Do You Really Need an Author Blog if you’re on Facebook or Twitter?
Guest on May 10 2011 | Filed under: Business
Therese here. Today’s guest is Judy Dunn, whose blog –CatsEyeWriter–was recently named along with Writer Unboxed as one of the top ten blogs for writers by Write to Done. Judy is also a copyeditor, blog doctor, and connoisseur of languages and strange songs. I’m thrilled she’s with us today to discuss something I’ve heard debated more and more frequently: How much is enough already when it comes to blogs and social media? Enjoy.
Do You Really Need an Author Blog if you’re on Facebook or Twitter?
I’m a blogging and coach and content marketing specialist. Some of the people I work with are authors. The other group is comprised of small business owners. I would say that aspiring authors are really small biz people, too, but I get pushed back on that a lot.
For a good reason.
You became a writer because you are in love with, well, writing. Some writers don’t have a business bone in their body. They either ignore marketing because they are focused on their craft. Or they grudgingly hire a publicist or someone else to do it for them.
I get that. I really do. After all, you belong to the world of ideas. And if you don’t do the hard work, that is, put in the seat time, your book will never be born.
Enter the new marketing: social media
In some respects, social media tools have made promoting an author’s work easier. We don’t have to leave the house as often: go to libraries and coffee shops and community clubs, give talks. We can pop into Facebook or Twitter for a few minutes every day and our marketing takes care of itself. Right?
Well, yes, but it comes with risks.
Other social media platforms are just that. Other people’s platforms. If you make Facebook or Twitter your main author platform, you are giving up some control of your marketing message.
And that is not always a good thing.
5 reasons you shouldn’t make Facebook or Twitter your author platform
Your author platform is the stage where it all takes place. It’s where you talk about your work, and engage readers and potential readers of your books. And it’s where you build a loyal readership.
To make that work, you need a home base—a hub.
A place to put your content that is your own. A place to connect with readers and develop a subscriber’s list so you can continue to communicate with them.
Here are 5 reasons why Facebook and Twitter are not the best home base for authors.
1. You don’t have full control over the delivery of your content.
Though Facebook and Twitter don’t actually own your content, they own access to it. If you place your content on someone else’s platform, you are giving them control over who sees it and when.
In its Terms of Service, Facebook tells us that they have a “non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide license” to use any content we post. Add to that the fact that Facebook and Twitter have the right to (and often do) change their fine print policies and you have a potentially troublesome situation.
What’s the answer? Make sure you are not posting your full content solely on a platform like Facebook. And be sure you are not hosting your blog in someone else’s space (WordPress.com, Blogger, etc.) Because they have the power to make all your posts disappear at the flick of a switch.
2. You lose your brand identity.
You may be communicating on Facebook or Twitter but the brand is theirs, not yours. People remember the Facebook name and logo better than they retain your name as an author. Is that what you want them to remember when they read your stuff?
A blog or website is a great way to build your brand. To get your personality out there. To create a look, style and tone that is uniquely yours.
3. Your network of followers is not really yours.
This one is huge. Whether you have an account on Facebook or Twitter or somewhere else, the people you have built relationships with—and their email connections—belong to that platform, not you. If Facebook decides to close your account, or if you choose to leave, you don’t have a way to communicate with those people anymore.
One colleague of mine built a network of more than 1,000 rabid followers on a certain social media platform. He lost all those names and contacts when they accused him of violating their terms of service and closed his account.
Tough lesson to learn. Better to post excerpts of your content on these sites but direct people back to your blog or website, and build your list there, where you have more control.
4. You don’t have unlimited messaging space.
With their word count limitations, Facebook and Twitter work much better to direct readers to your full content. I use them to post short tips of the day and teasers to draw people to my content.
Where is that content? On my home base, of course.
On my blog.
5. You don’t have anywhere to send the traffic and convert readers into fans.
One of the main benefits of a social media presence is to cultivate a following for you the author and for your books. To do that, you will want to lead them back to your own space—to your blog or website—and ask them to do something.
You might want them to sign up for a webinar or online study group, subscribe to your e-newsletter, opt in for email delivery of your blog posts or something else. The point here is that to retain access to your readers, including a way to contact them (when they give you permission to do that by giving you their email addresses).
What about you? What’s your take on how to build your author platform? Do you use just Facebook or Twitter for promotion or do you have a blog or other home base, too? How is your plan working for you?
Thanks for a great post, Judy. Readers, you can learn more about Judy on her website, and by following her on Facebook and Twitter. Write on!
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Wow, what great thoughts on why Facebook and Twitter might not be enough. When authors today are busy building their brands, a blog/website will present that completely undiluted. I like the idea of social media outlets as backups and extras, even if sometimes you use them more. A home base is important. Thanks for the reminders.
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Amy Sue,
Yes. I see my blog as home base and my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Biznik, etc. as outposts. So everything starts at the home base (gets published there first), then gets promoted, with the goals of driving the traffic back to my blog. This strategy works well for me. Glad it makes sense to you.
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Excellent post, Judy. Thank you for the good advice!
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Cindy,
Thanks for reading. : )
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There are so many platforms an author can/should use. Thank you for the points on why tiny blurbs out in cyberspace may not be enough. Author blogs are ways of looking inside the author that other media doesn’t provide (or provide well enough). Still, nothing beats meeting an author face to face and chatting for a moment either.
