S. W. Raine

Six years ago today, I entered the world of blogging, not fully aware of the adventures and challenges ahead. Today, as I celebrate the sixth anniversary of my author blog, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey.

The Journey Begins

It all started with a simple idea: I wanted to imitate my favorite author ever.

Back in 2001, before I even knew he existed, Neil Gaiman had created an author blog for American Gods (my favorite novel ever) to count down to publication. Six years ago, I hoped to do the same for The Elemental’s Guardian—then The Techno Mage when I shelved TEG. Little did I know this would mark the start of an adventure all its own.

Early Struggles

Along the way, I’ve celebrated many milestones and achievements in my author career, like publishing three books, reaching my first 1,000 followers on Instagram, doing in-person events, and more.

Meanwhile, I had no idea if my author blog content was even reaching anybody. Nobody ever left me comments, and most of my visitors were spammers. I’ve been seeing a trend in the author community where if something isn’t working within the first few weeks, the authors tend to give up. But I wasn’t going to. First of all, I was only posting once a month. But also, my blog wasn’t about making a profit or forced social interaction. It was something I enjoyed doing.

Evolution of Content

My blog has evolved in ways I never imagined. I started out with affiliate links because I was also taking a Pinterest course all about affiliate income. Unfortunately, that flopped (mostly because I didn’t understand ideal buyer psychology), so I dropped it in my author blog when I abandoned Pinterest.

My posts were all over the place, with content for both readers and other writers. I even had a book-off bracket, March Madness style, with votes on the top favorite classic book. I began focusing on readers and included book reviews and marketing for my own launches.

Then I learned about my ideal reader, the know/like/trust factor, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization), so I began adjusting my posts for those.

Consistency

My author blog started out with one post a month. And I never deviated from that, even if some of those posts were on the very last day of the month. Occasionally, especially around launch time, I’d post more, but I always had a minimum of one post. I’m stubborn like that.

Then in November 2021, I started posting a minimum of twice a month. Again, I never deviated, even when I didn’t know what to talk about. I currently have 112 blog posts since my very first one on May 4th, 2018!

Lessons Learned

Thanks to my coach, my social media manager, and a bunch of other people across the internet, I’ve learned valuable lessons that have shaped my authorship career. I’ve learned the importance of perseverance and not instantly giving up when falling into the comparison (or impostor syndrome) trap, the power of authenticity in my life storytelling, and the impact and importance of connecting with readers on a personal level.

I technically implement all of that in my author blog too, and I’ve been persistent and consistent with them for six whole years. I’m authentic in my storytelling when it comes to my blog posts. And I try to connect, though I’m still not sure anybody reads my blog posts since I rarely ever get comments. But that’s okay. That just means I might have to find a course on how to properly build an audience for a blog.

Looking Ahead

As I look to the future regarding my author blog, I’m filled with excitement and anticipation. The road ahead may be uncertain, but I know I can do great things with my blog, so I’m committed to continuing this journey with passion, purpose, and an unwavering belief in myself and my words.

Six years ago, I embarked on a journey into the unknown, guided by nothing more than a desire to imitate my favorite author. Today, as I celebrate the sixth anniversary of my author blog, I’m filled with gratitude for the incredible experiences, the lessons learned, and the connections made along the way. Here’s to six years of blogging, and to many more adventures yet to come.

Thanks for being part of this journey!

Raine