Is Blogging Dead?
Is blogging dead?
Well, Passive Guy recently ate a bad taco for lunch and experienced a few hours when he wanted to die, but he’s much better now. But that’s about the death of bloggers, not blogs.
Romance writer, mom, and book junkie Roni Lauren considers the question:
Last week I read a post by Wendy Lawton over at Books & Such Literary Agency in which she talked about “What’s Not Working?” when it comes to marketing. One of the things that surprised me was that she listed blogging as the first one that is “not working.” She even goes so far as to say this:
“I wouldn’t recommend a writer start blogging in order to publicize his book in today’s climate. It would be tough to picture a scenario where the outcome would justify the means.”
I have to admit, the statement shocked me a bit. Obviously, I’m a bit biased because I’m an avid blogger and really enjoy that part of social networking. But after I got over my initial pause, I read through the post again to think through what she was saying more rationally.
Her argument is that unless you’ve already built an uber-blog, then you’re going to have a nearly impossible task of standing out in an over-saturated blogosphere.
. . . .
Wendy also, by the way, isn’t big on blog tours for the same reason. Authors put forth all this effort to write up new posts and interviews for tour stops–which takes a crapload of time–and then “tour” on sites that pretty much appeal to other writers. So you’re swimming in the same pond, promoting to the same school of fish.
Believe me, that is weighing heavy on my mind as I try to formulate my plan for my book release. I am planning to do a blog tour, but now I’m wondering if my time might be better spent doing something else. I mean, there are only so many interviews people want to read. And I’m hard-pressed to think of sites that I could guest on that would expose me to a totally new group of people. I honestly think getting reviewed on the book blogger sites is probably much more effective.
. . . .
Even “If” Blogging Is Dying, You Should Blog If…
1. You just love blogging and don’t care if it’s promoting you as a “brand.”
2. You are a published author who has or will have fans seeking you out online.
(Caveat: If you are a published author and don’t like to blog, that’s fine. Just find some online outlet where readers can get to know you and interact–twitter, facebook, whatever.)
Link to the rest at Fiction Groupie
Roni seems fine, but Passive Guy has his doubts about Wendy.
Blogging is a very crowded field, but so are books. By Wendy’s logic, with Stephen King, JK, Stephenie Meyer and James Patterson already established as uber-authors, a new book by a new author is just going to get lost in an over-saturated atmosphere.
Blogging is about finding people who are interested in what you write. Publishing, particularly indie publishing, is about finding people who are interested in what you write.
If Passive Guy can start a blog and attract a lot of visitors, anybody can, particularly if that anybody is a good writer.
The Passive Voice is about seven months old. When it started, there were lots of uber-blogs already established. A couple of weeks ago, it had almost 1800 unique visitors in a single day. In the last 30 days, The Passive Voice has had 14,945 unique visitors.
Passive Guy does not consider himself to be an uber-blogger, but he has found an audience of people who are interested in the things he writes about (he’s just as surprised about that as you are). Most of the people who visit here have more writing talent than PG does. In order to be a successful author, you need to have a lot more writing talent than PG does.
Just like books, blogs are in competition with one another for visitors, but it’s not a zero-sum competition. Just like books, a blog does not need to attract every person in the world to be successful, only a reasonably-sized audience.
A fantasy author does not have to persuade everybody to quit reading JK Rowling or George R.R. Martin to be successful. Just as most serious readers are always happy to find an interesting new author, most serious online readers are always happy to find an interesting new blogger.
Does this mean that blogging will never die? PG is certain that someday blogging will die. Maybe blogging will eat a really bad taco.
However, blogging is not going to die anytime soon and when it does, it will be replaced by some other means for people to communicate with one another in groups. Ever since cave men, cave women and cave children sat around a fire listening to some goofy member of the tribe tell interesting stories or make outlandish statements, people have communicated with one another in groups.
That’s not going to change.
I’m with you, PG. Blogging rules. I wouldn’t give up mine even if nobody read it. It beats talking to a mirror by a mile.
I can sure understand why an agent would advise her writers not to “waste” time blogging. Writers talk too damned much. Heh.
I think the key thing is… don’t start a blog just because you feel you must, as a Marketing Thing. Start a blog because you like to talk to people! If it looks like a chore, with the kind of stiff and stilted “here is my post” and the obligatory “ask a question to get readers engaged and commenting” end?
