Book Blogging Tips

What Book Bloggers Wish They Knew Before They Started

Continuing the theme of book blogs, today we're looking at what we wish we knew before we started out in the wonderful, and sometimes stressful and overwhelming, world of book blogging.

As with most things in life, you only realise certain things after you've started. That applies to blogging too. I started blogging back in 2006 and have learnt a few (make that a LOT) of lessons over the years.

Lesson 1: Have a plan

Back when I first started out in blogging I didn't really have a plan of action. I created posts but didn't have specific goals for them, or my blog in general for that matter. The focus of my blog, my branding, and everything else has been in constant evolution over the years, and now, after around 12 years of blogging I finally have my plan. Since developing my plan traffic to my blog has increased loads, and posts are getting more comments and shares. This has had a positive effect on the number of sales/clients, and the number of opportunities that have come my way.

Lesson 2: Quality over quantity

I also now have a more specific following on social media... one that actually fits my target audience. It's easy to get caught up in the numbers game, but the number of followers you have isn't as important as who they are. It's much better to have a smaller, active, engaged readership than just a number to show on your profiles.

Lesson 3: Be organised

Make yourself an editorial calendar to keep track of all your blog posts. This is essential if you plan of hosting others on your blog (which I highly recommend you do as it's a great way of driving new traffic). It also makes it easy to track which posts you've scheduled in advance. It's always a good idea to schedule at least some of your weekly blog posts in advance. This takes the pressure off.

Lesson 4: You can say no

Especially when you're just starting out, you can feel like you can't say no. You feel like you have to agree to hosting tours, or reviewing any book that you're contacted about. None of that is true. You can host who you want, and pick the books you want to review and decline the others. It's your blog.

Lesson 5: You never stop learning

The blogging world, and that of social media (which is strongly connected) is constantly changing. Just when you think you've mastered something, a new feature is launched, or changes are made to SEO algorithms. It's part of the process. There's always something new to learn.

Lesson 6: Make it easy to share

The easier you make for readers to share your content, the more likely they are to share it. The more sharing options you give them, the more places they'll share it to. One of my favourite blogging discoveries was the SUMO app. Not only does it mean readers can click to share my posts on various social media sites as a simple text post, or share it with an image from the post, but the can also highlight a quote from the post to share too. 3 different sharing options which allows my content to be shared on pretty much every social media channel.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

Here's what some of my book blogging buddies wish they'd known before they started their blogs:

"It’s not as lonely as you think. While physically, I am alone reading and reviewing books only, I have gained a community of bloggers and book nerds who follow my blog, like and share my posts and actually enjoy reading about what I am selling. I would also have loved to have known how accommodating book publicists are in providing proof copies and sharing your posts despite not being a particularly prolific blogger. You build your brand alongside theirs!"

Sophie Eminson from https://romanticsrebelsandreviews.wordpress.com

@polesofie

Sometimes it can make reading seem like a chore. You will get a lot of random authors asking you to review their books, so make sure you include a review policy on your blog ASAP. The blogging community is extremely fun and welcoming! It is absolutely hard work, but so so worth it!

Adrianna Schuh from www.fortheluvofbooks.com

@ForLoveandBooks

I wish I had known what I wanted my theme to be because now that we are in the process of changing it, I realize just how many posts I actually have. It's going to take longer than I expected. So, my advice? Don't rush in. Figure out what you want before you do it!

Megan & Crystal from https://gingermomreads.com

@ginger_mom17

I wish I knew that it would take a lot of time to build your blog and social sights, I’ve been blogging for over a year now and I’m only just now starting to feel like I’m doing well. It’s not that I thought it would be simple. But I’ve loved growing my blog and I’ll continue to do so :)

Lainy from bookishbitsblogblog.wordpress.com

@BookishBitsBlog

Check out the other posts in this series;

Ways to super charge your productivity

Quick tips about blogging from book bloggers

What do you wish you knew before you started blogging?

Also, what else would you like to know about the topic of book blogging?

You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

Batching Blog Posts To Save Time and Energy

I started blogging back in 2006 (yep, it's really been that long). Well, I've learnt a few things over the years and so thought that today I'd share with you one of the strategies that saves me a load of time and energy: batching.

As a lot of you already know, I have two main blogs; this one, and www.WritersAndAuthors.info. I try to post every day to each of them. I also often guest post for other sites. That all adds up to a lot of content.

One of the ways I manage to stay so active with my posting is that I batch my blog posts when I can. Not only does it mean I maintain my posting frequency, but it also means I'm consistent with the time of day my posts go live too.

So what is batching?

Batching is basically when you do everything you would do for one blog post but for a set of posts. Let me give you an example:

I take part in the weekly meme Goodreads Monday every Monday. I set up a template for the post to save time. In one sitting I'll set up all the Goodreads Monday posts for the entire month.

