Showing posts with label how to become a book blogger. Show all posts

The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.

Whether you're just considering getting started as a book blogger, are new to the book blogging community, or even if you've been running a book blog for a while, this post is for you!

Welcome to the ultimate guide for book bloggers. It's packed full of information and tips to help you be the best book blogger you can be.

I've divided all the information into categories to make it easier to find what you're looking for.

Book Blogging Community

Link Ups

If you're looking for some book blog link ups to participate in Never Enough Novels has a good list at https://neverenoughnovels.com/2018/04/04/list-of-book-blog-link-ups/. Joining in link ups can be a great way to meet other book bloggers, discover new books, and increase traffic to your own book blog at the same time.

Lovely Audiobooks does a monthly link up at https://lovelyaudiobooks.info/the-monthly-book-blogger-link-up/. It's not just for audiobook reviews either. Any book reviews are welcome. (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)

Emily the Book Nerd lists 10 link ups for book bloggers in this post at http://www.emilythebooknerd.com/2019/09/10-blog-party-link-ups-every-book.html

Networking

Connect with other book bloggers and get more involved in the book blogging community. At https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/05/108-book-blogs-to-follow.html you'll find 108 book blogs to follow to get you started.

Are you new to book blogging or thinking about getting started? Still not sure if book blogging is for you? Check out this collaboration post about why we love the book blogging community at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2019/09/why-we-love-book-blogging-community.html

In this guest post hosted by Not So Modern Girl https://notsomoderngirl.com/2021/10/14/make-connections-book-blogging-community/ about How to Make Connections in the Book Blogging Community Carol gives a great breakdown of ways you can reach out and connect more with the book blogging community.

Making Money With Your Book Blog

Fancy getting paid to read books? This post at https://fattenthewallet.com/get-paid-to-read-books-online/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active) by Fatten the Wallet lists 7 sites that pay you to read books. Even better news is that it includes sites for every level so whether you're a new book blogger or a more experienced book reviewer you should be able to find a site for you.

Interested in diving into affiliate marketing? Wonderfully Bookish has you covered at https://wonderfullybookish.co.uk/affiliate-guide-for-book-bloggers/ Includes info on everything from how to disclose affiliate links to different affiliate programs for book bloggers.

You can find more advice about affiliate marketing for book bloggers at https://whatshotblog.com/affiliate-marketing-for-book-bloggers/. What's Hot covers deep links, banner ads etc...

ARCs and Review Copies

That Bookish Brunette gives a nice overview of what ARCs are and where to get them at https://www.thatbookishbrunette.com/arcs-101-guide-to-advanced-reader-copies/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)

BooksNest covers the basics of ARCs at https://booksnest.co.uk/post/how-to-request-arcs-from-publishers/ and even includes sample templates for what to write in your message to request an ARC from a publisher.

Prefer audiobooks? Check out this post for where to find free audiobooks https://www.jolinsdell.com/2019/09/exploring-audiobooks-where-to-find-free.html

Lovely Audiobooks also has a post about getting free audiobook review copies at https://lovelyaudiobooks.info/how-to-get-free-audiobook-review-copies/

When it comes to review copies it's always best to let authors and publishers know what you will and will not review, and the best ways to go about getting a review. In her post Review Policies: A Blogger’s Perspective Sifa Poulton gives good advice about what to include in your review policy.

The Ultimate Guide to Book Blogging: Tips and Resources to be the best Book Blogger EVER!

Book Blogging How To

Just getting started in your book blogging adventure? Suggested Reads gives a good introduction on how to start a book blog at https://suggestedreads.com/how-to-start-a-book-blog-beginners/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)

The Uncorked Librarian also does a great overview for beginner book bloggers in her post at https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/book-blogging-how-to-start-a-book-blog/ and has a mountain of other information and tips for book bloggers at https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/book-blogging-tips-and-resources/ A must read! You'll want to click on all the links in the list.

Not sure what to post to your book blog? Book blogging can be so much more than just book reviews. Check out this post I did with 101 blog post ideas for book bloggers for inspiration https://www.jolinsdell.com/2020/10/101-blog-post-ideas-for-book-bloggers.html

Looking to improve your book blog? Join the Blog Audit Challenge 2020 https://www.jolinsdell.com/2020/01/blog-audit-challenge-2020.html

Learn blogging terms in this post https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/10/blogging-terms-new-bloggers-should-know.html

Find out the ways you can give some love to your older blog posts and increase traffic to your book blog at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2019/04/want-to-increase-your-blog-traffic-ways.html

Effective Call's To Action, or CTA's, guide your visitors to take action. Learn more about the different types of CTA's you can use at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2019/04/exploring-ctas-different-types-of-calls.html

Book blogging can be stressful at times. Blossoms and Bullet Journals talks about how to reduce ARC related stress in this post at https://blossomsandbulletjournals.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/how-to-reduce-arc-related-stress/ (Update 23/5/2026 this site is now set to private)