Blah. It’s not going to find much of an audience.
But if you’re chatting because you either have an audience who wants to talk to you, or because you have things to talk about? Then it has a chance to stand out.
But blogs that are labors of marketing, instead of labors of love (or at least entertainment)… I think they show that, and it makes them boring and not worth the time away from writing text.
Agreed, Beth. If it’s like eating your spinach, it won’t be much fun for anybody.
Spinach can be good! I love spinach in a good quiche.
It’s plain, raw spinach, with no flavorings, that gets bitter quickly.
Like a blog that has no zest.
“If Passive Guy can start a blog and attract a lot of visitors, anybody can, particularly if that anybody is a good writer.”
You don’t give yourself enough credit, PG. The more time I spend reading blogs, I am convinced that it takes a certain something to have a successful one. Some combination of information, online charisma, and voice, and you’ve certainly hit on a good combination. That said, I do agree with you in principle that this special something can be learned — but perhaps may take some trial and error.
You’re very kind, Livia. Thank you.
I attribute my “certain something” to alternating uncontrolled and controlled ADD.
Or perhaps unusually straight forward, credible advice from a man who knows what he’s talking about? That’s certainly what I come here for. That and the links. You have awesome links and I’m always eager to see your take on them.
Well, I can’t speak on behalf of all the other 14,944 unique bloggers, but it is the consensus of of the small fraction with whom I correspond that you are indeed an uber-blogger. Not in the sense that you have authority over other bloggers or are larger than the majority (though I have no knowledge of your personal dimensions) but in the sense you are above more than merely most in terms of quality of writing, amount of time visitors spend nodding in agreement with your points, and ratio of ‘aha!’ moments to time spent reading.
I, on the other hand, killed my blog around the first of the year and for some time have been ambivalent about starting another. Modern e-wisdom holds that the purpose of a writer’s blog is self-promotion. A writer must never blog about religion, politics, aspects of their personal lives, or anything else that is not either related to their work or projects an image that attracts readers. I can’t do that. And, if marketing/promotional people are right and that is the purpose of a blog, I should not try; the strain of pretense would too soon be apparent. So in that respect, Wendy is right: No one whose sole motive is self-promotion should blog.
When I begin my new blog, it will be after I’ve exorcised all the demons of self-promotion. I’ll blog about religion, politics, culture, and occasionally even writing — whatever moves me to type. I’ve just gotta get all these other projects finished so I’ll have time to blog.
Thanks very much, Kevin.
I know, Livia. PG is just so humble you don’t know if you want to pinch his cheek or smack him.
Here’s my experience. Most writers have really boring websites and/or blogs. They put them up just for marketing and they aren’t invested in connecting to readers. It’s not such a big deal, I suppose. EXCEPT… When I find an interesting blog and it’s worth going back, I bookmark the links and keep going back. Even if the writer isn’t someone I’ve read before or they write in a genre or on a topic I don’t usually read, I’ll often buy their books or at least find them at the library to see if the books are as good as the blog. And if they’re self-publishing short stories, it’s an automatic buy and try for me. Since I’m a regular reader, I always know when they have something new out.
Come to think of it, all the new writers I’ve tried in the past six months are a result of reading blogs.
Hey, JW, no pinching or smacking PG. That’s Mrs. PG’s job.
IMO, it’s an economics question: what is the best, most effective, most profitable use of an author’s time? Or to pursue Ms. Lawton’s line of inquiry, with a glance over to J. A. Konrath et al, is there anything a writer can do with his or her productive time (i.e., “promotion,” blogging, tweeting, etc.) that outweighs the benefits of spending that time writing another book? Answer: probably not.
To put it another way, if PG and I and schedule our worldly affairs in such a way that we have exactly equal amounts of productive time, and I spend 100% of that time writing books and PG spends 90% of that time writing books and 10% of that time blogging, then I have a 10% economic advantage over PG. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s why economics is called the dismal science.
My personal takeaway would be that if you enjoy blogging, or tweeting or whatever, knock yourself out — but cut the time for it out of your recreational budget, not your productive budget.
Of course someone from the dying literary agency business is going to try and convince people that blogging won’t help sell your books. Indies do this. It’s how people like Amanda Hocking got started. They don’t want people going indie.
