More on Blogging
So we’ve talked about book marketing via a blog, but haven’t really discussed how you can find and receive the information that you need from others’ blogs. Reading others’ blogs and commenting on them (always being sure to include a signature line with your name, your website, and your book’s title) is a terrific way to create an internet presence for yourself, network, and market your book.
Every blog has an RSS feed. Once you identify the blogs you want to follow, subscribe to the RSS feeds (one way to do this that is easy and free is Google Reader. By using an RSS feed, you can have the latest posts from all of your chosen blogs updated automatically, all in one place.
But what blogs should you follow? You need to be careful about what you subscibe to, because while blogs can be terrific sources of information, they can also constitute a black hole for your time and energy!
Be aware that searches on the net are all about keywords. If you’re looking for blogs on which you can comment and join the conversation (thus giving your name and book more exposure), then blogs related to the subject of your novel might be more effective than the writing and publishing blogs that most authors think they should subscribe to. With the exception of Beyond The Elements of Style, of course!
Technorati is a good place to start: go there and search for the keyword terms that interest you. The search function on the home page will identify posts with the search term; if you want to find blogs, then use the advanced search function.
Technorati gives blogs an authority rating based on how many other blogs link in to the blog. Although a high rating can indicate lots of traffic, don’t discount a blog just because of a low authority rating. You could still get traffic or search engine lift from being on a blog if it’s good fit with your subject.
There are a number of other blog directories and search engines, including Google Blog Search and Blog Catalog.
When you’re ready to comment on a blog, always make your comments useful and thoughtful. As you start to have a presence on your selected blogs, you’ll find that people start looking to you as an authority on your topics, visiting your website more often, and generally giving you the kind of marketing lift you’re looking for. And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
Posted in Books, Creativity, Words, website stuff on January 26th, 2010