Top Ten Tuesday: Tips for New Book Bloggers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish. Every week  a new top ten list is posted and this week is Top Ten Tips for New Book Bloggers. I am a pretty new book blogger and still trying to get into the swing of things myself. So, I'm going to list some tips (and blogs/websites) that I have found helpful. All of the websites mentioned should have a direct link.


Top Ten Tips for New Book Bloggers

10.)  Post Your Review On Multiple Sites!
             When you first start out it's pretty hard for people to automatically know you're in the blogging world. To help spread your "name" around and the quality of your reviews post them on multiple sites. Add your reviews to Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon (maybe even the other country websites), Barnes & Noble, GoHastings, etc. This is publicity!

9.) Join a Meme!
            A meme is a feature that a "host" blog has come up with and invited other bloggers to participate and share in. Some well known examples are Top Ten Tuesday (yay!) hosted by The Broke and The Bookish and In My Mailbox (IMM) by Kristi at TheStorySiren. These are pretty well known book blogs and they have you post a link to their page on your post and you post a link to your page on their home post. This introduces you to other bloggers and vicevversa. The key is to find a couple that you are really interested in and try them out for a while. Don't get too bogged down! There are tons of memes out there (several for each day). Remember blog readers want book reviews too.

8.) Update Your Blog Regularly!
             It is key to update your blog! This not only lets people know that you are serious and have a passion for this, but it shows your dedication.

7.) Join Goodreads and LibraryThing!
              Odds are you have already heard about Goodreads and LibraryThing, but if not, allow me to enlighten you to these wonderful book communities. Both of these websites allow you to post your reviews of books, but they hold so much more. The offer the chance to read Advanced Reader Copies of books, join groups who share your similar taste, and the thing I love the most is that they allow me to keep track of all books! You can mark books you want have read, are currently reading, and my all time favorite, books you have discovered and want to read,My to read shelf currently sits at about 200! I better win the lottery and get busy! Here is a link to my Goodreads Page and a link to my LibraryThing page.

6.) Participate in Blog Hops!
              Blog hops can be many things. Some are "hops" from one website to another promoting a new book, but most common are the GIVEAWAY blog hops. Everyone loves free stuff (books, gift cards, jewelry, bookmarks, etc.). Not only is your participation a good way to get more traffic, but this is a great way to discover new blogs. Almost all of my favorite blogs that I read (list below) were discovered through this and Twitter.

5.) Have a Plan!
              Have a blog plan. Very recently I have found that it is much easier and a lot less stressful if you have a daily/weekly plan.

4.) Be Honest!
               You should be honest in your reviews and your thoughts about whatever it is that you write about. People are reading your blog because they want to know what you think, not what you think they want you to write. Not all of your reviews are going to be positive, but when you write a "negative" review remember to be respectful. These authors often times pour their heart, souls, and dreams into their books. Don't trample on them.

3.) Comment on Other Blogs!
                If you see something you like or find interesting on someonelse's blog comment! I know that most of the time I check out your blog if you comment, because I'm just curious about my lovely readers:) However, remember there is  a line between commenting and spamming!
2.) Get on Twitter!
                  Twitter is amazing for bloggers! This lets you notify people of new posts! But Twitter is the gift that keeps on giving. You can see new books authors are coming out with, chat with fellow bloggers (sometimes authors!), find out about giveaways, etc. It is amazing and definitely worth it.
1.) Have Fun!
                  This might be cheesy, but its true. Starting a blog in the first place should've been because you love books and love to talk about them. If you aren't enjoying what you are doing odds are your readers aren't either. Don't get bogged down with drama and stress. You do this for fun and because you love it.