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Barbara,
So true what you say about the importance of face-to-face. Maybe because I work on an island only accessible by ferry (although I think it holds for everyone), I love the extended reach social media gives me. It’s so much easier to connect with large numbers of people!
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Thank you for this post, Judy. As I near my debut’s release, I’ve been finding my blog’s content somewhat neglected as I spend time on Twitter and have been moving back to building content on my blog. There remany reasons, but one that compels me is that I have built up a wonderful network of other writers and readers who comment on my blog and who AREN’T on Twitter or Facebook and I cherish their input and company too much to lose those connections.
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Erica,
You bring up another important point. Your blog allows you to connect and communicate with people who aren’t necessarily on those other social platforms. And congrats on the upcoming release of your first book. That’s awesome!
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Whilst I definitely see the need for a website as a home base, I think blogs are on the wane.
Very few people produce really compelling ones – partly because they demand a lot of effort if done well – and the rest just contribute to the number of writers following each other around the Internet.
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Ian,
Thanks for weighing in here. Yes, that the-blog-is-dead theory comes up regularly. (Actually started 5 years ago or so.) : )
Personally, I think a blog is still a powerful tool IF you get clear on your goal ahead of time, develop a strategy and do the hard work (posting consistently high-quality content on a regular basis. But, as you say, it’s hard work.
I understand the fear of putting the work in only to create a space for other writers to gather in. Because your purpose is to promote and sell your books, right? But I have seen author blogs that do a good job of cultivating their readerships. Just depends on what your goals are and how you develop your strategy.
Glad you brought up these points.
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Not having published yet, I can’t say whether my own method of platform development will work for me. But I don’t use Facebook at all because I dislike the site so intensely. I barely use Twitter, and only to follow a half dozen or so writers and bloggers. My platform, which started building before I’d even heard of such a thing, is, first, my Live Journal blog where I communicate with readers and other writers, and where I’ve been posting my work. Second, I’ve added two more blogs, one strictly for my fiction, which will be published this year, and one for tracking my progress as a writer, and sharing my experiences and what I’ve learned about writing and publishing. Third, I participate on forums.
I’m encouraged in this path by the examples of successful authors who don’t use Facebook and Twitter, and several of whom also make some of their work available on their sites. Their ubiquity make Facebook and Twitter seem like the be all and end all, but they aren’t.
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Catana,
You seem to have this blogging thing all figured out. : )
Blogs are great marketing tools but one of the benefits of a platform like Facebook, as Keith describes so well in his comment below, is that you have access to way more people who could potentially become readers of and subscribers to your blog. In other words, they become part of a network that you own. You are right, though. Facebook and Twitter should never be “the be all and end all.”
Thanks for sharing your experience.
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Excellent, excellent points.
Personally, I started a writing-focused blog about two years ago, just before my first story was published, and then joined the Twitterverse about a year after that. They certainly support each other, but also serve different purposes.
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Lydia,
Good strategy there. I love Twitter because I can put my teaser headlines out there for new blog post and I usually get lots of click-throughs. Twitter is also a great platform to test different headlines and watch the stats to see how each one does. Twitter send a lot of blog traffic my way.
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I agree!
I think it’s important to have a place of your own to host your content, and to send readers back to, but I also think it’s important to make yourself as widely available on as many different platforms as possible.
Thanks for the post!
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AD,
Totally agree with you there. If an authors can figure out a time-effcient way, diversifying their social media presence is a powerful strategy. But because it can be such a time suck, I advise my blog coaching clients to start with one, build a good following and provide consistent content. Then maybe add one more. Because it can quickly become unmanageable if you don’t have clear goals.
Thanks for weighing in here. : )
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Wow, great information. I honestly never thought about #3 before (even though I instinctively prefer blogging over FB/Twitter anyway). Thanks for all this important food for thought! Gonna go munch… ;)
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Kristin,
Glad, even though it sounds like you are a seasoned blogger, that you took something of value away.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave a comment.
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You raise some excellent points, but I can think of a couple of major advantages to using Facebook or Twitter as at least a key part of your platform.
First and foremost: it’s where the people are. Bazillions of people are using Facebook and Twitter. If you create a conspicuous presence there, you’re setting up camp among them, instead of forcing them to go looking for you in an increasingly crowded blogosphere. When I update my status on Facebook, it shows up in hundreds of people’s news feeds. And that’s just me; when a major author does it, thousands see it. Getting thousands to read your blog loyally is a lot harder to do. I consider the ability to stay on people’s radar without requiring any effort on their part to be EXTREMELY valuable. You may argue that the platform doesn’t belong to me, but I’m okay with that. It’s a big platform, and I’m happy to take advantage of the massive number of people with whom it allows me to potentially connect.
Second: the bite-size morsels needed to maintain readers’ interest on Facebook and Twitter require far less work than a blog. I’ve read a lot of author blogs, and to be frank, there’s a lot of writers out there who don’t seem to have a whole lot to say. But that doesn’t stop them from trying, often just because they feel obligated to do so.
Your advice is excellent, and a great fit for somebody who is comfortable and adept at creating a continuous and significant flow of content. But I think there are also strong advantages to using social media platforms that may not be completely within your control, but which allow you to reach a potentially huge audience with very little effort – on your part or theirs.
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Keith,
I agree. Facebook and Twitter can be hugely helpful tools. The benefits are many, but one big one is that you have a chance to convert all of those people to regular consumers of your content (blog subscribers).
