The mysterious art of guest blogging

I have never “guest blogged” anywhere, but they say it is one of the best ways to promote a book. So I’ve been reading around the topic and here are some hints and tips I must remember.

Most important is to think about where your readers are likely to be? Genre is all-important. You’ll reach a lot more romance readers at “Romance University” or “Romance Divas” than general purpose blogs. Look for blogs of authors in your genre with a good reader following.

Use your protagonist’s hobbies, interests, or profession.

Location can provide opportunities. If your book is set in a particular place, reach out to travel blogs about the area of your setting. People planning holidays buy more fiction than people arguing about grammar.

The only way to tell if a blog attracts people who really might be interested in your book is to visit and read the posts. Read the comments, too. Leave comments on posts you enjoy. The best place to start querying is a blog you read regularly because you genuinely like it and have an interest in the topics it addresses.

Read the Guidelines and follow them. Write with proper paragraphing, punctuation, capitalization and spelling. Be businesslike, concise, respectful, and don’t lie. A blog query should start with a sentence explaining why you want a spot on that particular blog.

Pitches need not be elaborate. Give possible topics with a few sentences after each about your angle and why you’re qualified to write about it. Ie How to Market Books on Snapchat. I’ve boosted my sales by 25% with this method. I’ll provide a step-by-step how-to.

There’s nothing wrong if your blog has a small following. A powerful reason for guest blogging is to extend your online following. If you’ve been a guest of a big, popular writing blog like The Book Designer, Jane Friedman, Writers on the Storm, Fiction University, Romance University, etc. that’s a big plus, too.

Don’t simply offer another blogger a same material. You can offer to write on the same subject, but don’t simply offer a cut-and-paste.

If you have a time window, giveaways, contests, etc, and you want this post to be part of a blog tour, be sure to mention it.

Make sure you will be available in that time window to respond to comments.  That way you'll make connections and sell books, so if you’re not available, you’re losing sales.

The most helpful piece I read on guest blogging was by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) January 20, 2019 and there’s a lot more than my sparse jottings on her blog for those who are interested in guest blogging.