The Blog Squad - Part 6

We are a group of three book bloggers situated on different continents but brought together by our love for books and a penchant for talking about them. We’ve joined our forces to create a collaborative series of posts about book blogging and we hope you’ll enjoy the discussions.

A MAGICAL WORLD OF WORDS - AmyNikita

BOOKS.BAGS.BURGERS - Uma K

BOOK REVIEWS BY DI - Di Hewlett

Blog Scheduling - Do you do it?

I wish I did it!!! However I only manage to schedule the odd post or two; I’m not the most organised blogger in the world. :) I always end up with a few rough drafts, then a post or two that’s basically finished and then if I’m lucky I’ll be able to schedule a post in advance.

I know that I’ll do a Weekly Round Up (mostly on a Sunday), I vaguely look at Top Ten Tuesdays (once in a blue moon!) and then Wednesday's COULD be allocated to Waiting on Wednesday, and then Fridays I do The Blog Squad. I like to do a review at least once a week (although even THAT I’ve been falling behind on!) and random discussion posts crop up once in awhile… AS I said, I’m not the most organised blogger in the world!!

Scheduling in the sense that you set a date and time and your post goes up automatically: I only do that for Blog Squad posts since we’re in different time zones and it gets really confusing otherwise.

But for me, scheduling kind of means something different. I plan posts way in advance, and often do them (or half of them) days before I actually publish them. That’s what I call scheduling, and my diary is packed with “post schedules”. I literally never type a post on the day it goes up (unless it’s a review), and I work on it way before that date; whenever I have time, basically.  I’m a bit *too* organised with blogging, and am rather rigid with my schedule and often plan weeks in a advance.

That’s what scheduling means for me: while I don’t set posts to go up automatically, I plan them and write them way in advance. It means that I literally never stress about posts or worry about  whether I’ll have time to do them; it makes things a lot easier, and I don’t think I’d be able to cope otherwise!

I really admire Di for how she does it; I don’t think I’d ever be able to be like that!   

Is there an acceptable number of posts per week for a book blog?

The short answer is yes: I’d like to hear from a blogger at least once a week or more.

I think that you have to be reasonably active in the blogosphere in order to have any real following and influence: Whether you post once a week or seven times a week, you just need to have SOMETHING. If I come across a blogger that posts content too irregularly then I find it difficult to take them seriously and probably won’t frequent their blog.

I say yes, because as a blog follower I want to see regular posts from the blogs I follow, and as a blogger I want to assure my readers of consistency and keep them coming back. I personally have 3 “set” posts per week on my blog: Weekly Round-Up on Sunday, Waiting on Wednesday on Wednesday, and The Blog Squad on Friday. In between, I’ll do reviews and other posts, but they aren’t cast in stone.  

I like to see posts from bloggers about two to three times a week. It keeps me interested, keeps me following, and shows they’re taking their blogging seriously and are committed to it. I personally think consistency is the biggest factor in getting publicity and followers for your blog, especially if you’ve just started blogging. I had no followers for a long time when I first started, but I posted three times a week all the same; I wanted people to see that I was sticking around, that I would always have posts up on those days, and so on.  It helps build a following, and keeps your readers coming back and knowing what to expect.

Book Blitzes and Blog Tours - Your Take

Book blitzes and blog tours are basically digital marketing campaigns for a book or an author and I love them! I am on the mailing list for both Xpresso Book Tours and YA Bound Book Tours and I will always participate in anything that catches my eye. Often these are smaller publications/ indie publications and one of the reasons that I’m blogging is to help promote and draw attention to the books and authors that I think should get it!

Blog tours especially are a wonderful way to see exclusive content like guest posts, interviews, excerpts etc. as well as reviews. While I prefer to do review spots when it comes to blog tours (so I know exactly what I’m promoting!) this isn't always possible with a tight review schedule and so being able to post other content is a great way to participate AND to show your readers something about the person behind the book.

Not only do book blitzes and blog tours promote the books and authors, but it also opens your blog up to more activity - especially if you are on Twitter!

I haven’t done many blog tours or blitzes (counting: one blitz, and one blog tour that fell through when I didn’t like the book they sent me to review….oops). But I think they are both excellent things to participate in, and a program like Xpresso Book Tours is an awesome way to get involved, get free books, and meet new people.

But a large part of not participating in blog tours, is because I don’t read e-books. If I did, I would be able to take part in a lot more tours and blitzes. As it is, print copies are not usually offered for review as part of a blog tour; for example, Xpresso Book Tours only offer e-books.

Of course, there are tours and blitzes where you don’t need to review the book or read it. Unfortunately, considering the ones I’ve looked at, those often don’t offer books I’m interested in.  Most of the books I’ve seen or been offered to advertise are ones I would never read or otherwise support, and thus I don’t feel comfortable publicizing them on my blog.

In all honesty, I’m not as active as I could be when it comes to looking at blog tour options and blitzes. If I’m emailed and offered to participate, then I’ll consider it, but I don’t really go out looking for opportunities.   

If you'd like to read my responses, hop on over to their collab posts!

❤ Book Reviews by Di

❤ A Magical World of Words

We hope you’ve enjoyed our fifth discussion post! Please talk to us and let us know YOUR answers below. What do you think of our responses? If you have any specific questions you’d like us to address in the future, please let us know in the comments section below.

Stay tuned for next week’s questions!