I hired Virtual Author Book Tours to set up a blog tour for mr and I can tell you from experience that blog tours do work. They do!
Small point — I don’t think Hocking had a huge blog presence when she started out. Her blog grew as news of her sales grew.
Melissa – I’m very interested in Author Book tours, because I admit, I’m a bit skeptical about how well they work, and I’d be interested in hearing evidence to the contrary. Would you be comfortable sharing more details about your experience and sales?
I think it definitely comes down to intent. Blogs that are simply about focused self-promotion are doomed to failure; blogs that are about honest attempts at communication have potential; those with potential that are well-written and insightful will thrive. PG, your blog sits at the top of the “essential” list for me because you provide me with resources and references that would otherwise never cross my radar. The amount of information and insight you freely give is incredible, and always appreciated.
Thanks for the kind words, Scott.
Exactly, Scott. And the dash of snark – can’t forget that.
Anyone who writes a blog solely as a promotional tool for a book is insane.
Even if per chance a passing blog reader buys your book they’re hardly gonna put up with your This Is My Book blogs every week until the next novel is finished.
A good blog is an ambassador for the blogger as a writer. If he / she can’t manage to make an 800 word blog post interesting what chance a 60k novel?
People return to blogs if they find them enlightening and entertaining. Selling a book is a bonus.
I think you are selling yourself short. It is more than being a good writer. Anyone can start a blog but it takes something more to attract an audience and hold that audience. I started reading your blog because you were providing something different to all the regular writer focused blogs. You weren’t repeating something I’ve read a million times before.
I do think that many blogs “don’t work” in the desired way for authors. I don’t think that means blogging is dead, simply that those authors got online and started writing without knowing what they wanted to accomplish or how they’d get there. When I work with anyone, author or not, I always have them focus in on goals and then on a plan that will reach those goals. If you whistle in the dark, you could get lucky anyway, but it’s harder to get attention these days.
Still, as noted, there’s a difference between starting a blog and starting a blog to promote something. The latter is very hard. Also, most people start blogging far too late in the game to build a solid audience that cares about the author and his/her books. Building relationships takes time, and blogging is all about a relationship with the readers. But blogging (like marketing) isn’t dead by any stretch of the imagination.
This “blogging is dead” idea is just plain dumb.
My blog is about 15 months old and I’m getting a thousand page views per day. It also brings in a significant portion of my income, in addition to promoting book sales.
If I can do it, so can anyone with a computer, a solid work ethic, and a decent command of the English language.
David
There’s the adage in marketing that customers must see a product or brand “x” number of times before they will buy. The fewer times a person needs to see something, the more likely they are a trend setter in their core group. Even as an indie author myself, I don’t usually check out a title until I’ve seen it in a few different places. It’s human nature, unless it JUMPS out at me. For example, I was interested in Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series six months ago, but I didn’t have time. It was two weeks ago I finally bought it all. I follow her on Twitter and was always interested in her persona there, but it wasn’t a direct tweet or anything that grabbed. It was the fact there was a box set and I could buy all three at once, easy peasy.
As far as blogs and interviews, yes you need to target reader blogs. However, I recently (as in Thursday) had my first author interview on another writer’s site (she isn’t published yet). She has over 300 followers, the people Wendy refers to as “how many blogs do you follow? do you read them everyday” kind of followers. I promoted, which means my friends promoted, and the blog hostess promoted. I added in a free book giveaway for all with a coupon on Smashwords. Now, I did this before just through Twitter and got 6 people. I have 600 followers on Twitter. With the blog interview, over the 48 hours, more than 600 people read the post and 100 downloaded my book with the coupon. Now, I have a posting, with comments, and results I shared with other book bloggers when I asked to be reviewed or featured by them and it’s working. Plus, a good author friend of mine was nice enough to ask HER book reviewers to give me a look to see if they were interested….
It’s all incremental. There are people who didn’t download my free book this week but read my interview. They might see me again on another blog, and it will jog their memories. They might then decide to buy it, or maybe they will need one or two more exposures. It’s not an exact science.
Honestly, I found most of the things that “don’t work” to work. What I have found doesn’t work is price anymore. No one is excited about a free book, $.99 book, or $2.99 book anymore. It’s what is IN the book or author interview that gets them to commit. Only once they make the decision to purchase the book does price then come into play. Just TRY to give your book away for free, it’s very tough to do!
