Communicate With Blog Readers

When you invite readers to visit your blog, give them a chance to leave feedback. A fellow author said she didn’t include a comment feature on her blog because she didn’t have time to read the comments. She also includes her email address in case readers feel they must contact her. I cringed as I read those comments.

That’s one way to operate a blog, but I believe it’s more effective to encourage interaction with your readers and to make it easy for them to speak with you. I admit that’s only my opinion, but I feel it’s important to share the idea with you.

It’s helpful to know what visitors think about your blog content and if there are things you should do differently. You will only know this from their feedback or if your hits start to dwindle. When your hits drop off, it’s too late to get those visitors and customers back. This is one reason to see what your visitors are thinking. Their thoughts could give you ideas for future posts.

What to Say

What should you do if nothing comes to mind? Every writer has that problem some times. Writer’s block is a frustrating situation and it can happen with your latest e-book, novel or blog entry. Here are some tips to get the creative juices flowing.
Did you read a blog entry or a news article that prompted some fresh ideas? There’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe you read about a current event and it spurred positive or negative thoughts. Share these with your readers and see what they think. You could start a lively conversation.

Guest Bloggers

Do you have a writer friend who would like to sell more books? They could be a guest blogger for the day or a week if you’re out of town. It’s nice if they take a moment to mention your book, but that isn’t necessary. Take a chance to ask your visitors about the kind of guests they would like. They may want someone that you can’t deliver, but try to find someone that fits their requests.

Share Your Thoughts With Blog Visitors

Can you provide a fresh slant to a subject you discussed before? If a subject gets good response, then tweak your approach and reuse the ideas. There are many ways to broach subjects and if you are creative you can recycle ideas in quite a few different ways. Keep your readers interested even when they are basically hearing the same thing for a second or third time.

Have you found an interesting site or download that might interest your visitors? You could feature the information in a post and include the link for your readers to see what you’re talking about. This makes you look like a good resource and shows that you know where to find additional documentation and information.

Use Caution With Your Blog Comments

At times you need to vent or get something off your chest. Can you do this without offending your visitors? We all know the sort of subjects that are likely to upset people and it would be good to avoid those unless you are ready to handle the potential fallout. A friend of mine posted her opinions about the romance industry and it prompted harsh comments on many blogs, message boards and several people even sent harsh emails to her publisher. I read the post and she stated her opinions well, but she didn’t expect things to get out of control. This is an example of the reasons why we need to be cautious when you post your comments.

Nikki Leigh - Fiction and Non Fiction Author
Author of Book Promo 101 - Learn the Basics of Book Promotion
http://www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_101.htm


Additional Articles About Using Blogs to Promote

Author Promotion From Your Easy Chair - Is It Possible
http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/author-book-tours-from-your-easy-chair.html

Can You Blog to Sell Books
http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/can-you-blog-to-sell-books.html

Tips For Authors Who Blog
http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/tips-for-writers-who-blog.htmlCommunicate

With Blog Readers
http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/communicate-with-blog-readers.html

Why Aren't You Blogging
http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-arent-you-blogging.html