Blogging FAQ, Day 2: Where Do I Find the Time to Blog?
image credit: Aaron Geller via Flickr
There’s no denying the fact that blogging is a time consuming activity. First, there is the time devoted to setting up the blog, choosing the look and feel, learning how to use the software, thinking up a name …
And then there’s the ongoing commitment: it takes me about 20 minutes to write each post, and another 5-10 minutes to find the illustration or book jacket, prepare it to post, and link to the post on twitter and Facebook.
But I keep coming back to the same thought: this is something you have to do. And so you have to make the time.
For the first time since I can remember, the “advertising and marketing” playing field has been leveled. I remember hearing booksellers bemoaning the fact that the chain bookstores could take out full-page ads. They had television commercials. How could indies compete?
Well, nobody is buying full page ads anymore. You don’t need deep pockets to blog. And in fact, independent bookstores actually have the advantage over chains when it comes to blogging. You can determine the content. You can react to events both national and local. You can promote your author events. You can create connections with your customers. You can extend your staff picks and shelf-talkers out onto the internet for customers (and prospective customers) to read at their leisure. You can answer customer complaints, and brag about customer compliments. You can talk with your customers. You can strengthen the “brand” of your store. And it doesn’t cost much money at all.
Sure, it’s easier to call your local newspaper and cut them a check for $600 to run an ad. Has that really worked for you? Wouldn’t you rather invest the time and create an ongoing conversation and relationship with your customers?
In reality, here are some things that you can do to help make the time crunch a bit less painful:
- Create an editorial calendar – a lot of the time and stress comes from thinking about what to write. By planning out a month’s worth of ideas, much of this pressure is removed. You can always change the schedule if something comes up that you just have to write about, but having a calendar to refer to can make your life much easier.
- Work around themes – you can follow a weekly formula for posts, and then just fill in the blanks as needed. For instance, on Monday, highlight one or two new books coming in that week; on Wednesday promote an upcoming event; on Friday feature a staff selection.
- Schedule posts in advance – you can write blog posts and schedule them to publish at a later date. For instance, I am writing this series of FAQ posts over two days, but and will schedule them to publish one post per day. This is a nice way to create some “breathing room” for when things get crazy in the store; if you have a few posts in waiting, it will be less of a problem.
- Incorporate the staff – just as your staff is an important part of your store, it should also be an important part of your blog. If you have one or more trusted booksellers, let them be a regular poster on your blog. Remember, the blog is a marketing and promotion vehicle for the store; as such, I think that it’s fair to pay or otherwise incentivize your staff members for the time spent blogging, and to provide them with the computer and space to do it if necessary.
- Repurpose content – Expand on shelf-talkers and newsletter content, and rework things you’ve written for other uses. You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel.
- Just do your best. If you haven’t updated your blog in a week, don’t apologize. Just start back on a regular schedule. Life happens, and everyone knows that.
For more tips, read How To Find Time to Blog (When It’s Not Your Day Job) by Rohit Bhargava.
For those of you that are already blogging, please share your thoughts in the comments. Have you found any shortcuts? How are you handling the time crunch?
Tomorrow: Blogging FAQ, Day 3: I already have a newsletter; Do I really need a blog?
Previous posts in this series:
Ten Days of Blogging FAQs
Day 1: Who’s going to read our blog?
Drew Goodman says:
February 5th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Ann, this was a recurring theme we found at Winter Institute in Salt Lake. Booksellers were being encouraged to blog- Bob Miller from HarperStudio stated that “Every bookstore should have a blog.” Sadly, many booksellers were wary of blogging, and the number one reason seemed to be- “I just don’t have the time.”
I would say to booksellers- Find the time. You can’t afford not to blog. Either you can capture your customer’s attention, or someone else will.
Patrick says:
February 5th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Great post, Ann, as always. I would add that a group blog that I used to write for tried various ways of paying its contributors. First, they did a simple per word payment scheme, but this led to long posts and lots of needless junk. Then they switched to a base pay with bumps tied to traffic. In other words, if your post got picked up all over the internet, you made more money. It was a great incentive to do the absolute best work possible.
I don’t expect bookstores to start writing checks to their bloggers, but there are other ways to do it. At Vroman’s, we have an employee incentive system already in place called “Performance Points.” You can get them for excellent customer service, going above and beyond your job description, or writing a shelf-talker. The points are then redeemable for paid time off, gift cards to Vroman’s, or gift cards to local record stores, movie theaters, coffee shops, etc. Perhaps a bookstore could provide performance points incentives to the bloggers based on number of links, traffic generated, etc.
One thing I would urge against is tying it to books sold. There really is no good way to measure how many books our blog sells, as people often come to the store to buy a book they read about on the blog (or so the salesfloor folks tell me). Additionally, booksellers should think of their blog as a branding tool first and foremost, and not a direct sales machine. Just my two cents.
Trish Lawrence says:
February 5th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Great posts, Ann, and I agree with everything you wrote. Every bookseller should have a blog and utilize as much social media as they can. It’s an opportunity for them to reach out and provide priceless research and insight into the ever-cascading world of books.
You can also hire a blogger, not an employee, to write the blog for you. (Disclaimer: I am a blogger for hire and provide blog posts to several individuals and companies on a weekly basis.) Thus, I won’t linger on this point.
I also love the idea of paying bookstore employees to write for the blog. I believe anyone who contributes to the success of a business should be rewarded. It can also be incentives and not just for cash, as Patrick noted.
And also, as Patrick said, a blog is a brand, not a cash register. It’s a place where a bookstore can provide that extra bit of customer service to differentiate itself from the bigger chains. Plus, as a huge fan of independent bookstores, I frequently buy from them just to get the extra insight into a new arrival, staff picks, recommendations, and other information that independents offer. The “others” (chains) try, but cannot deliver the same. Blogs are a great place to store that wealth of information and a way to expand a bookstore’s audience in a big way.
My .02
Trish Lawrence
http://www.trishlawrence.com/blog
Katherine Fergason says:
February 5th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I’m still really new to the blogging game and I know I haven’t quite found my footing yet, but I’ve tried to get myself to see the blogging time as “me time”. When I’m being driven crazy by other projects or to wind down and clear my head at the end of the day. It’s somehow therapeutic… it’s really just journaling, after all. The disadvantage being, my posts are whatever is on my mind and therefore not specializing in the way that everyone seems to recommend. Hopefully that will come with time.
Ann Kingman says:
February 6th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
@Drew – Time is indeed one of the biggest problems, and it’s a legitimate concern. But like you, I think you just have to find the time. Period.
@Patrick Performance Points in an interesting concept. Thanks for sharing! I know a few companies (not bookstores) that have a “bonus” structure in place for blog posts. For instance, each employee is eligible for $100 bonus after writing 10 approved blog posts. The “approved” part keeps people from just writing to get the bonus. There are many ways it can be done, but I think the important thing is to recongize that if it is part of the job, it should be treated as such. If it’s something “extra,” then people just won’t do it, especially hourly employees who, as we know, are not overpaid in this business.
@Katherine – interesting perspective on the “me” time. I think that’s a great way to look at it. Thanks.
Ann Kingman says:
February 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
@Trish – Thanks for your comment, which I just freed from the blog’s spam filter. Evidently any post with 2 or more links is marked as Spam. Sorry about that!
I will mull over the idea of blogger for hire. Hmmmm….
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