How do I build a blog audience? by Lucy Rycroft

As a blogger who is preparing to have a book or two published in the next couple of years, I'm starting to realise the importance of growing my audience a bit more intentionally. After all, I do want to sell a few books when I actually release them - and I can't just rely on well-meaning friends and family.

There was a long thread in the ACW Facebook group recently which reminded us that, regardless of how good a writer you are, or how interesting your topic is, publishers will want to know the size of your current audience (blog, social media, mailing list) before deciding whether to publish your book.

So how do you do it? How do you find people who like what you write? Which social media channels are important? Is a mailing list compulsory? What's actually going to build your platform?

I must confess that I'm at the early stages of all this, so some of you will be far ahead of me and won't find this post useful in the slightest. But for those who are in the same boat as me, here are a few things I've picked up.

Where do I start?
It's obvious, but often ignored: the best way to build an audience is to blog regularly and consistently. (I blogged about that here, suggesting we need to schedule blogging time into our diaries.)

You need to stay in people's consciousness - a few weeks/months off, and people will forget you. I learnt that to my cost a couple of years ago, and am still trying to recoup my audience!

I really can't stress this enough - you can be prancing around on Twitter as much as you like, but if you're not offering your readers regular, high-quality material, you're simply not giving them the opportunity to get to know and like you as a writer, let alone share you with their friends.

What social media should I use?
This really seems to be a matter of personal preference, but I did read once that you should choose two social media platforms and do them well.

Whilst many people are on four or five social media platforms (and, if so, they're probably paying into a scheduling tool to automatically upload posts across all platforms), I think sticking to two platforms is good advice for those of us for whom writing is not our full-time profession.

The two I focus on are Facebook - because it's so universal, so many people are on there (and I can also utilise the networks I'm in - more later) - and Twitter - because of the networking opportunities with like-minded professionals, other authors and publishers.

I've recently started using Pinterest, which is not a social media channel, but acts more like a kind of search engine. I'm using it to develop boards containing my posts on particular topics (take a look at where I've got to with my Adoption board so far - I also plan to develop my Parenting, Family and Marriage boards eventually). Apparently it can be a good way to increase blog traffic, but I haven't had time to get to grips with it, so any advice, do shout!

Instagram can also be useful for writers, as it's increasingly becoming very widely-used, meaning you can pick up followers fairly easily (from what others have told me - I'm not on it yet!). But for both Pinterest and Instagram, your images will become very important, so learn to use some good web-based design software like Canva. Within minutes, you can create some very professional images for your blog and social media. (NB. There are some images on Canva which require payment, but plenty which don't, so make sure you use the free ones, unless you don't mind a bill!)

Using Facebook to build your audience
Facebook has changed how posts are seen, all with the aim of encouraging us to pay to boost posts. While there may be a time and a place to do this (e.g. when a new book is launched), my strategy has been to simply post regularly, hoping that my readers see something even if not everything I post - it keeps me in their consciousness, and maybe encourages them to go to my Facebook page to see other posts, or even to my blog.

A very simple but effective way I've built my Facebook audience is this: whenever I write a new blog post I share it on my blog's Facebook page, but also on my personal Facebook page. When friends and family like, comment or share, I invite them to like my blog's Facebook page.

You want to strike a balance between being too 'in-your-face' and promoting yourself effectively, of course, but I feel that if someone has read one of your blog posts, it's totally acceptable to offer them an invitation to like your page. Why not? They can always reject it.

Don't be afraid of inviting people personally, and don't underestimate the importance of getting a good deal of your followers from among your personal contacts. After all, they're the ones who know you and are likely to back you to the hilt (and share you with their friends).

When you write a blog post, ask yourself where your audience might be, and don't be scared of sharing your post in relevant groups of which you're a part. Obviously if you over-do this, then you'll get people's backs up. But there's no harm in doing it occasionally.

Also, NEVER EVER 'share-and-run'! Make sure you're active in the various Facebook groups of which you're a part, and where you might occasionally share blog posts - people don't have much time for someone who shares their own posts but never comments on other people's.

