10 Ways to Become an Author of Change With a Blog

In a few weeks I’ll be speaking at the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference. This is my favorite conference because it is focused on helping nonfiction writers who want to become change agents get their books published. It’s attended by aspiring and published authors who write about self-help, healthy living, spirituality, human potential, ecology and green living, the economy, and consciousness. These are what I call “author of change.”

Inspire More Readers with a Blog vs. a Book

In fact, it’s harder to author positive change with a book than a blog. Most books don’t sell more than 300 copies per year. That means your change-inspiring book might only reach a couple of hundred readers and possibly inspire them to some sort of action.

But your change-inspiring blog could have 300 readers each month. That means you might inspire a lot of people to change every year—more than the average author, whose book might sell 3,000 copies in its lifetime. And imagine if you had 300 blog readers per day, which is not impossible at all. You’d reach 109,500 readers each year.

Of course, you can also use that blog to blog a book or to book a blog. And the book you produce on that blog or from that blog will stand a higher chance of succeeding because of your successful change-inspiring blog.

How to Author Change with a Blog

If you want to inspire readers to action with your blog, you must set out with the intention to author change. Here are 10 ways to accomplish this goal:

1. Have a mission. Know why you feel compelled to author change with your blog or blogged book. Define your purpose. Combine your passion with a purpose. Passion + Purpose = Inspiration
2. Know the benefits of your movement. People will get on board and join your cause if they understand the benefit to themselves, to others or to the world. Figure out the value your message adds.
3. Broadcast your mission. Communicate about your cause. Let people know why you are doing what you are doing. Share your purpose and your passion on you blog and beyond. When you feel inspired, your inspiration will become contagious. Use all the social networks–Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, LinkedIn (or choose 2 you can really commit to). Talk about it everywhere. Even pitch stories to traditional media.
4. Blog in a focused manner. Have a content plan or a focus for your blog and blogged book that pertains to the change you want to create. Stay on topic and blog often.
5. Offer inspiring tips, stories, advice. This is the heart of inspiring change. If you authentically want to inspire action in your readers, offer them a reason to do so. By offering a free constant flow of uplifting and useful information, you become the go-to person when they need a resource.
6. Create online community. Develop a place where people who want to get on board with your message or cause can do so. Start a forum or a members-only site. Build more followers and fans with a Facebook page or group, LinkedIn group, Google Plus hangout, Twitter Chat, etc.
7. Connect with like-minded online “influencers” and friends. Get other people with more reach than yours–to join your cause and to promote it. Guest blog. Appear on podcasts. Ask those you know to help promote.
8. Build community offline. Promote your idea everywhere. Start MeetUps. Create masterminds. Go to conferences. Join organizations.
9. Use every possible tool. Try podcasting or free radio shows so your content is on iTunes. Create YouTube videos. Produce photos and post them to Instagram.
10. See yourself as more than just a blogger. See yourself as a change agent—an author of change.

If you do all of these things, you will become an author of change via your blog—and a book, if you like. If you would like to transform yourself into an author of change with a book, consider joining my next Author of Change Transformational Coaching Program.