FORNOLOGY Fifth Anniversary--325 Blog Posts Later

Photo: Nick Abadilla Photography

When Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel came out in 2011, my publicist Paula Margulies urged me to create a blog to establish a brand and help build an audience. I was reluctant because I felt the time and effort required to launch and maintain a site was out of proportion to any benefit I might reap. Five years and three hundred, twenty-five posts later, I can confidently say I was wrong.

Blogging original content does take time, but what I get in return is valuable. Here are ten benefits which make the effort worth my time.

• structured writing practice
• development of my writing voice
• establishment of my brand
• audience building
• national and international exposure
• improved editing skills
• an information and research gathering tool
• a vehicle for reader input and response
• a platform for my work
• and a legacy log for my grandchildren

From my work station stuck in the corner of my family room, I try to crank out a new post every seven to ten days. If I am out of town or backed up on other projects, I occasionally rerun a post, but I prefer to produce original content.

Regular readers of Fornology know my blog topics are eclectic and range from short historical pieces on Detroit and Michigan to travelogues on the places and people I visit. Some posts are about my books or about writing or blogging in general. Like this one.

Because Fornology is not a commercial site or tied to a professional organization, my hits come exclusively from people who show an interest in me or my work. When I returned from a speaking tour of Ann Arbor and Detroit this week, I discovered my blog reached a personal milestone of over 200,000 hits. Most of my hits are from the United States, but my international audience includes Russia (9,381), Germany (7,531), Ukraine (6,994), France (4,690), Canada (3,510), and countries across the globe.

With the help of my blog and the internet, people nationwide contacted me with information helping me tell the forty-seven year old story of Michigan serial killer John Norman Collins. Without these valuable resource vehicles, the writing of Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked would not have been possible. Now undergoing a final line edit, my nonfiction account of the Washtenaw County killer will be available in July 2016 on Amazon.com and Kindle.

Photo: Nicole Fribourg

Many thanks to everyone who follows my posts. If you would like to receive my Fornology posts automatically, subscribe by writing your email address in the Posts box in the right-hand side bar. Be assured, I do not capture, collect, or distribute your contact information. Every Share I get is appreciated.