Zi71bFS9nQHnivtvUJquhejTHIQ The Story Factory Reading Zone: Armchair BEA: Ask the Experts

Friday, 8 June 2012

Armchair BEA: Ask the Experts


This is a hard topic for me. I've certainly learnt quite a bit since starting blogging, but I'm not sure I can consider myself an expert quite yet. So I'm going to use this post to talk about what I've learnt so far, but also to ask you guys for some advice as well.


What I've learnt- my top 10 book blogging tips
  1. Network! Make time to talk to other bloggers on their blogs or through social networking sites. Reply to comments made on your blog. Meet up with readers, bloggers and authors wherever you can in the real world. It'll certainly help you learn a lot and you'll meet lots of new friends as well.
  2. Find youself a niche. I'm still working on this one, but Armchair BEA (and your comments) have certainly helped me think more about this. I think its important because it helps you to stand out in an increasingly busy blogging scene.
  3. Don't be afraid to take a day off. Its good to post every day, bu we all need a rest sometimes. If possible, tell your readers what you're doing and why- it lets them know you care
  4. Schedule posts wherever possible. Its good to have something ready to post just in case the unexpected happens
  5. Link up to old posts. Revisit old ideas and connect them, or let readers know of similar posts they might like. 
  6. Giveaways are great for getting visitors, but you need something else to get them to stay.
  7. Snappy titles are great for getting people to visit your posts, especially if they sound like they could be contraversial.
  8. Make it clear what your post will be about in the first sentence (or so). If its a giveaway, make it clear who will be allowed to enter. If its a meme then link up to the creator's site (or explain what others have to do if you're the creator).
  9. Don't get too hung up by squabbles that may go on around you. Consider the situation, work out your opinion and then decide whether its worth posting  about.
  10. Make your blog your own! The most important thing is that you enjoy what you're doing and it reflects your personality. Have fun!


Ask the experts (that's you!)
However short an amount of time you've been blogging, however small you may consider your blog I'm sure you've learnt something. If so, I'd love to hear what you consider the most important thing you've learnt.
If you don't have a blog then I'd like to know what you think of mine and if you have any tips to improve it. Specifically, I'm interested in the following:
  • What is your top blogging tip?
  • What do you like most about my blog?
  • Is there anything I could do better?
  • I'm thinking of making a niche for myself as a independent/self-published physical book reviewer. Would this interest you?
  • I'm still trying to create some sort of logo. Any ideas? 

Thanks for reading and I hope you've had a great Armchair BEA.  


Comments (8)

Loading... Logging you in...
  • Logged in as
Good tips. I like the idea of connecting new posts with old ones or revisiting an idea - especially if enough time has passed that our opinion may have changed. Thanks for the good ideas.
1 reply · active 668 weeks ago
You're welcome. Now I just need to remember to do it myself, lol
My recent post Armchair BEA: Beyond My Blog
You have great tips, I have none to offer you.
1 reply · active 668 weeks ago
Glad you enjoyed them,
My recent post Armchair BEA: Beyond My Blog
I keep hearing people talk about niches, but isn't a book blog itself a niche? I read quite a wide variety of books so I can't say my blog is about sci-fi or fantasy or romance only, for example. So I'm still not sure about that...
1 reply · active 668 weeks ago
I'm certainly not into reading only one genre of books either.
I guess what I mean by a niche is something that makes your blog stand out from others. A book blog would definatly have been a niche in the early days of book blogging, but nowadays I think you need somethig else to make your blog stand out.
My recent post Intellivore by Diane Duane (A Review)
Your idea for indie/self-published is a great one. My only worry would be that one bad-apple author that goes a little haywire in reaction to your review. I review a fair amount of self-pubbed for a print publication and 99 out a hundred times, it is a great experience. It's that 1 that makes me rethink the whole idea.

My tip? Don't let yourself slack off too much. While it is important to remember that your blog isn't your whole life, it is hard to get back into the swing of things when you take a bloggy vacation. At least it always is for me :)
1 reply · active 668 weeks ago
Its always a possibility that they'll be a negative reaction to a review, I guess that's something I'll have to deal with if and when it happens.

I agree that it can be hard to get back into blogging after a break. I think that if you're taking a break then its important to have some sort of plan for getting back into a routine- enough pre-scheduled posts to take things slow at first, ideas to write about something you're interested in, and maybe a meme or two for an easy start.
My recent post Networking: In Real Life

Post a new comment

Comments by

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...