Something To Blog About As An Author

Developing a voice, knowing your intention, and identifying your ideal reader will help you find a winning formula for your author blog.

Are you thinking of launching or revisiting the purpose of your author blog site? It’s true that blogs can educate, illuminate, create community, offer social commentary, provide updates on projects, showcase travel adventures, or promote business goals in a creative way. I’m here to pose a few questions that may help you refine your intentions for maintaining a blog as an author.

Instead of a “how-to” blog post, this one might be considered a “how-why,” as it relates to reasons for having a blog. There are three primary factors I’ll explore: voice, intention, and audience. These may seem obvious, but by engaging in closer reflection to refine your purpose, you may unlock potential to make your efforts more effective and meaningful.

First, the definition of “blog.” One dictionary defines it as “a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.” Another suggests a blog is “a website that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks, videos, and photographs provided by the writer.”

Hence, blogs are afforded some grace to have a more personalized presentation. Since this is a blog post about blogs, I feel I can be conversational with you and share thoughts in a less formal way. While a blog may offer insight into a specific topic or expertise, this format has favorable potential to reveal the sound of an author’s voice. Can you hear me speaking through my written words?

Which voice will you choose?

Within each individual dwells varying voices when it comes to written words. Choosing which one to apply to your author blog depends upon audience (more on that in a bit). Yet, have you given thought to how closely aligned your writing voice is with your conversational voice? Your professional voice? Your thinking voice?

I can write in marketing-slanted language: with strategic planning, blogs can target your desired demographic. I can write in journalistic-slanted language: did you know blogging has grown by 12 percent since 2015? I can write in free, creatively inspired language: in my mind, I’m a whisper on a cyber page, the blog is merely a dream. I’m aware of many choices when it comes to my writing voice.

Your voice and your blog goals

With a range of voice possibilities in mind, let’s talk about you and your goals for your writing. Let’s start with the basics: Who do you want to present to the world? Do you want people to get to know you, as you are — your thoughts, dreams, observations, perspectives? Do you want to broadcast a casual, unfiltered voice where your writing, thoughts, and conversational voice are one and the same?

Or are you seeking to broadcast a voice of knowledge? A voice of authority. A voice of expertise. In this instance, writing a blog has less to do with sharing who you are and instead bend your voice to reflect more about what you know through the tone of your written voice. Your writing might reflect a more formal tone — a more calculated use of words and crafted framework.

Language emphasis, sentence structure, and word choice can either represent me — my personality, essence, spirit, or my reputation — or what I know: my skills, or my professional platform.

Why are you hosting a blog?

Unearthing your “why” is an important factor to consider for many reasons. Connection to your purpose will impact the quality and quantity of your writing. Is your author blog meant to be a personal adventure, a business support, or a blend of both? For some, writing for personal reasons is all there is. For fun. Creativity. Expression. They couldn’t imagine writing a business article if their words depended upon it.

If you’re seeking to write a personal blog, chances are good you’ll write about things, ideas, or moments you care about. I’m a believer that passion fuels expression. When I personally care about something or someone, I’m sometimes unable to stop myself from spilling my expressions onto a page. Thus, having a personal blog invokes the question, how much should you share?

How much do you want to reveal?

I’ve published two books (both through BookBaby, BTW): one is a creative memoir called Me, My Selfie & Eye: A Midlife Conversation About Lost Identity, Grief, & Seeing Who You Are, and WinSome & Fuckdamonium is a collection of poems. I wrote highly personal content about my fears, hopes, marriage, divorce, falling in love, and grief. I tend to reveal a lot of my personal nitty-gritty. I have no issue writing blog posts that share my deeper thoughts or dreams.

It’s not to say that I don’t consider what people will think about who I am, or my words. I’m aware that honesty invites scrutiny. However, the process of self-exploration through writing is so sacred to me that by the time I’ve gone through the writing process itself, (then later opted to publish it for the world to read), I’ve gotten all I’d needed. Thus, people’s judgment or opinion of me, or my words, becomes secondary (if that).

I bring this up to acknowledge that it takes time to develop a comfort level or define your willingness about how much you’d like to reveal in a public way through a book or blog. In time, after writing a handful of blogs posts, you’ll get a sense of where your tell-all or tell-some comfort level lands.

