ON EVEN MORE BLOGGING SECRETS

"Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does."


***Steuart Henderson Britt

HANK: Ah yes, did we tempt you back here for day two of the fantastic Dani Greer? If yes--then she's taught us well. As you know, she's the knower of all knowledge about blogging...and promises to share it all with us!

Now you're saying: Hank. Get on with it. We want Dani.

Okay.

HANK: What's the biggest mistake bloggers make? Okay, the two biggest mistakes?



DANI: The very biggest mistake is not posting regularly on the blog (several times a week at least), and not treating the blogging as an important aspect of their writing careers. There are still writers out there who think blogging is a waste of time, and not "real" writing.


The second big mistake is not having a "buy" button for their books. Don't be shy about asking your readers to purchase a copy of your book, and make it easy for them to do so.


Can I have one more? Okay, third big mistake is not paying attention to your blog statistics. How many readers you have, where they're coming from, how the stats relate to posts on your blog. These numbers are very telling especially during a blog tour, whether your own tour or a writer you're hosting. It's a numbers game, and the better you play it, the more likely you'll have another book published.



HANK: Oh--tell us more about statistics!


DANI: Statistics are kind of like grades in school. They're a measure of how well you're doing. Don't let them depress or confuse you. Numbers that are useful to you during a blog book tour include:


1. Your amazon ranking before, during, and after a tour. Title Z (http://www.titlez.com/) is a good place to monitor this.


2. Your blog traffic before, during, and after a tour and pay special note to the types of tour stops that will get the most traffic. It's no surprise that a book giveaway will draw hits and comments. Use the Mad Clicker approach at your site meter's webpage and look at all the various reports. The coolest are the bar graphics showing hits each day, and I like the referral page that shows me where my visitors are coming from.



If 1/3 of your hits are jumping over from Twitter (http://twitter.com/), or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/), or The Cozy Chicks (http://www.cozychicksblog.com/) because you had a guest post over there, you know you're using those tools effectively. It's sort of like meeting new people at a party, who then visit your place because they think you're interesting. You might not like that scenario in real life, but it's very cool in the virtual world.

HANK: Sometimes, when it's late and the blog is due and you just can't think of a topic, it's easy to wonder if it's all worth it. How do we know blogging is worth the effort? I mean--is there a way to quantify?And, because it's so much fun to analyze other people's blogs--do the number of comments reflect the number of views?




DANI: The number of comments rarely reflect your average daily views - they only suggest that particular blog post was a hot-button for some reason.


Usually, it's a controversial subject, an empathy topic like a death, or a contest that will goose reader response. As to ways of quantifying your blog's success, it's a bit like determining whether your store advertisement brought in traffic. Unless you offer a coupon, how will you know?



Customers might mention it when they come in, but that's not a reliable source. Good retailers know that advertising works over the long run if you do it regularly, and the same holds true for your blog. Post three times a week and mention it everywhere you go online, and you'll eventually get traffic, and pick up new readers.


It also becomes much easier to find topics when you have a good writing habit established. (Isn't that a brilliant insight?) It all takes time and it's work. It's part of running your writing business and selling your books. Which brings us to your ultimate statistic - how many books you actually sell. The more you get the word out, the more readers will know that there's a product available for purchase. Your royalty check is your ultimate statistic.




HANK: On the spellcheck of my email, "blog" is not recognized as a word. Nor is "blogger." Spellcheck wants them to be "bog" and "logger." what do you think about that?


DANI: Old email program? Nutty in any case, since blogging isn't exactly a new concept, if the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging) article is any indication. How long have we been doing this - ten years? I'm a late bloomer, but I know writers who have been blogging for a decade.



HANK: Thanks Dani--you're amazing. Questions? Comments? Dani's here!


*************************


When Dani Greer isn't blogging for book tours, she creates and maintains other group blogs like The Blood Red Pencil (http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/) and Penny Dreadful (http://pdreadful.blogspot.com/). Email her at hotbuttonpress AT gmail DOT com if you'd like to participate on either one.


She's also the mogul of Blog Book Tours Yahoo Group, a peer support group which now has 125 author members learning to arrange their own virtual promotions.

FINAL LESSON FOR THE DAY:



Links are terrific. And important! But they can also be a pain. Here's what was shown on yesterday's blog here:


In fact, I remember my first blogging experience. Ann Parker (http://www.annparker.net)and/ I went to the Women Writing the West Conference and we agreed to blog the event on their brand-spanking-new blog(http://womenwritingtheest.blogspot.com/).


Lovely. But the links don't work.



In the first one, the "and" somehow got connected. (Bzzzt. Wrong.)


In the second one, the "w" in west was omitted. (Bzzt! Wrong.)



Here's the corrected version:



In fact, I remember my first blogging experience. Ann Parker (http://www.annparker.net/) and I went to the Women Writing the West Conference and we agreed to blog the event on their brand-spanking-new blog (http://womenwritingthewest.blogspot.com/).

