I spend a lot of time in coffee shops. They are a great place to office out of, two have recently become my favorites. I like them not just because of the beverages, or the food, both of which are excellent. It’s not even the fact that they both have free WiFi service that is both reliable and fast.

What has actually drawn me to these particular coffee shops are the other customers.  One of the coffee shops tends to attract younger people, college age students and tech people. Every table has at least one person with a laptop or netbook out busily working away.  The other tends to attract an older crowd, but also very tech savvy, again lots of laptops, smart phones and netbooks.

So why does this matter to a blogger?  People are a great source of material for you. Doesn’t matter what you are writing about, take time to lift your eyes from the screen and look around you! Coffee shops also have notice boards, or at least my two favorites do - guess where my new Social Media business cards appear?  Want to generate extra readers, or even extra work?  Why not use your creativity and come up with an eye catching postcard sized ad (they usually wont allow anything bigger). Maybe something that says “Free Blogging Help Available”.  With all those people with laptops you can be sure some of them are looking for that kind of help. Or maybe run a teaser campaign, think about your topic and run a campaign over a few weeks that leads ultimately to your blog.  Lastly, approach the owner of the coffee shop, especially if you hang out there a lot, see if you can do a deal with them, provide a coupon for money off the price of a coffee for your local readers.

How does the world around you inspire you to promote your blog?

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