Can you make money on a book blog?

I'm a voracious consumer of books. I read them all the time—at least three at once. When my favorite author releases another title, I buy every copy available for sale in physical stores as well as online.

And when I find myself with free time, I turn to Goodreads and LibraryThing, two massive social networks that let me browse what other readers have already said about their favorites, share thoughts, discuss plot points, etc., and then sort through hundreds of thousands of titles by genre and rating. And this is just one person! There's no way most people could do even half of what we do.

But why are so many authors making such big bucks from their websites these days instead of simply writing books themselves? The answer lies partially in our ability to connect with others who also love reading...and partly in the fact that, thanks to technology, publishing has never been more accessible.

So if you're an avid reader yourself, here are some practical tips, strategies, and steps to help you decide whether starting your own book blog might be right for you.

Is a book blog worth it?

If you've ever visited any of the dozens upon dozens of "book" review sites out there, you know they can get pretty overwhelming pretty quickly. That's because each site tends to focus on very different things, ranging from literary criticism to personal essays to celebrity gossip. It can often feel like wading into a pool full of hungry sharks before finding anything worthwhile.

You'll need to pick which type of content best suits you and your goals. If you want to build up an audience around specific topics, such as mysteries, romance novels, historical fiction, children's literature, poetry, self-help, YA, sci-fi/fantasy, nonfiction, memoirs, etc., then maybe you should look toward reviewing those types of books specifically. But if you'd rather not limit yourself to certain genres, consider focusing on broader categories such as general fiction, young adult fiction, mystery & thriller, science fiction & fantasy, Christian fiction, New Age, or inspirational.

For example, while Book Riot focuses primarily on book reviews, its sister website Lit Hub targets women writers, LGBTQ stories, black narratives, immigrant stories, Asian American narratives, environmental issues, Jewish life, and disability experiences among other topics. Similarly, both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews target industry professionals, publishers, agents, editors, publicists, marketers, managers, reviewers, and anyone else working within the world of print media.

Then again, perhaps you don't care too much about categorization. Maybe you prefer to remain open to whatever strikes your fancy without having to label everything beforehand. In that case, try looking toward platforms like Medium where you can post short pieces of prose or poetry, or Tumblr where you can link back to posts elsewhere. Or try using Pinterest boards to curate collections of links and images related to particular subjects.

One thing's for sure though: Whether you choose to go broad or narrow, you shouldn't expect to earn top dollar doing so. At least not yet. Most book bloggers aren't pulling down six figures off of their work alone -- unless they publish multiple books per year and sell millions of copies. So, for now, think less about earning big bucks than building a sustainable business model.

Don't worry. Even if you only start posting sporadically, you can eventually monetize your efforts in several ways. For starters, you may wish to join affiliate programs offered by various retailers on Amazon or Barnes&Noble, or sign up with advertising services such as Google Ads or Facebook ads. You may also wish to explore selling ad space directly via programmatic ads on your page.

In addition to getting paid commissions for sales generated by products you mention in your posts, you could potentially charge advertisers higher rates for promotions targeted towards your readership base. This would allow you to keep 75 percent of revenue earned from sponsored posts versus lower commission margins associated with banner advertisements. Just remember: To maximize earnings potential, you must first attract enough traffic to generate significant income.

As always, good ol' fashioned word of mouth referrals will likely play a major role in boosting your bottom line. Letting your followers know about new posts, events, giveaways, and similar means you can offer your subscribers something truly useful (i.e. entertainment) and therefore increase engagement levels. Likewise, cross promoting your platform(s) with relevant groups and organizations will result in more clicks and increased visibility.

Lastly, if you're really serious about turning your passion project into a career, you may wish to pursue freelance opportunities. While you won't necessarily earn high wages right away, you'll definitely gain valuable experience along the way.

Do book blogs make money?

While there are countless reasons why someone would start a book blog, the purpose of this article isn't to debate whether it's possible to actually earn money from such endeavors. Rather, it's meant to shed light on the factors contributing to success vs. failure.

After running a few book blogs of varying sizes over the years, I personally believe it takes a lot of hard work, persistence, and luck to make your dream come true. As a matter of fact, it took me almost five years to finally break even after launching my first book blog. And during that same period, I lost interest in the process altogether.

