by Dan Weaver

Created on: February 12, 2009

Starting a book review blog is quite simple. If you have blogged before, then it is even simpler. However, I will assume that you have never blogged before.

In case you are not sure what a blog is, the word blog is a contraction of the words web log. Simply put it is a log, diary or journal that you keep online instead of in a book. You have the option with most blogging programs of making your blog private or public.

The first step in starting a book review blog is to choose a blogging program. The two best ones that I have used are wordpress and blogger. Take some time to look over both of these programs. Look at some book review or book related blogs hosted by blogger and wordpress and see which ones you like best. By looking at some book review blogs that have a high rate of traffic, you will get some ideas for how to set up and run your own blog.

In order to get people to return to your blog regularly, you need to post a minimum of three times a week. Writing three reviews a week might be too much if you are a busy person. You should consider using reviews from other sites. Please note however that it is copyright infringement to lift an entire book review from another site and put it on your site, even if you credit the other site. Instead you should copy and paste the opening paragraph to your blog and then include a link to the site where the entire review is located.

You might want to do the same for your own reviews. For example, write a book review on Helium, then put the first paragraph of your review in your blog post with a link to the full review at Helium. This will drive traffic to your Helium article and earn some money for you.

You can drive traffic to your blog by exchanging links with other book related blogs. Also you should sign up and list your blog on Technorati and other blog cataloging sites. Make sure also that you use keywords for each blog post you write so that search engines will find your blog.

As far as setting up your blog, both wordpress and blogger are quite simple and self explanatory. They also have tutorials you can follow. Your own tastes will dictate what template, layout and colors you choose. The only advice I would give is to make it easy to read. Green text on a purple background or white text on a black background may seem cool, but they will drive some people away.

Whenever I review a book I try to include a photograph. Photographs enhance a blog. But the most important thing about running a book review blog is to write quality reviews, using proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. People who read books are serious minded people. They expect quality from a review. It won't matter to them how fancy your blog is if your review seems to have been dashed off without much thought.

Don't expect people to come in droves at first. Building an audience for a blog takes time. Also you do not have to add bells and whistles to your blog right away. You can do that a little at a time.

By the way, did I mention that wordpress and blogger are free. But don't let that fool you, a good book blog will cost you a lot in sweat equity.

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