How to Start an Author Blog
It’s super exciting that you want to start your author blog. Blogging is a great way for creative writers to earn an income from home and have more time for writing. Plus, it’s tons of fun.
I started my blog to create more time and financial freedom and to prioritize my writing and family. I was tired of being consumed by the 9 to 5 and feeling stuck and unhappy in a corporate job.
Meanwhile, my children were growing up before my eyes. I finally said enough is enough. There has to be a better way, and that’s when I found blogging.
Why blogging, you ask? It’s perfect for fiction writers because you need an online presence to drive future book sales. An author blog can help you build an audience for your books and use your writing skills to supplement your income.
I get if you’re a bit apprehensive about this whole blogging thing. Writing a book is one thing, but starting a blog along with it can seem overwhelming without guidance. In this post, I will walk you through the basic steps so you can have an active blog in 30 days.
The best advice I can give you is to strive for progress, not perfection. Many new bloggers get stuck in the launching phase because they focus on perfecting their blogs.
Don’t get stuck in perfectionism. Instead, see your blog as an ongoing masterpiece (just like your novel) that you will improve over time.
To help you launch your blog, I will give you weekly steps to get you up and running quickly.
Ready to start your author blog? Here we go!
Week 1 – Define Your Blog’s Purpose and Target Audience
You’re probably eager to get right into the technical parts of setting up your blog.
But to start on the right foot, you need a little planning. Doing some prep is a critical first step. I promise it won’t take long. Just grab a piece of paper or, better yet, a journal and answer the following three questions:
WHY do you want to start an author blog?
Duh, Sara. I’m an aspiring author who needs to build an online following. That’s why.
I know! I know! But I want you to dig a little deeper.
For example, how does your blog fit into your long-term writing career? Do you want to secure a new book deal? Make more book sales as a traditional or self-published author? Do you want to make money with your blog and supplement your writing income?
Take a few moments and jot down your answer.
As mentioned earlier, I started a blog to quit my 9 to 5 and focus on my writing and family. I knew that one of my goals was to find ways to monetize my content. I also wanted my blog to be related to my creative writing so that I could build an audience for my projects.
I got a little more specific than just, “I need an online following.”
Take 15 to 20 minutes to write your thoughts down on paper or in a journal. The more specific and personal you can get, the better. And don’t worry, this is just for you. No one will read the deep reasons you jot down in your journal.
Once you know your blog’s purpose, you can move on to the next question.
WHO do you want to attract to your blog?
It’s important to get clear on who your audience is. Ideally, your audience is the people who will read your books.
But you have to get specific on who this audience is. How old are they? What do they like to read? In addition to reading, what else might they enjoy? Are they young adults, fans of a specific genre, or aspiring writers?
For example, my ideal audience is aspiring children’s authors in their late 20s to early 40s who want to quit their jobs to write full-time (just like me). Their favorite genre is anything Young Adult.
Again, take a few minutes to jot down your ideas. If you need more help, I go into more depth on this concept in my post, ”9 Steps to Building an Author Platform.”
WHAT do you want to blog about?
Now that you have a better idea of your audience, you can find related topics that interest them. This is your blog niche. It will influence your overall blog concept.
Using my blog as an example – My niche is authorpreneurship or creative writing business. Specifically, I teach writers how to start a blog and create passive income to supplement their writing income.
So, how does my niche attract readers for my future books? Well, I’m also a YA writer like my audience, so I provide updates about my writing projects, which are within the genre interest of my audience.
I also share tips on how to save money on books, which helps attract readers who are writers and nonwriters.
Say what? But your blog is about authorpreneurship. Why are you talking about saving money on books?
Because choosing a niche does not limit what you can blog about. As long as your subtopics are related to what might interest your audience, you can blog about it.
When my audience visits my blog, they learn how to supplement their writing income, and while they are there, they get to know my writing projects and what I’m reading.
They might also get writing tips, time management hacks, and goal-setting ideas. It’s all related and helpful to my audience.
My audience won’t find lifestyle or cooking tips on my blog because that is entirely unrelated to writing or earning income as a writer.
Some of my audience might be interested in my banana bread recipe, but that is so unrelated to my blogging niche that I don’t share it.
Get the idea?
So, your task this week is to answer the following questions:
- Why do you want to start a blog?
- Who do you want to attract to your blog?
- What do you want to blog about?
To help you get started, check out “9 Steps to Building an Author Platform.”
WEEK 2 – GET TECHNICAL
This week, we get into the technical side of things, but don’t worry, it’s totally doable. I’m not very tech-savvy, and if I figured it out, so can you.
