I blog. A lot. I tweet even more. I spend a lot of time pounding these keys writing things that aren't my manuscript. Why?
Well, because I enjoy it. I like connecting with other writers and readers. I learn a lot myself by researching blog posts and sharing information with you guys and of course reading your posts as well. (I even found myself attending a few things at the writer's conference that weren't relevant to me right now--like the querying workshop--because I knew a lot of you would like to know what was said. So I do it for those reasons.
However, most of the time the reason we're told to start blogs is because when the time comes. we want it to help us sell books, right? The friendships and connections are just bonuses on top of that goal. But here's my question:
Does liking a blog or blogger really translate into you buying their book?
For instance, I know that probably the vast majority of you do not read my genre. Maybe you're patently against it, maybe you just haven't tried it but are willing, or maybe the whole idea of you makes you a bit blush-y and you're unsure. I don't know. So when my book comes out, even if you've commented on every post I've ever written (if you have, I will send you a book for free, lol), are you going to go out and buy my book based simply on the fact that you like my blog?
As a blog reader, this has worked on me. I bought Jody Hedlund's book because I like her and her blog. I don't read inspirational romance, but I bought it as a gift for a family member who does. I bought Ashley March's book and Tiffany Reisz's novella not because they were agency-mates, but because I've gotten to know them on Twitter and want to support them. So even with them not "marketing" to me, I did become a buyer. But I'm not sure if that's common or the exception.
So I'm curious to see your opinions. This survey below is completely anonymous. I want to see what you guys have to say. Regardless of the outcome, I don't plan on stopping the blog because like I said, I'm not doing this as marketing tool so much as a connecting tool. But I'm interested in knowing...
****SURVEY CLOSED**** See results HERE!
Also, feel free to leave comments below about the question in general. Do you think author blogs and internet presence sells books? Thanks ahead of time for those of you who complete the survey. I'll report results in a future post!
