Note from Andrew: I’ve only been blogging for a year and a half now and in that short span, I’ve made a lot of great blogging friends. Friends who make it their mission to teach people all they know. Mistakes and all. And friends who give others the opportunity to speak in front of their audience. Friends like that are awesome, and that’s exactly what Adrienne is … awesome. I’ve only been following her since last January and I consider her a great friend. And I’m so thrilled that she accepted my invitation to be my first guest, as I open my guest post series. Take it away, Adrienne.
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| How To Keep Your Readers Always Coming Back For More. |
I am truly honored to be here this month writing this post for you. When Andrew decided to start accepting guests posts I felt very honored that he wanted me to be his first.
After reading what he expected from his guests, in his announcement post, I suddenly became very nervous. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.
We never want to disappoint our readers and since I think the world of Andrew, I wanted to write about a topic I felt his readers could benefit from that I might know a little something about.
Since you obviously blog and want to do well, I thought what better topic to share with you than how you can keep your readers always coming back for more.
Are you ready to dive in?
Me too, so let’s go…
We’re oftentimes asking ourselves how can we make our blogs better? How can we create better content? How can we get more readers? And, of course, how can we get them to want to keep coming back for more?
Question #1 – What Entices You To Read Someone’s Blog?
I know you probably have several ways you can answer this question. Let me share a few off the top of my head that you’re probably thinking right now:- Enticing headlines that draw you in
- Formatted posts that make it easy to read
- Great story telling
- They’re always solving your problems
- You like the way they write
- You’re constantly learning from them
- Their posts are so entertaining
- You’re able to relate to them
- It feels like they’re speaking directly to you
- They’re a good friend and you want to support them
Andrew recently asked 17 bloggers why they read posts and there were a lot of different answers.
That’s a good thing really because that’s what makes us all different. That’s what makes the world go round and keeps things interesting. If everyone thought the same way and did things the same this would be a pretty boring place. That’s why it’s great to have differences of opinions and think different ways.
I also know that we are all unique individuals and special in our own way.
No one really writes the same, which is why I never look at someone who is in my niche as competition. It’s all of the things above including what Andrew’s bloggers shared in that post that will help you make your posts great for your readers.
There will be some people that will connect with you and relate to you where they won’t me or Andrew and that’s perfectly okay.
There is no one size fits all but you do have to write content that will make your readers feel like they cannot only relate to you but learn from you. That you are always helping them with whatever their issues are at that time and they know they can count on you to always deliver.
Sounds like some big shoes to fill right!
Well you’re a blogger and I have faith in you. Trust me when I say that if Andrew and I can do this, then so can you.
Question #2 – How Do You Get Them To Comment On Your Posts?
We’ve covered the great content issue in the question above so we now know that’s a given.Once you start cranking out some really great stuff though, and don’t worry if you’re not there yet because practice does definitely help you become a better writer, this is what you’ll want to do.
Ask them to comment.
You wouldn’t believe how many people who are new to blogging don’t know they’re supposed to leave a comment. I never did in the beginning, no one told me to, and they certainly didn’t ask me.
So you can start out by just asking them to leave a comment — but it really helps more if you ask them some questions to get them going.
I like to do it toward the end of my posts although, as you can see, I’m also asking some in the post itself.
Yes that’s right, we would love for you to share in the comment section below your thoughts to what I’m sharing here and these questions I’m asking.
This is what can help you get actual conversations started just by asking some questions.
People are always in awe when they stop by my place and here at Andrew’s too because there are actual conversations taking place in the comment sections. People love that!
Ask them to share their opinion with you and you’ll be surprised to see how many actually will. Don’t be bashful because you won’t get what you want until you ask for it.
Also be sure to ask them to share your post with their friends too. What I have learned through this is that when a friend of yours sees a post that you shared, and it happens to be on a subject they’ve been searching for, they’ll appreciate the heck out of that and come to you for advice.
Sharing is caring, you’ve heard that phrase and they say that for a reason.
Oh and if you don’t think commenting works, check out what Andrew recently shared in his case study and maybe you’ll have a change of heart.
Question #3 – Are You Being Genuine, Nice, Honest And Helpful?
I recently shared some of my own struggles with my readers and I really received some heartfelt comments. If you don’t mind me sharing, this one really touched my heart.“One of the most admirable qualities of a true leader and expert in their field is to share their real struggles with their audience. I think it can really take some guts to do that especially when we’re all so overloaded with all the guru ways to promote ourselves and our businesses and pretend like we’re amazingly perfect and totally indestructible. Often the best thing to do is just be human, and be relatable.”
When you let your readers get to know you, and that even means when you mess up, they will start to see you as a real person. Not some all mighty powerful blogger who hides behind their computer writing Pulitzer prize worthy content yet we feel is unapproachable.
We all know how much of a people business being online is right!
This is all about people helping people.
When you let your readers see you as a real person just like them then they’re going to be able to relate to you so much better.
Be genuine, be nice, always be honest and of course helpful.
If you believe after reading someone’s comment that they’re having some difficulties with something reach out to them. See if you can help them with whatever they need behind the scenes in an email where no one knows you’re doing this.
Just help them… Remember what it was like when there was no one there to help you. Think what that would mean to them.
People just want to know you care because we all know it’s not about us, it’s about them.
Question #4 – Is That All It Really Takes?
If you’ve been blogging for any length of time then you know what I’m sharing here with you really does works.Some of you also may be wondering well is that really all it takes?
There are so many different aspects of blogging, so many ins and outs to it. I’m going to give you my honest opinion about this though.
What it really takes to be successful with blogging is to know this one very important thing.
People are on your blog searching for an answer to their problem or they want to learn about something they need to know right now.
If you can help them with that and make them feel they are special, then you will be so much ahead of everyone else with enticing them into being a loyal reader and commenter.
You go that extra mile and reach out to them and offer even more help with no strings attached, you’ve got a huge supporter behind you.
How do most bloggers get noticed today?
By people sharing their content, by others spreading the word about them, by them telling their friends about you and by you having a connection with them.
Remember, this is NOT about you. It’s about helping your readers get what they want. You do that over and over and over again and you are not only on your way but you’re probably going to have a darn fine following.
Your Readers Will Absolutely Love You
I live by the motto to treat people the way I want to be treated.Think about that before you sit down to write your post or respond to comments. Have a clear vision of how you can help your audience.
Give them the answers you know they are searching for and then ask them more questions in your post to get them talking. Start some actual conversations and see where that will take you. Ask more questions in the comments if that’s what it takes.
When you have the right mindset you’ll attract the right people to you. You won’t be wasting your time which is a huge concern for many. Help enough of them get what they want and watch what happens.
Be the kind, generous, giving and nice person that we all know you are and help your readers.
Not only will it be the most rewarding experience of your life but you’ll have so much fun. You’ll get to create new relationships with people and you just never know where that can lead.
People buy from those they know, like and trust. Never forget that.
That’s All Folks
Did you learn anything new today?Did you pick up any tips that you think might be helpful?
Are you eager to try anything mentioned here to see if you can get even better results?
Have you taken it a step further? Have you had any amazing results you would like to share with us? We would love to hear them because we like to know what works for you as well.
Oh and of course we want you to share this post with your friends. See how I was able to open this up with questions as well as ask you to share this post with your friends?
It’s really that easy so now I want to see you do the same thing. If you write a post moving forward with something you’ve learned here please let us know! We’d love to stop by and read what you have to share and support you as well.
Thanks for the visit and hope you enjoyed this post. We’ll see you in the comment section. 😎😉👇
وصف
How can we create better content? How can we get more readers? And, of course, how can we get them to want to keep coming back for more?