Comments on: Ten Days of Blogging FAQs

By: Booksellers Blog » How often should you blog?

Booksellers Blog » How often should you blog? — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:25:14 +0000

[...] months ago, I posted Frequently Asked Questions about Blogging, which ran over the course of 10 days. Since then, I’ve spoken to many booksellers about [...]

By: Ann Kingman

Ann Kingman — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:51:45 +0000

Praveen, thanks so much for your feedback!

By: Praveen Madan

Praveen Madan — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Just a quick note to say – THANKS! I just read the entire 10 part series on blogging here and thought is was awesome – insightful, focused, loaded with actionable items. Thank you for doing this.

By: Booksellers Blog » Guest Post: The Vroman’s Approach to Blogging

Booksellers Blog » Guest Post: The Vroman’s Approach to Blogging — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:03 +0000

[...] as “How should I think about staffing my store with people who get the web?” Ann has just run a series of posts right here that answer many of the questions plaguing bookstores – Should we have a blog? How can [...]

By: Booksellers Blog » Blogging FAQ, Day 6: How do I write blog posts that people will want to read?

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:01:55 +0000

[...] Ten Days of Blogging FAQs [...]

By: The King's English Bookshop

The King's English Bookshop — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:20:46 +0000

hallelujah! thank you thank you THANK YOU for saying that whoever writes the blog should be someone you’d allow to talk to the press. i think this is an often overlooked point about a STORE blog (as opposed to a personal blog) — it is official marketing and publicity, and should be treated as such.

By: Drew Goodman

Drew Goodman — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:41:33 +0000

I attended Winter Institute, and you are correct, blogging was a focus. Each of the keynote speakers made mention of blogs, some to a greater extent. Bob Miller of HarperStudio was the single biggest proponent of EVERY store having a blog. (Incidentally, myself, @booksliesalibis, @RichRennicks, @vromans, and @Bookavore were all at Winter Institute and Tweeted quite extensively about it). Rich and I had a short chat with Bob after the keynote about the importance of not only blogging, but all the other social media functions that can lead back to the bookstore blog.
The four of us Tweeters also had several conversations with each other over the course of the weekend about the importance of blogging and all forms of social media for bookstores. I think we all agreed on its growing importance on our businesses and we are urging the ABA to offer educational sessions on social media at WI5.
It was actually amazing to each of how many booksellers there had a fear of using the internet, balking at simple websites not to mention blogging. To them, I would say- “Get over your fear and get online.” The social media component is what can tie you more closely to your customers and help you create what Seth Godin calls a tribe, a fan base, people who want to follow you and become marketers for your store.
I would disagree with you on one thing, Ann. If you are a bookstore owner or manager and you have a computer, get a blog. Now, having said that, I again agree that it is a matter of commitment- but, here is the important part of that commitment: consistency. Some bloggers will tell you that to have a great blog you must post at least every day or even several times a day. That’s not correct. Be consistent. If all you can do is post once a week, then pick a day and do it on the same day every week. If you can do it twice a week, then do it, but be consistent. Decide what is right for you and do it.
The second thing I would say is once you have people who read and comment on your blog, comment back. This is SOCIAL media. It is interactive. It doesn’t take that long to say something as simple as “Thanks for your interesting comments.” Be consistent in acknowledging comments. When blog readers feel a connection to you because you talk back, they are more likely to come back and read again, more likely to buy from you online, and more likely to try to come to your store.