I know that you are always thinking about it, but I also know that it’s usually while you are doing the seventy-seven things required to keep that business running.

I’ve found much value from reading two blogs on a regular basis:  Seth Godin’s Blog and Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation.

Both also have books that you should read (and recommend to your customers, put on a table display, and write up in your e-newsletters …  but more on that later).  And Mitch has a weekly podcast that is one of my favorites. But time is short, so if you do nothing else, subscribe to their blogs. Both men get right to the point, and write posts that make you look at things just a little bit differently. If you can read their blog posts without having your attention drawn away for two minutes, I think your business will benefit. You may not always agree with what they write, but they will certainly make you think.

image credit: zest-pk via Flickr

It’s fall trade show time, and there will be much buzz about booksellers and social media during educational sessions and panels. I think that’s a fantastic thing. My point of view has always been that participating in social media is optional IF you understand how social media works, the benefits, and the drawbacks. I look forward to hearing reports of bookseller experiences with social media.

Rich Rennicks of Malaprop’s Bookstore has done a wise thing and posted his ideas on booksellers and social media in advance of his SIBA panel appearance. It’s so easy to lose track of what you want to say on those panels. I’ve often left the stage frustrated because I forgot to make that one key point that would have made someone understand my message more clearly. And this way, Rich’s wisdom can be shared with those of us who won’t be attending SIBA.

I highly recommend that you go read Rich’s post in full. Here are a few gems that he shares from his experiences with social media:

To participate you don’t actually need your own blog — I think it’s better if you have a homepage, blog or store website to link back to because it’s a place for the conversation to continue and grow – but it’s not essential in order to get involved in the conversations you want to be involved in.

…you can’t be afraid to be personal, to show some heart and share your individual interests and point of view: that’s what makes social media compelling.

Twitter isn’t the be-all and end-all. … Different mediums suit different personalities; play around with what’s out there before you reject social media as not for you.

There’s more — much more — that can’t be summed up in pull quotes. Please go read Rich’s post, and think about it as you talk with your fellow booksellers. I’d love to hear your thoughts. What happened at your local trade show? Did you come away with new thoughts about social media? Did you hear any great success stories? Please share, we’d all love to hear about it.

image credit: m4r00n3d via Flickr

I’ve been thrilled to see quite a few new bookstore blogs spring up over the last few months. Congratulations to all of you who’ve taken the plunge. I’ve tried to add everybody to the list of independent bookseller blogs on the side of Booksellers Blog, but if I’ve missed you, please let me know. You can leave the link in the comments so others can see it as well.

You might be wondering why few people seem to be commenting on your blog.

First: have patience

From experience, I can tell you that it takes time to build a readership that is a) large enough and b) comfortable enough to comment. Like anything else on the internet, a very small percentage of readers will ever comment. The statistic that is often thrown around is that 1-2% of readers will comment. Most readers are happy to “lurk” — that is, read your posts, absorb your information, maybe even attend the author event or buy the book — but they won’t comment. That’s just human nature. However, as your readership grows, though the percentage may not change, the number of commenters will also grow.

Make it easy for people to comment

While you may fear an onslaught of spam, comment moderation and captcha codes are hoops that many people just won’t jump through. Your blog host likely has pretty hefty spam filtering. We’ve found very little spam on our blogger blog, and this self-hosted wordpress uses a spam filter. What little spam does get through is simply annoying: someone leaving a generic comment with a link to their site. It’s easy to block. If you find otherwise, you can always turn on stronger measures later. To begin, leave your comments open and unmoderated.

Write to encourage comments

You can also try to increase the number of commenters by structuring your posts in a way that makes it more natural for your readers to comment. Asking a question at the end of the post often works well. “Tell us what you think.” “What have your experiences been?” “Leave your recommendations in the comments for others to see”, etc. I have found that this is very effective when it’s not too contrived.

