Is Your Blog Naughty or Nice? 15 Tips to Stay Off the Naughty List.
Posted by Tracy Terry on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 @ 01:45 PM
With so many blogs today, bloggers need to find ways to keep readers coming back. People have many blogs to choose from where they can learn new information and share information. If you want to open the door and welcome people into your blog for comments and sharing, here are some tips to help you increase interaction and keep your blog off the naughty list:
1. Make sure readers can easily comment on your blog. Allow anyone to post and keep your comment fields to a minimum. No one wants to fill out seventeen field forms just to make a comment on your blog.
2. Be sure to place social sharing buttons on your blog posts. Also, make sure sharing options are available for all platforms. Too many times I have read a blog post and wanted to share it, with say my Digg followers, but the social sharing icons only allowed Mixx, Facebook, and Twitter. Unless your readers want to take the time to copy and paste your heading and url, you are going to miss out on your content being shared somewhere, which will lead us to #3.
3. Make sharing your content easy.
4. Ask questions in your blog post to increase the likelihood of comments.
5. Straight out ask for comments. For instance, instead of just asking, “What do you think?” at the end of your blog post, say “What do you think? Tell us in the comments section below.” This makes for much more effective calls-to-action.
6. Provide your audience with valuable posts worth sharing.
7. Create a mix of blog posts. Include topics such as: company news, opinions, how-to, industry updates, video.
8. Diversify your topics to captivate a wider audience.
9. Respond to comments and as quickly as possible. However, do not feel you need to respond to those who are there just to cause problems. We all know those dreaded people who stalk blogs just to create a nuisance. There are some negative comments, though, that are worth responding to. Remember to take the comment for what it is worth, constructive criticism or a varying point of view. Turn a negative into a positive and appreciate the comment and the opinion it represents.
10. Create headlines that attract readers and encourage comments.
11. Write a controversial piece that will entice readers to comment.
12. Create offers at the end of your blogs to help convert blog readers to leads. Remember your social sharing buttons, so readers will share your downloadable content.
13. Have good manners. Make people feel welcome to comment. Respond to comments in a way that makes people feel good about themselves and your blog community.
14. Visit the blogs of the people who comment on your blog and appreciate their posts as well.
15. Find other industry blogs to comment on. When people read what you have to say, they will be inspired to come to your blog. More readers will equal more blog interaction.
What have you tried on your blog to inspire interaction? What worked for you and what didn’t? Share your trials in the comments below.
*Photo from Flickr Creative Commons Mike
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