If you think you want to start a book blog, the most important thing is to determine your “why.” Why is this important to you? For me, I wanted a platform to share my book reviews and book pictures with an audience. I started with bookstagram, but I wanted to diversify. This book blog gives me a platform that I own where my content can be accessed. If Instagram went away tomorrow, I’d still have a way to engage and share bookish content with my community. A book blog can take a lot of time, but this “why” is what keeps me going.
Once you’ve decided why a book blog is important to you, it’s time to get to work! From choosing a platform to setting your content mix, there’s a lot of big decisions that go into starting a blog. This step-by-step guide will help.
Define Your Niche
Consider the genres you enjoy reading the most and the type of content you want to create. Are you interested in reviewing fiction, non-fiction, or a specific genre like fantasy or romance? Defining your niche will help you attract like-minded readers and establish your expertise in a particular area.
Choose a Blogging Platform
Selecting the right blogging platform is crucial for the success of your book blog. Popular options like WordPress and Blogger offer user-friendly interfaces and a wide range of customizable themes. This blog is hosted on WordPress using a purchased theme. You could also decide that the best course of action is to share your reviews on an existing book community, such as Goodreads. Do some research, compare features, and choose a platform that aligns with your technical skills and long-term goals.
Design Your Blog
Choose a clean and easy-to-navigate layout that highlights your content. Customize your blog’s colors, fonts, and logo to reflect your unique style. Remember, simplicity and readability are key when designing your blog.
Determine Your Content Mix
For me, this is the fun part! I share book reviews, of course, but I also share lists of books with a theme and other fun posts. My perfect content mix would be two book reviews a month, one themed list (such as Seven Feminist Fiction Reads or If You Loved Mexican Gothic, You’ll Want to Read . . .) and one post about bookstagram or the bookish lifestyle. These have included posts such as Five Bookstagram Props I Can’t Live Without, How the Ink+Volt Planner Boosted My Success at Work and as a Creative and Meet a Bookish Creator featuring Christine of Colorado Bookworms.
Promote Your Blog
To build an engaged audience, you’ll need to promote your book blog effectively. Utilize social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook to share your blog posts, engage with readers, and connect with other book bloggers. Participate in blog tours, collaborate with authors or publishers for guest posts, and engage in the book blogging community. Interacting with your audience and building relationships with fellow bloggers will help expand your reach and visibility.
Here’s the truth about blogging and the thing that people get wrong: you should really only be spending about 10% of your time actually creating content. The other 90% should be spent promoting, sharing and re-sharing it so that your posts don’t live and die with ONE Instagram story or Facebook post.
– Jenna Kutcher in This is Why No One is Seeing Your Content
Starting a book blog is a wonderful way to combine your love for reading with your passion for writing. Follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful book blogger.
Want more bookstagram tips? Find all my recommendations here.
