SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2016

by Jennifer Slattery @JenSlattery

Edie here. Today I’m excited to welcome back Jennifer Slattery. She has a new book, Breaking Free, and I’m sure you’ll want to download the free sample and give it a test run. Jennifer is an expert blogger and has some valuable advice for authors.

Blogging Smarter by Narrowing Your Scope 

It’s quite possible to wear oneself out writing numerous articles and blog posts with little to show for it. Though I was hitting my target readership, I didn’t realize my scope was too broad. My topics: Christian living, because, well, I guess I figured all women between the ages of 35-70 need daily encouragement. And that worked—for fiction. The problem is, I eventually want to break into the nonfiction arena as well.

I figured my fiction platform would bleed into a nonfiction one.

Not likely. At least, not unless I’m intentional to make this happen. The only problem was I’m already all over the Internet promoting my novels. How could I possibly add an entirely new genre to the mix? Did this mean maybe I should only stick with stories?

Nope. It meant I needed to blog smarter, doing what I can to use my efforts to promote my fiction to also build my nonfiction credibility. It wasn’t about writing more but rather about being intentional when I write.

I paused to consider the topics I want to cover and I realized, they largely fall into two categories: marriage and parenting. Therefore, this was what I needed to concentrate on.

For example, if I’m scheduled to guest on a friend’s blog, rather than simply writing about whatever Christian living topic that comes to mind, I narrow my theme to parenting or marriage. This way I’m accomplishing two things in one post—I’m promoting my latest release and I building a nonfiction readership.

This also means I’m limiting myself, but in a good way. Remember when I said my book ideas “largely” fell into two categories? That means some of my ideas reach beyond those categories, and though I love all my potential topics, I’ve realized I have to set some aside for later.

I need to focus on building a readership for one topic before I try to focus on another. Otherwise my efforts will be divided and defused. Right now, that means writing to moms and wives. In a year, maybe two, perhaps I’ll start writing to wounded women.

But for today, I’m narrowing my scope to broaden my reach.

What about you? What do you write? Do you know your target audience? Are you intentionally reaching them with every blog post and article you write, or are you running with whatever idea comes your way? How might narrowing your scope expand your efforts, and what can you do today to make that happen?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, because we can all learn from each other.

TWEETABLE

Learn to blog smarter by narrowing your scope – @JenSlattery (Click to Tweet)

  Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New ope Publishers, Christian living articles for Crosswalk.com, and devotions for Internet Café Devotions, the group blog, Faith-filled Friends, and her personal blog. She also does content editing for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas’ Firefly imprint, and loves working with authors who are serious about pursuing their calling. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her onFacebook and Twitter.

  Breaking Free

Sometimes it takes losing everything to grab hold of what really matters.

Women’s ministry leader and Seattle housewife, Alice Goddard, and her successful graphic-designer husband appear to have it all together. Until their credit and debit cards are denied, launching Alice into an investigation that only leads to the discovery of secrets. Meanwhile, her husband is trapped in a downward spiral of lies, shame, and self-destruction. Can they break free from their deception and turn to the only One who can save them? And will it be in time to save their marriage?

Read a free, 33-page excerpt here: http://newhopepublishers.com/2016/02/free-sample-of-breaking-free/

Buy it:

ChristianBook Distributors

Barnesand Noble

Amazon