One of the most disturbing trends I've noticed among blogging mystery writers who want to sell books online is blogging for a week or so and then simply calling it quits.. Their reasoning? "No one is reading my blog."

Guess what guys, you're right.

No one IS reading your blog. At least not now.

In fact, it's unlikely anyone even knows about your blog. Getting a reading audience takes enjoyment of the task and the patience to build relationships. As an author, you can probably write five or 10 blog posts without breaking a sweat. But can you write 365? Even better question, are you willing to write 365?

If committing to blogging seems like hard work, this probably isn't the best venue for you. But if you love your subject, want to interact with your readers, and want to sell books online, blogging is the easiest way to go.

In my book, Blog Your Book to the Top!, I write about bloggers whose readers are so personally connected to mystery writers they they can't wait to buy a new book. And I'm not talking about the reading audience for the Stephen Kings of the world - I'm talking about authors you've never heard of. They blog, they build relationships with readers, and they have created a dedicated book buying audience.

Most mystery writers write every day . . . how much harder would it be for you to commit an extra 15 minutes of writing time to adding something to your blog daily? In fact, why not start marking off days on your calendar that you blog. Before long, I bet you'll have a whole string of Xs . . . and blogging will have become part of your everyday writing life.

As an author myself, I know what it feels like to think I'm writing in a vacuum; writing is a lonely profession and without feedback, we never make that incredible reader connection. Now with blogging, the connection can be created . . . if you're willing to be persistent and blog day after day after day, even though no one is probably reading. At least not today.