How Blogging Connects Authors with their Target Readers

A following of targeted readers curated from blogging isn't built overnight. It’s a long term strategy and takes a great deal of effort, time and planning. Authors need to be reminded of the benefits of blogging from time to time, because they aren't always convinced that someone is reading their blog somewhere in the world.

There’s no magic recipe for hunting down target readers, but lots of evidence in this post proves that blogging increases online visibility as well as sales, and is the hallmark for showcasing one’s expertise.

The strategy itself is simply a combination of deciding on a niche or topic, aligning the content of your posts to suit your chosen topic and niche, and finally, developing a strategy to strengthen your blogging efforts and platform.

Based on tried and true experience, these strategies will help build a following of devoted readers over time:

1. Niche blogging. Your target reader is reading other noteworthy blogs on your topic and perusing forums and threads connected to your topic. That’s why it makes more sense to blog the topics focused on your niche. This is a good way to set yourself apart in such a competitive and crowded writing marketplace. 

2. Strategy for blogging your book. Once you have a clear idea of what your book is about, it’s time to blog it. There are many ways to blog a fiction or non-fiction book. One popular way is to gather a list of themes and lessons that can be supported with excerpts from your book.

For example, the niche topic for my memoir about leaving New York City to serve in the Israel Defense Forces fits in perfectly with transformation type blogs, because of the running theme of courage and leaving one’s comfort zone. One blog post focused on the 7 Courage Scenes that didn’t make the cut for my memoir Accidental Soldier. Another post focused on how to have the courage to make life changes – either extreme or minor.

3. Guest blogging. Once you’ve determined your niche and topics, as well as keywords and brainstormed a list of potential blog posts, the next step is finding guest blogging opportunities. These exist everywhere, but the key is finding the right ones that dovetail with your niche. Like anything, the key is to start small. I gathered six different guest blogging opportunities just by asking on my Facebook wall.

The challenge of course for any author is to maintain consistency over time. How does one stay focused, with patience, faith, self-confident and productive – in short, to “stay the course?” When you have a plan to stay accountable as indicated in the course I’m teaching Blog Your Fiction or Non-Fiction and Reach Your Target Readers, you can in fact, remain focused for the long haul.

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Dorit Sasson is the founder of the Giving Voice to Your Story website and global radio show. Her mission is to help authors and entrepreneurs give voice to their stories and the powerful messages that lie within their book by blogging as an engaging way to build their platforms. As a memoirist, blogger and copywriter, Dorit models vulnerability and authenticity that help break down barriers and allow others to weave their stories with content. Dorit is a regular contributor to the The Huffington Post. Her cultural memoir, Accidental Solder: What My Service in the Israel Defense Forces Taught Me about Faith, Courage and Love is a heroine's journey of how Dorit was able to find her own voice in a foreign, militaristic society.

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