Way back in 2012, practically the dark ages of the internet, I bookmarked an article by author Veronica Sicoe called 13 Types of Writers’ Blogs – Pros and Cons. Fast forward 9 years, and it is still one of the better lists that I have seen of blogs / websites that authors use.
Sooooo, considering I’m a wannabe writer, and I do have a website, what elements interest me? I blogged the other day about not wanting to monetize my site, but this isn’t quite the same thing. This is more about using my website to promote potential book sales. It’s a very fine-line for a distinction, but it is a distinction of significance to me.
General writing advice — I have no extensive expertise to offer, but there are a few blog posts here and there where I have had an opinion that I hoped was worth sharing about small narrow areas. A different take on an issue, for instance. But, as noted in the original article, the posts are generally of interest to writers, not readers, so it doesn’t do much to sell your books.
The Writing Industry / Self-Promotion — I am a good analyst, and one of my skills is the ability to take a lot of info and synthesize or condense it down to meaningful, digestible chunks. And I do have views about the industry, but again, as with writing advice, it is usually on a narrow area that transits expertise I have in another area to give me a different take. Self-promotion, on the other hand, interests me very little in the normal “blatant self-promotion” vs. “Hey, I have a book if anyone is interested!”.
Pop Culture / Polemic / Satire — I cover pop culture with my TV reviews, some of my book reviews, and potentially movie or music reviews. However, I don’t have enough volume or immediacy from release-to-review, so likely not much of a base for me. I’ll do it, but it is because it is fun for me. Satire or current events? Not so much.
Genre Specific — I love the idea of focusing on mystery books, but the range is so big and the number of reviews so small, I’m not going to make much of a dent.
Research and Sciences / Speculation about the future — I can think of few things more boring than blogging about the research I’ve done unless I find something truly unique. I may be wrong, but it is the stories that I find, not the research, that interests me.
Fiction Samples and Contests — I likely will include some of my fiction samples, but not sure how much. I’m not there yet, but I like the premise in general.
Guest posts, interviews, reviews and promotion — I’m open to interviews and reviews, but rarely a guest post. I feel like if it is MY site, it should be MY views and words, not someone else’s.
Personal ramblings — Well, I have that covered in spades on both my sites. Of course, it isn’t going to lead to book sales, but hey, it’s fun.
The one big thing that is a “pro” for me is the simple fact that I’m prolific. I blog and post regularly. No risk of my site going “dead” with people wondering if it will EVER be updated. I’m here and I’m live.
I don’t know that it helps me with any focus within my website, but I liked the reminder.
