In participation with Book Blogger Appreciation Week, Amy asked:
"What is one thing you wish you knew about blogging when you started or what advice would you give a newbie blogger?"
"What is your best blogging tip?"
I think one thing I would tell a newby blogger is that it’s very addictive!! I think I post as least once everyday it not sometimes more, and it interferes with my reading time! I love it though, and I can’t believe it took me so long to start doing it!
As far as blogging tips I have tons! I’ve picked up quite a few things along the way. I just did a guest blog at Harmony Book Reviews on blogging tips. If you want to check out my actual post you can see it here. Here are a few key pieces of advice from the original post.
Networking is a very important part of getting your blog out there. If no one knows it exists, you aren’t going to have a lot of people stopping by. So you just need to get your name out there! But don’t be annoying about it….please! That only turns people away.
When I got started, I didn’t have any visitors either, so this is what I did. I made a MySpace page. There are a lot of authors that have their own pages, and people that like to read are on MySpace too! This is a great way to “advertise” your blog! Visit other people’s blogs and leave a comment. I know when someone leaves a comment on my blog I almost always go to their site too! Go to a book related message board. I utilized message boards a lot when I first started my blog! Just don’t be overly perplexing and leave the same message on every topic, that’s overkill and it turns people off. Tell your friends and family!! Or if you’re insecure about that, just tell some of your friends!
Another important aspect is design of your site. Pick a color scheme that fits your voice! Make sure that your color scheme is easy to read and easy on the eyes. Don’t make your font to small either. People won’t bother reading your reviews if they can’t see them! Try to make a header that portrays your site. It doesn’t have to be fancy.
Music or not to music. I know there are a lot of bloggers out there that have music on their site and if you want it I’m all for it. I know that personally I get distracted by music when I try to read so I end up finding the music player right away and turning it off.
Get ideas from your neighbors. I know that I was one of the first if not the first blogger to have the “What I’m Reading Now” element with a picture of the book I’m currently reading, and also the “In My Reading Pile” slideshow. And personally I think it’s cool that other bloggers started doing it! When I started having my theme element icons in my reviews, I had another fellow blogger ask me if she could use the idea as well, needless to say I was flattered that she liked the idea that much. So, why not ask your blogger neighbor if you can use their cool idea, what have you got to lose!
Try to make your blog stand out! Offer something that no one else has. My stand out element is my weekly Author Tales. Yes, it is a lot of working sometimes tracking down authors, asking if they would be willing and then of course actually getting the author post, but it is also a very critical component to my site!Having a contest is always a sure way to draw visitors. Most of the time I supply the prizes in my contest, but every once in a while if you are lucky you can get an author to donate a book for a prize!
As far as writing reviews. There isn’t a wrong or right way to write a review. You can try to be professional if you want or you can be more laid back. You just need to find the style that is right for you and not necessarily worry about what other people think. Write something that you would want to read, most of the time that’s what your readers would want to read too. You don’t have to write an essay to get your point across either, unless of course it takes you an adequate length to get your point across. Write the length that you are comfortable writing. Maybe you’ll start out writing short reviews and then once you are more comfortable with your writing, your reviews can grow.