And therein lies the gold. Subscribers are people who like your content so much that they want to be notified every time a new post comes out.
Of course you want convert them all (and, yes, in our attention disordered world, some readers want just snippets and excerpts. But the ones you get will be fans who will use those social media buttons to push your content out to their networks, so your reach keeps multiplying.
All valid points here, Keith. So glad you brought them up.
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This is definitely food for thought, and it’s a great point that the nature of Facebook and Twitter limit what an author can do. Though I think that for those of us who are pinching every penny until it screams it’s hard to hear that we shouldn’t be using no-cost blogging options like blogger and wordpress. Still, it’s good to understand the risk so I appreciate the post.
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Janel,
If money is tight, a blog hosted on Blogger is better than no blog at all. You can always transfer it to self-hosted down the road. Maybe when that first advance from a publisher comes through. : )
I hear you on this issue, though. Because the other side of our business is blog set-up and design, we work with lots of cash-challenged authors and solopreneurs. So understand this well.
But it sounds like you are blogging, so that’s good to hear. Thanks for sharing here.
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Smart smart smart. Not everyone is on Facebook; not everyone is on Twitter. I make heavy use of both, but there’s always somewhere else more stable/static — my blog at simmerblog.com, my website at jaelmchenry.com — where people can find me.
I think the ultimate factor in deciding when and where you establish your social media presence is always your readers — where are they? where do they want to find you — but the question of ownership should definitely be factored in.
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Jael,
Thanks for weighing in here. You said it well: where are your readers and where and how do they want to consume your content? The fact that you have TWO stable home bases, your blog and your website, shows that you’ve done some smart planning. : )
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Great reasons for having a website or blog. It took me a while to get this. There was a time when I only had a Facebook and Twitter account to promote my writing. I’ve wised up since and started a blog.
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Lovelyn,
Good to hear you have that home base taken care of. Best of luck in your blogging journey!
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Great post! I found Facebook and Twitter help me get my message out there, but my blog/web site are where my true followers are located. It’s very important to have a site!
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B.C.,
Glad you’ve discovered the value of having both. Thanks for reading and sharing here. : )
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I agree: I think consistent blogging is important, in addition to the social media you’ve mentioned. I think people think of each as a sort of ad, sometimes… that either Twitter, Facebook, or your blog is there to “sell your book” or “build your brand.” I think they’re there to ultimate help you connect with your audience… which, ideally, will sell your book. And I think it works more like a funnel. People will see you around on social media, then catch an intriguing looking blog title and check it out — and enjoy your writing style enough to check out your novels, which are ultimately your best “marketing tool.” Love this post!
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Cathy,
Yes! Good point. Consistency is key.
And the sales funnel? Absolutely. Build trust. Engage and entertain. Offer valuable stuff. Lead them to the next step (subscribing to your blog or newsletter, joining an email list, etc.). And each step brings them closer to exploring (and hopefully purchasing) your books.
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I’m curious about not using WordPress.com or Blogger to host your blog. If I have my own domain and use WordPress is that different? My eyes start to glaze over when all of the social media is mentioned – it seems so overwhelming even though I use Facebook for staying in touch with family and friends. I’m a beginner at this so I’ll definitely be checking out your blog and web site. Thanks for the information.
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Hi Lynda Jo,
I can so relate. I am the right-brained writer half of our business and thank God, I have the other half: my husband handles everything tech. (I have friends who are very jealous that he sits at a desk just 15 feet away from mine.) Together we make a full team: content and the technical side of blogging. : )
On your question, Bob has written an explanation WordPress.com vs WordPress blog on your own (self-hosted) site. In a nutshell, WordPress.com is a platform where you can build your blog or website at no cost. The downside is that your blog resides in their house (at WordPress.com).
The other option is self-hosted, which means that you take the free software from WordPress.org and install it on your own hosting service such as Bluehost, Hostgator, or something else. There is a nominal fee for hosting, but then you own, manage and control it all.
On Blogger, same thing. Your content resides on their site, not yours.
Hope this wasn’t too confusing. If you ever need help with WordPress issues, bobwp.com has tons of free videos, blog posts and other resources to walk you through things. : )
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I agree with this completely. I am a recent arrival to the world of social networking, having tried (unsuccessfully) to get two novel manuscipts published in the last four years. But then I had no ‘platform’ at all. I didn’t even know what one was! First I got my website up end of last year: http://www.elizabethcurrie.net, then I joined FB, then Twitter and finally got two blogs: one more general (Wayward Lady: http://elizabethjcurrie.blogspot.com/) for writing and my travel interests; the other specifically for poetry: http://waywardladypoetry.blogspot.com/
The ‘main’ blog to me is a bit like an artists’ sketch book anyway – it keeps you supple and in practice. It also raises your profile and makes people aware of who you are and what you’re doing. I’ve had mine for a bare four months. It’s ‘slow going’ certainly, but little by little positive gains and progress are being made and the numbers of people visiting the site are growing. Now I use Twitter & FB for promtoting the blog as well as my self-published novel(s) and the blog for promoting the books too!
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Elizabeth,
Wow. You have accomplished a lot in a very short time. And though I didn’t address SEO (search engine optimization) issues, Google loves blogs because of all of their frequently updated, fresh contact (unlike a static website).
