Category: Blogging

Blog Battles Book

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging2 Comments

If you’re a writer and a blogger, this post is for you. If you’re a person and burned out all the time, keep reading too.

Last week, I wrote a blog post Monday through Thursday. Nothing to set the world on fire, but this was and was not a good thing.

The good thing? I was writing.

The not so good thing? I was not writing what I wanted to write – novels.

If you’ve been to a writers conference or talked to a publishing professional before you’ve heard that four letter word ‘platform’. Okay, not a four letter word but it should be. You may have had a conversation that went like this:

Professional – You must have a platform to be a successful writer.

You – Won’t that take all of my writing time? What about the book?

Professional – You need to do both.

You – Uh, I don’t have time.

Professional – Find time.

Not super practical, but true. Of course this is not easy. Half the time I walk around feeling like I am failing at two things simultaneously. You’ve got a family, and a job, and a life, right?

The imperative element to this is balance.

I felt better when I was able to write another chapter of my book. I dropped the post on Friday because I wanted to work on my book. I was burned out on my blog.

The best advice I can give to the blogging writer is to do what you can do. Do one blog post a week or do them Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Find a rhythm and do what works.

But keep writing your book.

Cheers,

Bob

Don’t Hate Your Blog

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging2 Comments

There are times I love to post because it means I get to interact with other writers. I also get to contribute to the wide world of writing immediately. But that might be one of the reasons a blog and a novel don’t get along all that well. They fight for time and one is instant gratification. Which one wins?

I was hot and cold with my blog over the last year, like a teenage relationship.

Blog Bubble“You’re pretty cool, let’s be friends.”

Next day

“You’re gross, I hate you.”

Next day

“Want to get hang out?”

And so on.

Seriously, it was exhausting. I’d write on here for a week straight and celebrate the comments and the stats! Yeah! But then I’d come to the realization that I had not worked on my novel in a week and I’d immediately be crushed. I would stop blogging and shift gears and loose readership along the way.

So how can we end this cycle?

If you are a beginning blogger take this advice, find some rhythm. Find something that works with your novel and your schedule.  Post once a week or twice a week on the same days each week. If your writing time is limited and you are a fiction writer focus on your book during your writing time. You need something to share from that platform once created.

There are many advantages for creating a blog from which you can one day rule the world. It can foster relationships, lead to a book contract and, most importantly, help your mind work on small writing deadlines. But it can also be a distraction from your writing aspirations, so tread lightly!

Write 1000 words on your book this weekend! Seriously, don’t doubt. Do it!

Cheers,

Bob

 

 

 

 

5 Ways To Revive Your Blog

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging1 Comment

A blog is many things to a writer: journal, mile marker, community, platform, and even a daily proof that you are in fact a writer. I’ve struggled to keep up with the expectations I had for my blog for several reasons. When I sit back and think of the main reason it is because I have not made it a priority.

Time has always been my main complaint because I have so little of it and I like to work on my novel when I find that small window of opportunity. But that complaint is just an excuse. So, I thought, what would I have to do to revive my blog? How can I stay connected to the community I value and share the things I have learned while still keeping that sacred time of novel writing safe? Here are five ideas.

Renovate
Renovate

1. With limited time to spend, spend limited time on it. What do I mean? Sometimes it takes an hour to put together a well thought out blog. For this week I am going to spend only twenty minutes a day on a blog.

2. Go out. I spend too much time on my own blog. Blogging is supposed to be about community. Visit other blogs comment and like, simple as that. It will generate traffic and generate ideas.

3. My blog is two years old and I was bored with it. Sort of like having the same haircut for a decade.  Give your blog a facelift. New theme, new widgets and there you go. A new you er, blog. That’s something to be excited about.

4. Rhythm. Writing is all about it. Work on a novel or article for an hour each month and you will loose the taste for it. The same with your blog. Write once a week, twice a week or whatever works. You will get into a groove and your readers will too.

5. Make a commitment. Like any relationship, goal, job or house, when you get off track or too busy to maintain it, it can fall apart. You have to give it proper time. If it is a priority and it matters, you have to buck up and recommit.

I hope this helps you reignite the blog you once loved. Keep it simple and realistic and you’ll be on you way.

Cheers,
Bob

Blogging 101: Maintaining Readership

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging8 Comments

Unlike writing, blogging can be a science. If you follow certain rules and maintain a certain rhythm of posting, the blogger can be successful. However, once you are established in the blogosphere, and your friends no longer check your FaceBook page to see if you have posted anything new, the beginning blogger might lose some steam. I know I did.

So, how do you maintain this platform? How do you maintain and acquire new readership? (Obviously this post is for novice bloggers. However, it is always good for the veteran to brush up on the basics). Here are three reason your readers might be running.

The Trithemis Aurora is a ...zzzzzz
The Trithemis Aurora is a …zzzzzz

1. You Don’t Keep to Your Theme– This is the simplest reason bloggers lose traffic. If you are a blogger, writing about say, hockey, be sure to include it in each post. You can share a little anecdotal back story of how you sharpened your skates on the pond behind your parents’ house when you were three. However, if you inked a heart-wrenching story about a certain species of dragonfly and how they were going extinct, it might sound a bit off like a stray note at a concert. Your hockey readers might flee for something a bit more on topic.

2. You Don’t Post Rhythmically– What does this mean? This means that no matter how often you blog, be sure to have fresh content at the same time. I see writers who update their blogs monthly, daily, or every second Tuesday of the month. However you do it, find a schedule — and stick to it. You can stray a bit from time to time, but 99% of the time, do what your readers expect so they know when to visit your blog for new content.

3. You Stop Interacting – The most successful blogs create little communities. The readers know what to expect (theme), they know when you are going to post (rhythm). They want to know about your topic, but they want to share their bit too. And it could be an invaluable bit. A new book, a unique way to sew a pair of trousers, whatever. You might learn something from them, and that is the point isn’t it? Learning, growing, making your blog a tight little band of misfits who all enjoy, or are all striving toward, the same thing.

These are three simple things. Do you know of other tips that would help a blogger gain or maintain readership? Please share below! If you have posted something similar on your blog, please feel free to include the link below in the comments section.

Cheers,

Bob