Some people will deliberately leave “room” for reader comments. For instance, if you are writing a post about “10 books that feature a local setting”, it might be better to call it “5 books” and leave some unmentioned, ending the post with a “What are your favorites?”,  for other readers to add in the comments.

Take guidance from the experts

Problogger.com recently ran a great article about other ways to encourage comments, How to Create Compelling Content Through Reader Interaction. It’s well worth reading and bookmarking — and maybe even printing out to keep near your desk where you blog.

Lastly, realize that comments aren’t everything

While it’s tempting to evaluate the success of a blog based on the number of comments, there are other ways to measure how you’re doing. Are people commenting about your blog when they are in the store? Are readers emailing you directly, or calling the store to reserve a book you’ve mentioned? Are they clicking through to your website? Are others linking to your blog? Has the media picked up on one or more of your posts? Any of these, and others that I haven’t mentioned, are signs that you are providing value to your customers.

Though I do confess, I love it when I get an email that I have a new comment.

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Several 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 blogging, and now I have a few inquiries to add to the list of “frequently asked questions.”

Question: How often do I have to blog?

My response: if it feels like a chore and is treated as such, it won’t be much fun and your readers will be able to tell.

If you are invested in your bookstore, either as an owner or as someone who wants to make a career from bookselling, writing about books and your bookstore should be fun. Maybe I’m an idealist. Certainly there are times for me when it feels like just one more thing on a long to-do list, but once I start writing, or come up with a topic, it really is something that I enjoy.

So let’s assume that the question is phrased this way: “How often should I blog?”

Common wisdom seems to be that the more often you blog, the more your readership will grow, up to a limit. It makes sense: if there is always new content, people will keep coming back. If they find that content does not change often enough, they will forget about your blog and not visit.

Darren Rowse answers this question in his Problogger post, What is the Ideal Post Frequency for a Blog.

In his post, Darren talks about ideal posting frequency for bloggers, what is ideal (hint: it varies according to your audience), and how new bloggers should pace themselves, working up to their ideal posting level. I particularly like what he has to say about consistency:

More important in my mind than actual numbers is that a blogger find a rhythm and stick to it. This is important as it helps their readers to know what to expect and to align themselves with your rhythm.

My personal preference for bookstore blogs is to see new content there 3-4 days a week, at minimum.  But that’s just me.

If you’ve been blogging and care to share your experiences with scheduling and posting frequency, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Thanks.

image credit: foggiegee via Flickr

Have you thought about your marketing for Holiday 2009 yet? You’re probably finishing your fall buying about now, and getting ready to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe you’re planning on enjoying the summer, handselling some beach-reads, and preparing for back to school.

Not so fast.

Now is the time to prepare for your holiday marketing

If you are planning, wishing, or hoping to blog, set up an email newsletter, or use social networking tools to connect with your customers during this upcoming holiday season, the time to start preparing is now. It takes time to build a readership or a following online. It takes time to find your voice, to try new things and discover what works, and to integrate your online marketing with the rest of your business objectives.

You should start now, if you haven’t already.

Here are some things you should be doing and thinking about:

What is your online profile at this very moment? Set up a Google Alert for your store name, your name, and any keywords that are important to you. Google Blogsearch will tell you if bloggers are mentioning your store.  Use a search engine to see how you stack up in searches that prospective customers might use. What comes up if you Google “bookstore [yourtown]“? What about “best bookstore in [state]“. What about categories? What comes up if someone is looking for “mystery book” or “science fiction” or “history” in your area? Remember to use the terms that the customer will use, not industry lingo.

Fill out and/or update your Google Local profile. This is an important way to get your store details in front of people who are searching in your area.

What’s your goal? Do you want to bring more traffic into the store, highlight and sell more of your staff picks, increase attendance at events, build awareness of your store in your community, increase business through your website? Pick one (or 2 if you’re ambitious).

What online tools will help you reach those goals, in combination with what you are already doing in-store and through your traditional marketing?

