You might think – I am a writer, not a blogger, so should I still write a blog?

Well – if you’re an upcoming author, having a blog is a great way to let yourself known.

As for writers who are already published, it is even more important to grow and maintain a blog. All authors should blog as it helps them write more consistently than they might otherwise. It is the best way to connect with your readers, broaden your horizon, and establish yourself as an author with a large audience.

For the competitive reasons you will learn below, blogging is probably the best thing you can do while you are not actively writing your novel to prepare you for the task.

So, let’s dive in…

To start, here are the top good reasons why every author should also be a blogger.

To help find your people

You need to identify the target audience for your book. If you blog on your subject, you do not have to look further than your blog audience who will buy your book.

Reaching a wider audience through your blog will positively impact your writing career in the following ways:

You will find the right readers: When people search for something related to your books, they should be able to find you. Doing this brings you more readers who are interested in supporting your work.

You will get more purchases: If you promote your book through your blog, you may find that your sales increase drastically. Finding the perfect audience helps to get your books seen by people interested in reading them.

People will know about you: Although everyone who notices your work may not purchase your book, they may keep you in mind, which means they will buy your book later or recommend your work to others.

To popularise your online platform

The website is where you put yourself out there for your readers to know more about you. Your blogs can help in getting people to know you as a writer and your writing abilities.

If you are a self-published author and possibly looking into working with publishers, agents or editors, you can use your blogs to showcase your creative abilities to them.

Create better lines of communication

If someone buys your book, they’ll take it home and read it once. That’s where your opportunity to inspire and influence them stops. If they take your book, read it, and then follow your blog, you have an open line of contact to keep in touch with them.

It helps improve your craft: The only way to get better at writing is to write more.

It provides a place to unite: Wanting to expand your audience? Interview other influencers on your blog or invite them to guest-post. They will then share that post with their audience, leading to more subscribers to your blog.

It’s introvert-friendly: Even if you do not love public speaking, as a blogger, you still have a platform to reach people.

It is a good testing ground: Whether it’s your first book or you’re testing a second book on your already established audience, a blog is a great place to see how they respond to your topic before you go through the process of setting up a publishing deal.

It is your online bookstore: Do you have physical copies of your book at home that you need to sell? Add an online shop element to your blog, and let readers purchase books directly from you!

Increase visibility for your website

The more you blog, the more your content will surface on the world wide web searches. This, in turn, will direct more traffic to your website and make it more visible over time.

When setting up your website, make sure your name comes up on searches for an author in a specific genre. Over time these searches will get more readers to come to your website and interested ones to buy your book.

Writing a blog comes with many benefits, especially as an author. It will not only help you reach a wider audience and build a relationship with them, but it will also help you grow as a writer.

Even writers need to continue to adapt to our changing society, so you need to take advantage of resources online. A blog is a perfect way to achieve it while still having fun with your writing!