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66
Steve Weber
Blogging is a relatively easy way for you to publicize your book and
even improve your writing while you’re at it. If you can write an e-mail,
you can write a blog—it’s the easiest, cheapest, and perhaps best way for
authors to find an audience and connect with readers. Blogging is an
informal, intimate form of communication that inspires trust among
your readers.
For the same reasons that traditional advertising is usually
ineffective for selling books, a blog can be highly effective for book
promotion. People interested in your topic seek out your message.
What is a blog?
Put simply, a blog is a Web site with a few interactive features. You
don’t have to call it a blog unless you want to. It’s possible that within a
few years, nearly every Web site will have interactive features, and
people simply won’t call them blogs anymore.
You needn’t know anything about computers to blog. Simply type
into a form, and presto—the whole world can see it. Your blog is a
content management system—a painless way to build and maintain a
platform where readers can discover and enjoy your writing.
A blog can be a part of your Web site, or it can be the Web site. The
main thing that distinguishes a blog from a plain old Web site is that a
blog is frequently updated with short messages, or posts. Readers often
chime in with their own comments at the bottom of each post. This free
exchange of ideas is what makes blogs a revolutionary tool for authors:
A successful blog is a constant stream of ideas, inspiration, perspective,
and advice—it’s a real-time, global focus group.
Why blogs are better
Some authors who already have a book for sale resist the idea of
blogging and the “extra work” it entails. Their reasoning is, “Why create
more deadlines when your book is already finished?” Well, blogging can
help you maximize the effectiveness of things you’re probably already
doing, like answering e-mails from your readers.
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