What Do You Want to Do After You Blog Your Book?

Let’s say you have taken my advice and decided to blog your book—and you succeed in doing so. Maybe you self-publish or your blog becomes so successful that you are discovered by a publisher. Is that it? Are you done? Finished? Caput?

I’ve said it before: You have to pick your blogged book topic carefully because you can’t just stop blogging once you finish blogging your book. Book promotion really begins after the book is published…and it never, ever stops (unless you want sales to stop).

However, there’s more to being an author and a blogger than simply blogging and promoting. That’s why you need to answer this very important question:

What do you want to do after you blog your book, or after your book is published?

Use Your Blog to Make a Living

Here’s the thing: By the time you’ve blogged your book, you’ll hopefully have created a solid foundation from which to launch not only your career as an author but a business as well. The sad truth is that most authors don’t make a living from their books. They make a living from the other related products and services they offer.

That’s why I suggest you consider how to use your blog to make a living. Think about what other related products and services you want to offer that are easily provided via your blog.

Your Products and Services

If you are a nonfiction author, this is a no brainer. You can:

• produce classes or courses related to your book
• coaching services related to your book
• membership sites related to your book
• speeches or talks related to your book

In other words, you can become a teacher or workshop leader, coach or consultant and speaker—all of which will probably earn you more money per year than your royalties.

If you write fiction, you have to be a bit creative. I suggest you cross over into nonfiction and create an area of expertise related to the themes and subjects in your novel. Then you can offer similar products and services as nonfiction authors. If this is not of interest to you, consider being a:

• writing coach
• teaching or speaking about writing

In this way you also become a teacher, workshop leader, coach or consultant and speaker—which can increase your yearly income.

Why Your Blogged Book Gives You an Advantage

Now, anyone could offer these same services. Your blogged book has given you an advantage. It has made you an expert (if you write nonfiction) and moved you up in the search engine rankings. It’s provided you with some platform—visibility, reach and authority on the Internet, which equates to influence. That means you will have an easier time than most setting up shop. People know you and are paying attention; when you say you have something to offer them, they will listen and likely jump at your offer (especially if they already purchased your book and liked it).

A blog also offers you the ability to put to use some great tools, such as Premise, to create landing pages, sales pages and members-only pages that can be used for courses and membership sites. You can tie this into your email list provider, PayPal, shopping cart, or any number of other services.

Being an author is awesome, but not always so profitable. You’ve spent the time creating a multi-dimensional website—your blog—as you wrote your book (or as you are now writing it). Why not put it to good use? Build a business around your book and your blog.

If you want some help brainstorming ideas about how you might create that business, or learning more about building a business around your blog, click here.