Yes we are talking about the blogger-reader relationship. With time and care, an incomparably close, intimate bond is built. As a blogger, you share personal stories, funny anecdotes, your favourite places to go out… with everyone. Except, not really. Yes if you’re posting something on the Internet, it’s there, it’s available for anyone to see, read, observe, analyze. However, truth is, the only ones who are really going to care (by this we mean read more than the first few lines) are your readers. They are the ones who are going to take time to go through your article, comment on your post or even better, share it.
This sounds like a great relationship. The kind everyone is searching for. The question is, how do you get started?
This month, you guessed it, we discussed during our #mibchat, the blogger-reader relationship. An online love affair that is often fickle and short-lived, but can also be, as it sometimes happens, meaningful and forever lasting.
Here’s what our bloggers had to say.
Well, there’s no magic formula. Everybody starts off small and not necessarily everyone gets big. However, if you want to be off to a good start, these are steps you should definitely follow:
– Know your target audience. Who are you talking to? Are you addressing peers or people in your industry? Where can you find your audience? Are they posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?
– Build a network. Once you’ve determined whom your core audience is, try interacting with them. It’ll be much easier to get them to read what you post if they already “know who you are” and enjoy the interactions you have.
– Use creative headlines. Once you start posting your articles, having a great headline is the best way to get them to read your article. Here are a few great tips from the Policy Mic team, who definitely know a thing or two about going viral.
This may seem simple, but responding to comments is crucial. Especially in the beginning. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, answering is the least you can do.
Although this is never an ideal situation, it happens. Here are a few strategies that our bloggers recommended.
– Respond with humor. Always a good way of handling a situation.
– Send a private message inquiring why the reader isn’t happy. This allows you to retrieve specific details, which in some cases can be useful.
– As a blogger, you also serve as a moderator. Which means that if the comments are disrespectful (aka any form of discrimination), they don’t have to be on your blog.
What do you think of the blogger-reader relationship? Want to share your thoughts, join us for future discussions on Twitter. Date and time will be posted here!
Have a good week 🙂
