Writing on the internet can be a fun and interesting way to show the world what you think, talk about subjects that are interesting to you, and express yourself, however there is little point if nobody ever reads the things you are posting. Getting more readers with techniques like search engine optimization (SEO) is a topic there are already thousands of articles about, but what a lot of people don’t think about as much is how to keep those hard won readers coming back for more. Return business is essential to a successful blog, because regular readers not only give you more eyes on your newest posts but also tend to be the loyal fans who share your work on Facebook and Twitter and talk about your blog to their friends. Here are some tips for turning that one time visitor into repeat business:
Make It Clear You Update Content Regularly
You have probably heard from any resources you have read about blogging that one of the most important things to do is to add new content on a very regular basis. However, while most bloggers know they need to contribute to their sites weekly or even daily to make them a success, many don’t realize that it is important to let your first time readers know this too. Whether you make a commitment in your header that there are new posts every day, or every Tuesday, or you include in your post that next week’s or tomorrow’s post will deal with a given topic, it is good to tell the people who visit you that your site is managed properly and you have an official schedule for updates. Hints in posts about upcoming posts are not only a good way to do this but are also a good teaser to entice people who have read your current post and enjoyed it or found it useful to come back.
Make it Easy to Remember You
A good way to inspire customer loyalty with your blog is to make it very easy for the reader to connect both with the site itself, and with you. Whether this means you have a ‘subscribe’ button, you have an RSS feed people can use, or you simply offer them the chance to connect with and talk to you on Twitter, you are giving the reader a chance to do something that links them with you and the site. Do keep in mind however, that most people don’t subscribe to blogs so this can actually do more harm than good if you list your subscribers – you may have thousands of readers but your subscriber list might still only have five people on it.
People may well share an interesting post you have written on Facebook or Twitter, but while that gets you new traffic, it doesn’t make you stick in the sharer’s mind or keep you on their list of future reads. By giving them a way to link to you or get regular updates on the site they are far more likely to keep you in mind and keep returning.
