(Image credit: Fotolia)
No matter where you get your book published, authors today are expected to take care of the lion’s share of the book’s marketing. Whether a book is published through a traditional publisher or self-published, keeping a blog is an increasingly common way to get the word out about both the book and the author. Getting the name of the book out may be the best way to get a book’s sales to rise, but getting the name of the author out there is what builds a fan base. Keeping an author’s blog accomplishes both of these marketing goals.
Connect With Readers
In this age of constant social networking, fans expect to be able to connect with the entertainers they love. With a writer’s blog, you can create a place that fans can connect with you on a personal level. They can read what you have to say about both your work and your life and comment directly to you. A blog that is updated regularly keeps readers coming back to read the next installment, and that helps cement your name in the minds of fans. Comments make it possible to interact with readers and answer questions.
Easy Marketing Without a Marketing Budget
One of the biggest reasons that so many authors keep a blog to market themselves is that it’s easy and inexpensive. In fact, it can be done for free. Sites like Blogger and WordPress offer places to blog for no cost and make it simple for novice bloggers to create and maintain their own blogs. You don’t have to be a marketing whizz or to have a marketing budget in order to create an engaging blog that builds a loyal readership.