Updated 6-9-09
So, my question is this: How do you decide the context for your blog?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. It basically boils down to why you blog. Here's the thing, I blog for two reasons.
1. As a promotional tool.
2. To network and connect with other professionals.
3. To help others learn from my mistakes.
I feel pretty good about #2. I've meet some awesome colleagues. I hope I'm accomplishing #3, but that would be subjective and answered by you. I'm not so sure about #1. How can we make our blogs into a promotional tool?
First, we have to identify our audience. For me, that's lovers of YA Fantasy. The question I can't answer is how the heck to reach them.
One obvious answer is to give them stuff for free--short stories, pieces of my novels, etc. That gets a little touchy with publishers, as they won't take things "already published." Also, I don't write short stories. It's not that I don't want to. I just can't. Every time I try, it turns into a novel. I'm no good at anything under 60,000 words.
So my questions are, and I hope this turns into a discussion, how do you reach your audience and what content do you deliver to them?
4 comments:
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I am not sure yet how I'm reaching my audience. I'm not handing out any content of my fiction, but I am handing out what I learn, and offering a place for discussion. I like discussions.
I also hope that my blog can be looked at by agents as an indication that I like to be professional about what I do. That can't hurt, I suppose, since I don't have an agent yet.
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Becky: Maybe you should ask your Dad. I want to do a better job of marketing. I'm just not sure how.
LG: I love your blog. I've stolen . . . uh, borrowed, lots of your tips.
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I'm too new at this to really answer. I did start the blog partly to get my work out there and in the belief that it shows that I'm serious and professional and all that good stuff. And so I've posted bits of my book -- sort of as teasers. I don't know if it really gets seen by many people, but I do believe that it can't hurt.
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My audience is a bit easier to reach - parents of LDS kids. So part of my content is simply to have personal experiences as a parent, and mom-related things. Still, I do not think I do the best job I could with the whole marketing thing. And my dad is a marketing professor. Go figure...