Benefits of Authors Blogging
In our previous blog article Why Fiction Writers Need to Blog, we discussed the importance of blogging for writers and what to blog about. In building upon this topic, here we discuss the benefits of blogging and how it can be a great supplement to your overall marketing strategy and author platform.
As you write and plan out future articles, there is no question that you will become more proficient at blogging and more confident in your writer’s voice, but you will additionally be building your author platform by gaining an online audience you would otherwise not have, just by having a static website. While the benefits of blogging appear endless, some are more important than others. Below are my top five benefits to authors blogging that helps to expand your platform and in order of importance.
- Improve Your SEO: Search engines deliver results that are helpful to their users. When you write in-depth on a specific topic, Google takes notice and delivers your content to them.
- Gain Influence: Understanding and knowing your target audience is the most important entity you need to determine before starting your blog. A successful writer and blogger focuses their content to a specific audience and does it well. They are able to gain a wide audience of people who trust and respect them, and that buy their products.
- Building a Network: Interesting and valuable content naturally attracts readers who will then comment on your site or send you direct messages. Through writing content you are automatically reach out to others online and coincidentally you are building your network at the same time.
- Collect Leads That Give You Permission to Keep in Contact: Email is still proving to the be the most effective way to communicate and sell products. By hosting a subscribe form on your blog page, people will sign up to receive your updates. They are basically giving you permission to stay in touch with them. However, getting somebody to give you their email isn’t easy, therefore your content needs to be centered on topics that are valuable to your target audience.
- Selling a Product: Most blogs don’t start out in generating money, but most successful blogs end this way. Whether you are one or four years in and you’ve built a strong following, a blog makes for an excellent virtual store. People buy products from those they trust and many successful bloggers earn a living from selling books or services that satisfy the needs of their followers.
In the next week I’ll build upon this topic in more detail. I’ll share tips and strategies for getting more followers to your blog.
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