9 Reasons for Writers to Blog
I’ve covered this before a little, but it bears repeating: if you’re a writer, you should probably be blogging. You can make some money blogging, but that’s only one reason to blog. Here are nine other benefits that blogging offers writers.
- Hone your craft.: The best way to improve your writing is to write, right? A blog gives you an outlet for writing regularly.
- Instant feedback: One thing blog readers are not is timid; if you mess up, they’ll let you know! They’ll also let you know when you’re doing a good job. It might be years before you get any feedback on the novel you just finished; a blog post can start getting commented on within minutes.
- Develop relationships with readers: A blog lets you reach out to your readers and build enduring relationships. The people who read your blog every day are going to be people you can count on to buy your books, spread word of mouth about your work, even review works-in-progress.
- Give your most loyal readers a “free prize”: Blogging gives you a chance to offer your biggest fans a little something extra.
- Build awareness of your work: Blogs have a potentially unlimited audience — more than one person has discovered their new favorite writer by doing a search on Google.
- Show your ability to write often and consistently: If you do work for clients, blogging shows that you’re able to write regularly and to a schedule — which is good news for potential clients!
- Network with other writers: Your blog offers a platform for connecting with other writers, by linking back and forth to each other, providing a place to comment on each other’s work, and giving each other positive word-of-mouth.
- Sell copies of your books: If you have book out, by all means plug it on your blog. A lot. Join the Amazon Associates program so you get a referral fee every time someone buys your book by clicking the link on your site. The referral fees are often as much as or even more than your royalties!
- Attract clients: New readers can find out about you when your site turns up on Google — so can new clients! Plus, you can sell them on your work before they ever even contact you.
Of course, there’s another reason writers should blog — it’s fun! And there’s nothing wrong with that!
