How to Build and Monetize Your Poetry Blog
Written with love, from one new poet to another.
You’re a poet. I get it. I own black turtlenecks and Moleskine notebooks too. But unless you want the gaunt, hollow cheeks of Edgar Allan Poe, even poets have to eat.
I’m not a fulltime poet, but I want to share how my poetry website went from 0 to 7,500+ followers in a little over a year, and how you can do the same.
Part One — Building Your Blog
One. Pick a platform.
I chose Tumblr. Social Justice Warriors aside, Tumblr was ripe with communities I wanted to tap into, namely civil rights activists and Africana poets and independent artists — the type of people I would meet at a spoken word event, times one-thousand. And word spreads fast if you market to the right groups.
Two. Perfect your pages.
A clean, easy-to-read theme like Minuta or UltraZen hooks your reader. Tumblr and Wordpress are lush with free writerly themes, and they both let you link a customized domain name.
Three. Post, post, post.
When I began my blog, I posted original poetry every day without fail. I lined up posts days in advance to make sure I hit my deadline. The regular schedule hooks readers who know they can rely on you. It also helps you track which poems garner attention and which don’t, in order to analyze trends and tweak your output.
And, instead of re-posting others’ content or unrelated pictures, I only post my poetry. That way, readers know that they’ll only find original artistic content.
Four. Pen-pals and Partnership.
This is the most important, in my opinion. Use your blog to make friends. I’m not talking about hassling people to promote you, or pushing your product on potential customers. I’m talking about genuine connections.
Some people believe it’s best to separate one’s art from one’s personal life. However, by far the most rewarding part of my blog is chatting with many different people, including those who dislike my poetry. Grabbing coffee with my readers reminds me that writing isn’t about amassing a fanbase. It’s ultimately about connecting with people. The connections I make inspire me to create more art.
Yes, these people become your loyal supporters. Yes, they share your blog with their friends. But it’s about more than that. It’s about human connection, which is, for me, at the center of all art.
— But sentimentality like that belongs in poetry, not a blog post, so I digress.
In the next installment, I’ll show you how to capitalize on your readership in order to support yourself as an artist. While you wait for the next post, go build your blog!
If you’re into poetry, check out my writing at www.OffCenterWriting.com.
