In my last article about marketing your self-published book I talked about creating your author platform. Part of the creation of that platform will naturally (hopefully) be some kind of blog or website that showcases your work. Other than a venue for your brilliance, a blog is supposed to allow you to connect with readers who may become your future book-buying fans. So for this article I want to focus on building your online relationships.

By the time you get to the self-publishing phase, it will be assumed that you already have a solid base of readers and fans just waiting in line for you to publish so they can purchase your book. In order to reach this highly coveted position you're going to need to communicate with people. Whether or not you're already doing that in person, you are still going to need to do the work necessary to connect with your online fans.

Self-publishing means that you are the main, in fact, the only hat-wearer. You need to learn how to promote yourself and your work, and most importantly perhaps, how to connect with people online. Here are a few things to remember about readers that will make relationship building online a little smoother.

Everyone is strapped for time. Make it worthwhile for people to visit your blog. Don't waste their time by offering useless platitudes, meaningless drivel, and empty promises. If you want them to come back over and over, give them something of value.

The most insulting thing you can do is to ignore people when they comment or try to connect with you. If someone reaches out to you online, it's because they have an interest in what you're offering.

Who are you to ignore them? I'll answer that for you. You're the person who isn't going to sell a single book.

Remember how powerful it was back in the days of brick-and-mortar businesses to have someone tell you about their favorite breakfast spot, or the best place to see a movie? Well multiply that by about a million now that we have the Internet, social media, and God save us, hashtags. Think about it very carefully before you shoot yourself in the foot on this one. 'Every person matters' should be your mantra if you're anyone selling anything online.

Know your posting limit. Consider how much information we're all ingesting right now and then ask yourself, honestly, how much more information do you think your readers may be able to handle without getting stressed and unsubscribing from your blog or social feed. A few posts in the morning, mid-day, and evening should be your limit on social media. You need to be aiming for content designed to initiate conversation or connection, not posting everything that strikes your fancy. Blog posts should be limited to a maximum of 3 per week – and even that is high. The reason is that overposting to your blog, or being inconsistent (saying you'll post once and hammering them with 3 emails a week) is THE number one way to lose subscribers.

We could truly talk all day long about this topic, and if you're a smart and savvy author, you'll consider expanding your knowledge of social media beyond Facebook and Amazon. Join me in the forums - if you're a published author and are looking for a way to earn some points toward your free advertising. Whether published or not however, I know you have experiences and wisdom to share.