Secure your Domain and Blog Hosting Service
You will need a domain (website name) and a web hosting service to set up a blog.
You have the option of several free hosting services, but if you’re interested in generating income and turning your author blog into a business, then a professional self-hosted website is a must.
I recommend Bluehost, an affordable and popular web hosting service used by over 2 million websites. Bluehost has excellent technical support and is a perfect option for new bloggers.
Start with Bluehost for just $2.95/month using the link below. Just click the “Start Now” button.
Next, choose a hosting plan. I recommend the Choice Plus plan because it includes free daily website backups for the first year and malware scanning, but as a new blogger, the basic plan is okay. You have the option to upgrade at any time.
After choosing your hosting plan, Bluehost will direct you to pick a domain name. Your domain is the same thing as your web address.
A good domain name for your author blog is your Name. If your name isn’t available, consider adding the word “books” to the domain, such as http://www.adrieneyoungbooks.com. You can also add “author,” such as http://www.stephaniegarberauthor.com.
Once you decide on a domain, add it under “Create a new domain” and click “Next.”
Bluehost will redirect you to create an account if your domain name is available.
On the checkout page, Bluehost will include “add-ons” for SiteLock Essentials, CodeGuard Basic, and Domain Privacy + Protection. These services scan your site for vulnerabilities, provide website backup, and keep your personal information hidden.
If you can afford to add these services, I recommend keeping them. But if cost is an issue, you can opt out of the services and add them in the future as your site grows.
Consider keeping the Domain Privacy + Protection so your contact information isn’t public.
Next, you can review your package information before checkout. You will notice that Bluehost charges for the year upfront. This is how they’re able to give you such a deal on hosting. You can choose up to a 36-month plan, and the longer the plan, the more savings you can enjoy. Go with the plan that fits your budget.
The next step is to check out and accept hosting terms.
The final step is to create a password for your account.
Congratulations, you now have a website! You’re in business. Keep an eye out for a welcome email from Bluehost.
Install WordPress
WordPress is hands down the best blogging platform, and Bluehost makes it very easy to set up your WordPress blog in a 1-click installation.
After installing WordPress, you need to pick a blog theme, which is a template for your blog. WordPress offers many free options.
Next, decide whether your blog will be a personal website or business. If you are planning on monetizing your author website and blog, the business option is recommended.
From your dashboard, you can start adding menus, pages, blog posts, and plugins.
Lastly, enter your site title and description.
Yay! Your blog is up and running.
WEEK 3 – DESIGN YOUR BLOG AND CREATE CONTENT
Design Your Blog
Designing your blog involves customizing the look of your site. This includes choosing fonts and theme colors and adding images to your home page and blog posts.
To learn more, you can check out “Crafting an Unforgettable Author Brand.”
The free themes WordPress offers are great but very limited in design options. Over time, you will need to upgrade to the paid version of your theme or switch to a different design altogether.
The most popular and easiest WordPress theme to design is Divi. This theme has a drag-and-drop page builder, and it doesn’t get much easier than that to design a blog.
I wish I had known about the Divi theme when I started my blog because it would have saved me hours of frustration in designing my blog.
Another great option is Astra, which gives you a few writer website templates to choose from.
Writing Content
Make a List of Blog Articles
In Week 1, you chose your blog topic and subtopics. Now, you’re ready to take these topics and start planning blog posts.
Create a list of at least 8 to 10 blog articles and then outline 4. These are the first four posts that you start writing this week. When you outline, consider the main headings you will cover in each article.
Initially, you want to write content across all your subtopics, but as you gain traffic, you will narrow your focus based on the most popular content with your audience.
Your goal is to write two blog posts this week and then write 1 to 2 posts per week until you have at least 8 or 10 posts on your blog. At that point, you can decide the frequency at which you will publish content.
You can publish one new blog post a week or two posts per month (one post every other week). Many established bloggers publish about once per week, but in the beginning, it’s okay to publish less as you work on gaining experience. The key to blogging is consistency, so choose the number of posts you will create and publish on schedule.
You also want to publish on the same day each week. If you start posting on Monday, continue to publish every Monday. Stay consistent. Your readers will expect it.
Here are some article types to help you expand on the posts you’ve outlined:
- Introduction – Your first post could be an article introducing yourself and your blog. Readers are always curious to know who is behind the keyboard. This is where you share your writing journey and connect with your future readers.
- How to Article – This is a post where you give your reader step-by-step instructions for accomplishing a goal or solving a problem. This tutorial you’re reading is a How to Post.
- Testimonial – Do you have a story that will help your reader? If so, a testimonial article is the perfect option for sharing your journey and helping your audience achieve similar results.
