The champagne bottles from your book launch sit empty. Your Amazon ranking sparkles with bestseller status. Yet a nagging question keeps you up at night: “What now?”
The answer is to write a book that reflects your book’s core message.
Your book's life doesn't have to stop at publication. With the proper techniques, you can make that book a best-selling franchise, a lead-generating dynamo, and establish yourself as a business authority. In the absence of these pillars, even the greatest books are going to get forgotten.
Statistics show that 7.5 million blog posts are published every day. In this sea of content, strategic blogging creates a powerful ecosystem that spreads your message and attracts new readers to your work.
You’ll know you’re ready for strategic blogging if…
- You track your book sales daily but are powerless to boost them
- Customers call you with issues your book did not fully resolve
- Speaking invitations have not come as expected
- Your knowledge keeps developing further than what your book stated
- You've noticed others gaining attention with regular content
Blogging fills these gaps, turning your one-time readers of your book into lifetime members of your community. But just any blogging strategy won't do. Coordination between your blog and book establishes a dynamic environment that resonates your message and brings new readers to your work.
Start With Your Core Message
Before typing a single word, revisit your book's central thesis. Take a moment to identify three to five foundational concepts that form your book's backbone.
Why is this important? If someone is interested in your blog, they will be more inclined to check out your book. It’s proven by statistics. According to one survey, blogs with a unifying theme or message get 67% more traffic than subjects chosen randomly. This particular study examined more than 1,000 business blogs across a variety of industries, which testifies to the benefit of consistency in content. It teaches you how to make your blog about the essential principles of your book not just to increase traffic but also to appeal to readers who are seriously interested in your message.
But, instead of rehashing your book, your blog should take the conversation further. For example, if your leadership book discusses decision-making frameworks, your blog posts could explore specific scenarios where these frameworks solved real business problems. This approach offers fresh value while reinforcing your book's authority.
Armed with your book's underlying principles, you can now consider the particular topics to include. You can start by addressing the particular issues keeping your readers awake at night.
Solve Specific Problems Your Readers Face
Readers bought your book seeking solutions. Your blog continues this problem-solving relationship.
Tim Grahl shows how this works on his Book Launch blog. After writing Your First 1000 Copies, he noticed readers still had questions about email marketing. He responded to the questions in simple blog posts in the form of short, step-by-step how-to's on author newsletters. By solving each one of these stand-alone issues, readers trust him more and are more likely to return and purchase his book for the complete picture.
So, conduct research to discover what questions your audience still has after reading your book. Tools like Answer the Public, Reddit forums, or direct reader feedback provide goldmines of content ideas.
Focus each post on addressing one specific challenge thoroughly. This targeted approach pulls new readers toward your expertise while giving existing readers practical applications of your methodology.
While solving specific problems builds trust, turning your book's most challenging concepts into bite-sized insights creates even deeper connections.
Break Complex Concepts Into Digestible Pieces
Books allow deep exploration of ideas. Blogs thrive on clarity and focus. Identify complex sections from your book that readers might struggle with, then create posts that break these concepts into step-by-step explanations.
James Clear is a great example of this approach. Before Atomic Habits became a mega-bestseller (over 5 million copies sold), he built an audience of over 1 million email subscribers through his blog. He strategically shared habit formation principles in digestible pieces for years, which created a ready audience for his book.
Visual aids often work brilliantly here—flowcharts, decision trees, or comparison tables can transform abstract ideas into actionable insights. Remember that blog readers typically scan content before committing to reading, so structure matters immensely.
Now, explanations tell readers how your methods work. Success stories prove they do.
Showcase Success Stories
Readers are hungry for proof that your techniques function in the real world. Interview people who have used ideas from your book to achieve success. Format these success stories to show the challenge presented, the principle used from your book, and the quantifiable outcome.
These story-type posts establish relationships on an emotional level while informally affirming your book's utilitarian value. They also create shareable content that stretches your visibility to possible new readers.
Jane Friedman uses this approach well on her blog. Instead of just talking about ideas from her book, The Business of Being a Writer, she shares stories of real authors who have overcome publishing challenges. These stories show her advice works in real life, making readers feel connected while proving her methods get results. Readers enjoy these personal stories and often share them with others.
Real-world success validates your past ideas, yet connecting to current events demonstrates their ongoing relevance.
Connect Current Events To Your Book's Themes
Nothing makes your book more relevant than connecting its principles to the news of the day. For example, if your book includes themes around innovation or the future, comment on new technological breakthroughs or trends. “In my book, the idea of artificial intelligence becoming mainstream is explored. Just like the recent AI developments, we’re diving into a new world of possibilities!”
To do this, you should watch for news events, industry trends, or cultural shifts that relate to your book's themes. Quick-response posts analyzing these developments through your book's perspective showcase the ongoing value of your work.
This strategy also creates natural ways to mention individual chapters, providing easy entry points for blog readers to become book buyers.
Keep in mind that headlines are updated daily, which offers new opportunities to apply your expertise with an authentic voice that grows with your readers.
Maintain a Consistent Voice While Evolving Your Ideas
Your book captured your voice at a specific moment. Your blog allows that voice to evolve while maintaining the authenticity readers connected with. Strike a balance between consistency and growth in your writing style.
- What to Do:
- Be consistent with your key message: Make sure the overall topic of your book remains the same, even when you discuss new topics. For instance, if you wrote on persistence, keep emphasizing persistence on your blog, even when you write about resilience or flexibility.
- Recognize your growth: Use your blog to share how your ideas have progressed. If you've altered your approach to solving problems, declare the change without abandoning your original message.
- Introduce new ideas gracefully: If you disagree with something in your book, do so in a gentle manner. For instance, if your book stated that failure should never be a lesson, but you now feel differently, discuss the transformation in a positive way.