1. I consider you an uber-blogger. Get over it already.
2. I blog because I like to blog. I have stuff to say or show and tell. Like today I’ve posted a youtube vid of my puppy. If all you want to use your blog for is to promote your books or your popcorn or your brand of homemade shoes (unless the shoes are really great) your blog will be boring. You kind of morph into an insurance salesman with a bad comb-over hair – big turn-off.
3. Blog tours work – not if you’re preachin’ to the choir, but if you pick your tour stops carefully. Look outside of your genre. Ask some of the big boys and girls to host you – the heavily trafficked sites. This is a truism, you heard it from me – a blog stop will not increase your sales or your visibility if the only people who read it are people who already know you. Go outside of your comfort zone.
4. I suspect NY-pubbed authors who have created websites simply because their publisher/agent told them to, and all they do is list their books and maybe put up reviews and buy links do struggle to get visitors.
I agree Julia! I think #2 is kind of the crux. If you’re a writer with nothing to say, why are you writing? Or better yet, WHAT are you writing?
And #4 is the biggie.
Passive Guy, I’m sure you are basking in the title of Uber-Blogger that has been awarded you above (you have my vote too). Good for you.
What has won you the title is – Content. Content is King, especially when there are so many of the ‘Buy my Latest Title’ blog sites out there. Stilted interviews of authors by authors, probably mostly read by authors too – who is surprised that doesn’t work?
I don’t have a blog because I am convinced I would not be good at it. However, I will write for other bloggers, and when I do I try to concentrate on writing an interesting article. If that tempts people to visit my site – fine. If not, at least the blog host will have had something fun on his/her site (and might invite me back!).
What doesn’t work is a purely marketing focused blog, because there is no heart and soul, no passion behind it. This is also why the currently trendy advice not to blog about writing and to target your posts to the specific demographic you hope will buy your books annoys me. Because it makes for dull blogs.
I used to have a blog for several years, then let it lie dormant, as I focused on my MA thesis and blogger locked me out of my account. I started blogging again a year ago, because I missed it. I blog about whatever interests me, even if nobody else cares. For example, I don’t think that a lot of my readers care about regional elections in Germany and politicians plagiarizing their dissertations, but some do. Besides, one of my plagiarism posts got picked up by a popular blog and brought me an influx of visitors.
My numbers aren’t the best in the world, but they’re respectable and growing. Besides, one I started indie publishing, I got my first boost when another, more popular blogger (and writer) whom I’d met via my blog linked to my books.
So yes, blogging does work. As long as you do it because you like it and not because you feel you must.
PS: I also think that Passive Guy is definitely an über-blogger. See, you even get a proper Umlaut from me.
Oooh – I didn’t know it had an umlaut. Good one, Cora, for putting us Anglo-centric people in our places. I will have to flaunt that whenever i can – über-blogger, über-writer, über-cook and cleaner…
As Jacqueline said it’s content. PG, you provide expertise in a subject which should be of great interest to all sane writers and would be writers, and as Chuck Wendig says, “The Internet is 55% porn, and 45% writers.”
Saddly the vast majority of blogs have not evolved much beyond the early personal internet “home page” which featured such exciting content as: My favorite color is blue, and I like spagetti. Generally surrounded by rainbow blink tags and a horrible midi that took a half hour to download over your blazing 14.4 modem.
This function has now been taken over by facebook, where you can ignore all your friends cat pictures, what I’m having for lunch announcements, and farmville status updates in one convenient location.
I think the skeptics have a valid point in that if you don’t have something to say, and already have a blog with a gazillion followers, trying to create one just because somebody said you were supposed to in order to promote your book is a probably futile. People magically stumbling upon your blog are no higher, and possibly much lower than them randomly finding your book on amazon.
Not to say you shouldn’t spend the $5 to put up a web page, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a blog.
As far as blog tours go, I already have way more blogs in my RSS reader than I can possibly keep up with, when I find some new person’s guest post, I’m roughly 1000 times more likely to just go add their book to my wishlist than add their blog to my bookmarks or my RSS reader.
