As you might notice, it has been a couple weeks since I blogged last, as I have been very busy with my growing family. (And, while writing this post, I took a 1.5 hour break to assist my family, which isn't a bad thing - although I'm more tired right now. We are very blessed, but I am stating a fact). Between my family and job, I have had little time for much else. However, I have fit in an upcoming, second book signing at Park Row Books in Clinton, NY, on February 9th, from 1-3, and I am looking forward to that. This bookstore is the one such store in my local area that has been very supportive toward me as a local author.
As the new year continues to proceed, I believe it is a ripe time to consider the future direction for this blog. I believe this blog should have two goals: to become more interactive and to create a larger readership. I have done about 50 blog posts in the past year and not a single reader of this blog has posted a comment. In order to post, all you have to do is click on the time underneath the message and then post away. Some might suggest I am writing on a narrow topic or readers don't know how to post a reply, but the number of email responses to me has indicated a healthy - no pun intended - number of responses. So I need to make it more interactive. On most given days, I have between 10 and 40 page loads of this blog which, honestly, is very low readership. I'm not sure quite why this is, whether it is I don't blog frequently enough or because the topic turns some off or if it's because the blog focuses almost exclusively on my book - or maybe it is all of the above.
So, my hope for this blog in the newyear is:
1) to encourage readers to post on this blog.
2) to increase the readership of this blog.
It's interesting because the Internet and specifically amazon.com are the primary reasons my book is able to have any impact. The vast majority of my books sold have been through the Internet. Amazon.com has a host of nonfiction, niche books that otherwise would receive little attention in bookstores (which are often indifferent toward self-published authors) or in the media. Amazon.com allows the viewer to be at the doorstep of your book, and you can market it any way you want. Plus, I believe the more savvy readers are those who buy items from the Internet, as you can often find better deals on Internet sites than through local stores.
I am getting on a tangent here, but the question is, how will I encourage readers to post on this blog and increase its readership? After some thought, I am planning to focus this blog more on treatment tips for nasal sufferers (and specifically empty nose sufferers), to blog on a more frequent basis, and to attempt to present the most current news with respect to empty nose syndrome. To some extent, I already do the aforementioned through my empty nose newsletter (which has about 30 readers), and I will keep the newsletter on the cutting edge of my thoughts - that won't be provided through this blog - but I will post more regularly on what I find has been helpful to me as an empty nose sufferer.
And maybe I'll even add some more photos, so you can get to know me better. Below is a photo of the view of the valley about one half mile from my house on my road, which is where I run during the summer months. And, yes, that is what it looks like this time of the year, snow covered and all!
So, please stay tuned...because in the coming days and weeks, my blog will take this turn, hopefully for the better.
