There's no way to let them get to know you better, and find out what other products you have that might interest them.
In short, there's no way to build a relationship—the most crucial factor in marketing. When a reader feels he/she knows you as the author, that reader is more likely to read your other books, buy your products or services, and pass on your book to other people.
However, you can get around these roadblocks with just a few simple strategies.
If your book is not yet published, by all means, include something in the book that will drive people to your web site to sign up to get something. Create a free report, ask them to register their book for some kind of bonus, offer an newsletter—as many enticing offers as you can manage.
If your book is published already and you haven't done the above, consider sending postcards with your web site address (where people can get the bonuses). Also, send emails to everyone you know who might pass on your message of your special offer.
There's also a new program Amazon.com has created, called AmazonConnect. You don't even need a web site for this, so it's something you can do right away. Perhaps you've noticed that when you log on to Amazon.com, one of the first things that comes up is "AmazonConnect" and your "plog."
The "plog" is a personalized web log that appears on your customer home page. When you buy a book via Amazon, and the author is part of the AmazonConnect program, you will receive messages by that author.
AmazonConnect, provides a way for authors to communicate with their buyers. It's not ideal, since you do not yourself have their contact information, but it's much better than nothing. One nice feature of the program is that your readers can post whether they liked your post are not. The interaction can provide valuable feedback to you, and if you're active with it, it's another way to reach your readers and generate "word of mouth" advertising--the best kind of advertising on the planet.
Another nice thing is this requires no extra cost on your part. If you are an author with at least one book for sale on Amazon.com, you are eligible to participate in AmazonConnect. To learn more about the program and to sign up, visit http://www.amazon.com/connect.
These are just a few ways to try to get in direct contact with readers. Other ways that work well include getting radio interviews, or doing a podcast or teleseminars on your topic.
The key is to make sure there's some kind of action for people to take to get in touch with you and you with them. On a radio interview, for instance, make sure the host will give out your web site address, or a number for people to call to get some sort of bonus. Same thing with a teleseminar.
As Seth Godin said, your goal is to turn strangers into friends, and friends into customers … who will buy from you again and again, and tell everyone they know about your wonderful book!