BSP: Don't forget our own wonderfulRoberta Isleib is on blog-tour for Asking For Murder! http://robertaisleib.com/blog/

ON BLOGGING SECRETS

"Communication works for those who work at it.”
***John Powell

What are the secrets to a terrific blog? You read blogs—you’re here, right? And you probably write them. Have you ever thought—this is fun, but is it worth it? And now, Jungle Red Writers bring you to the guru.

Dani Greer—you know her from the Blog Book Tours Yahoo! Group, a peer support group, now has 125 author members learning to arrange their own virtual promotions. (Four member tours are underway in September including our own Roberta’s Asking For Murder tour.)

But did you know:
She was once a Blue Ribbon Expert for Martha Stewart OmniMedia?
English is her second language? Her red accordion has mysteriously vanished? She feeds 22 cats... homecooked meals? She knows how to use a real scythe?

She’s also got websites and all kinds of resources for bloggers and would-bes--but she's here today and tomorrow to impart her wisdom in a special Jungle Red visit!

HANK: So nice to see you here! Thank you. You're unquestionably the knower-of-all-knowledge about everything blog.

How'd that happen?

DANI: ROFLMFO (rollingonthefloorlaughingmyfannyoff)! I have no idea how it happened, except through my enthusiasm about them. Several years ago, I didn't even have a blog. Not sure I even knew what one really was.

In fact, I remember my first blogging experience. Ann Parker (http://www.annparker.net)and/ I went to the Women Writing the West Conference and we agreed to blog the event on their brand-spanking-new blog
(http://womenwritingtheest.blogspot.com/).

We were both clueless!

Ann had her laptop, and I was technologically stunned by my first digital camera, too, but we managed to bumble our way through. It didn't take us long to get the hang of it, despite the fact that I'm a techno-idiot and Ann wasn't much wiser in the ways of blogs.

We soon realized it really wasn't rocket science. Most importantly, I quickly realized that blogging is one of those dynamic tools that has unbelievable advertising potential, and it's better than cheap.

My former life as a self-employed artist has trained me well to always be on the look-out for the best promo tools which means some combination of best cost and most effective results. Blogs perfectly match those qualifications - free and viral. But, you have to learn to use the tool well. That's what the Blog Book Tours group is all about. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours)

HANK: Bet you're not a techno-idiot anymore! And more about that in a minute. But "Learn to use the tool well," you say. Yup, that's what intrigues us all. Sometimes I read blogs that end with a thud. Are there tricks to keeping readers interested? I know, after thirty years in TV, the value of a "tease' or a 'promo', and of course, the value of a good old contest. It's not just about writing an interesting essay, right?

DANI: Not a complete idiot anymore. You learn a lot clicking every live link you can find. One must be fearless when it comes to discovering virtual worlds!

Interesting essays count big-time on a writer's blog, too. Every fan wants the "back story" behind that latest book. But a nice mix of long and short, funny and serious, guests and excerpts, jokes and photos, history and current events, posts with a natural flow from day to day, will bring readers back to your blog. Yes, of course, contests draw participation. That's the number one way to get a lot of visitors fast.

You also have to set-up your blog so it's easy for your fans. Have a bookmarking button, for example. A way for fans to email you. A great blogroll of blogs just as hot as yours that somehow expand on your blog's focus.

My favorite and most obvious trick for getting readers? End your post with a question inviting reader participation. It's the favorite trick of The Tarts over at The Lipstick Chronicles and it obviously works. (http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/ http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/> ?)

The tease? I would suggest you tweet about it over at Twitter (http://twitter.com/ http://twitter.com/> ). I've doubled my hits since I started posting teasers and links to cool sites. I tweet about everything including Roberta's blog book tour. I'll be tweeting about our conversation here, too. Tweet-tweet. Do you suppose your fans are wondering what tree I fell out of right about now?

HANK: Oh, we're devoted fans of Lipstick. They're amazing. And talented. (I'm just saying.) And yeah, Twitter. You and I have to chat about that. I'm afraid I have a bit of twitter-fear. But I know you can cure me. But let me ask you--for me and all your fans. Where are you? Where are you from? What do you do when you're not giving advice to the blog-lorn?

DANI: I'm smack in the middle - Colorado to be exact. Hubby and I are self-employed artists who make art for churches. We're currently finishing stained glass for a new church on the High Plains and painting iconography for an Eastern Orthodox Temple in Colorado Springs. Writing about it, too, of course, which is how I got into the writing world to begin with. Middle-age has put me in serious career-shift mode. So I started focusing more on writing than on my art. It's been a slow and rough process for me. Some days, I'm not sure I even enjoy writing.

I also knew after my first writing conference that I wouldn't be headed down a traditional publishing path, nor would I promote a book with the usual live book tour. I'd have to find another way, a better way for me, and that's part of why I learned (am still learning) about blog book tours, and all the related virtual tools. Really, with environmental and energy issues, not to mention the economic downturn, I think most authors will have to find smarter ways to promote their new releases.

In today's world, a two-week blog tour and a week on the road in one's immediate region makes perfect sense. In a few years, we might have to skip the live tours entirely. Times are changing, and the publishing industry right along with it.

HANK: What's the biggest mistake bloggers make? Okay, the two biggest mistakes?

Oh—sorry gang. We’re out of time for today! Dani will be back with more tomorrow!