Updated 12/28/09

Please take into consideration that these are only my suggestions. You can agree or disagree with them. I’m not saying you have to follow them, and I’m not saying I’m a blogging expert, but I’ve picked up a few things here and there.

Here's what I've discussed in Blog Tips, so far:

Getting Started.
Content & Visitors

The majority of question emails I receive pertaining to the blog are: "how do you get all those books?" So, lets discuss that.

When I first started my blog, I had no idea there was such a thing as an ARC, I never thought to contact authors, I mean authors are like celebrities, they're too cool for the likes of me! My blog was a way for my to keep track of what I read and what I thought about it.

First and foremost, I utilized my library! You should too! Coming from a small town, it didn't take me long to read just about every YA book that my library offered, so when I exhausted my library I turned to the Internet.

There wasn't any way I could afford my book habit, so buying every book I wanted to read was out of the question. In came BookSwim. BookSwim was great! It feed my book addiction, and it didn't cost me a fortune to get books! BookSwim is like Netflix, but with books. You fill your pool with the books you want, they send them to you, you read them, send them back, they send you new ones, repeat! They have different price ranges for different books-at-a-time.

Contest around the Internet are also another great way to get books and sometimes you can even score an ARC! Lots of blogs have contests. Including author blogs.

If you are interested in getting ARC's there are a few programs that you might want to check out.

• Harper Teen First Look
• Pulse It
• Random Buzzers
• The In Group
• Young Adult (&Kids) Books Central

Harper Teen: First Look
The new First Look is a lot different! But I think I've finally figured it out! You can sign up via Twitter and Facebook. Both networking sites have Harper Teen pages. Randomly each site gives away ARCs. On Twitter First Look will send out a tweet that might look something like this:
"Ok watchful Tweeple. First 5 to DM me name and address get an ARC of Stargazer, second book in Claudia Gray's vampire Evernight series!"
They do similar announcements on Facebook, so it's more of a right place right time kind of thing. This program is only open to the U.S. but there is a Canadian version, but I'm not sure how that one works.

Simon & Schuster: Pulse It
The Pulse It Board does have an age limit, which I believe is 19. You have to send in a submission form that is signed by your parents. I'm not exactly sure on the logistics, since I was too old to join this one, but the web page is very informative.

This one is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.

Random House: Random Buzzers
With Random Buzz you participate in activities like quizzes and polls, to earn points towards books and other fun prizes!

This was actually how I received my first ARC! They have a fabulous forum as well!

Henry Holt: The In Group
The In Group also has an age restriction, this one is open to teens 13-19 years of age. As with Pulse It there is a release form that your parents have to sign. And I'm not sure exactly how they run this program either, as I wasn't able to participates.

This one is open to U.S. residents only.

Young Adult (&Kids) Books Central
This is a great site! You submit 15 reviews and then you qualify to pick a book from the "Prize Bucket!" There is always a huge list of books to choose from, so it's not hard to find one you'll enjoy!

I'm sure there are some other ones too, but these are some of the larger ones that I'm aware of. If anyone knows of any others, please feel free to mention them with a link in the comments.

For you International Bloggers!

I know a lot of the arc type programs are for US bloggers only, but a great thing that international bloggers can do is get a NetGalley account! NetGalley allows you to download a galley or advance readers copy of upcoming novels directly to your computer or e-reader! This is a great way for all bloggers, not just the international ones, to get some great books!

Once I started utilizing my library, bookswim and these programs to get books, I began posting reviews more frequently, and in turn it built up my content Which allowed my site to grow, and attract visitors. And once I was able to build a steady readership, then I started contacting authors. It took me almost six months to get to that point. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but it's a lot of hard work. Just ask any book blogger. Everyone's different though, what took me six months might only take you three.

I've gotten some questions in the comments throughout posting this series as well, so far I have:

"Where do you get a counter?"
"How did you make your star rating?"
"How do you handle negative reviews?"

I'm planning on answering these questions in a future post. If you have any questions that haven't been answered please feel free to leave a comment or email me and I'll be sure to address them also.

If you're still on the lookout from some good blog tips you should stop by this post at ProBlogger called: Starting Your First Blog? 29 Tips, Tutorials and Resources for New Bloggers. This is a great post for just blogging in general.

Another great post can be found at Presenting Lenore: New Blogger FAQ. She has some great advice for book blogs! She also has some links to other fabulous posts around the blog for even more blog tips!

And lastly during BBAW. My Friend Amy asked bloggers to share their answers to two questions:

"What is one thing you wish you knew about blogging when you started or what advice would you give a newbie blogger? What is your best blogging tip?"

There are over 40 responses to these questions! I'm sure you'll find some handy tips in there too!

So far we've covered getting started, posting content and attracting visitors. If there is something you'd like me to feature let me know. Or maybe you like me to elaborate a little bit more on something I've posted this time, feel free to make a suggestion!

What do you think? Is there something you agree with, disagree with? Maybe you have your own tips that would pertain to this post?

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