If  you think you want a blog, but haven’t yet started, set up a practice blog. You can keep it password protected, and you can use a free platform like Blogger or Wordpress.com. Blog 2-3 times per week. Is it a realistic pace for you? After a few posts, you should start to discover the voice that you will want to use.  Also evaluate the platform — is it working for you? Will you need a more powerful blogging platform like self-hosted Wordpress?

How is your website looking these days? Is it up to date? If your website plays a part in your strategy, what can you do to improve it? Is it easy to use? Will someone coming to your website for the first time know what you want them to do? Is there a call to action that is clear and obvious (sign up for newsletter, reserve tickets for an event, etc).

Talk with some of your customers about their online activities and preferences. Do they wish they could order through your website more easily? Are they on Twitter? Do they want to learn about your events through Facebook? Do they want to learn more about your staff and the day-to-day of the store? Do they want a place to look at staff recommendations online? Do they want coupons or special deals? Do they like your newsletter. Does it come out too often, not often enough? Does it provide the type of information they want?

Are you ready to get started?

If you choose to blog, twitter, or have a Facebook page, the time to start building and playing with those things is now. Then, when that all important fall rush begins, you will be ready. You will have begun to build your audience. You will have a strategy in place and will be comfortable with the tools.

What are you waiting for?

I’d love to hear what you are planning, and if you feel ready to get started. Leave a comment, and if you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask them here.

Becky McCray at The Small Biz Survival blog has an important post today: Is Twitter worth it for small town businesses?

She asks (and then answers) the tough questions that I know you have been asking:

But what about small town businesses? We don’t have the same share of our local customers on Twitter. How many people can you realistically reach if only 5 or 10 out of your town’s 5,000 people are signed up? How can that be worth the time and effort?

To see what she has to say, read the article at her blog.

Becky is one of the premiere resources for information on how small businesses can use online tools and social media. Her blog is worth a slot in your RSS feed reader.

And now, I promise, no more posts about twitter (unless there is something really important to tell you).

Thanks.

But there’s no denying twitter’s power as a tool for connecting.

Josh Christie, a bookseller at Sherman’s Books in Freeport, Maine, has a great post on his blog entitled: Twitter for Indies – search.twitter.com. Josh gives a quick and simple outline of how and why an independent bookstore can use twitter to connect with local customers. It’s not difficult, and it’s not very time consuming.

(And if you like your beverages made with hops and barley, make doubly sure to add Josh’s blog to your RSS feed reader.  He is as passionate about beer as he is about books and bookselling.)

French journalist Henri Gilbert, Barcaldine, April 1900

I’ve been very excited to hear from a few booksellers that they have recently started blogs. Because I’m not sure if they are ready for public dissemination yet, I won’t post the links here now — but if you are a bookseller who has recently started a blog, and you want some visitors, please let me know — either post here in the comments, or drop me an email (ann at booksellers blog dot com). I’d love to highlight your efforts here, so that everyone else can cheer you on.

I came upon two posts today that will give you some simple tips for blogging.

How to Format YourPosts So People Will Read Them:  Julie Roads gives some practical advice on the relatively new blog that she writes with Ron Miller, Soc Media 101: Social Media Tips & How-tos for Beginners. There is much of value at their site, so I recommend that you subscribe and read all of the ealier posts as well.

Chris Brogan, author of the forthcoming Trust Agents (Wiley August 09; order one for yourself and a few for the store — trust me) talks about an important piece of blogging etiquette in his post Links Are Good Manners.

Still thinking about a blog but unsure if you should start one? Let us know if you have questions, and maybe together, the readers of this blog and I can help you figure out if it’s worth your time.

Is this a big deal for you? For your personal profile, probably not, unless you are a heavy user of Facebook and want an easy way to direct people to your profile. But for your business, it could be.

If you already have a Facebook Page for your business, you may be able to claim a URL for that as well. If your page has 1,000 fans or more (as of May 31st, 2009), you can claim your name.  So your page would be something like www.facebook.com/mybookstore.  That is easier to put in your advertising, on your bookmarks, and in your email newsletters.

