Guest Post by Denise Wakeman.

Denise will be our guest on Profitable Social Media radio on March 26th. Details on the Profitable Social Media show page

Are you getting results from your book blog? Is it getting harder for you to spend time on your blog because you’re just not seeing how it is going to pay off? If so, you’re not alone. Hundreds of blogs are started each day and many of them are abandoned after several months because it takes time and energy to keep a good book blog going.

Make no mistake, blogs are a great tool for building community, interacting with readers, and marketing your book. And, it’s not enough to set one up and post occasionally. You have to use it effectively to drive traffic and attract readers.

I’ve discovered several common mistakes authors make with their blogs. Most aren’t using features available with blogging software. Eyes glaze over with the mention of RSS, pinging, trackbacks and permalinks. Does this describe how you feel? You may be ignoring these things, hoping you don’t really need to know. But you do if you want great results from you book blog.

Here’s a list of what I found on a recent trip around the author blogosphere:

Content:

1. Not posting frequently enough.
2. Content is not focused or optimized for the search engines.
3. Articles are too long.
4. Not linking profusely to sources. Links are the currency of the blogosphere.

Design

1. No author name on the blog home page.
2. No author photo.
3. No subscription form; no way to get blog updates through RSS or email.
4. Readers can’t leave comments or have too many hoops to jump through.
5. Too many categories or none at all.

Marketing

1. Blog isn’t listed in the 200+ blog directories.
2. Blog posts are not being syndicated to social networking sites.
3. There’s no call to action to buy the author’s book.
4. No contact information.

If you’re using a blog to build your online visibility, optimize it by taking time to learn how to leverage your content to get the widest reach. A blog is like any other marketing tool – you’ve got to use it effectively to get positive results.

© Denise Wakeman, The Blog Squad, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Denise Wakeman is Founder of The Blog Squad and is an Online Marketing Advisor. Get more blogging tips at http://Facebook.com/BlogSquad. And, you’re invited to claim your free instant access to a 5-part video course on how to get the best out of your blog. Visit http://masterbusinessblogging.com