Question of the Week: Top Ten Tips For New Book Bloggers
- Think about why you really want to start your book blog. Weigh out the pros and con's, then make the decision if it's something you really want to do. A book blog requires a lot of dedication!
- Have fun! Although blogging seems like a second job sometimes, I can't help but enjoy doing it. The fantastic people and fellow bloggers that you meet makes the hard work totally worth it!
- It's just a Blog. I love my blog, I adore my blog...but sometimes it can get a little overwhelming. The pressure of having post's planned and e-mails sent out can get me frazzled at times. When I need a break, I take it. I urge you to do the same. Whether it's just a day or a week, you'll feel great and refreshed and ready to get blogging again when your done!
- Make friends. The blogging universe is always growing. And we are always happy to welcome a new blogger with open arms! I remember what it was like to be the small fish in the big sea when it came to blogging. It can feel a bit intimidating, but after seeing how kind and welcoming everyone was, I couldn't wait to start making blog friends!
- Network and Promote. While your blog hopping, commenting and making friends, it is also important to get the word out about your blog. Join Twitter and Facebook, start a page for your blog. It helps to keep your readers updated with your posts, and also helps promote the content of your blog.
- It's not about the free books. I can't help but shake my head a little when a person wants to start a blog just to get free books. The way I look at a book blog is to share and express my love for reading and to promote the authors I read. When I started my book blog I didn't even know you could get free books. When I got my first e-mail from an Author, I thought it was an Internet scam. If you want to start a blog for the free stuff, then that's not the right attitude, and your blog won't make it in the long run.
- Personality. It's okay to show who you are through your blog. I love reading reviews and posts that have a little hint of who the person behind the blog is. Got a spunky personality? Let it shine!
- Followers. When you get that first follower, you can't help but jump for joy. I couldn't believe it when I got that first follower. "Someone read's my blog!" I was like a kid at Christmas. Then you start to feel like a creeper because you are checking your blog every hour to see if you have a new follower. Well, stress no more because it's not about the amount of followers. I would still be blogging if I didn't have that one follower. Of course, I love all my followers now and I blog for them as must as I blog for myself, but you can't stress yourself out over the numbers.
- Layout. It's your blog, you can do what you please with it. My advice is to keep the layout easy on the eyes. When posts are done in black font on a brown background, and you have flashy widgets everywhere, I find it very hard on the eyes. You want your blog to be a welcoming place.
- Posts. Don't have a post for today, no biggie! Don't let yourself panic because you haven't posted something in a day or two. That's perfectly fine! Relax, and like I said, have fun! It's better to not have a post then to fill your blog up with meme's just to fill your blog archive.
Some great tips floating around! What are yours?
Great tips. They seem simple but they are intuitive when you first start off. And though I've been blogging for a while, I still have to work on not panicking when I haven't posted for a while.
ReplyDeleteThese are really great tips. I've been blogging for 6 months now, but I still feel very much like a small fish in a humongous ocean. It can get overwhelming at times and I just have to sit back and remind myself that I'm doing this because I love books and writing and meeting others who love them too! :)
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