Knowing the “why?” of your author blog

With personal blogging, sometimes we write to receive validation. Sometimes we’re excited to bring people along a journey. Sometimes we write to hear feedback on ideas. Sometimes we write to heal trauma or help others feel less alone when faced with crisis. Then, there are those times we write because others expect it. In these instances, knowing your “why” is important.

Here’s an example: If enough people have given you business advice to start a blog, yet you’re not into writing business-related stuff, keeping a blog’s content’s current will soon become a burden. Creating posts won’t be enjoyable or effective, and believe me, as a reader, we can tell.

Have you ever been to a website, clicked on the blog link, and discovered that the last post was from 2018? Or that there were only four posts over the span of several years? Or that in the first few months of the site, there were five or six posts, and then nothing after that?

What comes to your mind when you see this? Does slight judgement about the person’s professionalism, creativity, or consistency flow through your mind, if even for a few seconds? Do you wonder why they stopped writing? Blogging? Posting? Kind of leaves an unsettled impression. These content gaps are how a lack of connection to a blog’s purpose shows up.

What is your expertise?

For others, business writing is the only writing they feel comfortable with. They have a chance to place emphasis on specific words, concepts, and facts that become the stars of the show, without having to dig too deeply into how they feel about them or stressing over the ways to express them.

For people who choose to start a business blog because they want to share expertise or knowledge, the cyber sky’s the limit. There are many things we might not know about what you do or how you do it. A blog gives you, as the subject-matter expert, an opportunity to reflect upon and distribute your unique cauldron of expertise. Readers will have a chance to learn more about what you know, how you know it, and how you apply what you know. These attributes can build client loyalty, trust, and recognition.

What’s your “thing?”

For instance, I’d gotten into reading a business blog about how one woman raised goats. She used the blog to showcase her farm and her knowledge about what raising and properly caring for goats requires. She got into a swath of details about how they eat, sleep, and mate. Because her blog posts showcased the depth of her knowledge, I would trust her and her business if I were ever in the market of buying goats. I’d feel confident she knows her stuff.

What do you know about your business or subject that others may not? Do you have a true passion for your work? Is your work mission-driven and would it help to raise awareness or funds to support your cause? Does the world need more of what you have to offer? Is what you do truly unique? These are all ideal reasons to create a business blog.

Who are you writing to?

I think of you, this audience of BookBaby Blog readers, and I imagine lots of things about who you are. I assume you are writers and authors, or want-to-be authors. I believe you come from all walks of life, have an incredibly diverse range of dreams, and that your personal or professional experiences are what drive you to grapple with and explore publishing your words. I believe you are brave in your writing pursuits, because writing, and especially creating a book, takes a tremendous amount of courage.

I imagine you’re motivational speakers, teachers, professional coaches, fantasy or fiction enthusiasts, experts in your field, creators, dreamers, and seekers. You’d likely not be here if you weren’t. Based on these assumptions, I’m attempting to write this blog post in a way that connects or inspires you to consider some of these ideas for yourself.

With a blog post, speak to the one person you most want to reach. Pretend your ideal reader or customer is in a room with you and you have a chance to thoughtfully and proactively share something with them you want them to learn or know. Assume those you want your words to reach will be reading your blog. It may seem counter-intuitive, but write as if you are speaking to the one person you really want to connect with, knowing you’re potentially speaking to the world.

Authenticity speaks for itself in your author blog

Whether you prefer writing for personal expression or business purposes, a truth remains: when you write about things you feel closely attached to or aligned with, words will flow easier.

An obvious benefit, from a marketing or awareness-raising standpoint, is that a blog will certainly support any books you publish. You could re-purpose content from your book and create blog posts. You could blog about the process of publishing your book and offer readers inspiration through a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how you achieved something few will ever realize.

A blog could offer additional topic insight, beyond your book, or enable you to publish exclusive bonus content you want your audience to have access to. Blogs have a way of building loyalty, connection, and conversation about who you are and what you know.

This is your voice. Your talent. Your time to shine through words and ideas. Through contemplation and courageous expression in sharing your words with the world. That’s something to blog about.