The main reason was simple: My initial enthusiasm gradually faded and I stopped caring about improving quality and frequency of posts. After all, I enjoyed writing as much as everyone else did, but I didn't see the point of pouring hours of energy into something that wasn't going anywhere. Plus, whenever I tried to revisit older entries, I found outdated information, typos, grammar mistakes, spelling errors, missing photos, broken links, deleted comments, etc.

It became clear that, while I wanted to continue blogging, I needed to take a step back and regroup. Fortunately, I managed to pull myself together and refocus my energies toward building a strong brand. Nowadays, I spend between 10 minutes and 2 hours per week updating my blog and maintaining social accounts. Of course, there are times when I skip a day or two due to real life obligations.

However, I never delete old articles or posts, nor do I remove negative feedback left by readers. Instead, I leave archived versions intact so users can refer back to them at their leisure.

Of course, there are exceptions. Sometimes I forget to update a post until the next day, or sometimes I don't bother fixing typos and grammatical errors because I figure a handful of occasional visitors probably wouldn't notice anyway. Other times, I realize that an entry contains incorrect facts or that a photo doesn't exist anymore. However, I usually fix those problems immediately or edit the post accordingly.

Also, since I started paying attention to SEO rankings, I strive to ensure that search engines rank my pages highly based on keywords relating to my niche. And although it does require extra effort, I enjoy the challenge of coming up with fresh ideas for unique headlines.

Overall, if you're planning to launch a book blog and hope to profit from its existence, my advice is to follow the same principles I followed during my journey: Post regularly, maintain consistency, avoid clutter, improve overall appearance, respond to customer inquiries, provide value to readers, create engaging titles, use hashtags, participate in discussions, respond promptly to user submissions, etc. Don't give up just because things seem difficult at first. Persistence pays off.

Is it better to write a book or blog?

When I decided to become a professional writer, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Writing seemed ideal in comparison to lots of other jobs — you sit behind a desk all day long, get paid handsomely for it, and generally don't have to deal with annoying coworkers, customers, bosses, stressors, deadlines, etc. Plus, it's relatively easy to set up shop. All you need is a computer, internet access, and a printer. What else could possibly stop you from pursuing your dreams?

Well, plenty. The biggest obstacle preventing me from becoming a published novelist came down to the fact that I lacked confidence. Despite being naturally creative, I felt intimidated by the idea of sitting behind a typewriter pounding out words that may or may not resonate with audiences. Worse, I couldn't imagine explaining exactly what I intended to complete strangers. Thankfully, today I have tons of helpful resources to guide me through the process.

Another problem stemmed from my lack of technical knowledge. Sure, I knew how to send emails and fill out forms, but I had zero understanding regarding formatting documents, setting up databases, creating cover art, uploading files, submitting manuscripts, designing webpages, managing archives, etc. Luckily, today there are numerous companies willing to teach aspiring writers digital marketing skills.

Finally, I struggled to balance my job with my family responsibilities. Although I loved spending time with my kids, taking them places, cooking meals, etc., I often had trouble fitting everything in due to frequent interruptions. Unless you live near parents who can watch your little ones overnight, you can either ask friends or hire babysitters.

I’ve been thinking lately that maybe the reason I haven't found my way into this whole writer thing is because I don't have any kind of platform.

A few months ago, when I started writing for The Billfold instead of just freelance stuff here or there, I thought "Why not try something new?" And so far it's worked out pretty well! But I've always wanted more than what I had at first—to be able to write full-time while also making enough income from my work to support myself financially. So, I decided to give blogging another go with the goal to eventually turn it into a career.

In case you're wondering if anyone has ever done this before, yes, many people have successfully turned their blogs into careers. In fact, according to stats cited by Forbes, as much as $3 billion dollars was generated in 2019 through affiliate marketing via online stores like Amazon using blogs specifically built around product promotion. However, that doesn't mean everyone can succeed doing it. It requires skill sets, luck, timing, and other factors that are different for each individual.

