Yesterday, Media Bistro published an interesting article called "Only Two Percent of Bloggers Can Make a Living." It cited Technorati's annual State of the Blogosphere report that found only 2 percent of bloggers earn enough money through blogging to quit their day jobs. The other 98 percent of bloggers certainly reap other rewards through blogging, but what 100 percent of bloggers have in common is what 100 percent of authors have in common: without promotion, there are few rewards.

Book promotion is necessary for people to find out about your book. Without media attention, potential readers won't know about your book. TV and radio show interviews, and newspaper and magazine articles, all help your book promotion effort, and few authors would argue that book promotion is a luxury. Authors know that book promotion is an integral part of their efforts to reach potential readers and, ultimately, to sell their books.

It's the same with blog promotion. You can have the best blog, and you can update it daily, and you can provide information that's vital to thousands of people. But unless you treat blog promotion as you would book promotion, few people will ever benefit from your words. You have to let the media know about your blog, and you have to let the Web know you're out there ... and you have to convince people that your blog is worth the time and energy to subscribe, or at least to peek at occasionally.

Blog promotion is another marketing project. But, if you're in the midst of a book promotion campaign, then you already know what to do. You know the elements of a blog promotion campaign. Use your book promotion skills to publicize your blog, and you'll find your readership growing.

I'm not saying that you will be -- or even that you should be -- part of that 2% of bloggers who quit their day jobs and make a living through their blogging. But why not be part of the 98% of bloggers who reap the benefits of blogging, and who understand that their book promotion skills cross over into the world of blog promotion? You're already blogging. Now it's up to you to make blogging worth your while.

Posted by Stacey J Miller at 8:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Everyone blogs. But it occurs to me that a lot of bloggers are making the same mistake. They're thinking: If you blog it, they will come. Well, no.

If you blog it, they will come -- if you promote your blog.

You know the drill. You can be the world's best blogger, but if no one knows about your blog, then you're blogging for your own amusement. That may be fine, if you're a hobbyist with lots of time on your hands to express yourself on a subject and then move onto your real life.

But if blogging is part of your real life -- if you're blogging to promote your book, to bring visitors to your Web site, to help producers and editors find you, to optimize your Web site for search engine placement, to build brand, to enhance your online visibility, and to disseminate your messages -- then you have to publicize your blog.

You have to think of your blog as a product that needs your publicist's time and energy, just as you think of your book, Web site, and seminars as products that must be promoted and marketed. Your blog publicist should understand the viral marketing potential of your blog and should have a track record at bringing visitors to your blog.

If you blog, they will come -- but your blog promotion specialist has to "think outside the blog" to make that happen. Does your book publicist lack the blog promotion experience? We can help. We also offer ghost blogging services. Email us at sjmiller@bookpr.com, or visit our web site for more information.

Posted by Stacey J Miller at 10:09 AM | Permalink