One of our lovely 10 Days to a Better Blog email course members emailed me the other day with such an important question that I just had to share both it, and my answer for everyone to see.
Her question was “How do I get my readers to engage more with me and my blog?”
Now this is something I know both established bloggers and newbie bloggers can struggle with. When you decided to put your words, images, opinions and dreams out into the world via your blog, it can bloody scary. And it can be really deflating when that post you’ve just slaved over gets completely ignored by the interwebs.
It’s kind of like being the new kid at school. It seems like everyone around you has their little tribe of buddies, and you are all alone. But just like on your first day of school, all you need is to make that one connection with someone special, and you just know everything is going to be ok. And then slowly, slowly your own little tribe builds, full of amazing people who love you for your quirks, personality, flaws, gifts and idiosyncrasies.
And blogging is exactly the same! Once you make those first few real connections with readers, the floodgates open (a little at first, then more and more) and your tribe comes pouring in!
So how do you make those first connections??
1 – You have to put YOU into your posts, flaws and all.
Let me go back to the school kid analogy. If that kid had turned up at school wearing a mask, or even just acting all aloof and jerk-like, and never letting anyone in to see the real them, then no one is going to want to be friends with that kid. People connect so much better with people, than they do just words and stock imagery. They can get that anywhere, but they can only get YOU on YOUR blog. So don’t be afraid to let yourself be seen. And this applies for bloggers of all topics, not just fashion and beauty.
So speak in first person (just like you would if you were chatting to a friend), share the times that you completely failed as much as the times you smashed it out of the park, and make sure there is a photo of you in the sidebar AT LEAST (if not inside your posts as well).
2 – It’s rude not to answer!
If someone was to come up to you on the street and say, “Hey, I love your bag”, and you just kept on walking and ignored them. Then that person would probably think you were the rudest b*tch on the planet, and they just might “accidentally” spill their coffee on you as you walk away as well. In short, ignoring people is just not how you make friends. And guess what your loyal blog readers are? They are your online besties! So if someone is brave/nice enough to leave a comment on your blog, you better be replying to them! Otherwise you may as well just give them the finger, because they won’t be coming back to talk to you anytime soon.
It also pays to install a plugin like ReplyMe, or Disqus, so your commentors get notified when someone does reply to their comment, and it gives them even more reason to come back!
3 – Give them what they want
One of the things we cover in-depth in our Secret Bloggers’ Business eCourse is how important it is to know who your ideal reader is; including their hopes, fears and dreams, so you can create content that is going to provide value to those readers. Something that solves a problem they have, shows them how to do something they’ve always wanted to do, or that makes them feel included, validated or part of a gang. There are loads of ways to add value to your readers, and if you keep this in mind every time you write a post you will not only start growing your tribe of loyal online friends, but you’ll get loads more comments and shares as well.
4 – If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
This last one is super simple, but it works. Always end your post with a question! Whether you are asking them to share their opinion or experience, or even their favourite ice cream flavour. It doesn’t matter. You will get way more comments if you prompt people to leave them! It’s just a fact.
And of course these aren’t the only ways, but they are a great place to start.
Image via dollarphotoclub
