This post is a sponsored guest post and was provided through a trade agreement between More Than A Review and Jamie’s Notebook, who manages our newsletter and works with other clients to write their blogs and websites. This article shares the reasons that authors should learn the technical skills behind business blogging (hint: it’s not just about writing blogs for their author websites!). 
By Jamie Smith, owner of Jamie’s Notebook
As writers, we learn many skills for our trade. My background is in news journalism and I now mostly write websites, feature articles, newsletters, and company blogs. As authors, you have an incredibly special skill to be able to write in your genre. I’m especially in awe of those who write fiction because it’s a skill I simply have not figured out how to cultivate.
Today I want to talk to you about a specific skill that every author must learn: the art of business blogging. To clarify, when I talk about blogging, I don’t mean a long social media post about what you had for lunch. Blogging for business has a specific purpose, methodology, and strategy.
I have taught in-person courses about blogging for several years, and I recently launched my online school on Teachable.com where I will offer courses about various forms of online writing. My first course “Simplifying the Art of Business Blogging” is available now on that platform. I have two blogs, one for my business and the second is my personal blog.
All that to say, I’m a big fan of blogging! I’ve seen how it can improve writing skills, connect people (it’s how I met my husband), and grow businesses.
Here’s why authors specifically need to learn about business blogging:
Connect with your readers
Writing blogs from your author website gives you a chance to show your readers the person behind the book. You can make professional connections and even friends through your blog that you might not be able to foster through just your books. Depending on your book genre and subject matter, you may also need to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area. A blog can help accomplish all of this!
Your author blogs may be more casual than the average business blog, but many of the same strategies and methodologies will apply.
Sell books
Let’s face it. The reason you have an author website (you need an author website!) is to help sell your books, right? Part of accomplishing this is to have more eyes on your website. A major component of search engine optimization is to have frequent, fresh, and relevant content on your website. Enter, your blog. A blog can help get more eyes on your website and if the content is good, you can garner more interest in your books.
This also goes back to the first point in that when you connect with readers, you can gain a more loyal following who will want to purchase your books and share with others.
Enhance your writing skills
I think that whenever a writer tries a new genre or niche, he or she enhances their writing skills. Blogging, just like any form of online writing, has two audiences: the reader and the search engines. Learning to write for both audiences presents challenges that will grow your writing knowledge.
Part of learning to write business blogs means learning to write in a different voice. Those who write fiction already know about writing in their characters’ voice, but have you tried writing in the voice of an inanimate entity? It’s certainly a challenge!
Also, simply writing more often on a variety of topics will give you more practice. You will learn to write with more precision and learn to organize your writing even better within the blogging niche.
Earn side income
When you learn to ghostwrite blogs, you can market yourself to small businesses and nonprofits. This is a primary service of my business and I can tell you that it is a marketable skill. Blogging presents you with a way to earn side income without taking too much time away from your book writing.
Are you an author who already blogs? Do you mind sharing your link in the comment so others can see examples? How has blogging helped you?