We all start blogging for different reasons. For the most part, a passion for breaking into this field comes from having a story to tell. For some of us, there are underlying reasons, like wanting to start a business or online presence.
In some cases, we even use blogs as a sideline for established companies. In each of these instances, though, another motivation often soon comes to the fore – that of conversation.
How To Get A Conversation Going About Your Blog
Having conversations with readers is the most satisfying aspect of any blog. Building a community is the best feeling in the world. Given that sites with high interaction have the best SEO ratings, conversations can even get your blog seen by more readers.
Conversations like these are also your best chance of developing loyalty.
And, once you achieve that, you’ll be able to make use of things like word of mouth marketing.
Sadly, it’d be naive to think that sending blog posts into the ether would be enough to get people talking. Endless bloggers send posts out without a single comment.
A quick look around the blogosphere will reveal that this is more common than you think. The trouble is that, if you aren’t interacting with your readers, you may soon lose your passion here.
Even if analytics show interest, you could become disheartened and lose touch with those who matter. Not to mention that a lack of conversation can stop readers from finding your posts in the first place.
If you don’t get any comments on your posts right now, then, it’s past time you worked to get that conversation going. Lucky for you, there are a few easy ways to do just that. And, we’re going to look at what they are.
Include a call to action in every post
Every blog post you write should have some call to action included within it.
If you’re just telling a story or writing at your audience, the chances are that they won’t have anything to say.
As such, they’re far less likely to be moved to comment. Make sure it doesn’t happen by also closing your posts with a question which they can answer.
If you’re sharing a personal story, take time to ask if they’ve ever experienced similar.
If you’re sharing hints and tips, ask them to share theirs, or expand on the points you’ve made.
Even asking for advice outright could be enough to see you through here. If you want to take this even further, you could centre your entire blog post around many calls to action. As long as they fit with what you’re writing about, more is definitely best.
If you already do this but still don’t see any interaction, it may be time to up your game. By adding a sense of urgency to the questions you ask, you increase the chances of a response.
Sparking a debate is always a winning idea here. Equally, offering ebooks or some other perk to commenters could get people talking.
Make use of pop-ups
Pop-ups are often a dirty word in the world of websites. We all despise those pages which bombard us with these as soon as we arrive. They slow down our computers and generally irritate us.
But, we aren’t talking about advertisement-heavy pop-ups here. Instead, we’re referring to pop-ups which directly get you talking to your readers. Too often, we browse websites as passive participants. A well-placed pop up can take your readers out of their daze, and get them taking action.
By timing these for around thirty seconds after your site loads, you also make sure not to overwhelm them. The best pop-ups you could pick are those which provide calls to action of their own.
A newsletter subscription, for example, can get your readers talking to you in the best way. It also ensures they see your new uploads and increases the chances of future comments.
Or, you might want to make use of live intercept surveys from a user testing platform like User Zoom. These bring double benefits. They get that all-important conversation going, but they also show you what readers want from your site.
By putting these pointers into action, you show readers that you listen, and increase the chances of their commenting on the future. See; who said pop-ups had to be annoying?
Done right, they can be mutually beneficial for opening up the gates of communication.
Don’t forget to comment yourself
While it seems like everyone has a blog these days, the blogosphere is a pretty small place. Within each blogging community, everyone tends to know everyone else.
And, it’s through this sense of community that we tend to gain the most comments. That’s because your blogger friends will understand what it’s like. As such, they’ll make more of an effort to comment on your posts, and encourage others to do the same.
Sadly, this tends to operate in a ‘you scratch my back…’ way. The more often you comment on other blogger’s posts, the more chance that they’ll comment on yours.
As such, you need to give out plenty of comments to get some back. Set aside time for this in your blogging schedule, and you’ll soon start to see the rewards.
Make sure, too, that you take plenty of time to reply to each comment you receive. When a reader comments on something you’ve said, they’re reaching out to you in a way. They’ll soon stop doing that if you never reply to what they say.
Even worse, they could fast feel unappreciated and take their time elsewhere. Make sure it doesn’t happen by making every effort to return to each comment you get.
While this gets tricky once your audience grows, being a regular presence in your own comment section is perhaps the best conversational secret of all.
Bear in mind that getting conversations started is the hardest part of all.
Once you get your head around these pointers, though, you may find that people can’t stop talking about your blog.
These are great tips! I think that having a call to action is very important.
Absolutely!