Schedule your Facebook posts, to ensure you're getting something out regularly (daily at least, if not several times) without being glued to your computer all week. It's easy: write a post, then click on the little arrow next to 'publish' and you'll see a 'schedule' option. On my phone, it looks different - I have to click on the '...' below the post, then it gives me the schedule option.

What to post? Your blogs when they're published, obviously, and maybe for a couple of days afterwards, to catch those who didn't see it the first time. Also post old blogs - you've done the hard work, why waste it? It's still a great article!

You can also use your Facebook page to link to any good articles or videos by others. As soon as you read or watch something which you feel your readers would appreciate, schedule it to Facebook! It keeps you in your readers' consciousness, even though it's not your writing that you're linking to. Stuck for things to post? Do what I do, and scroll down the ACW group - there are plenty of great things on there, and, by sharing them, we're helping each other out too!

I hope it goes without saying that photos always attract more attention than plain text. This shouldn't be a problem if you're largely linking to articles which have a photo attached - but is a good reminder to make sure your own blog posts have photos! Use your own, or a website like Pixabay to download copyright-free images.

Using Twitter to build your audience

Twitter is a bit more complicated, and I'm still just discovering how it works, but the main thing is that it pays to follow as many people or organisations as are relevant. As well as my friends and family, I follow my children's school and teachers, adoption professionals and organisations, Christian leaders and charities, writers, publishers - in fact, anyone with whom I have anything in common.

It's essential to tag the relevant Twitter handles in your posts - that way, they're likely to get seen by more people. For example, if you're reading a good book, you could tweet a photo with a comment, then tag the author and publisher. You may even pick up new followers from this, especially if the tweet initiates a few comments.

And hashtags are very important, as people do search popular ones. #amwriting and #amblogging are frequently used by writers. But also #ThrowbackThursday is useful, for drawing traffic back to old blog posts you've written. You can Google 'popular hashtags' and find ones which will be useful to you.

Do I need a mailing list?
Yes! It's a surefire way of communicating with your readers. They may miss social media posts - but they will always receive your emails. It also picks up those who don't use social media.

I use Mailchimp, but there are several other options. They're free to set up, and easy to navigate.

One important distinction here: your mailing list will not build its own audience! You still need to utilise social media (and your blog itself) to do that. In other words, use every opportunity you can to direct people towards your mailing list - but once they're on there, it's the only way of making sure everyone gets notified about your blog/book/whatever you're promoting.

How do I start and grow my mailing list?
There are several free programs for this. I use Mailchimp.

Once you've set up an account, send the sign-up link to friends and family. Again, you might cringe at the thought of putting yourself out there - but you have to start somewhere, and people aren't obliged to sign up. It simply ensures that those who want to, do so.

Make sure you publicise on Facebook and Twitter (and don't forget to keep doing so, every so often).

Next, edit your blog (if you have one) so that every page has a link to sign up to your list, especially the 'About Me' page. From now on, whenever you write a blog post, make sure there's a link at the end of the email for people to sign up to your mailing list.

You can grow your list effectively with a competition. Recently, I did a book review and ran a giveaway. With previous giveaways, entrants had to comment on the blog post itself, but on this occasion I asked that people sign up to my mailing list if they wanted to enter. My list went from 100 to 150 in a few days!

Another way of enticing people to your list is to offer a 'freebie'. This doesn't have to be anything long or time-consuming to produce. I wrote an article entitled 'Ten Survival Tips for Newly Adoptive Parents' which I send out to any new subscribers (you can set this up automatically on Mailchimp so you don't have to remember!). Wendy Lloyd sends out a short story if you sign up to her list, and Abby King offers a '14 Days of Hope' a printable.

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Like regular blogging, regular attention to your social media channels and mailing list will help to build and maintain an audience, who will hopefully be very attentive by the time you need to market your book!

Lucy Rycroft lives in York with her vicar husband and their four children. She blogs about faith, parenting, family life, adoption, and whatever else takes her fancy at Desertmum, and writes regularly for Home for Good. She is still learning about social media, hopefully in time for the release of her books in 2019/2020!