But most importantly, it takes patience. You need time to build up your audience and develop relationships with them. That said, I believe it's definitely possible to earn an income off of readership alone. Here's how you can achieve that too.

Is it worth having a blog in 2020?

The short answer is no, but only because building such a large following is extremely difficult. There are thousands of bloggers today earning six figures per year, which means they have significantly larger audiences than yours. While you may want to follow suit, you should know that it will take years for you to get where those established writers already are.

So why bother trying then? Because you never know what might come next. One day you'll wake up and realize your posts aren't generating revenue anymore, even though you've been diligent with content creation. Or perhaps someone else will establish themselves in this space and surpass you, leaving you feeling frustrated that you didn't do better yourself. If nothing else, it's good practice to keep producing quality content. Plus, you can use your own success story as motivation to continue working hard.

How do I make a successful book blog?

As mentioned above, part of being successful in this field is attracting visitors who are interested in the topics you cover. Your best bet in terms of traffic generation is probably social media platforms, especially Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, etc., since these allow users to engage directly with creators rather than needing to wait passively for articles to show up in feeds. This makes sense because lots of people find value in sharing stories on multiple channels simultaneously.

However, once you attract followers, you still need to convert them somehow. For example, if you sell products related to your niche, offer links within your bio box that lead back to your site. Also, consider adding an opt-in form on your website, so readers can sign up to receive updates whenever you publish fresh material. Finally, promote your newsletter subscription option across all social media, email lists, forums, and elsewhere.

You could also monetize your blog indirectly by offering services to others. For instance, Book Riot publishes original pieces about authors, publishing, and the literary world. They do this partly because they love reading and talking about literature, but also because it helps pay the bills. Similarly, Slate writes extensively about politics, culture, science, technology, sports, and similar topics. Writers whose jobs depend on getting published often feel pressure to produce high-quality copy to meet deadlines. Having a blog allows them freedom to focus on creative expression without worrying about whether they'll hit publication goals.

It's important to note that the more popular a particular topic becomes, the less likely you are to generate meaningful engagement. This is true both among regular readers and potential subscribers/followers. As a result, you shouldn't expect to become wealthy overnight unless you create truly viral content. Instead, aim to cultivate a loyal community of fans over several years' time.

How do I start a successful book blog?

Nowadays, creating a successful book blog isn't necessarily easy. To begin, choose a unique voice and stick to it. Don't imitate existing voices; think bigger. Consider what type of personality would fit your brand best. Think about things like tone, style, humor, expertise, and attitude. Then simply figure out what sort of audience to target.

If you want to appeal to young adults between 18 and 35, you'd want to cater to teens and college students. On the flip side, if you prefer older folks, you should focus on middle age professionals. Just remember that you don't necessarily have to pitch one demographic exclusively either. Ideally, you have a little bit of everything going for you.

Next, decide on a name for your blog. Choose something memorable right away. Once you launch, it won't matter as long as you keep coming up with ideas regularly. Some examples include: A Year With Books, What Are We Reading?, Read Harder, Why Is Everyone Talking About X?, and Our Favorite Recent Acquisitions. Keep in mind that names generally must adhere to certain conventions, like capitalization, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and spelling. Otherwise, anything goes, including numbers, abbreviations, and acronyms.

Lastly, avoid becoming overly promotional. Remember that your main purpose is to inform and entertain. Readers want to see honest reviews and discussions based on personal experience. Be careful not to veer towards blatant self-promotion. Even if you genuinely enjoy the subject at hand, resist the urge to share every detail about it. Doing so will quickly drive viewers away. Focus on giving thoughtful commentary and opinions, rather than talking up the latest release purely for its commercial properties.

Is it worth starting a book blog?

After all this effort, you may wonder whether it's actually worth putting forth the energy needed to run a blog. After all, it's usually easier to rely on free sites like Medium or Blogger to host your thoughts, even if you plan to charge for access later down the road.

There's no simple answer to this question. Certainly, running a business costs money, regardless of whether you intend to profit from advertising or subscriptions. Still, if you're dedicated to growing your audience organically, you'll end up spending money anyway. Fortunately, you can offset those expenses somewhat by utilizing tools, software, and websites designed to increase productivity and efficiency.