- Provide personal examples: Give personal examples to illustrate how your perception has changed. If you have changed your opinion regarding leadership, give an example to demonstrate this change.
- Be transparent about learning: Readers value transparency around your learning. If you have developed a more nuanced understanding of a subject, let your readers in on that as part of the continuous dialogue.
- What Not to Do:
- Be consistent with your key message: Make sure the overall topic of your book remains the same, even when you discuss new topics. For instance, if you wrote on persistence, keep emphasizing persistence on your blog, even when you write about resilience or flexibility.
- Recognize your growth: Use your blog to share how your ideas have progressed. If you've altered your approach to solving problems, declare the change without abandoning your original message.
- Introduce new ideas gracefully: If you disagree with something in your book, do so in a gentle manner. For instance, if your book stated that failure should never be a lesson, but you now feel differently, discuss the transformation in a positive way.
- Provide personal examples: Give personal examples to illustrate how your perception has changed. If you have changed your opinion regarding leadership, give an example to demonstrate this change.
- Be transparent about learning: Readers value transparency around your learning. If you have developed a more nuanced understanding of a subject, let your readers in on that as part of the continuous dialogue.
Don't shy away from revisiting and even respectfully challenging ideas from your own book. This intellectual honesty demonstrates your commitment to ongoing learning rather than suggesting your book contains outdated thinking.
On this subject, your evolving perspective deserves practical tools that readers can implement immediately. The first step is to create complementary resources.
Create Complementary Resources
Your book can't possibly include everything. Use your blog to provide complementary resources that supplement the reader's experience. Worksheets, checklists, templates, or quizzes are great complements to your book's methodology.
Michael Hyatt demonstrates this perfectly. The former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers uses his blog to create supplementary resources for his books on productivity and leadership. His "Full Focus Planner" became a successful physical product that grew from concepts initially shared in his book, Free to Focus.
Studies show that early half (47%) of successful bloggers have published original research or resources in the past 12 months. These resource-focused posts serve double duty—they provide immediate value while implicitly suggesting that your book contains even more comprehensive guidance.
These resource-focused posts serve double duty. They provide immediate value while implicitly suggesting that your book contains even more comprehensive guidance.
These resources provide actionable takeaways. Taking it a step further, structured content series build comprehensive understanding over time.
Develop Content Series That Parallel Book Chapters
Dr. Brené Brown uses her blog to share vulnerable stories that demonstrate the concepts from her books like Daring Greatly. These real-life applications help readers see how to implement her research-backed ideas.
Following Brown’s example by organizing blog content into a thematic series creates structure that guides readers deeper into your thinking. Consider developing multi-part series that mirror your book's chapter progression while offering fresh examples and applications.
This approach helps readers understand your book's structure before purchasing, building confidence that your complete work will deliver systematic value.
Well-written content will pull readers into your more in-depth work without your having to resort to hard-sell marketing. This does take practice, so let's discuss how to refine your approach.
Strategic Promotion Without Overwhelming Sales Pitches
Each blog post should naturally lead readers toward your book without feeling like an advertisement. Mark Manson is a perfect example of this. His blog post "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" went viral and was expanded into his bestselling book of the same name. He continues to use his blog to explore new angles of the philosophy presented in his book, creating natural interest in the full work.
Subtle techniques work best:
- Give a teasing book excerpt that will leave readers wanting more
- Quote separate chapters when explaining a subject
- Give behind-the-scenes details about researching particular sections
- Include readers' questions that your book fully addresses
These methods provide organic avenues to buy without triggering the book marketing strategy defense mechanism. Nowadays, subtle marketing plants interest, yet active engagement nurtures those seeds into relationships that matter.
Engage With Readers Actively
Unlike books, blogs enable immediate reader interaction. Studies show that 83% of internet users claim to read blogs at least once a month, creating numerous opportunities for engagement.
Encourage comments, questions, and objections to your argument. This exchange achieves several things:
- Provides direct feedback on how readers interpret your concepts
- Generates ideas for future content based on reader interests
- Creates community around your book's message
- Demonstrates your ongoing commitment to the topic
Respond thoughtfully to comments, treating each as an opportunity to clarify and expand your book's central ideas.
Conclusion
Great ideas don't work until they are implemented. There is so much wisdom in your book, but without ongoing contact, even excellent ideas get forgotten.
I'd like to challenge you to attempt a 30-day blogging experiment today. Take 20 minutes and make a list of five of the most frequently asked questions readers have about your book. Choose the most frequent one and create a 500-word answer that naturally leads back to your book. Publish this post within the next three days, and two more posts up within the next four weeks.
Wait 30 days, then review your website analytics for any book sales increases or speaking inquiries. This real-world test will show you the true impact of strategic blogging far better than simply thinking about it.
Books and blogging go hand in hand. Your blog keeps your thoughts fresh and developing, while your self-published book provides the foundation that supports your author platform building. Together, they draw in new readers, strengthen bonds with existing ones, and position you as an authority committed to offering useful knowledge.
Keep in mind, consistency is what matters more than perfection. Ongoing, quality postings that resonate with the message in your book create reader trust over time. Begin with the ideas in this article that best address your target market and subject matter. Your own voice is what readers seek—allow it to shine in your book and your blog.
Ready to expand your book's message with purposeful blogging? Authors On Mission can help you develop a content strategy that transforms your expertise into engaging blog posts that direct readers to your book. Our team of publishing experts has helped over 1,100 thought leaders grow their book's audience through targeted content marketing.
Don't allow your valuable ideas to be lost between the covers of your book. The empty page is waiting for your expertise, and Authors On Mission will walk you through every step of the process.
