Thinking About a Blog? by Chelle Cordero

Blogging is a terrific way to mouth off about a variety of subjects and if you scour the internet you'll see plenty of examples of unchecked blogging. Unfortunately for some, the things that get posted on a blog will hang around forever.

Of course some of the words in a blog can also do a lot of good. Authors can use blogs to promote their books and even themselves as writers. Posting excerpts, back stories and commentary which relates to a book's subject will go a long way towards marketing. When the blogger regularly posts then his or her readers know to keep coming back. Allowing readers to post comments - and answering each comment - will help to maintain interest.

Some blog hosts will invite others to guest post. Guest posts may be part of a virtual blog tour (a series of online appearances often used for book launches) or random pop-ins. Particularly when a blog host welcomes someone to their site it's a good feeling when they feel the time and space was well spent.

If you are lucky to land a guest spot don't leave the burden of publicity on your host - it should be a shared venture. Invite traffic to the blog - use emails, post the guest spot on your blog, social network sites, Twitter and mail forums. Ask people to leave comments; lots of comments will help the blog pop up in search engines and will increase traffic. Friends can do a lot to help by stopping by blogs and leaving comments, Tweeting the blogs and telling your friends to stop by.

There's a definite advantage to visiting blogs as well, even if you aren't doing it as a favor for someone else. Use a search engine to find blogs that attract readers in the genre you write in and visit the blogs yourself. Take time to read the most recent posts and sign in to leave comments. Flattery is good if it's sincere, but nasti-isms are unnecessary; your comments should sound smart (as if you really read the post), open the door to constructive discussion and reflect well on you.

When you leave a comment also leave a signature; at the very least your signature should include your name and website address. Other blog visitors will see your comments and if they seem interesting may want to see what you are all about. Publicly following blogs may also bring you increased traffic to your own sites.

Be a social butterfly - blog and invite readers to visit, visit other blogs and introduce yourself and always spread the word.

Oh, one more thing - please leave a comment.

~Chelle Cordero
http://ChelleCordero.com