Comments on: Blogging FAQ, Day 2: Where Do I Find the Time to Blog?

By: Ann Kingman

Ann Kingman — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:02:42 +0000

@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….

By: Ann Kingman

Ann Kingman — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:06:25 +0000

@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.

By: Katherine Fergason

Katherine Fergason — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:58:02 +0000

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.

By: Trish Lawrence

Trish Lawrence — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:29:13 +0000

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

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:50:58 +0000

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.

By: Drew Goodman

Drew Goodman — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:04:34 +0000

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.