For starters, WordPress offers a robust toolset for hosting your blog, along with plugins and themes that let you customize your appearance however you wish. Additionally, Google Docs is great for collaborating with co-workers and friends, while Trello facilitates project management. Lastly, Stripe handles credit card processing fees, PayPal charges a small percentage, and Patreon lets you set up recurring donations. These features save a lot of hassle compared to alternatives like Squarespace and Wix.

Ultimately, deciding whether to pursue a book blogger path depends on numerous variables, including your location, interests, skillset, marketable traits, budget, and overall goals. There's no single formula that works for everyone.

Still, if you find yourself drawn to the idea, setting up a blog comes with plenty of benefits beyond mere financial ones. At least initially, running a book review blog gives you greater control over your schedule. It enables you to write in a manner that fits your lifestyle instead of forcing you to conform to arbitrary demands imposed by editors and publishers. Most importantly, it provides you with ample opportunity to grow personally and professionally.

I am an author.  Yes, that's right -- I write the kind of novels where people can't stop talking about them. And now I'm also a publisher. But before all this happened, there was one thing I always wanted more than anything else: readers for my books. So when Penguin Random House asked me if I'd consider starting a blog with its imprint Alibi Press, I said yes. You'll never guess what it is! It turns out writing a blog isn't as easy as it sounds. Here are some practical tips, strategies, and steps to help you learn how to make money blogging about books from your own experiences.

What should be included in a book blog?

There are plenty of sites dedicated solely to book reviews or recommendations, but they don't really count as blogs because...well, they're not actually blogs. They have their place though. Blogs are personal websites meant to share content with others, so let's focus on blogs specifically here. There are three main things most successful blogs have in common:

Regularly updated content.

Interactivity between writers and readers.

A community feel.

Your goal as a writer should be to create regular updates for these three aspects mentioned above. The easiest way to accomplish this is by scheduling posts ahead of time. This ensures you have something fresh every day to show potential readers without having to worry about posting at midnight after finishing edits. If you want to know why regularly scheduled posts are crucial, check out our guide on how to build up an audience using social media and post consistently. Once you've got a following, you need to keep them interested, which brings us to point number two - interactivity.

You may already have a ton of ideas churning around in your head constantly, but chances are you won't come across any new ones while browsing Twitter or Facebook. To ensure your blog has enough interaction, try reaching out to other authors through Twitter DM, email, or even phone calls. Not only will doing so give your followers insight into what goes behind the scenes of publishing, but it might spark someone to contact you about being published themselves. Asking questions of famous writers used to work wonders back when everyone thought Stephen King was God. Nowadays, however, we live in a different world. Don't expect anyone to ask you anything unless you bring it up yourself first. That means actively participating in conversations on relevant topics and interacting directly with commenters whenever possible.

Finally, building a community takes effort. Some people think "the best form of advertising" is word-of-mouth, but you shouldn't rely on it too much since it doesn't pay very well compared to other methods. Instead, use your blog to connect fellow fans and discuss everything related to your niche. For example, if you like sci-fi, find similar blogs written by other sci-fis and comment on each other's articles to spread positive vibes. Remember, the key is to remain professional at all times. Always remember that you aren't supposed to advertise for your competitors' products nor spam comments with links or affiliate offers. Your job is to provide quality commentary and information for free to educate those reading, not force ads down their throats. Be mindful that no matter how hard you try to stay impartial, you can still end up forming opinions over time. Just take care of your manners and stick to facts.

Now that we covered the basics, let's move onto the fun part - making money. How do book bloggers earn income?

How do book bloggers get paid?

The short answer is, they don't. No big name book blogger makes money off his/her site anymore because it's just too risky. Sure, many small publishers offer royalties, but it's rarer than rare nowadays. Even major corporations such as Amazon usually prefer direct payment via credit card instead of getting a percentage. Most top book reviewers simply cover costs and expenses out of pocket, including website hosting fees and their monthly internet bills. In fact, many reviewers spend less per month online than they would on cable TV packages.

