Blogging & Etiquette
by Cathie Dunn
"I want exposure for my book, for free, but how do I go about it?"
Well, start blogging!
For many years, blogging has been an essential part of many authors’ lives. You share your writing journey, research, or snippets from your books.
You can host other authors, or become a blog tour host. And you can visit other authors’ and book bloggers’ blogs, sharing news of your books.
But are there any rules? Well, let's go back to the start...
Why have a blog?
A blog helps you promote your writing outwith real-life book events or social media. Your posts stay online – they can reach readers, turning them into your followers, and slowly expanding your reach.
You don't need to tell much about yourself, but a few details about your books or your writing routine always go down well with readers.
But the best way to grow your own audience is by engaging with other authors and book bloggers!
Here are a few simple ideas:
- Build up your circle of author friends;
- visit each other on your blogs;
- follow other authors and book bloggers;
- comment on posts of interest on other blogs;
- become a blog tour host.
This is an authentic, genuine way to increase your reach, whilst also talking about the things you like best: your books, writing, history, research, etc.
Let's look at these points individually!
Build up your circle of author friends:
This is a big one. It sounds daunting to a new author, but there are ways of connecting with fellow writers of your genre:
- join writing organisations;
- join writing groups on Facebook;
- look for local / regional groups;
- follow – and engage with – other authors writing in your genre online.
All this should be done genuinely, without spamming those groups or other authors’ timelines with your books’ buy links.
Show an interest in their work, read and review their books, and join historical and writing discussions.
Visit each other on your blogs:
You can organise exchange visits to each others’ blogs, which provides you and your author friends with greater exposure. Many authors do this especially when they have new releases to share or price promotions. Or you could use specific historic dates or themes.
Follow other authors and book bloggers:
Both Wordpress and Blogger-based blogs allow for following, so make sure to follow those whose books and interests align with yours.
Engage in chats and discussions, but don't use them as an advertising board for your books.
Comment on posts of interest on other blogs:
Respond (genuinely!) to posts on blogs, to become ’seen’ and to share your knowledge of specific events or eras.
Become a blog tour host!
Blog tours are very popular, so it may be a good idea to join a blog tour company as a tour host. Not only does that increase your blog's visibility, but hosting others also gives you a chance to meet other authors and readers, and to expand your connections. You don't need to review any books, unless there's a specific request, but just share the tour content.
There are a number of blog tour organisers across the world from which to choose from. Perhaps book a tour or two yourself, to see which sites suit you best.
I would suggest choosing one that aligns well with your own writing, so the posts you share on your blog are not too strange for your followers.
I've hosted blog tours for over 15 years, for a number of tour organisers in the UK and US. It's great fun, and I've made many friends over time.
How often should you post on your blog?
You can post as little or as much as you like. If you keep your blog to yourself, you may want to post at least once a week, to keep it a regular occurrence.
If you're sharing other authors’ posts, you can use specific weekdays for those, or have as many – or as few – as you like.
Blogging Etiquette
The blogging etiquette has changed much over the last decade. Early on, you would have had thriving discussions, with many replies to posts.
Sadly, this has become rare these days, which is a shame.
Many authors now engage actively across social media, rendering blogs secondary. They see blogs as an additional space to share book news, but not as part of a thriving reader community.
So what can you do?
Well, you can make a difference by being polite to bloggers who host you, to start with. It doesn't cost you anything, and it will leave a positive impression.
* Always thank your hosts! *
This cannot be emphasised enough. In the early days of blogging – just like in the early days of social media – you thanked the person hosting or featuring you. I remember many authors’ replies to my posts.
In the early days of Twitter, we used to thank others for retweeting! Then ’thanking’ went out of fashion,,,
These days, even authors on blog tours don't always thank their hosts. As a long-standing book blogger and tour host, I find this bizarre.
Hosts are giving their time, for free. Some bloggers even review books by other authors (I do!), and the least you can do is thank them if you are the recipient of such a review. It doesn't take long, and it's only polite. They made the effort to read your book in their spare time!
However, even publishers discourage their authors from engagement these days. It doesn't make any sense to me. What's wrong with a quick, friendly ’thank you for reading my book’?
I'd like to see a return to polite blogging and engagement on social media. It just takes a few simple, easy steps, and can be so rewarding:
- Thank your blog hosts (where technically possible);
- be polite and supportive of fellow authors and book bloggers online;
- don't forget to reciprocate when you’re hosted – it's a two-way street;
- don't abuse friendships by spamming your friends with your own promotions whilst ignoring theirs;
- thank your book reviewers on their social media posts and their blog (where possible, but don't diss them when they didn't like it)!
Friendly engagement with others is key to becoming part of a positive, supportive writers’ community. There's no need to go it alone, but you'll need to put in a bit of work.
So start that blog, engage with your fellow authors actively, and make friends across the writing and reading community! It's easy and free, and you may end up with a fabulous circle of friends.
Happy hosting! 💝
