1. For any new blogger support is important!! Find a group of bloggers to join. I found a great group right from the start and they helped teach me so much about blogging in general.
2. Join NetGalley! I know there are others out there, but I completely love NetGalley. I have so many amazing books in my TBR pile from them. You can request any books you think sound good, and if the publisher approves they email it right to your Kindle.
3. Join some tour and promotion groups! I am a tour host / team member for several of these groups. You can see them in the sidebar. Many of them are always looking for new members. They will email you offers to be a part of tours. You can do reviews, guest posts, author interviews, and so much more. They are all supportive too.
4. Write up a review policy. You can see mine above. Be honest and up front about what you are interested in. You don't want to get books you don't personally like and end up with a poor review. Just watch, you'll start getting emails as your blog grows. I have been contacted several times because of my review policy.
5. Be sure to let the authors/publishers/readers know your scoring system for book reviews. It is pretty easy to throw together a little guideline like I have in the sidebar. I did mine on photobucket.com.
6. Join memes! Memes help you to have regular posts weekly (unless you slack like me) and help you gain traffic. I do Top Ten Tuesday and In My Mailbox. I usually gain traffic, comments, and new followers from these memes. Similar to this is Blog Hops. They usually are to help gain Facebook, Twitter, or Blog followers.
7. Return the favor!! If a fellow blogger stops by to follow or comment, go to their blog and do the same. We are a big community and we have to support each other!
8. Be sure to post your review several places. I share on Amazon and GoodReads and sometimes on Barnes & Noble.
9. Join (and enter) big giveaway hops. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer almost always has a hop going on. These giveaway hops will gain you so much traffic. You can give away something as simple as a gift card and you will pick up followers. There are several of these blog hops going on constantly.
10. Review what you already have! You are already a reader, start reviewing books you already own and have read. This will help you develop a review style, and give people an idea of it.
Yay for tips! I had fun with this Top Ten, and I can't wait to read some others. I hope if you are planning to get into book blogging that my tips are helpful! Stop back next week and I'll be posting my Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters In Books! I swear I'll post and not slack!!
Such great tips! You know, I really should go through my library and review some old faves - for some reason I hadn't thought of ever doing that! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat list! The giveaway hops are a great way to put yourself out there! Giveaways in general, but hops help spread the word! The review policy one is really important too. It alleviates my guilt when I ignore requests from people who didn't take the time to read my policy. Before I posted it, I felt like I had to respond to every single one. All of your other tips are awesome too!
ReplyDeleteCheck out my Top Ten Tips!
I agree with all of your tips. Especially #7 If someone follows you or comments on your blog please do return the favor. When commenting you want to know that someone actually read your post. Thanks for visiting My Top Ten Tips.
ReplyDeleteNancy @ The Avid Reader
Thanks for all your fabulous tips! As a new blogger I really appreciate hearing them. I think #8 is very important. I always try to post my reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads! I also think that #7 is very smart! It just seems polite to me to repay a visit when someone comes to your blog and leaves a comment. Especially cause everyone loves comments! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDarlene @ Leather Bound and Lovely
Wow, what great tips! Thank you so much for posting them.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ AJ Arndt Books Blog