Many people in the blogosphere nowadays fail to really connect with their readers. Sure, you reply to comments on your blog and you respond to emails (if you even get either of the two). But is that all there is to really creating a steady user base? And on that note, recurring readers/visitors?
I have covered so much in my articles that to have a good, discussion filled comments area is to reply to your readers comments. But there is so much more to it than that when it comes to creating a community. And when I say “more”, I mean “more work”.
Unfortunately there will be some people who only see replying to their comments as perfect reader to admin relationships. While I am not saying that you should not reply to comments on your blog (I actually advise you to), I’m saying that you can so much more.
Why Connect with your Readers?
To some, a silly question. But for new bloggers, it’s not as obvious. Why would you want to build relationships with people who you will never meet, or ever have any kind of “real” relationship with? I always used to answer that question with “I wouldn’t”, but after over a year of blogging and web designing, I have learned a better answer to that question.
Why you want to connect with your readers
- Your readers are what will make your blog a success.
- You can build those relationships with people you probably will never meet.
Without them you will be nothing. So whenever you see someone saying “I wouldn’t be where I am today without my beloved readers”, they are aren’t trying to butter you up, they are telling the god honest truth.
I always think it’s cool to say that I have friends across the globe, even if I haven’t ever heard their voice or had a face to face conversation with them. It’s just like having friends in real life, you will learn new stuff and get help when you need it.
What other reasons do you think you should build relationships with your readers? Not just for success, or to make friends, but for…?
Connecting in your posts
There are a few ways in which you can connect with your readers in your blog. I want to start off with connecting with people in your posts. Not the comments, the actual posts you write and publish onto your blog.
So, I have a question for you. How do you connect with others? My answer to that question is to relate to them. Their problems, differences, and habits. What is one way to do all of this in your posts? Writing posts people can relate to!
Keeping Common Topics Not So Common (Relating to problems)
An easy way to relate to your readers is to actually write about problems you know they’re having. I can tie that into stand up comedians, because the only time they are truly funny is when they can address things that happen to you in your every day life. So you can do that by writing about issues bloggers face every day.
But, what is the one problem with writing about common issues? Chances are, you want to write about something as simple as driving traffic to a blog. However, that topic has been covered thousands of times on other blogs. So how exactly can you make these common posts extraordinary? Here are some ideas I would use if I ever touched up on such topics:
- Make a big ass list of links, or general information on the topic. And I mean BIG.
- Add your opinions to every method/point you cover, and I mean A LOT of opinion.
- Conduct surveys, see how other people cope with the situation you are talking about. Again, adding opinions.
- Put other posts about it to shame. So if you are writing a post “How to make money online”, I expect to see drop dead gorgeous images, amazingly useful URL’s, and information that will make my head explode. Make it so comprehensive that when ever someone asks “How do I make money online?”, people will just point them over to your post.
Adding your own experiences
It helps to know that if you are talking about making it through a new post depression, that we know you have gone through it yourself. If you can’t relate to the problem, then it’s not a big deal. But saying you are (without lying about it), or saying you know someone (still, without lies) who is will really comfort someone and will pretty much say that they are not alone.
Misery loves company, so by all means express to your readers that you are struggling if you are having problems. Hell, I did it just yesterday, and now I have a feeling that my community doesn’t just think of me as a blogger, but a fellow human being going through the same crap they are going through.
Going The Extra 5,280 Feet For Reader Connection
So there are things you can do on your blog to connect with readers, and there are things you can add to your blog to do that. This is where the “more work” idea I was talking about in the beginning of the post comes into play.
I have been thinking a lot about this recently, and I have decided that just being a blog really won’t get you as far as you think it would have. You do have to start out small (a blog), but if you stick with your blog long enough, you have to think about the bigger picture.
Bigger?
Here are some ideas for seeing that “bigger picture”.
Adding a Forum
Despite what people say about the terrible success rates for forums, I think a forum is great to have. It’s not something I think you should have when you are still small, because it’s unnecessary. But, I think that as your community grows more then you will see an increased need for one.
You never have to add a forum for a “successful blog”, but if you’re looking for that extra reader connectivity, then you can’t go wrong with a forum.
Newsletter
Newsletters are genius. I think every blogger should have this somewhere down the line. When you have a newsletter, you will basically make a commitment to send out an email to anyone who signs up for it any information you want. It’s so awesome because newsletters can be like the “inside scoop” of your community and only the readers who are serious about your blog will get them.
Going One On One
A more personal approach for connecting with readers, if you go one on one then you will actually be speaking to a certain individual, and that individual only. How can you get to speak with this person if you can’t do it in person?
- Emails (not newsletters, personal messages)
- Social Network (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
- Instant Messengers
- Offering Services
- Blog Consulting
- General Freelancing
- Any kind of service you can offer to someone that will get the two of you talking to each other directly.
- Deep discussion within your own comments section or forum.
Further Reading
- [intlink id=“1196” type=“post”]4 things to keep in mind while attaching a forum to your blog[/intlink]
- Building an Empire around Your Blog
- Posts regarding newsletters from ProBlogger
- How to make your blog stand out in a saturated blogging niche
How Do You Connect?
