Do You Need A Blog?

Isn't that an interesting question for a Tuesday morning.

This question has tumbled around in my mind for the past few weeks as I search for blog hosts for my clients at Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I actually handled the whole gaining myself an online presence thing backwards. Unfamiliar with HTML and afraid of designing my own website, I chose to start a blog first. It was an easy way for me to make a little bit of the World Wide Web my own and I like to spout off at times, so it worked for me. I did eventually break down and put together a website, like a good little professional writer should, but I still enjoy blogging much more.

Over the past several months I have seen some amazing websites, but they don't tell me enough about the writer. I am always left with wanting to know more. That's why blogging is so great--your readers get to know more about you without spending $15.95 to figure out if they like you or your work. Blogs give writers the chance to really reach out to readers and gain new fans, and I believe they do it better than websites.

Now, the trick is that you have to keep the blog updated. No one wants to go back to a blog that hasn't been updated in three months. I like to think of my website as the place to promote my blog and not the other way around. While I can be lazy and only update my website once a month, I have to constantly be updating my blog to increase it's visability and ranking with blog rating sites. I'm more motivated to blog than update my site, and I schedule my blog updates along with the other items on my to-do list. So, all around, it works much better for me.

If I had only enough time to commit to a website or a blog, I would choose a blog hands down. And newsletters--while a wonderful way to promote yourself--take more time than I have and am willing to sacrifice, so I'll stick with a blog. It's a win for me and a win for my readers.

Start your blog today at these or any other free blog hosting site:

http://www.blogger.com/start
http://wordpress.com/
http://www.sixapart.com/livejournal/start
http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/journal/index.php?afilid=47985953