Why Authors Should Stop Blogging Now

If you’re a self-published author, or plan to become one soon, you’ve probably read plenty of great advice about building your online platform. And I’m betting that a common theme is that you should blog regularly.

And here’s why that’s poor advice:

If you set up a blog on your own website, and only ever post there, you risk only reaching people you’ve already reached! It doesn’t matter how engaging, fascinating, controversial, or informative your articles are. It’s irrelevant whether you blog about your writing process, share tips for other authors, take the reader behind the scenes, or offer bonus content that’s not included in your book. The only people who’ll see it are already in your sphere of influence. You’ll spend hours every month (possibly every week) coming up with content ideas, drafting your blog posts, finding relevant images, polishing your prose, publishing the piece, and maybe sharing it too.

And yes, if you’re incredibly lucky, a big name in your sphere will notice your tweet (or Instagram story, or Facebook post), and share it with their audience, thus bringing hordes of eager new fans to your blog. But, more likely, only a handful of your loyal supporters will mention your work, and your website visitors will trundle along at the same low level you’ll seeing now. This will continue week in, week out, while you kid yourself that by blogging on your own platform, you’re working to promote your book.

Do yourself a favor and answer these questions:

• Does every blog post you publish attract at least 5 thoughtful comments from new readers (not spam bots)? Can you trace through your analytics that there’s a huge bump in website visitors, on each day you release a new post? Do your analytics show you that people are not only sharing your blog posts, but then signing up for your email list, too?
  Yes? OK, fine, you have my permission to continue blogging, in which case, please add a snarky (but thoughtful) comment below, to tell me how wrong I am.
  No? Read on.
• Do you absolutely adore blogging, you’re never stuck for what to write about, and the pieces you post are highly personal, journal-like entries which help you organize your thoughts, soothe your writer’s soul, and inspire you to new creativity?
  Yes? Fair enough: keep writing like this, but know you’re engaging in a useful form of self-care, not building your audience.
  No? Read on.

If you answered No in both cases, then I recommend you stop blogging on your own website, or dramatically cut back the number of posts you publish there. The well-meaning advice, that you should blog, simply isn’t serving you.

Why? Firstly, that guidance is out of date. Some self-publishing resources date back to 2011 (and before), when blogs were far more popular. According to OptinMonster, about 70 million blog posts are now published each month. And together, they attract about 77 million comments. In other words, on average, only 1.1 people care enough about each post to leave you a reply. When you account for spam comments, the “don’t care” ratio falls even lower.

That same article reckons you’re spending around 3.5 hours writing a blog post, so if you’re only engaging one loyal friend each time, that’s a lousy use of precious bandwidth.

In fact, far too much platform-building advice for authors consists of a laundry list of things you could be doing, without any consideration to what’s the best use of your limited time. Because after all, don’t you want to a) write your book and b) have a life, too? I suggest that for most authors, blogging is simply busy work which doesn’t deserve your attention.

So, what should you do instead?

You should continue to produce useful, insightful, engaging articles, but publish them on platforms which widen your reach by putting your wisdom in front of new audiences. In other words, you should guest blog, like I’m doing here, and/or consider publishing on a site like Medium.com where, if you work diligently, you can reach new readers who previously had no inkling you existed.

Instead of pressuring yourself to post on your blog every week (or even every month), give yourself permission to wait until you have a really compelling piece of content, then pitch that idea either to a complementary site, or add it to your Medium portfolio. You’ll find plenty of resources on how to pitch a guest article thoughtfully, and there’s every chance that once your idea is accepted, you’ll be able to build a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship with the owner of that website.

Spend the time you would have invested in just one of your little-seen blog posts to craft an enticing bio, with the aim of inviting readers back to your own website to find out more about you. Aim to offer a truly useful resource (such as a free book, checklist, or bonus content) in exchange for their email address, and be sure to test that your sign up form is working as intended. Once you have validated that your freebie resonates with your audience, mention this in your bio too. Before long, you’ll see not only your website traffic, but also your email list, grow at a healthy rate.

And what about the rest of your website? Now you’ve removed the burden of having a neglected blog, take the opportunity to freshen up your content overall. Once you allow yourself the freedom to not blog, you’ll probably find all kinds of clutter and outdated items you can delete. Sidebars, footers and drop-down menus are common culprits for broken links and irrelevant information, so make sure your new website visitors see fresh, relevant content. Be sure to guide them too to the ideal action you’d like them to take (for example, either buying your book or signing up for your newsletter), with clear, prominent buttons. Ask a friend to glance over your website, and have them point out anything that’s confusing, dated or broken. You’ll be surprised what they find.

Once you’ve freshened up your online home, take down the link to your own blog and replace it instead with a page featuring your most popular articles on other sites. This is a sensible way to build a portfolio of your work, and provide a link back to acknowledge those who hosted you.

In summary:

Writing articles and blog posts is a useful and enjoyable way for many authors to give context around their work and expand their reach. I warmly encourage you to continue to do this. But make sure your efforts are posted where new readers can discover you, rather than languishing in the shadows of your own website.

Pauline Wiles creates simple, stylish websites for writers and authors. Find out more and get your free website starter kit: https://www.paulinewiles.com.