“Hello
I began writing my blog a bit more than a month ago and I’m writing fiction. I chose to write it publicly on wordpress mainly because I’m a bit insecure about my writing and I want some honest advice and feedback from people who aren’t my family.
Maybe you could give me some advice on how to make myself (or my blog) more interesting or presentable so that I’d be able to attract more people?”

-Minxed.

Well early bird catches the worm. Thank you, Minxed for being the first to ask a question.

So this is the big money question when it comes to blogging. How do you get people interest? What makes the successful blogs so successful… well… hard work. Blogging is like doing charity work. You get out what you put in. If you just write, post, and forget, you’re not going to get very far. To blog, is to be a part of a community of people with different opinions, goods, ideas, and thoughts to share. Once you’ve posted your own work, go out, check out some other blogs, give someone an opinion, offer advice, or give some criticism in the comment fields. I often like to share stores that other people write as a way to help boost their audience. That’s a really good way of building your community and it will attract people to take a look at what you’ve got going on.

In terms of actual blog appearance and content, the best advice I can give to make people want to come to your blog is to offer something new. If you do book reviews, do something off of the beaten path. Perhaps a little known indie author, or something you read on another blog, perhaps. If you’re just straight up writing and creating a story that you want to share with the world, congratulations, you’re already half way there. Not everyone can do what you do and that will make your blog more unique.

Personally, I’d recommend having the first couple of chapters written and polished BEFORE submitting the first one. When I submitted one of my stories on this blog… granted I never finished the story, but when I started, I made sure I had two chapters written ahead of the ones I was posting.
Another thing I’d recommend is to spruce up your page a little. Right now, you have one of the basic designs that wordpress offers. I’d consider adding images and creating a background. If you have any skill with paints and a brush, you should have no problem creating something you can use.
If not, there are plenty of free/public domain images available on the web.

Another thing that always catches the eye is the cover. Don’t just post the story without a cover. When I check out stories to read under the Reader section of wordpress, the stories that I give preference to are the ones that have an attractive cover. I know the old adage says ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ and that’s very true, but you’re more likely to draw your readers in with an awesome looking cover as a featured image. Below is an example of the cover to my book, which I used as the featured image of any post related to this book’s release.

Cover design by Brett Warniers!

Hiring an artist for $200-$400 may seem daunting, but if you’re really into it, a great design will make all the difference.

Readers, what do you think? Do you agree with my advice and/or do you think that there is more Minxed can do to attract readers? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Minxed, if you have any further questions or would like me to elaborate on the above points, please feel free to email me:
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

Thanks friends, catch you on the flip side,

Jim

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.