To Blog or Not To Blog

(From timbarcz.com)

Blogging has become a very important part of an author's career. It's a way to put a little of ourselves out there so we can connect with readers, other authors and industry peeps.

I don't think of myself as all that interesting, so coming up with blog posts and figuring out a way to do so consistently made me nuts for a while. After much thought, and reading a lot of blogs, especially the wisdom of Kristen Lamb and others, I've finally reached a happy, workable solution that works for ME over at my main blog. I do a Mashups on Mondays (Mind Sieve), photos on Wednesday (Picture Kaleidoscope), movie reviews on Fridays, and throw in the occasional extra post.

One thing I've noticed by the doing the mashups (since it means I need to go out there and read a lot of entries) is a pitfall of the social media push for us to blog - mainly posts that rattle out a topic but don't actually tell you anything. (No, I'm not going to point any virtual fingers. I'm sure you've probably run across some of these yourself out there.) (I'm also not trying to make everyone paranoid, just aware!)

The worst thing about these posts, in my opinion, is that rather than help the authors build their brand and gain followers, they become off putting and actually get an opposite reaction than intended. If the blog posts don't have substance, why would any readers then believe that the stories or novels by this same author would have them?

If we're going to put ourselves out there, let's do it right. So rather than post every day or just blast the bloggosphere with a half thought, make sure if you bring up a problem, try to throw in a solution or suggestion or two. If you bring up a question, try to give an answer. Like any story, a blog post should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. (Dredge up those memories of having to write short papers for school.) Don't leave the readers hanging. They need some meat to chew on. They won't come back if they leave dissatisfied. And what better way to intrigue them than to get their synapsis firing.

Let's put some care into our blogs and stimulate those brains!



(From ebaumsworld.com)


What are your thoughts on this? Have you experience what I'm talking about? Do you think I'm full of it? How about sharing any hints and tips you use when creating your own posts?

Let's get blogging!

Gloria Oliver
Unveiling the Fantastic
http://www.gloriaoliver.com/