by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
My first post on this blog (which started out at Blogger) was on August 9, 2008. Tomorrow marks 8 years of blogging.
When I first started blogging, I don’t think I really had in mind how long I would be blogging. Mostly, blogging was something that my publisher had indicated that I should be doing.
At the beginning, I was blogging with my readers in mind. That almost immediately shifted since I felt more comfortable writing to writers. Also, I was trying to work out my writing process as I worked on book three, and talking it out was helpful to me.
In the last eight years, I’ve seen a lot of blogs come and go. I’ve missed bloggers who have passed away and I’ve missed the ones who stopped blogging.
I’ve picked up tips along the way…practices that were helpful to me, mistakes I made that I needed to correct, and tips from other bloggers. Today I’ll share tips for setting up a blog or making a blog serve its purpose better, and tips for maintaining a blogging schedule. On Friday, I’m covering tips for content and engagement and benefits to blogging.
Tips for setting up your blog:
Host the blog on your website as a page. This was something I didn’t completely understand the importance of eight years ago. When we write strong content, we’re bringing in readers. Why send those readers somewhere other than our website? I’m pretty sure cost probably played a role in my original decision (I can be frugal), but the yearly cost of this website isn’t cost-prohibitive.
Use your own name in the blog/site domain name. It builds SEO (helps search engines like Google locate us and our content and books).
Similarly, make it obvious whose blog it is. I visit many blogs that list only the author’s first name. I understand wanting to be private, but if we need to promote the name we plan on writing under.
Share your posts on social media (automation can assist in this). You can set up your blog so that it posts automatically on your Facebook page or sends a tweet on Twitter.
Think hard about blog post titles. Using titles that accurately reflect the content of the post pull in readers who are searching for posts on that topic. It’s a great way to find new blog readers.
Make it easy for readers to share your posts. There are many plug-ins that can help blog readers to share our posts easily on social media. Click to Tweet is one of the ones that I use.
Don’t obsess over the design. I’ve noticed an odd phenomenan over the years where bloggers who overhaul their blogs, implementing sophisticated design elements sometimes stop blogging altogether soon after. I’ve often wondered if that’s a result of their feeling as if their content needs to be as good as their design. The most important thing is the writing on the blog.
Tips for maintaining a blogging schedule:
Editorial calendars can really help with keeping up with our blogs. If we know what we plan to write about, that’s half the battle.
Having an emergency post in our drafts section is also a good idea. Life always throws curve balls.
It’s a good idea to have some quick, go-to sources for blog images. Finding an image to accompany the blog post can be time-consuming. It’s nice to have a bunch of copyright-free stock images in our media library that we can quickly access. Kirsten Oliphant recently listed good sources for images in her post on Jane Friedman’s blog.
Blogging breaks are fine. I usually take two breaks a year and the occasional odd day off when my schedule gets hectic near deadlines. But I think it’s good if we can say exactly when we plan on returning. Consistency is important in blogging…probably even more than our frequency.
What have you learned about successfully setting up a blog or maintaining a blogging practice?
Tips for long-term blogging: Click To Tweet
Hi Elizabeth – thanks so much for this … and I look forward to your other articles on being in blogging for the long haul. All you’ve said makes sense … being relatively different – so the blog stands out from the crowd. Yours does and you’re always looking at new approaches … I certainly appreciate your blog, your thoughts and ideas … wonderful post – thank you … cheers Hilary
Hilary–I’ve always enjoyed your blog and the wealth of information you share. (Plus your adventurous spirit!) Thanks for coming by.
November will be seven years for me and my publisher told me to start blogging as well. Like you, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers come and go.
Great list of tips. I’ve removed images from my sidebars and updated the header, but the layout and background are still the same. Not on my own platform, but I do have a domain and I’ve always used my name. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to find a writer’s name on his blog, which is weird.
Alex–Congratulations on the upcoming seventh year! I knew you were an old-timer like me. :)
Isn’t it odd about finding a name on blogs? I can’t think how many I’ve got to really hunt through to find a name. Sometimes on the ‘about’ page. Sometimes just a first name there.
Congratulations on eight years of blogging, Elizabeth! I know I’ve learned so much from your blog, and continue to do so. You’ve got some great advice there, too. I think it’s important for bloggers to take some time now and then to ‘step back’ and think about how they’re doing what they’re doing. And I think it’s really important for those who are starting a blog to have a plan and a focus. That helps the blog to remain consistently strong.
Margot–And needless to say, I’ve learned a lot from yours! Thanks for all you do for mystery writers. I’m with you…a plan and a focus are vital for blogging.
Congratulations on blogging for eight years, Elizabeth. I have learned so much from you throughout those years and won’t be blogging myself if it weren’t for your help and encouragement. One thing I’ve noticed recently in the course of working with MC Book Tours is that a lot of bloggers have no way of contacting them. They don’t list an email or even have a contact form. Thanks for all that you do.
Mason–And thanks for the support you’ve shown *me*! Congratulations on MC Book Tours…you’re the perfect candidate for owning that business.