What do you do to connect with your readers? Do you have forums and newsletters, or do you just reply to your blogs comments? What do you think is the more important aspect of reader connection: personality or relating?
I hope this post has helped you, and I wish you the best for a successful blogging community.
24 Discussions
Regarding the forum point… it can definately work. I can’t for the life of me remember who it was, but there was this guy with a blog getting around 50 comments per post (I think). He then completely disabled comments and added a forum for discussion which turned out to be extremely successful.
Nice post Alex, really enjoyed reading.
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Staying Motivated To Earn Online
Wow, that seems like a risky move there. But I guess if you’re serious about getting your forum up, then disabling comments is one way to start!
Risky move, yes, but it paid off for him and last time I checked he was running a successful blog with a VERY active forum, part of it discussing his posts and I think he developed it into a niche forum, but I’m not entirely sure
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Staying Motivated To Earn Online
Seems interesting. So if he disabled comments, then did he do something in which he created a forum topic for each post, and then people posted comments in the threads, or something entirely different? That actually seems like a good way to connect with readers.
If I’m completely honest I’m not sure. I think he opened one section of the forums for comments on the blog posts, and then people started new threads for new posts or just something that interested them about the post. I’ll have a root around and try and find it for you guys
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Staying Motivated To Earn Online
I totally agree to Alex at “Adding your own experiences”, that makes reader think its not just a blog Post or another write.. but a fellow human who or whose friend is suferring from same fever..
Love your writing dude !
Enk.’s last blog post..Post more ?
Agreed. Adding your own personal touch to an article is what makes a blog a blog in my opinion. If you can’t add your own personal touch then you just blend into the other thousands of blogs out there.
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Staying Motivated To Earn Online
Yep, glad you got that Enk. One thing I see on a lot of blogs is that the authors don’t really perceive themselves to be a human, but just a writing machine. I add personality into all of my posts, and I think one reason why they usually get such a nice response from my community is because I am on the same level as they are.
I add my own personal touch by being myself! People know my writing is unique and they will know they are dealing with the same author everytime.
Also, I want to ask about the forum thing since I am using Blogger, will I be able to add a forum to my blog, or do I need to get my own hosting?
Kai Lo’s last blog post..Make Backup of Your Blog
Awesome question Kai, that can actually be a really great idea for a post here. I’m going to write that down, and definitely write an article up about that!
But to answer your question now, there are services that will let you create forums for free just like there are for creating blogs for free.
I think one of the most important steps to connect to your readers is for bloggers to write their content as if they are actually talking to their readers, just as you did here Alex!
It’s much more easier and comfortable for the reader to connect with the writer when the reader feels as if the writer is talking to them, rather than just spewing out facts and info that have been said over and over and over again.
Interesting post. Are you planning on doing some of these things to Blogussion Alex? I especially like the part about adding your own experiences. This really brings the reader closer.
teenwebguru’s last blog post..Warning Worm
Yes, we are going to be branching out to be more than just a blog. I will tell you that we did not have forums in mind, so expect some pretty cool stuff!
Both a forum and newsletter are surely in the works for me. I must agree as well, personal experience goes a long way when writing; either trying to sell something or just the simpliest of blog posts.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Opening INTERNAL Links- New Window or Same Window?
A newsletter/magazine style thing would be great. Fortnightly or something like that would be awesome, and I’m sure you’d get lots of writers (me included!) and lots of downloads
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Laying Out Blog Posts Effectively
A little miscommunication here. Not a newsletter style theme; a newsletter as in autoresponder messages.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Opening INTERNAL Links- New Window or Same Window?
No, I meant like a newsletter too
There are some awesome magazine style letters out there. To see what I mean head to iKiteMag[dot]com.
(PS. this isn’t my website and I’m not spamming, just an example of what I mean)
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Laying Out Blog Posts Effectively
Great post Alex!
I will start posting comments on Blogussion from now
Awesome Farrhad, looking forward to it!
I see you have a new blog, The Dollar Diary. Looks pretty awesome man, good luck with it!
@ Simon – OK an online newsletter. Thrilling to some, not to me. Sorry dude.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..UPDATED! Opening INTERNAL Links- New Window or Same Window?
Fair enough. Personally I quite like them as it’s just like picking up a real magazine, except it’s on the internet and therefore has links of interest and can contain videos rather than just pictures.
Simon | Teenius’s last blog post..Laying Out Blog Posts Effectively
As a blogger, I strongly believe that the very first way for us to connect with our readers is indeed truly with what we write.
We really have to keep in focus that we write for our readers, more than for ourselves.
And unless your post is actually of any interest or usefulness to your readers, no matter how good it is, this post will be wasted and will have failed to connect with your readers.
Nicolas Prudhon’s last blog post..Sorry for the delay…
Polls are are really great way to connect and gain new readers. Social media on top of responding to comments on your blog is a perfect way to connect with an audience. Solving a problem or sharing how you got around an obstacle that readers can relate to is a great way to connect.
Houston Search Engine Optimization’s last blog post..Automatically Perfect Your Blog’s SEO
I think this was one of the first posts I ever read on Blogussion. Looking back it has really inspired me to connect more with my readers. Few blogs do this well and I’ve never found bloggers who do this better than you guys. Thanks!
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