As an author you're selling your writing, obviously, but you're also selling you. In the past I've talked about the importance of interacting with your fans and putting yourself out there as much as possible. This isn't new advice; writers have been doing book tours for more than a century, and readings of their work even longer than that. The internet doesn't make any of those things obsolete – any time you can physically interact with fans is a great thing – but it does open up a whole new world of ways to connect with people and get your name out there. If you aren't already using Facebook and Twitter to promote your work, you're behind in the game. But there's something just as useful you should be doing: guest blogging.

I've talked about going on virtual blog tours before when a new book comes out, and it's definitely something that should be part of your all-out "marketing blitz" when releasing a new book, but guest blogging is something that can be done at any time. In fact, it may even be more valuable to do a few guest blogs in between releasing new books, because it's a fantastic way to keep up the traffic on your site and promote sales of all of your work, not just one thing. Plus, if you do good work on other blogs, you'll be expanding a network of people who will work to promote you and help to increase your sales!

So now I've whet your appetite to guest blog, right? Where do you start? Find blogs in your genre and make contact. What does "in your genre" mean? Well, for some things this is easy. If you write sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, or horror, seek out blogs that celebrate that kind of work. Write books that involve food? Blog for a few cooking websites. Chick lit author? Seek out fashion sites. Maybe your hometown has some well-read blogs and they'll be excited to talk about the local boy who made good. Since my work has been critically praised, I might be able to write on blogs that generally focus more on "literary fiction" because I've got that pedigree now. Basically, consider how you brand yourself and think outside the box about who you are and who your readers are.

After you've gotten a few good sites that want you to guest blog, come up with some great ideas for each blog's specific focus and make them some of the best posts you've ever done. Remember, the readers of these blogs aren't the fans that come to your site every day – these are potential new fans, and because of that you need to impress them.  Also, it doesn't hurt to impress the person who runs the site, either, because it could lead to them asking your to guest blog again… not to mention that you want these people championing you to their readers to drive up your traffic and sales!

And don't make the mistake of thinking it's over after you've turned in your brilliant post to the person who runs the site. Find out when it's going to go live and make a point to interact with commenters. Be cool, friendly, and above all try to keep the discussion alive so that people are impressed with the time and effort you spent connecting with them. Even if only a few more people come to your site from each guest blog and buy a book or two, that's more than you would have had and money in your pocket.