Guest Blog Post Ideas

As if writing a book isn’t hard enough, we’re then tasked with writing the damn blurb. Because, you know, if you were able to tell the story in 80,000 words, you should be able to do the same in 150 without giving away the big twists, right? Oh, so you thought the hard part was over? Now, it’s time to promote your book, and if you’re lucky, your tour organizer is going to ask you for some exclusive guest posts.

I’m pretty sure this scenario ranks up there in the list of writer nightmares. After helping a friend brainstorm blog guest post ideas this week, I decided to share a few of the ideas we came up with here, in case others might need them at some point. Okay, so really I did it so I have something to refer back to when I’m staring at my own blank screen wondering what in the hell I’m supposed to talk about in those wonderful posts.

1. List your favorite books. Seriously, this might sound like cheating, but readers really do like to know what their favorite authors have enjoyed reading. For bonus points, tie it in to your latest release. For example, my friend was promoting a new fantasy book, so she came up with some of her favorite fantasy reads. I just released an m/m romance featuring age play, so I put together a list of favorite m/m age play romances.
2. Tell us about your writing routine. Again, it may seem boring, but find a way to break out a tiny brick in that fourth wall and show readers what you do. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Do you plan meticulously or dive into a blank document and hope for the best? For bonus points, you could include a list of your favorite super healthy foods you enjoy while writing, because we all know serious writers would never purposely leave their Tootsie Roll wrappers on the desk all month during NaNo just to see how many they ate, right?
3. Paint a picture of your world. Not your real life world, but the world you’re hoping to suck readers into. Did you base it on a real place? Write up a post featuring some of those locations. Is it a fictional town creating by smashing together various other places? Show us the best parts of those places.
4. Which of your own characters is your favorite? Most writers have a character who holds a special place in their heart. Who is yours and why?
5. What’s next? Start building buzz for the next project! Tell readers what you’re currently working on and tease them just a little bit.
6. Dreamcast the movie adaptation of your book. Who would play your lead characters?
7. What inspires you? If you get creative, you can turn this into multiple posts. What inspired the story you’re promoting? Where do you get inspiration for your stories in general? Who inspired you to write? Who keeps you going when you really don’t want to write?
8. First this, then that. Books, much like love, aren’t a finite resource. Okay, so that’s not quite right, but the point it, you simply can’t write enough books fast enough to keep your readers satisfied by only reading your books. Create a list of other books they’ll enjoy after yours, which also serves as a way for someone to potentially see a book they loved on the list and click yours.
9. Recipes. Sounds weird, I know, but think about it… your characters have to eat sometime. What would they eat? The reason recipes as part of a guest post work is they give you a chance to have content that reaches outside the book world. How many peeps fall into a Pinterest rabbit hole looking at food?
10. Ten things you don’t know about me. No, I didn’t plan for this to be tenth on the list, it just happened that way. Remember, the readers of your post will be a combination of your current and future readers. Have a little fun and let them see the real you!
11. Character interviews. If you already have a reader group established, ask your readers for questions they’d like your characters to answer. Trust me, it’ll be much more entertaining this way than if you struggle for hours to think up a few questions. And another bonus! If you get a ton of interest, break the interviews up between different blogs!
12. Playlists. Do you write to a specific playlist? Share it with your readers. Otherwise, think about your characters and come up with their perfect playlist.