Oh, yes, the lack of contact. I read a great article from Dan Blank yesterday (http://wegrowmedia.com/how-to-create-an-effective-website/) on the importance of contact info. Gabi from DIY MFA had a really perceptive comment about how we limit our opportunities when we don’t list that stuff. She even encouraged us to list phone numbers/Google numbers.
It’s changed so much since I started over 11 years ago. I wish I had used my name in the web address but I was gearing up with my book series instead. I’m not sure how I could move it to my website.
Congrats on 8 years.
Diane–Over 11! I knew you were (way) ahead of me. And back then, there was no advice on hosting it on our site or using our name (at least, none that I found before I started out). There is a plugin for WordPress that moves Blogger over (with a few formatting glitches). Then you could put a post on your old blog that redirects visitors. But yes, a big pain and I likely lost a few readers.
Congrats on eight years of blogging and thanks for the useful tips on long-term blogging. I try to always have a week or two of blog posts written ahead of time so that I don’t feel pressure to come up with something on those days when I’m not inspired. As a blog reader, I do like it when bloggers have a consistent schedule and post regularly.
Ellen–Isn’t it such a relief to know what you’re blogging ahead of time? Makes life a lot easier.
Wow, Elizabeth. Congrats on 8 years. I didn’t realize it till I read your post this morning, but I started blogging in February of 2009. I can’t remember – did you take Dani Greer’s course on blogging? Is that how we ‘met?’ Anyway, I have a file of your writing tips saved in a separate document, so thank you for all those wonderful tips over the years.
Karen–We took that course together and met there! Can you believe it was so long ago?
No, I can’t believe it. And some of us are still blogging. Yeah for us.
I’m still using Blogger, because I haven’t released a book yet, but I’ve been toying with the idea of building a standalone WordPress site in the future. Your idea of having a few spare posts ready in case life rears its head is great, but I’m too much of a just in time poster to think that far in advance. I’m lucky if I get around to posting by noon on my scheduled post days.
Congrats on the eight years!
Ken-Thanks! I was reluctant to leave Blogger because I had an established presence there, but boy, were they frustrating to work with! WordPress has been a pretty easy experience so far (and I don’t have to worry as much about the spam problem I had on Blogger).
Great tips. Once I get to that stage where my books are out and about (or at least imminent) I’ll do that switch over to a website based blog too. I’ve played around with some website templates so far and you’re right – simple is far better!
Jemi–It’s just sooo much easier to go basic with it!
Eight years is longer than some marriages! I enjoy blogging (I had a livejournal way back before I knew what blogging was), so it’s just something I do. I’ve tried to become more focused lately, though–try to bring value to my readers. I’ve been studying Yaro’s blogging advice, and I feel like it’s really helped. I write a lot better titles, for one. :-)
Kessie–Ha! It sure is. The title thing is something I only realized in the last four or five years or so, I think. It does make sense, but it took me a while to reach that conclusion!
I’ve mentioned this before, but you were the first writer blog that I found and followed. Loved and still love your posts, you as a person, and as a writer. I’ve drank in your information and appreciated your support. My most famous (haha) posts on JW are my Laura Ingalls Wilder post and a Sunday one called Contentment. Titles are important.
Teresa
Teresa–Thank you!! I love you and your writing, too! I love the Laura Ingalls Wilder post and now I need to look up the Contentment one. Titles are so important and really only take an extra minute of thought/planning.
My blog is just a few months younger than yours. I’ve learned and improved in my blogging. Following a schedule really helps. I’m more comfortable taking breaks than I used to be. You share lots of great information.
Susan–Thanks! I like that blogging breaks, as long as they stay on schedule, don’t mean that we lose our readers.
I really need to get back to a proper blogging schedule. I’ve been blogging for a little over 6 years, but my routine has been utterly smashed this year.
Paul–You’ve had a lot going on! When you start back to a regular schedule, I’d probably skip apologizing for any interruptions, just continue on as if nothing had happened. :)
Congratulations, Elizabeth!! I just went back to see the date of my first blog post, and I laughed. August 7, 2008! We began the journey almost at the exact same time!!
I’ve always enjoyed your blog. Here’s to many more years!
Jill–Congratulations! I think there might have been quite a few of us who started right at the same time. Maybe the blogging buzz was really reaching a crescendo then? I like your blog, too–let’s shoot for another 8!
I’ve been blogging nearly eight years as well, and I was nodding along with this. Great tips for anyone starting out!
Allison–Congratulations to you! And thanks.
Hi Elizabeth,
I just found your website/blog and I am really excited to look through all your past blog articles – it sounds like you have a wealth of knowledge to share.
I am a novice when it comes to the book writing world, but I love everything about it so far, and I am working hard to make sure I learn as much as possible.
Thanks again for the great content. I look forward to reading through your past blog posts and reading the new ones as well. Hopefully I will be able to implement some of your tips in my blog as well (it is a work in progress).
Cynthia–There’s a lot of great information out there–and it’s fun for we book people to read! Best wishes for your new blog.