On Blogging & The Interrelationship With Writing–Or, Is Blogging A Marketing Tool?
Late last year, I was asked by SpecFicNZ to write an article for the organisation’s newsletter on my thoughts on blogging as marketing tool. The subject has come up several times since then in different, but always related—discussion-wise—circumstances, so I thought I would re-post it here.
I would certainly be interested in hearing your thoughts, whether as a writer, a blogger, social media user, or even a marketer (if there are any marketers out there. 😉 )
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“On Blogging & The Interrelationship With Writing
So here’s the thing: I don’t believe blogging is a marketing tool for writing—and certainly not on its own, i.e. without some other force driving readership to the blog. If anything, my view is that more often than not it is one’s writing that drives readers to the blog, rather than the other way about. The exception would be the person who is already a social media personality or an established identity in another field, whether it is entertainment, politics, or simply an ‘other life’ as a social media maven.
You may query my “authority” for asserting this view and I will readily state that it is totally my subjective opinion and may be completely wrong. But it is a subjective opinion formed from nearly three years of blogging every day (with or without a spirit of “joyful exhilaration.”[1] It’s also based on what I understand with respect to some of the “big name” literary bloggers, such as John Scalzi and Neil Gaiman. For example, I have been told that John Scalzi already had a well-established reputation as a freelance (non fiction) writer and commentator before moving into fiction; consequently, a good deal of his following is grounded in those early roots. Neil Gaiman is a literary blogger—but had been writing graphic novels, novels, and screenplays for a considerable period before moving (extremely successfully) into the evolving social media realm. But my point is that he didn’t enter into social media to create an audience for his writing, but to extend what was already well established.
For the writer starting from scratch, therefore, my personal view is that a blog is unlikely to be that helpful in marketing one’s writing. As one’s writing becomes more successful though, I would expect blog visitor numbers to grow.
The catch, of course, is that creating a successful blog takes a lot of time, creative energy, and sheer hard work. So, too, does the writing that is most likely to generate blog visitors. The question the author has to ask her or himself, therefore, is do I want to spend that of time, creative energy, and sweat on building a blog or on my writing? Am I blogging to support my writing, or writing to support my blog? The answer to these questions will dictate how much time the writer should spend on either endeavour.
But if the author is blogging solely to market books, then my respectful suggestion is: “waste of time.” A quick look at the wide, wide world of the internet reveals that it is absolutely chock full of writers touting their wares via almost every social media mechanism possible. “Standing out” in the midst of all that would seem to be a task comparable to that of Hercules cleaning the Augean stables. One or two writers will get lucky, but most of us who are not demigods will simply get drowned in the flood—not to mention the “noise.”
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So why have a blog at all? In my view, a blog can function well in a number of ways.
Firstly—either in conjunction with or instead of a website—it can act as the social media equivalent of a shop front, with a post-box for mail: i.e. interested parties can use it to find out a bit about the blogger and what s/he has to offer, and get in touch directly if they want to go that far. Importantly though, the blog owner does not have to converse: s/he has control over whether the shopfront door is locked or unlocked.
A second option is for the blog to act as a “front porch”—the place where the blogger hangs out so people can visit and talk about mutually interesting “stuff.” In other words, the blogger allows comments and hopes conversations may ensure. My “…on Anything, Really” blog is a “front porch.”
If the blogger wishes to use blogging in the same way the eighteenth century literati used coffee houses, i.e. to participate in a wider world of discussion and ideas, then s/he may have to either join or create a blog that becomes a destination, usually in conjunction with other like-minded folk. I would argue that the newly formed BookSworn site (of which I am a member) is a “coffee house” blogging option, while SF Signal, where I currently post once a month, is more of a SFF “town square.”
None of these options is about marketing though: they’re all primarily about communication, conversation, and community. To an extent, conversation and community may extend into networking, but only in an informal sense. And although communication, conversation, and establishing community may always be present in the mix that adds up to “marketing”, there is a great deal more to the “dark art” than that—and the two should never be confused for each other.
So for me, blogging is not about marketing at all. If one accepts that, then the questions around “why blog” and “how blog” hinge on how important communication, conversation, and community are to one’s writing, and how much time one wishes to take from that writing to achieve secondary goals.”
[1] O-Sensei, the founder of the martial art aikido, is alleged to have exhorted his students to “train every day with a spirit of joyful exhilaration.”
I agree – you’ve summed it up really well. I’ve been blogging since 2008 and the biggest effect has been the developing community of it all. I think people who buy my books because they’ve seen them mentioned on my blog were highly likely to buy my books anyway. One other key benefit for me though is the blog has become another form of developing and honing my writing. And I guess its another way to beat the isolation of being a writer.
I agree, Melinda: I think it is that isolation and community aspect that made me describe a blog like mine as a ‘front porch’—it provides that opportunity for dropping by and interaction.
I personally read a book first and then go to the author’s website, and then maybe blog site. If I see a book, I may then go to the author’s website to check it out a bit more before I buy it.
The blogs and websites of authors I already read, need to have something going for it, before I become a semi-regular visitor. By “something” I mean more than plain marketing, but it does help to have sample chapters and something about the next book coming out or the current book that is already out, or the work in progress, or public appearances.