I will just say to your ‘slow going’ comments, yes. But slow and steady wins the race. If you keep blogging, you WILL develop a followng. : )
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Wow, I never realized there was such a science to self-marketing. I launched a website and blog this year to get comfortable with the territory. But not I see my comfort zone is only part of the equation. Once I get that book deal, I’ll be in touch. Thanks for the wisdom, Judy.
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Jocosa,
You have taken that first step. Good for you! It’s a journey.
I’ll be around when you are ready. : )
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Great insights Judy. I have a blog, as well as FB and Twitter, but find the blog is the hub I want potential readers to gravitate towards.
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Kim,
Sounds like you have a plan that works for you. Best of luck in your blogging journey. : )
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Great post, Judy! A blog is a lot more work compared to a Facebook or Twitter account, but infinitely worth it – especially when you harness it with the combined power of social networking. A home on the web is becoming more and more important for authors as the digital age continues to expand. If we expect to make our mark on the Internet, we have to be willing to put in the required work to maintain an active and attractive home on the web.
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Absolutely, it’s more work. And I always tell my clients and workshop students: “One kick-ass post a week is better than seven crappy ones.”
Quality always, always comes before quantity. And I love that more authors are understanding the incredible power of leveraging their social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to get more eyeballs for their blog content.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. : )
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Judy, I didn’t realize you & your husband are a WFH writer/tech team. My husband & I are that as well. When I spoke at my local Writer’s Conference a few weeks ago, during Q&A someone asked, “Who maintains all those great graphics on your blog?” and I just pointed. The audience loved it. I said, “It honestly never occurred to me until recently that not everyone has their own in-house IT department.”
Lucky people that we are!
Thank you for this great piece on social media. There is so much confusion out there, especially in the waves of new folks constantly joining the blogosphere. You’re a clear voice of sanity speaking above the mayhem. :)
Here’s something I’d like your opinion on: a comparison of FB & Twitter for business self-marketing. What do you think?
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Victoria,
Great to see you here! Yes, we are indeed lucky to be married to tech wizards. : ) because, basically I wouldn’t have a site without him. Our routine is this: I say: “Help!” He walks over to my computer, peers at the screen and say: “Hmmm. I’ve never seen THAT before.” I make a feeble attempt to follow his instructions until he dismisses me with a wave of the hand and, “Mo-o-o-ve!” I get up and he solves the problem with a few quick key strokes. Ha!
Difficult to answer that question of yours. So many variables, like which platform do your peeps hang out on, what’s your goal for being on the platform, what part of the “funnel” is it, etc. I use both and get traffic from each (although usually more from Facebook than Twitter). And Facebook better for engaging people in actual conversation because unlike Twitter’s fast stream, you keep track of the interactions. I also like Facebook for asking an interesting question and getting responses I can use—to improve my blog content, to address needs, etc.
Too large a topic, but one more thing. I like Twitter because I have met some interesting (and influential) people there and I participate in Sunday night blog chats where I can help answer questions and build credibility. And of course, I have gotten new business, both from Twitter and Facebook, as well as promoted my blog content.
Whew! A little long-winded here.
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Fabulous thoughts, Judy. I knew I was sending you off onto a whole new blog post when I asked. Sorry about that!
I’m laughing out loud at your description of IT at your house. That’s exactly what it is around here, too. My sys admin is going to crack up at that too-familiar comment, “Hmmm. I’ve never seen THAT before.”
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I know! How do we always manage to do something they’ve never SEEN before? I think it’s the same reason bees hang around me. (It just oozes out from my pores. The smell of fear.) : )
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I think it’s our very special quality of being unique, what they loved about us in the first place. Except I guess we’re not quite unique if there’s two of us. . . :)
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Ha! I wasn’t talking about husbands and bees. I meant that bees can sense fear and computers can sense fear. Sane result. They mess with us. : )
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Very Interesting comments. It all brings up another question. As an unpublished writer (my WIP is just now being completed) I have heard writer friends insist that you should start a blog long before your work is sold or published. As I struggle with the final rewrites the very thought of jumping out of my train of though, the imaginary world all writers must creat, to write a blog seems unappealing. Tthe idea of social media seems problematic at this point in time. I do spend some thought trying to imagine what my future blog might look like. All sounds a little introverted! But I think that is where many writers are.
I found your points about face book etc. right on. In some way I think many of us are thinking the end of the world will occur if we don’t buckle under and put ourselves out there on every social media outlet.
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Judith,
What a great question. I know, it can be kind of intimidating. So many social media tools and now, blogging, too? And fiction writers tell me, “I don’t want a blog. It’ll just attract other writers when what I really need is to attract my future readers.”
And I say, “Not if you structure it in the right way.”
And though you think readers wouldn’t be interested in the PROCESS of writing a book, if you make it interesting enough, they will. And why not. while you are at it, entice them with previews of a few of your characters. Even write a blog post in one of their voices. Talk about the setting of your novel.
You are whetting their appetite for more of the story, which can be gotten by buying the book.
Those are just a few things you could blog about. But, to answer your question, yes, I advise my clients to start blogging BEFORE the book comes our so you build interest and excitement for it. On of my blog readers started a blog 5 months or so ago and just came out with her first published novel. She does a good job of engaging and entertaining. That blog is at:
http://courtcan.com/
And now she is taking orders for her book on her site!
Hope this helps.