If you don’t have 1,000 fans yet, don’t despair. Facebook has said that they will allow you to claim your URL after June 28th, 2009. In the meantime, if your business name is trademarked, you can protect it by filling out a form, and then claim it on June 28th.

A great article that explains all of this is at CNET: A users’ guide to personalizing your Facebook

Image credit: Sreejith K via Flickr

Everybody’s talking about Twitter. In the past month or so, I’ve seen several booksellers and publishing people sign on to twitter to try it out. And I think many are engaging with new people, learning a lot, and having fun.

Here’s the thing: once you follow more than 30 people, the “standard” way of using Twitter (by going to the twitter web page) just doesn’t work. But if you try to keep down the number of people you follow, you don’t get the most out of Twitter, especially if you are using it as a business to engage with your current or potential customers.

How I manage twitter (and don’t let it manage me)

I follow back anyone who a) is not a spammer and b) does not have a twitter stream full of self-promotional tweets. If the first page or two of their twitter stream has something that shows they are human and somewhat interesting, I will follow them back. Since I don’t know if the follower is someone who works at a bookstore, or a reader or listener of Books on the Nightstand, I don’t want to alienate anyone that I might actually want to get to know.

The way I manage it: Tweetdeck. It’s a program that you download and install on your computer. So far it’s the best tool for twitter that I have found.

Put your friends in columns

The key in using Tweetdeck is to set up columns to group your followers. Above is a screenshot of my setup. I have a column for BookPeople, one for Book Bloggers, one for Social Media, and another for Friends. That column all the way over to the left — that’s everybody. I almost never look over there. If I end up talking with someone that I follow, I typically move them into one of those groups.

I try to make a point of dipping into my “all following” column once a week or so to see if there’s someone I want to move to a group, and to see if there’s anything interesting going on. But unless someone from that column replies to me or retweets one of my posts, I don’t typically take notice of them on a day-t0-day basis.

It’s on all day

I run Tweetdeck on my home computer, and leave it on all day. It pulls in the tweets and keeps them, so at any time, I can check in and quickly scroll through messages that came in while I was doing other things. Again, I usually keep this to just one or two columns, so it takes just a minute or two, and I don’t miss anything.
Remember, though, that Twitter is not like email. There is no expectation that you are looking at every tweet. If someone wants to reach you about something important, they will send you an @reply or direct message (and I suggest having your DMs forwarded to your email — you can do this in twitter settings).

Other powerful things that Tweetdeck can do

There are some other features of Tweetdeck that I couldn’t live without:

• Retweet with the click of the mouse
• Built-in URL shortener, to save characters when you are tweeting a link
• Email a tweet you like to yourself or someone else
• Follow, unfollow, add or remove to groups easily from within Tweetdeck
• Favorite tweets you want to read later. You can then create another column for Favorites and read at your leisure
• Create a column for a search term and it will automatically put any tweets with that term in the column
• Follow conferences or conversations that use a hashtag (#) by using a search column

But really, 20 minutes a day?

There are, of course, exceptions to the 20 minutes a day. If I’m in a conversation with someone on twitter, I’ll likely stick around until its natural end. I have also started to use Twitter as my morning news source with my cup of coffee. Many of the people I’m following tweet interesting links and breaking news (follow @jafurtado for publishing news). I find twitter to be fun, so occasionally I will spend 1/2 hour or so in the early morning or in the evening talking with people about publishing or book blogging or whatever.  But on an average day, when I’m busy with work or calling on bookstores, I spend no more than 20-30 minutes on twitter, broken into 5-10 minute increments.

There are a few other twitter “power tools” that I’ll write about in future posts, but really, this is the biggie.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any twitter tricks or tips to share, please let us know in the comments. And if you have questions, ask them there, too; I’m sure others have the same questions.