That fourth paragraph seems to have misplaced some words…
–”a”
++”The chances of”
No question about, we are all suffering from information overload! And to have made it in 7 months with over 14,000 visitors is fantastic! Shows what a truly great uber-blogger you are, congrats!
Your recipe works: pick interesting info, spruce it up with a great title (like this one here) plus a few savvy comments, and off you go to stardom! And, btw, you are a good writer, don’t pretend you’re not! To have written that child custody book in just a few days…well, you have me floored with your intense activity.
Whare do you find the TIME???
You are most kind, Claude. Thank you.
I responded to this over on Roni’s site when her post came out, and I’ll repeat here (echoing some of your savvy commenters): Writers who find blogging doesn’t work for them aren’t using it the right way.
It’s not about selling. It’s about making friends. Bookselling is handselling. Always has been.
A blog is a very good way for authors and readers to connect in an open, friendly way. You can’t do that on Twitter or Tumblr. A blog is the hub of your online presence. “Brand Central,” you could call it. Without it, you’re scattered all over the Interwebz.
Wendy probably thinks it’s better for an author to have formal, expensive website than a blog, but it’s formal websites I think are unnecessary–especially for the unpublished.. You’ll notice social media guru Nathan Bransford doesn’t have one.
Nathan says he’s never bought a book because of a visit to an author’s formal website, but he’s often bought books because of an author’s blog. People want to connect with you, not your web designer.
I’ll bet Wendy was responding to the Big Six Marketing Dept. dictum that EVERY AUTHOR MUST BLOG! Which is dumb. Like everything else in the all-or-nothing, master/slave relationship between Big Six marketers and authors.
I want to have a home site to advertise me, and my books. If someone finds me or a book in passing, they can click on the link and find a background page on each book with reviews and excerpt, and a Buy link.
It is easy to interest people who visit my page; the challenge is to keep the visitors coming. I hope maintaining a web presence buy blogging, chatting, tweeting etc will do that.
Writers who find blogging doesn’t work for them aren’t using it the right way.
It’s not about selling. It’s about making friends. Bookselling is handselling. Always has been.
A blog is a very good way for authors and readers to connect in an open, friendly way.
While I don’t disagree with any of those statements, I think the problem is to start a successful blog one usually needs a theme. Writers are often generallists, their interests range all over the place rather than maintaining a specific focus. While there are some uber-bloggers who get away with posting on whatever strikes their fancy that day, the tend to fall into two categories, either they were famous before they started blogging (Gaiman), or they started a hell of a long time ago (Scalzi). The nobody first time author is going to have a very long haul building up a useful following on a blog without a theme. You’re far more likely to find your book driving people to your blog than the other way around.
Of course what often seems to happen is that writers blog about writing, in which case you’re climbing into an already crowded and rather incestuous circle. A book review blog might have a more general appeal, but there again you’re trying to compete with an already crowded field.
Thanks for all the good comments (and the Umlaut, Cora).
I have fun with my blog and suggest that contributes to the success it achieves. If a blog becomes just one more thing to do, it’s hard to conceal that attitude for very long.
Plus, as a lawyer I must be and am very serious. As a blogger, I can be a smartypants.
Blogs nicely seasoned with very dry snark are my favorite. Snark goes with *everything*. Even lawyers
I would also like to point out that Mr. Scalzi rocketed to internet stardom by putting bacon on his cat and photographing the results–thus combining two (2!) internet memes in one. So perhaps if your blog is not attracting enough notice you should put bacon on something. Just a thought.
Thanks for the great blog, only been at this for a few weeks, just started my own and been writing novels for three months… seems like a whole new world that I never knew existed has opened right up!
Thanks all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome, Lizzi, and I’m glad you like the blog.
I started blogging before I self-published, and yes, most of my followers are other writers/bloggers. I don’t have a ton of followers or comments, but I do get quite a few people landing on my page after doing a google/bing search for me. myself. lol.
The problem with author’s blogging is they blog often follow the “write what you know advice” and blog about writing. Which means they attract other writer’s to their blog.
Instead, authors need to expand. (This advice is largely stolen from Kristen Lamb of Warrior Writers). If you write paranormal, blog paranormal. OR blog about something else that interests you. People come to your blog, like what you have to say about … oh say, cooking or crocheting or raising pet children, they like your voice, they buy your books.