If your goal is to become a professional author and have a blog, then you’re going to need to market yourself. The publishers aren’t going to come to you! The best way to market yourself in today’s climate is to create a blog. That showcases you as an author and your writing talents. Check the best guide & tutorial on how to start an author blog.
If you manage to build up a strong following and fanbase before going to a publisher. Then you can secure your book deal in an instant. To find to out what you need to start such a blog, make sure to read on.
Author Blog Creation Guide
Hone in on your writing niche for your author blog
There are a number of different professional paths for you to go down. So, when you resolve to become a career writer. You could go down the creative route, for instance, and devote your time to storytelling or working with publishing houses.
Or, you could become a copywriter and provide numerous pieces of writing each day on various different topics.
In order to ensure that your audience does not become confused when they access your site. They need to know what kind of writer you are. This means that you have to hone in on your specialty and choose the content that you wish to upload accordingly.
Pick a domain name and choose a hosting package
Once you’ve honed in what kind of writing blog you wish to run, you need to pick a domain name. This could be an alias or writing title that captures your creativity. Or it could be your name if you wish to present yourself as a professional with your author blog.
Then it’s time to really get your blog up and running. In this instance, you must purchase a hosting package as soon as possible. If WordPress is the CMS that you have chosen for your site, then you should tap into the hosting services.
This triple-redundant 100% NVMe SSD platform will allow you full control over your files. Meaning you would be able to tailor your content around the audience that you attract.
Make space for your portfolio: Guide on how to start an author blog
When it comes to designing the layout of your author blog, whatever you do. Just make sure you leave enough space for your portfolio. This is what is really going to convince employers or publishers that you are someone who takes their writing seriously. So it needs to be easily accessible for them. Check the best guide & tutorial on how to start an author blog.
More importantly, it needs to be complete. This, of course, means that you have to work on your portfolio at all times. The best piece of advice in this instance is to just add to your resume whenever you accomplish something a bit different, such as writing in a certain style or writing for a specific purpose.
Start your email list
I understand, you have not even begun blogging yet and I want you to create an email list. Trust me: you’ll be glad you did.
Alexis Grant, the creator of The Write Life, shares my perspective. If I had the opportunity to retract and begin a new initiative for my corporation earlier, she suggests, I would. My email list is of paramount importance to my business, this leads to traffic to my website, purchases of my products and new opportunities.
Even if you don’t have anything to send, just begin acquiring email addresses. The most effective way to lure people into signing up is by providing them with a free book or resource. One example that is worth contemplating is The Freelance Writer’s Life’s Freelance Pitch Checklist.
My most favored email newsletter service is MailChimp. It’s intuitive, enjoyable, and free for a maximum of 2,000 subscribers.
Many creative individuals also utilize ConvertKit. Additionally, it provides a free plan that some people say is easier to utilize than MailChimp. If you want additional options, check out our list of news articles about tools dedicated to building email lists.
Once you’ve compiled your list, encourage your readers to subscribe by adding a subscription box to your sidebar, and maybe even creating a PopupAlly-compatible plugin. Alternatively, if you utilize ConvertKit, there is a built-in option for pop-ups.
Spread the word, spread the word, spread the word: Guide on how to start an author blog
You’re almost there! After you’ve begun to write, it’s time to find readers. Additionally, I dislike divulging bad news, but the majority of writers find this component of blogging to be the most time-consuming. It’s desirable if we could just write (that’s what we enjoy doing, right?).), it’s more enjoyable to have people actually appreciate your work.
You can attempt guest posting on other blogs, re-posting on sites like Medium or LinkedIn, or including links in your responses in forums, Facebook groups, or on Quora. Just ensure that you’re adding something of value, and don’t bombard people with your URL.
Social media is also a great way to increase traffic and increase the number of followers. Instead of simply boasting about yourself, be sure to interact with editors, writers and bloggers as well.
Participate in their content sharing and comment on their posts, additionally, support them as much as you can. Hopefully, they’ll reciprocate.
Ultimately, blogging successfully is about dedication and perseverance. Continue to post helpful and entertaining content, optimize it for search engines, and share it with your social networks and you will begin to see your new blog grow over time.
Congratulations, you now officially began a blog as a writer. Maybe one day, it will be considered a complete book? It’s time to begin writing!
Conclusion
A good author blog could be the missing piece to the jigsaw that is your attempt to market yourself and your writing. By starting a blog and taking the above advice, you could end up attracting double the amount of employers and publishers than you stood a chance of attracting before.
More importantly, you could drum up a fanbase of readers for yourself — with them in tow, who knows where your career could take you?