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I started my author blog just a week or two ago. I started my Twitter account about the same time. Since I send out many more tweets than posts to my blog I’ve been wondering if the latter is worth the time I’ll be needing to invest in it and your post helped me sort through it all.
Thanks for the encouragement. I’ll go forward with the idea that blogging is still the way to go.
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Glad this helped you think through some stuff. Twitter can be a great tool to promote your blog posts—IF you intersperse links to your posts with other useful information. : )
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You’ve made some really good points here, I enjoyed reading. I’ve been thinking of making the switch from blogspot publishing to my own website, and your post here is a good reminder of that. I’ll have to work on that one of the weekends when I have some time. I already have my own website so it won’t be hard to switch publishing.
On whatever host it is good to back up a blog content. I’m not sure how WordPress works, but I have figured out how to export my Blogger blog and save it locally. I’ve saved it a few times already and will probably do so even after making the switch to my website. Web hosts can go down to.
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Hi Claire,
Sounds like you are moving away from Blogger, which is good. Are you making it a part of website or keeping it separate as a blog?
And, yes, with any host, you need to do backups. There are some good free WordPress plugins that can take care of that, as well as some paid ones.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the web host going down. Most reliable ones have less than 1% downtimes.
If you need them, would be happy to recommend some WordPress-friendly hosts.
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I’m planning on still using Blogger for my blogging platform, but have it publish my content on my website instead of blogspot. I’ve done that a few years back and it wasn’t to hard to setup, and it was nice to have an easy to update blog on my own space. Before I make the switch I want to take the time to read over Blogger’s FAQs about that so I can make sure I have everything set up properly.
I have been debating if I want to integrate my blog into my website or still have a static site separate from the blog. I had started manually doing some integration on my website. On my writings in progress page I have links to tags/labels where I blogged about said projects. But I could still do that with a separate blog.
I’d tried out WordPress before but I guess I got used to Blogger. Between Blogger, wordPress, and LiveJournal I’ve had the easiest time customizing my Blogger layout. They have their handy design tab where I could tweak the code. Though some of the WordPress plugins sound useful. It would be nice to be able to setup backups.
I already have my website partially up. I use TigerTech for my host, and I think they are WordPress friendly. So far all I’ve done is upload my website and setup a phpbb forum.
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So it sounds as if you are wanting to integrate your blog into your website, but still use Blogger…
I am handing this over to my husband who can give you a few thoughts…
Hi Claire, Bob here.
So if you have a static html site, someone with the right knowledge can integrate it in.
If you are creating your website in WordPress and want to keep the blog at blogger, you can bring in your posts from there as an RSS and list them there as well. It can be redundant if you have readers who visit both, but that’s your best bet. At least that provides some fresh content on your site.
As far as getting the most out of your blog and website, regarding search engines, etc.
#1 ideal situation, have a combined WordPress website and blog
#2 have our blog as a subfolder of your site, eg. yourdomain.com/blog. What this does is gives your website the benefit of all the traffic on your blog, thus your page ranks reflect on your domain, making it higher
#3 having them separate is the least “google” friendly. The best you can do in that situation is make sure you have prominent links and make it easy for readers to get back and forth between the two.
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Thanks for the advice, that really helps me in figuring out what I want to do with my site and blog.
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Great post! I’ve also found my blog generates far more interest and connection than my more static website. With the ability to add pages to the blog that include all the info that my website does, I wonder about keeping the website active at all.
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Zan-Marie,
You bring up a good point. I have one site. It’s a blog-website. It has fresh content with all my new posts and it also has buttons on the navigation bar taking people to my services. It’s working well for me, plus Google loves it because they are constantly indexing new content (from the blog). So it’s very good for the search engines. : )
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Judy – thanks for the fabulous–and timely–post. As I’m just trying to get my feet wet with FB and twitter, this couldn’t have come at a better time.
Barbara
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Barbara,
Glad this was a timely post for you. Feel free to visit CatsEyeWriter.com if you have other questions. Will do my best to answer them. : )
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A wonderful post, as always! :) I am in complete agreement about having a home base. My blog has become an online “office” for my writing, where I not only communicate with my readers on a regular basis, but I have the fun of documenting my progress and keeping myself motivated, thus helping to motivate my readers too. It’s completely win/win. You simply can’t see the progress via facebook or twitter like you can with your own blog (especially in terms of character limitations like you mentioned); you only have a fraction of the freedom you do when running your own blog.
There are writers who may feel as if starting a blog will mean they will have even less time to write, but for me I’ve been writing more than ever before, and because your blog is YOUR brand and not someone else’s it gives you that added kick in the pants to keep striving toward your writing goals.
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Krissy,
Yes! Motivation is another good reason to blog. I know aspiring authors who make a public commitment on their blog, take readers through the journey and report on their goals (% of book completed, etc.) Keeps you honest and on track.
And the time issue: yes, it does take time. But I have found that my creativity well is fuller the more I blog. It just makes all kinds of other writing easier (and faster). The more I blog, the less I get the dreaded Writer’s Block. : )
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Wow, Judy … this is fantastic fuel for thought on some of the big issues we face as writers. Thank you so much, and for also participating in the comments, as I’m gaining so much from your comments as well.
I have long shared your thoughts on FB and twitter and other platforms that use our content as iffy. It’s been a goal of mine to get a solid blog-website (as you said works well for you, above) up and going. This past January, I did that (myself– yay!). And I love it!
I think it would be great to see a few posts here on WU on getting a good author blog-website up and running on WordPress for virtually free. It’s something most people can do easily, with the right know-how. Kathleen or Therese, if you’re interested, I’d love to write about how I’ve put mine together … let me know.
Thank you, again, Judy. I look forward to keeping up with your blog.
-Jennifer King
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Jennifer,
Thanks. Glad you found this useful. I think a blog a blog-website is a perfect option for an author. You can have the standard stuff a website has and fresh content in the form of bog posts that update regularly.
And as far as WordPress goes, yes, it can be fairly easy to set up a basic blog, depending on one’s tech skills. My husband, who is a WordPress trainer and coach, works with clients all the time on these issues. There are so many WordPress people out there promising an easy fix, “your site up in an afternoon” or “it takes just minutes”. The problem with this, is for most people it is a learning curve, so he ends up helping so many who were over-promised. : )
And yes, WordPress is free, the software, but if you do want to have it hosted, you will need to pay a small monthly fee. But like I said, then you have control over your content. Also, WordPress has a lot of free” and paid themes, and from experience, in the long run, it’s a good investment to spend $80 or so on a good, solid theme. That way, you have more flexibility, more features and. most importantly, support if anything goes wrong.
Great idea, talking more about this.
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What a perfectly fabulous post. Between Judy’s wealth of information and all these additional comments I feel like I’ve opened the lid on a treasure chest. For a handful of months before my debut novel was released in June 2010, and continuing onward into present time, I have been sorting my way through FB, Twitter, Website, and blog, striving to concoct the recipe that will result in the perfect dish. No question the valuable dialogue contained herein will provide many of those essential missing ingredients.
Thank you, Judy, for your words of wisdom. Thank you, everyone for your comments.
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Barbara,
You are welcome. I feel the same way about blog comments. Such added value from commenters makes a post even richer. I love that!
Wow, you have published your first novel. That must be a good feeling. : )
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Judy, you make some great points about how Twitter and FB can supplement an author blog or website, but don’t give enough information on their own to be the sole marketing tools. I also think there are some fantastic comments here. I do feel that there’s a push towards blog over website, though. I have a website, which I think gives all the information needed to market myself at this stage, and I use Twitter/FB to connect to other readers and writers. But I really am not interested in writing a blog. There are already more excellent blogs out there than I have time to read, I’m not sure I need to add to it. That, and from experience, I know I won’t keep up with it. Am I doing myself a disservice by not blogging?
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Jessica,
On blog over website, truly, if I had to choose one, it would be a blog. But don’t jump into the blogging waters just because there are popular right now. Weigh what it takes to succeed at blogging, your interest in that platform and your commitment over the long hail. Because it takes time to become known, collect readers and get traction.
I do not think blogging is for everyone. If you don’t want to go there, I say just stick with a website. But do have a home base. : )
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Great post and very, very useful – comments included! I completely agree with your concept that (1) you need a virtual home base and (2) blogs are more effective than FB or Twitter which are basically for contacting people. They’re not for a full presentation of who you are as a writer!
I have a problem though. I started blogging about 15 months ago and am having a great time with it. I now have reached close to 400 hits/day and average about 70 pageviews (these are Google stats – I’m on Blogger). So I suppose there are people out there who like reading me! BUT I haven’t blogged about my journey as a writer – I find that incredibly boring as a subject. Actually, as a writer, I’m interested in the whole wide world out there and that’s what I blog about: politics, books (those I’ve read and liked), art (especially contemporary art and what it does to our sense of esthetics), social issues (like illegal immigration) etc etc
So it’s a collection of opinions (I’m a Columbia U economist) but I write…YA historical fantasy and Women’s Fiction!! I’ve published here in Italy (where I live) and in Italian, of course but now I’m getting ready to self-pub on e-readers etc (no printed books, from here on the other side of the Atlantic it would be too difficult to handle).
My question is: should I start telling my readers (who I assume come to me for other things) that I write this kind of stuff? If so, where? Not on my blog surely, it would change its focus dramatically! I have 2 secondary linked blogs to my main one, on cooking (I love to make up and test new recipes!) and on painting (I’ve painted for years, now I’m into painting horses, they’re beautiful!). Should I start a third blog on my fiction writing or set up a website instead (I have one for my paintings – but I’m so stupid with websites that I can’t update it without the help of my son and he’s generally too busy to do it, sigh!)
Sorry about this long comment. But the central question is (it might be of interests to others too): how do you write a blog that is interesting to a broad range of people and is NOT centered on writing techniques and issues which are of concern only to writers??
If you can illuminate me, I’d be most grateful!
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Claude,
First of all, congratulations on your blogging success!
Your questions are good ones and probably too complex to address in their entirety here. But I’ll just say: I hear this from writers all the time: I am curious about the world. I am interested in everything. I’m blogging about cooking, parenting, fashion, politics and literature. And to that I say: That;s good, but just know that you’d be more successful if you identified a niche and focused on finding readers who have a passion for and interest in that topic. Though you seem to have made it work, I still wonder, if you narrowed tour topic down (just art or just politics, for example), if you might get even more readers. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the tighter the niche, the more readers a blog will attract.
Now, to your question on authors blogs. There are at least two kinds: 1) a blog with the goals of both attracting writers and promoting an author’s books. That is usually the author who also offers paid services to writers (coaching/mentoring, editing manuscripts, etc.) An example is storyfix.com. 2) An author blog that just promotes the author and her books, builds her brand and cultivates an audience of potential buyers of her books. These authors usually brand themselves by name (in your case, ClaudeNougat.com).
My advice is to have a separate author’s blog, but leverage that built-in readership from your other blog. After your new author’s blog is up, start with a post on your first blog and see if there is any cross-over in your readership—people who have an interest in YA or women’s fiction, who might be enthusiastic consumers of content on your new blog. And link to your new blog.
I wrote a post on storyfix.com that might be helpful, “Your Blog as Stage: Building a Believable Author Brand.” :
http://storyfix.com/top-ten-tuesdays-please-welcome-judy-dunn-of-catseyewriter-com
Hope this helps. : )
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I think, since I found my way into social media last year, I have spent more time on Twitter and not near enough on my blog. I have found it all to be a bit overwhelming at times, and it has distracted me from my writing.
I am working very hard now at finding a balance and making my main focus the writing once again. I do appreciate your comments on the merits of a blog and believe I will work at fitting that into the balance and, as you said, using twitter and/or facebook as outposts.
Thanks for the insight.
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Cheryl,
I hear you. It CAN be overwhelming. I try to go into Twitter and Facebook no more than 2-3 times a day. And be brief about it. For Facebook, I write a bunch of Blogging Tips of the Day, so I have a supply in case I get busy.
Twitter is a combination of retweeting helpful stuff of others, teaser tweets for upcoming blog posts and short conversations with my tweeps.
If you get your routine down (and know your goal for being on that social platform) , you don’t have to spend tons of time. But, yes, balance is key.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. : )
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Thanks for all the info and the feedback in the comments. I keep putting off the website. I have a Blogger blog, but wonder if that’s the best option moving ahead. Every time I think I might change, I see an author or agent on Blogger and think: “If it works for them …”
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Stacy,
It’s a hard call to make, not knowing more specifics (how long you’ve been on Blogger, how many posts (and photos) there would be to transfer and re-link what kind of SEO (back links, etc.) you’ve built up, etc.
Some people do just fine with Blogger. My philosophy is, “It it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
But a major issue, of course, is the control of your content. You don’t have complete control of it on Blogger. And WordPress is overall more flexible and has more features/options. That becomes important if you see your blog growing down the road and, for instance, you want to turn it into a blog-website.
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Thanks for the great tips. I just set up my webpage and blog after using only Twitter and FB for months. The webpage definitely gives me more “stretching” room. I look forward to gathering more tips at CatsEyeWriter
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Lisa,
Glad this post was useful.
Sounds like you have both your home base (website) and outposts (FB and Twitter) taken care of.
And, yes, the welcome mat is always out at the CatsEyeWriter blog. Feel free to pop in anytime. : )
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All very good points. I would like to add that everyone always screams that you need a blog. You don’t. You need a website, but that doesn’t need to be a blog.
The content on most author blogs are towards other authors. Your goal should actually be reaching readers, not other authors.
If you don’t have a plan on how you are going to do this, you need to stop all of your marketing, and figure this out. Are you a YA author? Twitter probably isn’t a good place to promote your book because teens don’t use it. Twitter is great for meeting other authors and swapping advice and learning, but not for marketing a YA book.
Blogs are a dime a dozen, it’s how you stand out that makes all of the difference.
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Phil,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. On the blog vs website issue, every author needs to weigh it carefully and make up their own mind.
And your goal? Depends on who you are trying to reach. The great thing about a blog is that the search engines love fresh content, so you can attract those visitors. Another thing you can do with a blog is interact with your readers, which builds engagement and, hopefully interest in your books.
As far as your Twitter example goes, the purpose of this post was not to tell people which social media platforms are best for them (because, frankly, it depends on the audience you are trying to reach), bur rather to highlight the reasons for not making them their home base.
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My point about Twitter, and really my whole comment was really to get people to actually think and have a plan before they do anything.
As to the blog.. don’t even get me going on the whole search engine thing. I’ve heard for years, and honestly it’s a bunch of nonsense (I worked as an SEO for a while, and blogs had no impact on search results, it’s the actual content on the site that matters).
Having a blog to satisfy Google and get ranked anyway isn’t smart. If your blog sucks because you don’t have anything useful to write about, then Google won’t see it as value, and it will actually do you more harm than good.
There are other ways to engage w/ readers around your content. Scribd.com is a great way to showcase your writing talent, and engage with readers. Yes it’s yet another third party platform, but honestly it gets my wife gets more out of her Scribd strategy than she ever did from her blog (she no longer has a blog). You are right tho, I’m not saying don’t have a blog, but don’t just have one because everybody says you should.
As a writer your focus should be connecting with fans first, not other authors, not search engines, and you need to keep that in mind when constructing your plan.
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Thanks for sharing your experience here. Everyone has a right to their own opinion.
It goes without saying that you don’t just slap up a blog and expect people to flock to it. You need to be writing about things people are interested in, things thy care about.
I won’t go into the Google/SEO issue, only to say that I get tons of traffic to my blog from search engines every day.
Never said a blog was the only answer. But I’ll say again, a home base, where you control your content, is critical.
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[...] Do you really need an author blog if you’re on Facebook? [via Writer [...]
