The importance of social media to an author, by Sharon Kleve
I found this great article by Andrew Grant published on July 1st 2013 on why you should have a Blog and thought it was excellent. http://www.projecteve.com/why-you-should-have-a-blog-10-great-reasons/
Why You Should Have a Blog – 10 Great Reasons
1 – Everybody is interested in something
And doing that favorite something is the quickest path to happiness and fulfillment that I know of. Therefore, it’s logical to conclude that writing a blog about that something is probably the most accessible way to make money around your favorite way of spending time.
2 – A blog will make you friends
The very essence of a blog is that it will attract people who like the same things as you. They may see them very differently and they may well not agree with everything you say, but they will definitely share your interests. Isn’t that the very definition of friendships?
3 – Blogging encourages your creativity
Even if you don’t think of yourself as creative, I am willing to bet that if you set yourself the challenge of writing three short blog posts about something you love, you will be amazed at how creative you can be.
4 – Owning a blog gives you motivation.
Once you begin to see the fruits of your efforts and especially when you start to get positive feedback from people you have never met, you will find that what looked like an onerous task at the outset is suddenly a pleasure to do – you can’t wait to see what your loyal readers will think of your latest post.
5 – Blogging gives you self-discipline
Once you set yourself a schedule to regularly blog, you feel a responsibility to your readers to deliver on your commitment, but it’s a pleasure not a stress, because you know they are enthusiastically waiting for what you give them.
6 – Blogging keeps you sharp.
If you write a how-to blog, like mine, then you will be honing your skills of research and summation. If your blog is more opinion based, then you need to keep abreast of other views and the latest developments in your field so that you can comment on them with authority. You’ll find your thinking skills get keener and your ability to filter good information from bad gets a lot more efficient.
7 – Blogging is rewarding
I guarantee that the best thing you will get from blogging is the satisfaction of making a difference to someone else’s life no matter how minor that difference might be. From a grateful reader telling you how much they enjoyed following one of your patterns to the person making their first few dollars online. The moment when you read their heartfelt email will be one of the high-points of your week.
8 – A blog is a test-bed.
Once you start to build an audience, your blog will become the place where you can try stuff out. You can ask their opinion on your plans and projects, test different offers with them and best of all you can get them to tell you what they need so you can make a product that suits, safe in the knowledge that as soon as you do, they are going to be the first ones to buy it.
9 – You don’t need to be a good writer.
No matter how poor you think your writing skills are, I absolutely encourage you to just get stuck in and start writing immediately. There are some great blogs out there written by people who are nowhere near polished, but they write with an intensity that makes that meaningless. In fact if they improved their writing, their blogs probably wouldn’t be as good. Their passion shines through.
10 – Google loves bloggers
Every post you write, every picture you link and every comment you receive is another little building brick in the great structure of your credibility. The great bloggers out there have built their authority, their popularity and their credibility, by doing one thing well and doing it regularly. Creating stuff that people want to read, watch, listen to and act upon. Ike the movie said, “If you build it they will come,” and that was never more appropriate than when applied to blogging.
Quite simply, a blog is the best and most long-term profitable way to spend your time on the internet, bar none.
This YouTube video is a simple step-by-step instruction on how to set-up a Blog on Blogger.
Bio:
Sharon Kleve was born and raised in
Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband.
Sharon is a multi-published author of
paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves romance. She loves reading
romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets
no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other's
arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they
deserve—with a few bumps and bruises along the way.
One of her favorite things to do is
picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in the
emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same way
her favorite authors have inspired her.
When not writing, she can usually be
found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in the
kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.
Contact me here:
Email: sharon.kleve@yahoo.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sharonrkleve
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonKleve
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/srkleve/boards/
Amazon
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Kleve/e/B006JAH14S
Library
Thing: http://www.shelfari.com/sharonkleve
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Books to Go Now's Mission: Support our Authors. Promote their Works. Help them to Achieve Success.
Our staff works one-on-one with our authors to help them to create wonderful works of fiction. Upon publication we use a successful multi-platform strategy to promote and market their work. Our staff has helped many authors become International and Domestic Bestsellers.
Books to Go Now offers professional editing, cover design, multiple book format file creation, and most important—publicity. Our staff works to help make our author books a success one book at a time.
