By now we all know that a blog is an integral part of an author website. It serves as a place to connect with readers, establish yourself as an expert, and build your platform. It can also be a place to flesh out new ideas, get feedback, and weigh in on hot topics. But after months or years of blogging, how do you keep things fresh?

Commit to it. Bloggin’ ain’t easy. Try an editorial calendar (or at least a running list of post ideas) to keep you on schedule and creating new content. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Change up the design.  Apply a fresh coat of paint to the ol’ blog every now and again. A new background or color scheme is a quick and easy update that your readers will notice and appreciate. If you’re Photoshop proficient, try changing your header image every month—it’ll give readers who use a feed a reason to click through to your site.

Ask your readers what they want. Since you’re the expert, your readers will undoubtedly have questions, and those questions can turn into great blog posts (or even a series of posts) on a topic you may never have thought of. Give your readers what they want and they’ll keep coming back for more.

Go multimedia. You’ve hopefully been incorporating photos and video into your posts, but how about creating your own?  They don’t have to be anything fancy—most smartphones can record and upload videos directly to YouTube. Just make sure the camera is steady and the sound is good, and the content will speak for itself.

Experiment. Do you usually write text-heavy posts? Try an infographic. Do you usually post on Monday-Wednesday-Friday? Post on the weekend. Try new things and see how your readers respond. You may hit blogging gold, or you may find that your readers like you just the way you are.

Also check out these tips from ProBlogger on 31 days to building a better blog and Rachelle Gardner on 13 simple tips for a better blog.

What do you do to keep your blog fresh? 

You’ve worked for months, if not years, writing your book. Your editors have polished the text, your designers have created an engaging cover, and your PR and marketing teams have generated consumer and media buzz leading up to your pub date. Now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor—right? Well, not so much.

If you’re someone who monitors your weight for the loss or gain of a pound or two, or someone who tracks your 401(k) balance on a daily basis, you’ll have to trust me on this one. Put down the Nielsen BookScan numbers for a moment, and have some fun promoting your book! You devoted a significant chunk of time and resources to creating it, and now you get to engage like-minded readers—online or offline, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you keep the conversation going, from your date of publication and beyond. Need a few ideas?

Social Media—I’m always surprised when I review an author’s social media presence and discover a robust LinkedIn profile, an active Twitter account, a popular blog, and a well-designed website with no mention of the author’s new book. It happens more than you’d think. This is low-hanging fruit, so don’t be that author who has a vibrant online presence and doesn’t leverage it in the long term to promote his book.

Your Community—Have you visited your local indie bookstores or had a conversation with the Community Relations Manager (CRM) at your local Barnes & Noble? If not, pay a visit. Inquire about a book-signing event. Invest some time in building your network of local authors and booksellers.

Events—Create an annual calendar of events that will draw an audience who likely has a strong interest in your book. Keep an eye open for local library and book events. Seek out and respond to “calls for presenters.” Are you able to participate in one each month? Great! Commit to them and get those events on your calendar. For a year.

Current Events and the Media—Keep abreast of current events with an eye to how they may tie in to your book’s content. See a strong or unique connection? Don’t be shy about reaching out to writers, editors, bloggers, and other media professionals to propose an interview or contributed article. Consider a submission to your local newspaper’s op-ed page.

An author’s personal and ongoing investment in the promotion of her book is key to that book’s success, and the one thing that all of these ideas have in common is that they take the long view. Of course, landing a national interview during your pub week or hitting a bestseller list can generate a big buzz in a hurry (think of that as hunting), but slow and steady can win the race too. Create and commit to a twelve-month calendar of events and initiatives designed to keep your book top of mind with readers, media professionals, and booksellers (think of that as farming). You’ll reap satisfying rewards and have a lot of fun in the process!