I do this for my review posts too. I know which books I'm reviewing over the coming month and so set up the posts, leaving space to insert my review when it's ready. It saves me a lot of time as I can pull all my Amazon affiliate links, the book info, book covers, etc... all at the same time.

As I keep an editorial calendar, I always know in advance what content I'm going to be sharing. I have some posts that go up every week on fixed days. Batching these is easy as I have templates saved for each of these posts. I use batching for my other posts too though. For example, I often post here about topics related to book blogging. I batched four months worth of blog posts in one day.

How I did it:

1) I sat down and did a brain dump of ideas for posts related to book blogging.

2) I penciled these into my editorial calendar.

3) I then took each idea and brainstormed ideas for what to include.

4) I made the graphics to go with each post (I use Canva to do this and have templates saved there to make it quick and simple), and got the drafts set up on my blogger platform.

5) I did research for each post/requested collaborations for each post, and added the information to the drafts.

6) I then wrote up the rest of the post and scheduled them all for posting on their designated days.

Like I said, I've been blogging for a long time. I have a system that works for me. If you want to write more content for your blog in less time batching could be the answer you've been looking for too.

Batching saves me time. It means I have most of my content scheduled in advance which means more consistent posting. It also means less stress. I have two young kids, and life can get busy. When I know I have my posts all set up ready to go it takes a weight off my shoulders. As blogging is not my only job, it also means I free up time to spend on my other projects whilst maintaining my regular blogging schedule.

Do you batch your blog posts? Do you have templates for your posts and graphics? Got some other tips for save time and energy?

Book Blogging Tips

Quick Tips About Blogging From Book Bloggers

Continuing the series of blog posts about book blogging, today is about sharing quick tips about blogging.

I LOVE blogging! It's not always easy though. A lot of work goes into creating, maintaining, and marketing a blog. There are a few things you can do to make it easier though.

1) Become part of the community. There are some seriously awesome book loving people out there, and a lot of them are book bloggers. Reach out and get to know them. Show them support. They will most likely show it back. Whether you're discussing books, or throwing around ideas for new content, these people are a treasure trove and part of what makes being a book blogger so much fun.

2) Always answer when someone leaves a comment. When readers see that you listen to them, they are more likely to join in the conversation... which helps build a stronger readership. You might find you make some awesome new friends this way (I know I have).

3) Create a swipe file. This is basically a brain dump of blog post ideas. Trust me, you'll be glad to have this when you need to pull a post out of nowhere. It's particularly useful when you need to come up with a guest post topic.

4) Guest post. I lead you right into that one didn't I? ;) One of the best ways to drive more traffic to your own blog is by doing a guest post on someone else's blog. You'll get an awesome backlink to your site, and get to connect with a whole new audience.

5) Be you. As Dr. Seuss once said “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing. Don't feel like you have to say yes to all books. Have opinions, do what works for you, and have fun with it.

I could write a book about this... actually I am (watch this space ;)), but for now I'll pass you over to some of my book blogging friends who are here to share with you some of their own tips and tricks:

"Quick tips about blogging, I actually wrote a blog on this!

- Connect with other book bloggers

- Treat all parties involved with respect

- Review the book- Make your policies and stand by them"

Sophie Eminson from https://romanticsrebelsandreviews.wordpress.com

@polesofie

"It takes up time, more than you think. So make sure to take time for yourself if it becomes too much. I promise all of your loyal followers will still be here for you when you come back. Make blogger friends, trust me they're life savers. Create drafts for your posts. Seriously this one I cannot recommend enough. I have a draft feature for myself on my site, so when an idea strikes I immediately type it out an save it. This way I always have some post in the works if I'm out of material or ideas. And you can add to it easily as ideas come to you. Also don't be afraid to post things that aren't book reviews. Tag posts, favorite lists, discussion posts. That way if you're in a reading slump you still have material."

Adrianna Schuh from www.fortheluvofbooks.com

@ForLoveandBooks

"If you are on WordPress, the support crew are your friends! I have messaged them in the middle of the night just to fix a teensy little issue :)"

Megan & Crystal from https://gingermomreads.com

@ginger_mom17

"Be very active on Twitter, make friends in the blogging world, join in with tags and posts. "

Lainy from https://bookishbitsblogblog.wordpress.com/

@BookishBitsBlog

Quick Tips About Blogging From Book Bloggers

Caseo has an article about blogging that you might find useful too (check it out at https://caseo.ca/how-to-blog/). They include some great apps in the article under the section "content creation tools" that I personally use regularly.

Got some of your own tips to share?

Click here if you missed last week's post about

Ways to Super Charge Your Productivity As A Book Blogger.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers