To keep your ranking high in search you need to post at least 3 times a week. For increasing traffic you may need to post daily or even more than once a day. My blogger stats took a dive this summer after reaching highs of 1,000 views daily. When I looked into the difference, I noticed that int he spring I was posting multiple times a day. I started twice a day postings again in September and I've built my numbers back up.
Authors who blog often ask me what topics to write on. Authors especially ask when working on posts for a blog tour. In my ebook Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour, I included 10 broad blog topics for authors. While those topics can also be used on their own blogs, or even by bloggers, there are other topics you can explore on your own blog.
Publishing News
What's coming out, books that have been optioned for TV or film, award winners, etc. all make great topics for book bloggers. If you are already being pitched review copies from major publishers, you are receiving press releases about new books. You can also find press releases from publishers online. Simon & Schuster and Random House have some of theirs available online. You can also go to your favorite authors' websites and blogs to look for news.
Many bloggers and authors took up the topic last week about Kobo pulling self-published titles. Before that there were posts about the DOJ suit regarding ebook pricing. There is always something going on in the industry that can be of interest to your readers. It may also encourage discussion on your blog.
Covering bookish events in your local area or highlighting events that are coming up (such as Book Expo of America or the Texas Book Festival) is another possibility for news. Consider doing weekly highlights about the movers and shakers of the best seller lists.
Holiday Recommendations
Halloween is just around the corner and you will find a number of blogs doing Halloween themed posts. If you are just starting to branch out from reviews, then this is a great place to start. Feature your favorite books for the holiday. You can do a daily or weekly post featuring a different book. Not ready for that kind of commitment? Then try Top 10 Halloween Reads.
You don't have to stick with the conventional holidays. There is a holiday every day of the week (sometimes there are multiple holidays for any given day). October 25 is Punk for a Day Day - perhaps feature an author or book from one of the punk genres.
Genre Discussions
The Indie Revolution has the lines between genres blurring as well as creating whole new genres. Commentary on what you love or hate about a genre again can be a great discussion started as others chime in with their opinions and book suggestions.
Bookish Games
I had a lot of fun with the recent Name That Book games I ran on my blog. I've seen blogs do face offs with paranormal pairings or which hottie is the hottest. Compare book covers from different countries, especially if the book isn't released and the covers show different scenes you can offer speculation.
Tips and Tricks
When I started Tips on Thursday, I didn't know if anyone would care what I had to say or even if I had enough knowledge to keep the series going. You don't have to be an expert to share what you have found helpful in your blogging. Maybe there's a website where you find the best book deals or you found a useful app to keep track of your blog schedule. Don't be afraid to brainstorm and ask questions in your post. One of my more popular posts was more of a "thinking out loud" kind of deal than a concrete post.
Takes Work
I'm not saying reviews aren't a lot of work, but once you read the book you pretty much have your material. To blog about other topics, you might have to do a little more work. Thankfully the internet makes research a bit easier. Because there is work involved I recommend starting out slowly. Perhaps start with one additional weekly post that is not a review. Weekly features are great traffic boosters. Lists are also pretty easy to do, so why not put together 5 Books to Read This Weekend and post it on Friday?
For topics that might take a bit more time to put together, you might want to start out only doing them monthly - New Releases for November. I find a "holiday shopping guide" with recommend books to give as gifts (and who they would be great for) to always be popular. I post mine each year on Black Friday and promote it right up to Christmas.
Don't Give Up
Play around with what works for you - both in terms of your time and what your readers want. It may take a little time find the right branch to follow. You might want to try a few different types of posts. Track the numbers, but also ask your readers to weigh in on what they want to see. I recommend giving it 4 weeks if it is a daily post, 6 - 8 weeks for weekly features, and 3 to 4 months if only posting once a month.
Do you only post reviews or do you write about different topics? What topics have you found to be most interesting to your readers?
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the blogger behind Girl Who Reads and author of the how-to manual Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
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Excellent advice, Donna. I've shared with our Book Bloggers Do It Better Community on Google Plus as I know Suey has for the Bloggiesta Community there too. There really never is a shortage of topics for book bloggers.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's just realizing what all one can blog about and still keep their niche. Thank you for sharing it with your blogging group.
DeleteMy question may be stretching the topic a little, but it is about getting those readers out there to follow and respond. I'm switching over from blogger to wordpress. Do you have any ideas on how to transition and hopefully get those followers to follow me over? Thanks Donna! From Donna
ReplyDeletewww.mylifeonestoryatatime.com
Make sure you put a post on Blogger that says you have moved and linked to your wordpress site. Are you using the same url for your Wordpress site that you used for blogger (mylifeonestoryatatime.com)? If so then your readers won't notice the redirect.
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