If you absolutely must monetize your blog, you could look into selling ad space or sponsored promotions, but again, both options require constant upkeep and maintenance. A good rule of thumb is to avoid selling ads until you reach 10K subscribers. Afterward, you can experiment with displaying advertisements near sidebar content or placing banner ads along the bottom of pages. Also, don't forget to include clear disclaimers telling readers exactly what you're trying to achieve with the advertisement. Lastly, you should know that Google AdSense is banned worldwide due to rampant abuse and click fraud. Therefore, you cannot use its services without explicitly asking permission beforehand.

As far as sponsored promotions go, they tend to attract more attention and interest. However, sometimes creators who participate in promotional campaigns later regret taking part. Sponsored posts involve paying companies thousands upon thousands of dollars for publicity and product placement, yet often fail to yield results at higher levels. Plus, once you begin running promotional campaigns, you risk losing control over your content. When you sign a contract agreeing to certain guidelines set forth by the company, you lose access to your own original material. You can either choose to continue working under terms dictated by another entity or break away altogether and pursue self-promotion with little restriction.

So what does this mean for aspiring writers wanting to create their own blog? Well, don't fret too much. While it's true that it's harder to generate revenue from your own blog than it is to make money elsewhere, it certainly isn't impossible. All it requires is creativity, persistence, and patience. Think outside the box and don't settle for generic cookie-cutter solutions. Do whatever it takes to turn your dream into reality, whether it involves finding sponsorships or going completely independent. Trust me – it feels better knowing you did everything you could. Best of luck to you!

Lastly, creating a blog takes time, energy, and dedication. Sometimes it gets lonely and frustrating, especially early on when you haven't reached critical mass yet. Take comfort in knowing this process is nowhere close to being complete. In fact, blogging is probably the hardest part of the entire process.

How do you start a book blog?

To recap, we discussed what makes a good book blog, then explained ways in which you can monetize your passion for literature. We touched briefly on how difficult it is to make money from a book review blog, but didn't delve deeply into it. Now it's time to put everything together into a comprehensive step-by-step blueprint.

Step 1: Choose a domain name.

Once you decide on a location, register it with GoDaddy or Namecheap.com. Pick something simple yet catchy. Although you may want to buy a custom domain name, you can save a few bucks by registering a subdomain instead, such as [yourwebsite].wordpress.com. Make sure you pick a username that reflects your brand identity.

Step 2: Find a web host.

After choosing a URL, you'll need somewhere to house your files. Hostinger lets you test multiple providers simultaneously, thus giving you flexibility to switch hosts if needed. Alternatively, you can use WordPress to manage your blog using an autoinstallation plugin called Fantastico.

Step 3: Install Wordpress.

WordPress powers 70 percent of all existing blogs today, so you definitely want to install it when setting up your new site. Head over to Wordpress.org and download the latest version. Then, open up your favorite text editor to edit wp-config.php. Fill in your database details and change root folder to public_html/. Finally, upload and unzip the downloaded file to /wp-content/plugins.

Step 4: Customize theme.

This is optional because you can skip it entirely and install a pre-made template instead. Otherwise, navigate to Appearance > Add New within your dashboard. From here you can select various themes depending on your preferences. Check out popular themes created by the official team of developers, customize them further with CSS code, and add additional plugins for functionality.

Step 5: Set up SEO settings.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, meaning optimizing a page's appearance for search engines. Since your primary purpose is to draw traffic to your site, you should prioritize SEO during setup. Create titles and descriptions for each post and tag your images properly. Next, enter meta data for your homepage. Meta tags contain keywords and phrases associated with specific sections of your site. Using proper grammar helps increase your rankings in SERPs (search engine result pages), so please proofread your texts carefully.

Step 6: Connect Google Analytics.

Google provides analytics tracking software built into its Webmaster Tools service. Sign up for this account and allow cookies to track visitors from your site. Within minutes you'll see detailed statistics about your traffic patterns and user activity.

Step 7: Publish posts.

It's finally time to publish your first article. Navigate to Posts > Post in Menu. Afterwards, fill in title and description fields and hit Save Changes. Repeat this action for future posts.

That covers everything you need to know to start your own book review blog. Hopefully, you learned something useful. Good luck!