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Hi:
I enjoyed your insights on this growing topic! I started my blogging on WordPress.com and then went to a self-hosted website using a host that took my wordpress.com blog and brought it all over for me and now I can “play” with the theme and content all I want and I virtually “own” it all. It was extremely easy and fun! I have been published but have been out of the “writing” world that I dearly love for several years and am just getting back into the grind. It was difficult for me to set myself out there when I am not “well known,” especially using social media things like Twitter and Facebook, but, how else can I get myself “out there?” I like to think, also, that commenting on other people’s blogs (like this one!) and guest posting is another great way to show off your site and your talents…thanks!
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Cathryn,
Good for you for jumping back in like that. And with the new social media tools. That’s great.
The cool thing about Twitter and Facebook is that you don’t have to be “well-known” going in. You will get known in time. It’s all about developing those relationships.
And, yes, when I was starting out (and even now), commenting on other blogs has been a very good traffic builder for my own blog.
I’ve also been known to do a guest post or two. : )
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Hi everyone! I am a brand new author and I am working with my editor right now on the final edits for my first book, though he says we have a long way to go to the finish line!
My question is this: my editor wants me to start a Facebook for my book. So, should this be something I do after I establish an author blog and website? My idea is to set up a blog, but I have an idea twist for my blog. I just don’t know how to go about it and how productive it would be to do something different with my blog. It would be like making the blog a blog written from my charaters point of view.
Anyway, i enjoyed the ideas and thoughts related in this blog and appreciate the hard work you have put into it.
Thanks!
Tammy
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Tammy,
My first thought is that Facebook is such a strong driver of traffic back to a blog that it would make sense to have both of them up and running, so they can work together.
As far as blogging in the voice/viewpoints of your characters, I say, yes. I suggested this to a new author who hasn’t done it yet but was intrigued by the idea.
A cool thing for your book’s Facebook page would be, among other things, status updates with a snippet about a character and then a link to a post/story from that character. Sort of a “guest post.” I love that.
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Thank you for your answer, Judy! That is a great idea! Another question: Would it work to have the Facebook in my characters name? or does that sound off the wall kinda crazy?
I have really put a ton of work and research into my book and it all started from a study into my family history. i found my family had so many amazing stories that I decided to write a book, starting how and when my family arrived in America. I have so much research that I have gathered! I thought it might be cool to immerse the readers in the history of the era, along with daily life, fashion, politics, religion, and other goodies centered around my characters. You know, stuff that might bog down my novel but might be an interest to readers who are interested in the history and events surrounding my main characters.
What are your thoughts here?
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Tammy,
Your editor quite possibly knows more about this than I do, but the authors I work with put the FB page up for the book. That way, conversation can happen about any aspect of the book, including setting, theme, characters, etc.
I’m not the Facebook expert here, but I like where you are going with this. All those issues/topics you mentioned would make interesting posts and Facebook updates.
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I write women’s fiction. I’ve been published in Chicken Soup, on several websites, and I am working on my first novel.
What should a FICTION writer blog about? Can you direct me to some good sites that would show the kind of content that builds a brand name for a chick lit author?
To me, fiction and blogging just doesn’t seem like a natural mix.
Thanks!
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Jamie,
Great question. Jane Friedman, from the There Are No Rules blog (I believe she is a contributor on this blog, too) has written about this.
1. “What Should Fiction Writers Blog About?” (some rich ideas from readers in the comments section, too):
http://bit.ly/dlcgse
2. “Fiction Writers Need Platforms, Too” (how to target your audience and build your platform):
http://bit.ly/9DI2QH
You might have already read these but in case you haven’t they are two very good articles.
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I found this post through a tweet this morning. How apt that Blogger failed today and now Twitter is down, too, making your point for you.
I will listen! And get my own website for my books-to-be soon.
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Cat,
Ha! What a set of coincidences.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. : )
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[...] + Blogs Do You Really Need a Blog if you’re on Facebook or Twitter? [...]
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Hi Judy,
This post was extremely helpful and informative! And I am so impressed that you answered every comment….I have only seen this on one other bloggers site. The interaction answered so many of my own questions. Especially the one about starting a separate blog for writing. I already bought the .com site, but haven’t launched it yet. I need to read the posts “What should fiction writers blog about.”
Thank you again for your time and help!
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Kate,
Glad you found this helpful. That is always music to a blogger’s ears. : )
And,yes, the comments often add up to at least another blog post in terms of tips and answers to questions. I love the conversations that take place!
Feel free to drop into the CatsEyeWriter blog from time to time for blogging-specific tips ( http://catseyewriter.com ).
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Fantastic post. You said all the things I’ve been feeling: the blog is the core of your “brand.” The other sites are support.
I’ve heard about people getting shut out of Facebook for bogus reasons–like friending too many of the people FB suggested, or trying to have one personal page and one for business. Then you lose it all. And Twitter is so squirrelly. I’m getting the Fail Whale more often than not these days.
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Anne,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. It is SO important to have that home base. Glad you recognize that.
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This actually occurred to me and I use Facebook as more of a teaser or lead gathering tool.
I update my profile with the link to my content at my own site.
I’ve seen people using these mediums as their point of contact as well as expression and am flabergasted because they are potentially giving away their intellectual property to a corporation to do with what it wills.
Great article.
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Ed,
Glad you have “seen the light.” Using social media platforms you don’t own to link back to your own content on your own site is a very good strategy. : )
Thanks for reading and sharing here.
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