5 Essential Tips for Blogging as a Writer
Understand the basics to grow your fiction blog and get more readers for your books
I often come across fiction bloggers who struggle with page views and eyes on their hard work. To be honest, most of these bloggers quit long before they see any results.
Maintaining a blog along with writing can be a daunting task. But if done right, it can help to build a community, more sales, and eyeballs to any writer’s work.
In this guide to blogging for writers, I am going to talk about all the vital points you need to understand so that you can grow a blog, grab lots of eyeballs on your work even if you write fiction.
But first of all, what is the need for a blog when you are a published author?
A blog showcases our writings and highlights our work in the best possible way. Here is why the writers need blogs
- Blogs are virtual homes to our works, be it nonfiction or fiction.
- Blogging gives exposure
- It helps to practice writing every day.
- Blogging helps to network with fellow writers.
- Blogs can also work as Writer’s portfolio helping to get writing gigs or publishing deals.
But as I mentioned, most of the writers who start blogs often quit in the midway or blog once in a blue moon. You see, blogging takes time. It is not a get-rich/famous-over-the-night scheme. It is a long process and often comes with lots of baggage.
In this post, we are going to break into everything related to blogging and learn how you can get more readers for your blog.
Consistency is the queen.
Well, if the content is the king, consistency is definitely his queen. If I can give you just one blogging tip, it is to blog consistently in terms of the number of posts and your blogging niche.
The frequency of posting blog posts totally depends on you. You can post daily, weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly or monthly…it is totally up to you. But whatever routine you choose for yourself, just stick to it.
Every blog gets its own momentum and a community. A community that looks forward to reading your poems or short stories. If you have just started or under 6 months, I would advise you that you maintain a weekly schedule. It can be twice or thrice a week but the more the frequency is, the more traction you will get.
The posts can be as short as 100 words or longer than 1000 (if you can manage it). Once you get the attention of your desired audience, you can stick to a routine that suits your lifestyle. But try to stick to that routine at least for 3 months.
Now about the consistency of the niche.
Can we define fiction writers by niche?
Of course, we can. What about the fiction genre? Fiction has an endless genre and most of the writers stick to genres that they love.
I have always advocated the importance of being a niche-specific in blogging. Sticking to a genre/niche helps to attract our target readers and gain recognition.
Consistency in posting schedule and topics related to your writing niche can help you to get the desired results from your fiction blog.
What about SEO for a fiction blog?
Let’s know the facts. 99.9% of people google every day. Everyone is looking for an answer or a solution or seeking information online. And according to Chitika, 90% of people visit only the first 3 posts of a search engine results page. That means search engines drive huge traffic and you need to leverage it for your blog.
But when you write fiction, it becomes a little difficult to win over the search engine. If someone googles you, they will read the Wikipedia page about you instead of your blog.
So, how to drive traffic to your fiction blog from the search engine?
Let me explain.
Choosing a niche is the first step towards the search engine optimisation of a blog. Google loves sites that talk about a particular topic extensively. When you choose your niche, it is your cue to tell the search engine that you have the knowledge to cover a topic.
Now, for example, if your writing genre is historical fiction, what should be your blogging niche? What should you blog about apart from your stories?
In our example, the writer writes historical fictions. It means the writer has great knowledge about history, some unknown facts about a place, how to develop a plot from the pages of history, and how to weave fictional stories with historical accuracies. The writer has several topics related to historical fictions along with all the stories the writer can write and share with the world.
Did you get my point? There is no rule that being a fiction writer, you can only blog your stories. You can blog about all your interests as a writer, your writing techniques, your formula for plot development, and all the means of being productive as a writer, combating writers’ block and everything related to your genre. And all these topics are searched every day by writers.
Put yourself in the shoe of your persona when you search for something related to writing about your genre. Check the suggested searches and related search terms. Note down everything. Now you have several topics to write. You can break those topics to detail and write several blog posts on a single topic.
Blogs that have a specific angle, concise, well-written posts always do well. Write as much fiction as you want. But fit some posts on topics that are searched by writers like you into your blogging calendar.
You do not need to do more. Just write what you practice yourself. The search engine will love your blog.
Define your audience
This should be your priority even before you start the blog. Defining your target audience helps you to choose the tone of your blogging voice. For whom are you writing? Prospective readers? Buyers for your next book? Or for the aspiring writers in your genre?
Personally, I think my readers as a friend, a friend who shares the same love for reading and writing, has a blog and wants to make money blogging. For me, blogging is an informal discussion on topics that I am passionate about. It helps me to look forward to writing and sharing.
Define your reader. The best way is to check your audience and know the readers. I rely on Google Analytics as it gives me a clear picture of who my readers are.
Choose the right blogging platform
Blogging is a perfect tool for every writer to promote their work. But what is the best blogging platform for writers to start with? I have created this video explaining three blogging platforms suitable for writers.
So, these are 5 essential tips for blogging as a writer. I hope this post will help you to get clarity of what you want to achieve as a writer