Some readers also have questions – usually about something related to an author’s work. Visiting an author’s website or blog is a very good way to get some answers. If I really really like a work, I will go to an author’s website, find the Contact section and tell them so, complete with questions about some detail in the story.
As an author and blogger, it is always interesting to learn how readers approach blogs—thank you for sharing yours, June.
Hi Helen,
Not to name names, but there is an author on twitter, where 90% of his tweets are just promotions for his series of books. They link to his website for the book in question.
I keep wanting to tell him he is doing it wrong…because it IS tiresome.
Best not to name names, but I agree, Paul: some days I open my Twitter feed and get hit by a wall of variations on ‘buy my book’ and it is tiresome. Also largely futile imho, but there you go…
Yes — books come first. There are too many blogs and how do you stumble over them if you don’t know the writer already? All my books are available for free download from my web site, and a reasonable number of people seem to like them enough to want to download them. And that’s gratifying. But I don’t think anyone would have bothered if they hadn’t come across me first in other forums. Blogs don’t sell books — books sell blogs.
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-Alan
“Blogs don’t sell books — books sell blogs.” Hear, hear, Alan.
I like that do, perfectly phrased
Imagine that ‘do’ says ‘too’ 🙂
Hi Helen,
Nice to hear your thoughts on this – I love reading author’s blogs, but generally I only find them because I bought their book, rather than the other way around. Having said that, there are some authors who have taken so long between publishing books that I’d probably have forgotten about their stories if it wasn’t for the fact that I found their blog after book 1 and enjoyed reading that in the interim.
The blogs I enjoy are the ones which aren’t pushing a sale but just sharing the things that inspired or interested the author. Sometimes they point me towards other authors I’d never have found otherwise, or music, poetry, or (in Jonathon Carroll’s case) weird and unusual words. The blogs (or twitter feeds, or facebook pages) that are mostly just a sales pitch I tend to visit only once. Sometimes I find it so off-putting that I’m LESS likely to buy their books in future.
While I haven’t yet bought a book because I read someone’s blog, I do think if I know a little more about an author, and what they find interesting, I am much more likely to care about their next book when it comes out.
Just my thoughts 🙂
Interesting thoughts, Shona, and all resonate–I think, for me, I am always mindful that mine is a literary and/or author’s blog, so it’s important to maintain that focus, while also balancing the material between my books and writing, books and writing generally, and the writer as a person, too. The latter is why I try and bring in some of my other interests, such as astronomy, the natural world, and food and wine, to name a few. But it still all comes back to a ‘front porch’ experience, whee I’m mindful that the main reason people are stopping by is because of writing, books, and stories. And hope that all proves interesting enough for people to care when the next book does come out. 😉
I think the blog potentially adds to the ‘clutter’ of the internet and as you and others have already pointed out, Helen – there has to be an existing connection (of some sort) between reader and writer for the blog to be most effective.
“So, too, does the writing that is most likely to generate blog visitors. The question the author has to ask her or himself, therefore, is do I want to spend that of time, creative energy, and sweat on building a blog or on my writing? Am I blogging to support my writing, or writing to support my blog?”
And maybe it can be argued the same about any online participation, social media etc – how much is too much and hurts the writing? How little renders you ‘invisible’?
I think, in terms of the clutter, that obviously all those bloggers have as much right as any other to be there–but given that so many of us are, there does indeed have to be a reason for readers to stop by my ‘gate’ and even while away some time on the ‘front porch’, in particular. “Connection” is a good word for that and one that goes well with “conversation, communication, and community.” When we consider the whole package of blogging/social media in that context, it also makes me even more wary of those who advocate being deliberately controversial (another “c” word)simply to get hits. I think that may generate a short term result, but probably won’t build the longer term community–and also risks continually having to up the ante to sustain the hits, which may well not result in the community the blogger was originally seeking.
In terms of invisibility though, my observation would be–with so many currently social mediarizing for the purposes of spruiking wares, it’s very easy to be invisible in the throng anyway. So I feel it all comes back to Shakespeare in the end: ‘this above all to thine ownself be true’–one may still be invisible, but at least should then be enjoying one’s social mediarizing. And ain’t that the main thing?
True – that probably sounded mean, ‘clutter’ doesn’t mean we don’t have a write to blog, huh? It’s just an unfortunate side effect perhaps. But I think that sense of community makes a difference to a blog, if it exists the blog ought to survive as you’ve said. Go beyond the short term hit count.
Yeah, that’s a good point. If I’m enjoying it (and limiting I feel) then it’s all good. Now, back to writing 😀
Stick with it, Ashley. 🙂
Always another poem to write! 😀
How’s your next book coming along?
It is definitely coming: am revising the first 2/3rds at present and can see the end in sight.
Fantastic!
We’ll be ready 😀 How different does a book 3 feel to say, 1 or 2? (Sorry to derail the thread)
I think that could be a blog post in itself—and maybe once the book is done, ie no jinxing the process… 🙂
That sounds ace, I’m looking forward to that 🙂