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By Denise Wakeman
1. Participate in the blogosphere: Read and comment on other
blogs in your field. This is a prime way to build readership
of
your blog. It is also a way of getting fresh content for both
your blog and for your book.
To check out other blogs in your niche: use
www.blogsearch.google.com, www.technorati.com, or
www.google.com.
This is also a good way to get ideas. What are other people in
your field writing about? What are the major challenges of the
people in your field? If you have competitors, check them out.
They may be a great help in inspiring you for content ideas,
different slants and perspectives. The old song, “Anything you
can do, I can do better,” comes to mind.
2. Ask readers to comment on your blog. In fact, each time you
post something, ask them a question. Then spell it out to them
on how to post a comment because your readers will probably
need to be educated or at least encouraged to comment. ("Click
on the comment link in the footer of this post, and leave your
responses.")
Sometimes readers will need assurances of privacy, in which
case, you can ask them to email you their questions or
comments
in private. Others are not worried about privacy because after
all, a blog isn’t meant to be private. However, readers can be
shy about commenting, and need encouragement.
You may also encourage them to respond by telling them that
you
would like to use their replies in your book, but will only do
so with their permission.
3. Survey your readers, do a mini-study on their preferences,
their experiences, etc. The Internet is the fastest way to
acquire some statistics of readers’ preferences. Far from
being
a scientifically validated study that would pass muster in
universities with academicians, an informal survey can give
you
ideas and material to write about. It can also confirm that
you
are addressing the concerns of your readers.
4. Run a contest for the best idea, funniest experience, most
influential or heart-grabbing situation. If you want to use
these readers’ responses for content in your book, you should
tell them. Many people jump at the chance to be included in a
book. Others may prefer to participate anonymously. You can
give them both options.
Here’s an example of how one writer asked his readers for
input:
Do You Have A Broken WIndows Story?
Michael Levine's new book, Broken WIndows, Broken Business is
being released later this month. Many people feel this is
going
to be a mega best-seller.
We have set up a website, where you can rant about broken
windows in your everyday experience... Check it out at
BrokenWindows.com.
People love to share their experiences, and they love to rant,
or rave. Just ask.
5. Ask your readers to attend a teleseminar based on the
needs,
challenges, concepts and ideas of your blog readers. This is a
great way to go deeper into the problems and solutions you are
writing about. You can record the sessions, transcribe the
dialogue, convert the teleseminar to audio and PDF files.
These
can be sold, or given away as marketing materials for your
book.
6. Use your blog site meter stats to examine what are the most
popular articles posted. This information will guide you to
expand on the topics and subtopics that capture the interests
of readers.
7. Consistently reconnect with your passion, and ignite and
inspire others with similar interests. After you’ve been
blogging for awhile, you will probably develop good blogging
habits:
a. Write something on your blog daily, or at least 2-3 times a
week.
b. Read other blogs 2-3 times a week. Be sure to use the My
Yahoo or other RSS feed buttons to subscribe to your favorite
blogs, or sign up to get email updates through a FeedBlitz
service on each blog.
c. Write with your readers in mind. And if you’re not sure
where their interests lie, ask them. If they’ve found your
blog, and have subscribed, chances are you share a lot in
common.
d. If you ever fall into blog-block, reconnect with your core
purpose for the blog (remember, the one you wrote out before
starting your blog?). When this happens there is usually a
reason, although it may not be clear to you at the time. This
will pass. You can help it along by asking questions – of your
readers, yourself, your closest allies.
8. Podcasting – Create audio files easily by scheduling
teleclasses and recording them. Some people like to get their
information auditorily and at their convenience by downloading
mp3 files to their iPods.
Use a free teleconferencing bridge line like
www.freeconference.com to host a call. Record your
call,
upload the audio file and then post to your blog or podcast
using a service like www.audioblog.com.
As an added benefit, you can get these calls transcribed; then
convert the word doc to a PDF file which you can either give
away, or sell, in exchange for people’s email address;
www.CastingWords.com is a fast, affordable
transcription
service.
About The Author: Blogging experts Patsi Krakoff and Denise
Wakeman are The Blog Squad. They help professionals harness
the
power of blogs, newsletters, and ecommerce systems to make
marketing tasks easier and more effective. They have 16 years
of Internet know-how and write on 10 blogs. Get their free
weekly ezine Savvy eBiz Tips at www.SavvyeBizTips.com.
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