As with most things in life, you only realise certain things after you've started. That applies to blogging too. Find out what book bloggers which they knew at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/03/what-book-bloggers-wish-they-knew.html

Book Bumblings is always a great source of information but this post listing the book blogging tools they use most at http://www.bookbumblings.com/blogging-toolkit-bookblogwrimo/ is well worth bookmarking. (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)

Find tips and tricks for a more productive you at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/03/ways-to-super-charge-your-productivity.html

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. https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/03/quick-tips-about-blogging-from-book.html

Learn bookish lingo at https://feedyourfictionaddiction.com/2017/02/book-bloggers-guide-acronyms-terms-slang.html thanks to this great list by Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

Vicky Who Reads takes you through the steps of how to write a book review at https://vickywhoreads.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/where-to-start-in-writing-a-book-review-blogging-advice/

Want to go more in-depth about what to do and not do when reviewing a book, then check out this post https://lithub.com/13-common-mistakes-in-book-reviewing-and-how-to-avoid-them/ by Literary Hub about common mistakes in book reviewing and how to avoid them.

Find more info on the what, how and why of book reviews at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2016/09/book-reviews-what-why-and-how-webinar.html

Bored of the same old same old? Find inspiration to get more creative with your book reviews at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2019/06/ways-to-write-more-creative-book-reviews.html and stand out from the crowd.

Learn how to write an audible review at https://lovelyaudiobooks.info/how-to-write-an-audible-review/ courtesy of Lovely Audiobooks

As with pretty much anything in life there are always a few people that spoil things for the rest of us. Book blogging is no exception. Check out this discussion post about trusting book bloggers at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2019/06/book-reviews-can-you-trust-book-bloggers.html

A media kit is a powerful tool that all bloggers should have. Find out more about why and what to include in yours at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/12/media-kits-what-is-media-kit-and-why-do.html

Discover the elements that should be included in every blog post you publish at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2021/08/things-that-should-be-in-every-blog-post.html

Social Media for Book Bloggers

Instagram

Are you part of/planning on joining the world of Bookstagram? Me Otherwise does a fantastic breakdown of the hashtags you need to kill it as a Bookstagrammer at https://www.meotherwise.com/hashtags-for-books-on-instagram-bloggers/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active). She even divides them all into categories making it super easy to find the best ones for your Instagram content. These hashtags can be used on other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook too for you'll really want to bookmark this one!

Not sure what to post as a Bookstagrammer? Check out these awesome ideas from Word Revel at http://wordrevel.com/b101-props-are-not-required/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active). As the title of the blog post states, props are not required.

L.M. Durand shares 5 tips you should keep in mind to grow your Bookstagram at https://lmdurand.com/5-things-you-should-keep-in-mind-to-grow-your-bookstagram/

Unbound Pages has some good tips to help you schedule a month of Bookstagram posts in one day at http://unboundpages.com/how-to-schedule-a-month-of-bookstagrams-in-one-day/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active). Perfect for those of you without a lot of free time.

Alison in Bookland gives insight into whether to use a personal or business account for your Bookstagram at https://alisoninbookland.com/2019/08/07/is-is-worth-making-your-bookstagram-account-into-a-creator-account/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)

The Riverside Library has an amazing post that breaks down Bookstagram hashtags by post type at https://theriversidelibrary.com/2019/09/03/100-bookstagram-hashtags-by-post-type/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active) making it super easy to find the right hashtag for your post.

Pinterest can be a powerhouse for driving traffic to your book blog and one great way to leverage it is to be part of group boards. Reading in Stilettos has done a great post breaking the lists down into categories at https://readinginstilettos.com/pinterest-group-boards-for-book-blogger/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active). The post includes; general book related boards, book review boards, book blogger boards and group boards with specific book themes.

New to Pinterest and not sure where to start? In this post at https://bookishhedgemom.com/using-pinterest/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active) The Bookish Hedgemom takes you through the various steps she took to get started in her beginners guide to Pinterest for book bloggers.

Another good post about Pinterest for beginners is by My Bookish Banter at https://mybookishbanter.wordpress.com/2020/07/31/pinterest-101-how-to-get-started-on-pinterest/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)

Twitter

Cat on the Bookshelf gives a great list of hashtags for book bloggers to use on Twitter in this post at https://catonthebookshelf.wordpress.com/2018/03/26/the-guide-to-twitter-hashtags-for-new-book-bloggers/

Facebook

Lovely Audiobooks discusses being a book blogger on Facebook at https://lovelyaudiobooks.info/facebook-for-book-bloggers/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active) A great introductions to Facebook pages and groups.

Youtube

Part of the Booktube community? Get a more professional look and learn how to add your logo to your YouTube videos at https://www.jolinsdell.com/2018/10/how-to-add-logo-to-your-youtube-videos.html

Goodreads

New to Goodreads? Book Bumblings gives a good introduction in how to get started at http://www.bookbumblings.com/goodreads-101/ (Update 23/5/2026 - link no longer active)