Ready to Get People Excited to Read Your Blog?
When you hear about the need to engage, a lot of people think about social media networks such as Facebook and Google+. Blogs often get overlooked.
Most popular blogging platforms provide various features that both allow for and enhance engagement and sharing just like you would see on a social network. Just like some social media accounts, blogger profiles exist that have tons of followers and generate a lot of comments, while there are some that seem to generate little attention at all.
Where does your blog lay on this spectrum? Do you desire more interaction on your page? Here are 7 simple tips to help you increase engagement and build a following with your blog:
1. Have a purpose.
Having a well-defined purpose will help give you direction on what to write, and a reason for visitors to keep coming back.
Ensure that you are specific and consistent in your focus, if you keep changing up your focus, your potential audience will get confused and eventually leave. By remaining consistent and narrowing your blogging to a certain niche, you can help establish yourself as an expert in that field and be the go-to person for those seeking advice regarding your particular area of knowledge.
2. Be relevant.
You hear about relevance all the time, and for good reason. Readers have a far greater likelihood of commenting on an article that speaks to them, so provide information that really resonates with them.
Keep up on current trends and relay the latest news. Give hints and tips your target audience would utilize to achieve success.
3. Don’t overdo it with text.
There are a TON of articles and studies out there that define the best or worst length of blog articles. The truth is, they’re all right…and all wrong.
While there is no real sweet spot in terms of blog length, it is typically best practice to keep a median word count between 400 and 700 words depending on the topic.
It hurts a writer’s ego, but few of your visitors care about your lengthy prose. Make it easy to scan by using bold highlights and bulleted lists. Break out key points using write short, crisp sentences, paragraphs, and bullet points.
4. Welcome conversation.
It may sound silly or like basic common sense to say this, but you really do need to ask for engagement from your readers.
- Pose a question.
- Ask their opinion.
- Get their feedback.
People love to be heard; it makes them feel important. Simply ending your article with “What do you think?” may be enough to generate a reply.
5. Answer questions.
Like conversation, honest answers can be the best thing you’ve got in your pocket.
Your readers want to know that you appreciate them and take the time to respond intelligently and promptly to any and all questions.
Never take your readers for granted, always greet them and thank them for their time. You don’t enjoy feeling like you’re talking to thin air, and neither do they.
6. Include sharing buttons on your blog posts.
Make sure you provide the ability to share your blog articles on the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter. When a visitor shares your content on their social networks, it greatly increases the chances you will attract those with whom your content resonates.
If you’re using WordPress, there are tons of high-quality, reputable social sharing plugins that will serve your needs.
7. Make it easy for readers to subscribe to your RSS feed.
This allows your visitors to have your posts delivered to their reader without having to visit your blog each time you publish. That way, they’ll get notified when you share a new post and have even more encouragement to stop by and say hello.
What did you think? Please leave a comment below and let us know!
