2 Steps to Convert Blog Readers Into Book Buyers Blogging is a powerful way to create a built-in audience for a book. But it takes something slightly different to convert your blog audience into book buyers. It takes engagement. While high traffic is the best way to get readers (and advertisers) to your site, engagement is the best way to get them to stick around and support your book. Here is the two step process to help your audience become more engaged: Bring them in. 1. Readers become more engaged when they feel like they know you as a person. The most powerful way to build this strong connection is by sharing personal experiences. So don’t be shy about telling stories about your day-to-day life—everything from what’s going on with your family, weekend plans, funny stories, fun things you did, personal struggles, and candid snapshots of real life. This also holds true for the publishing journey—feel free to share an insider look at your work on the manuscript, photography, or project development. This is a natural, authentic way to start building anticipation for the book and to share your excitement about it. Action step: When sitting down to write a post, think about what personal peek into your life you can share with readers, whether it’s a funny story about your day, a candid photo, or a behind-thescenes shot of your process. 2. Keep them close. Building an email list is the best way to make sure that everyone who loves your work will know that you’re releasing a book. These days, with algorithms always changing, it can be risky to rely on the happenstance of social media to bring the readers to you. With an email list, your work will go to them. Your email list should send all your blog posts to subscribers using a service like MailChimp, and it can also be used to send special emails about the book in the months leading up to release. Your email list will likely be much smaller than your total readership, but these will be the most engaged and enthusiastic readers, as well as the ones most likely to support your book. Action step: The most effective way to increase subscribers is with a pop-up. This should pop onto your page and entice readers to sign up to receive your posts in their inbox. Secondary options are a scrollbar that pops up when a user scrolls or a top-of-the-page banner. Implementing these two steps now, even before the book is done, has been shown to make a book release much easier, more effective, and far more successful! Confidential: For Client Use Only.