately, a day that’s gone by where I haven’t logged into my blog and moved things around, or tweaked this or updated that or revised something else.
Yes, it can be a lot of work but it can also be a GREAT way to help readers who are on the fence about buying your book discover just exactly how you’re different from every other YA author out there.
So in the spirit of seeing blogging as an opportunity rather than a chore, here are 11 Ways to Supercharge Your Blog:
The First Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Revisit the Layout
There is really nothing worse than a choppy, bloated, disorganized, hard-to-follow blog. I should know because I struggled with this for the first few months I blogged.
Now I have a very simple layout with a header at the top, two “strips” along each side that I can fill with book covers, awards, FREE EBooks or special reports, etc., and the actual blog posts themselves in the middle. Easy-peasy!
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your blogger template. After a design change or reformat, sleep on it, if necessary. That way you can come back to every new format change with a fresh pair of eyes.
Very few people will notice if you make small changes over a week or two, and those that do will generally be pleased – and happy to let you know about it!
The Second Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Update It Regularly
There is no hard and fast rule for how often you should update your blog. And when I say “update,” I don’t just mean upload a new blog post. I mean…
Add a new book cover
Change a release date
Post an award
Manage your links and followers
Change your profile picture
Edit your profile
Host a guest post
Etc.
Don’t think of your blog as a static, unchanging and unyielding website; it’s not. It’s a living, breathing, active thing and the folks who visit blogs do so because they want to read, link, play around, interact and communicate.
Updating often, and regularly, lets folks know you’re at home!
The Third Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Make it Easy to Follow
I have a LOT of book covers on my blog; whatever books are out for sale, whatever FREE EBooks I’m offering at the moment, books I’ve reviewed, etc. For the longest time I put all book covers at the top and everything else at the bottom.
Then one day I noticed that although I was getting more and more unique visitors to my blog each week, the amount of followers wasn’t generally increasing. Then I took a good, hard, objective look at my blog and found that, no wonder: my “Followers” button was way down at the bottom under all those neat book covers!
So I moved it up to the top and seemingly overnight twice as many folks started following my blog each week. It was a simple, but profound, lesson; what’s important to you as a novice blog designer isn’t necessarily what’s important to your blog visitors.
They want to follow your blog; that way they can subscribe once and the news comes to them. So why not make it easy for them by making your “follow” button prominent and easy to use?
The Fourth Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Have Something to Say!
The problem with folks who tell you to “post something every day” is that we’re all human; I don’t really have interesting things to say every day.
Do you? In general, I post when I feel like it, usually about twice a week.
Sometimes I get really excited about a hot topic that’s trending, like EBooks overtaking print book sales on Amazon or a great author getting a deserving movie deal or whatever, and I’ll post three or four times in one week. That’s when I really have something to say; when I’m actually excited about a topic.
Like this EBook; I couldn’t wait to sit down and put these 11 ideas on paper because I’d been noodling over them all week. While it’s ideal to post something every few days, it’s better to post something that’s actually fun to read, interesting or educational rather than just to post more fluff that’s only going to clutter the page and rack up another post in your archives.
The Fifth Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Say it With Pizzazz
Do you know what I’ve found out after a year or more of blogging? There are A LOT of blogs out there! And a lot of people asking you to read their blogs. And a lot of really worthy, interesting blogs to read!
And a lot of us, frankly, are saying the same things about marketing, promotion, publishing, characterization, query letters, agents, readers, EBooks versus print books and more.
If you’re blogging at all, if you’re taking up your time and your readers’, you want to at least try to be worthy of that time. You want to have honest opinions, a little humor or even frustration, you want to share personal anecdotes or glimpses of your personality; not just to “stand out” from the crowd but to invite readers to know you a little better.
The great thing about blogging is that here is this wonderful opportunity to talk one-on-one with your readers; even if it’s only a few of them.
In YA, especially, it’s a real treat to be able to chat in small doses with interested kids, excited fans or would-be writers.
I wish there had been blogs when I was a kid! Imagine reading what Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary or S. E. Hinton might have had to say in the 70s, 80s and 90s; oh, the joy!
I’m not comparing myself to them, of course, but I’m saying that when you do blog, feel free to be yourself. Don’t get so tied up in the grammar and formatting and timing and scheduling and promotion that you’re not yourself.
Every blog, I feel, is like having a conversation with your readers; use it wisely!
The Sixth Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Give Something Away
If you want to give your blog a little boost, why not give something away?
It could be a short story, a poem, a copy of your print book, an EBook, or simply a collection of your best blogs on, say… supercharging your blog!
I give a lot of stuff away on my blog; dozens of things. You don’t have to go to that extreme, but a FREE giveaway is kind of like the blogger’s version of a “thank you” card.
It says, “Thank you for stopping by; here’s a little something to take home with you.”
The Seventh Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Share and Share Alike
Despite how many blogs there are out there, the world of YA blogging is actually quite small and intimate. While it’s great to have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of followers, the real power of a supercharged YA blog lies in connecting with other YA bloggers.
If it weren’t for other YA bloggers, I’m convinced that very, very few people would ever read my blog. Instead, every time I post something new, I have a loyal “crew” of a dozen or so great YA bloggers who comment, pass along, re-tweet or “share” the post so that it gets spread around far and wide.
