We understand that after you’ve written a full-length novel, the thought of getting back into writing right away can sound unappealing. However, when it comes to marketing your book and establishing a fan base, guest blogging can be one of the best tactics. Here are a few ways guest blogging can benefit authors:
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It’s free promotion
Ding Ding Ding. This is really the only reason that matters. Promoting your book and your brand as an author can get pretty pricey. Guest blogging and guest posts are not just a way for bloggers to get more content on their site, it’s a way for you to introduce yourself and your book to a new audience without ad fees or an invoice from your publicist.
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It’s a way to connect with your fan base
This is extremely important. In an age where readers can literally reach their favorite authors by sending a simple tweet, making yourself accessible and available to your readers can determine how popular you become in the long run. You want to connect in as many ways with your readers as possible, and as often as possible. Having a guest blog featured on a site that potential fans frequent extends an olive branch to those potential fans, thereby connecting you.
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It helps you build relationships with bloggers
Book bloggers are essential to your writing career. While big media will always be big media, book bloggers are specialized, have large followings, and are, many times, simply more receptive to authors than traditional media. You NEED to network with bloggers and form relationships with them if you want to have success promoting your book. One way to do this is to guest blog. While bloggers receive a slew of review requests that can be time-consuming and work intensive, having an author write a guest blog that they simply have to look over before posting will probably put you on their good side.
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It establishes your expertise
Most author guest blogs will focus on some aspect of writing. Hopefully, if you’re crafty, you will find a way to tie this in with your book, or even include an excerpt. The core of the post, however, will most likely focus on either your writing process, or writing in general. Crafting your post this way will establish you as the expert or leader of whatever topic you are advising or informing readers about. This in turn establishes you as a thought leader and lends you a certain respect and credibility as a writer.
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It’s convenient
Book signings are a great way to meet your audience, but depending on your budget, schedule, etc, they can be a bit high maintenance to coordinate. Writing a guest post for a popular book reviewer, however, will allow you access to that same audience from the comfort of your home. You can literally write a guest blog post in your pajamas on your couch. There is no downside to this.