- Listicle – A type of post where you share tips on a specific topic. A great example of a listicle is 5 Time Management Skills Every Author Should Learn.
WEEK 4 – LAUNCH
This week is launch week. Congratulations! You’re almost there. You will want to continue working on writing content while putting the finishing touches on your design.
Remember, don’t get stuck in perfectionism. Done is better than perfect. Your goal this month is to get your blog up and running.
Here are a few checklist items for launch week:
- Put the finishing touches on your theme and blog design.
- Continue writing content.
- Outline and plan content for the following weeks.
- Go live and launch your blog.
AFTER LAUNCH
Once you go live, continue writing content and improving your design. You can also start to think about growth and monetization strategies.
Growth and Traffic Strategies
Getting the word out about your blog is a big part of creating a successful blog. You need a blog promotion plan to attract your ideal audience and new readers.
You can use several strategies to promote your blog, such as search engine optimization and sharing content on social media.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization
SEO is one of the most important sources of traffic for bloggers. SEO refers to increasing the visibility and ranking of your content in search engine results. When searching Google for your topic, you want your content to show first. This leads to an increase in organic traffic.
There are several SEO techniques you can implement to help your content rank in search engine searches, such as:
- Keywords: Using relevant keywords in your content helps Google and other search engines understand your content and share it with users searching for those keywords.
- Headings: Clear headings on your website and blog posts help users look through your content and find the necessary information. Search engines also use headings to determine if your content is relevant and helpful to users searching for that topic.
One of the easiest ways to get started with SEO is to download a plugin like RankMath or Yoast SEO. These website plugins walk you through each step, ensuring your SEO bases are covered.
You can also check out “Easy On-Page SEO for Beginners and Intermediates” to learn how to optimize your blog posts for ranking on Google and other search engines.
Overall, SEO optimizes your website and blog posts to help search engines understand your content and share it with people searching for information on your topic.
Another great way to market your blog is by sharing content on Pinterest. There is a misconception that Pinterest is a social media platform, but it is a search engine like Google. The best thing about Pinterest is that it’s much less competitive than Google or other search engines to rank content. This is why Pinterest is a popular marketing tool for bloggers.
To use Pinterest, you will need to open a business account (it’s free) and create pins. You can use Canva to design PIN templates for your content.
To learn the ins and outs of using Pinterest, grab a copy of “Making Pinterest Possible.” When you implement the tips in this ebook, you will be a Pinterest pro at marketing your blog posts.
Social Media Marketing
You’re probably most familiar with social media for marketing your blog. Posting on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms should be part of your promotion strategy because of the potential reach it gives your content. Social media is also a great way to continue building relationships with your ideal audience.
The best way to use social media to market your blog is to focus on one platform at a time. Each platform requires different skills and time to see results. Choose the platform that you feel most comfortable with and start there.
Monetization Strategies
After all your work in launching and growing your platform, it’s time to consider how you can earn an income with your blog. There are a few ways to make money with your blog that are perfect for creative writers.
- Affiliate Marketing – Many brands and companies will pay you a commission for sharing their products. If you use a product that will be helpful to your audience, why not share it and allow the company to compensate you for getting the word out? There is no added cost to your audience, so it is a win-win for everyone.
- Creating digital products – You can also consider creating your ebooks or printables. Online marketplaces like Etsy make earning money online by selling your own products easier than ever.
- Set up an online store – You can sell digital products via your website. Also, consider print on demand, which allows you to create and sell products like t-shirts, mugs, and candles.
- Ad revenue – This involves signing up with Google Adsense or another ad network and applying to add paid ads to your blog. The key is just to sprinkle ads here and there.
I share more monetization strategies in The Best Passive Income Streams for Writers.
If you plan on monetizing your blog and eventually turning it into a business, I highly recommend Build and Launch Your Blog, a course by Create and Go.
I’ve taken many online courses, and this course helped me crack the code for starting my author blog.
The course is for anyone wanting to start a blog, not just writers, but the information is super helpful for writers and authors.
Alex and Lauren, the course creators, went from broke and frustrated to earning over $100,000 per month blogging in less than three years.
In Build and Launch Your Blog, Alex and Lauren walk you through the basics we just covered, plus they introduce you to email list building, driving traffic to your blog, and affiliate marketing.
It’s the perfect introductory course if you want to hit the ground running with your author blog and generate passive income. I highly recommend the course.
I hope you have found this post helpful. My biggest tip is to keep moving forward and avoid getting stuck in the launch phase.
Blessings and happy writing and blogging!