In return, I like to think that I’m equally supportive of those same dozen or so bloggers – and their friends and followers as well. I follow them, subscribe to them, re-tweet them, “share” them, buy their books, review their books, recommend their blogs and/or books, etc.
Not just because they’ve done it for me, but because we’ve connected in some unique way and because I generally care about what they have to say.
And isn’t that what communication is all about?
The Eighth Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Think of Your Reader(s)
Nearly a dozen or more times a day on Twitter and Facebook I see a link to someone’s blog that promises something I really want to read about, like “The 6 Secrets to Avoiding the Mid-Book Slump” or “12 Ways to Jumpstart Your Query Letter,” etc.
Those are the kinds of blog posts I want to read, that I’ll take the time to read, and that I’ll respond to by enthusiastically following the author’s blog, re-tweeting those posts or sharing them on Facebook, etc.
Now flip the script and look at your blog. Are your posts about things people actually want to read about? Are you giving them not just personality, style and flavor but information they can use?
Even if I’m writing a personal story, a screed or a rant, I’m still trying to offer up some information, insight or experience that I’ve had that I think other YA writers would enjoy, relate to and/or care about.
A lot of my posts are what I call “number posts,” i.e. they are like this one: 11 Ways to Do This, 9 Secrets for Doing That, 6 Habits of the Highly Effective Blogger, etc.
But just as many are what I call “confessional posts,” i.e. this thing happened to me and here’s how I’m going to tie it back to YA writing, publishing or reading so you’ll actually care about it.
Either way, I want to make sure that my blog posts are always as informative as they are (hopefully) entertaining.
The Ninth Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Write a Guest Post
Another thing I’ve discovered about blogging is that it is a LOT of work! Bloggers are like everyone else; they get tired of trying to drum up new things to say every week.
So if you’re looking to supercharge your blog, why not spread it around by offering one of your fellow bloggers a break and guest posting for them for a change.
I’ve written dozens of guest posts in the last few months and it’s a great way to let others who may not have visited my blog know what I’m all about.
It’s also a great way to generate goodwill among other bloggers by saying, “Hey, let me take the pressure off you this week.”
How does this supercharge your blog? Not only does it use the power of another blogger’s platform to let knew YA readers know about your blog, but it also returns the favor by sharing some of the heavy lifting for that week.
The Tenth Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Host a Guest Post
Another great way to supercharge your blog is to inject a little “new blood” into the proceedings. One great way to do that is to not just write guest posts for others but to host them yourself.
You can put a call out for guest posters on your favorite social media site, like Twitter or Facebook, or simply go through your list of “Followers” and approach them one at a time, letting them know you’d love a guest post if they’re feeling froggy.
Sure, not everyone will respond but those that day are probably pretty highly motivated!
Guest posts are not only a great way to give your readers a little variety from time to time, but they’re also a great way to connect, network and share with other bloggers.
My marketing efforts would be sunk without the kind, supportive and enthusiastic “network” of fellow bloggers I interact with on an almost daily basis.
Though small, they proclaim the word loud and clear through comments, links, re-tweets, “shares” and any and all other ways possible.
I like to think I return the favor as often as possible.
The Eleventh Way to Supercharge Your Blog:
Pretend You’re Not Promoting Anything!
There’s always this kind of nice feeling when you’re in between book releases, and there’s really nothing “new” to tout; no new reviews, no new cover leaks, no new contracts, no new “news.”
I’m not saying I want it to always be like that – hey, I love new contracts, reviews, announcements and cover leaks! – but it means that now when it’s time to blog, I can just write about any old thing.
Getting published. Designing book covers. Coming up with characters. Plotting, setting, theme, whatever. So even when you “do” have something to promote, act like you don’t.
Pretend that you’re just blogging to blog, sharing to share and writing to inform. You’ll find that your blog posts are better, more engaging, more informative and that folks will probably enjoy them a little more as well.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, blogging is more than just meeting a word count or filling the archives on your blog site. At its heart, blogging is about communication.
Many authors see it as a chore, but for those who understand the true value of communicating one-on-one with readers, other bloggers and, yes, even “customers,” it really is a golden opportunity to share your unique vision or author “brand” in a way few generations of authors have ever quite experienced before.
So whether you have a new YA book out or are in between releases, make sure you treat blogging with the time, energy and respect it deserves.
Your readers – and your customers – are counting on it!
About the Author:
Rusty Fischer
Rusty Fischer is a professional freelance writer who lives in sunny Florida with his beautiful wife, Martha. They enjoy riding bikes, long, leisurely walks on the beach, romantic dinners and zombie movies; lots and lots of zombie movies! (Well, Rusty does, anyway!)
Rusty is the author of several YA supernatural novels, including Zombies Don’t Cry (Medallion Press, 2011), Ushers, Inc. (Decadent Publishing, 2011), Detention of the Living Dead (Quake Books, 2012) and Vamplayers (Medallion Press, 2012).
Visit his blog, www.zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com, for news, reviews, cover leaks, writing and publishing advice, book excerpts and more! And if you can’t wait for his next release, download his complete YA novel Vampires Drool! Zombies Rule! absolutely FREE at www.scribd.com/doc/38953974/Vampires-Drool-Zombies-Rule-by-Rusty-Fischer.