Connect with your readers to quickly build a solid following!
Most people will agree that the most crucial element of running any blog or website is reaching out to your target audience and potential readers and visitors. While gaining an extra visitor is all well and dandy, something that many seem to forget when it comes to building a following online is the value of loyal followers. That’s not very strange however, as it is easy to see how we get too obsessive about reaching the highest possible number of daily visitors by constantly monitoring our stats-trackers. This can lead us into a vicious circle where we are under the impression that as long as we are able to attract new visitors, we’re becoming more successful by the minute.
To get our hunger for increased visitor numbers satisfied many of us turn to social sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and similar, that are easy enough to manipulate in a way that will make noticeable impacts on the visitor numbers of any small to medium sized blog or website. Of course, I’m not saying that utilizing social sharing sites to increase traffic is necessarily bad, but I would like to propose a different vision when it comes to numbers and the ways we measure success.
One of the first things you’ll learn as a traditional business owner, or in “business school” for that matter, is the value of satisfied, returning customers. According to Philip Kotler’s Principles of Marketing, recruiting a new customer is three times as expensive as retaining a pleased customer. This is something that is often ignored online, especially among publishers, because the size of your potential market (of readers) is so big, and it’s quite easy to recruit new readers. While I’m not saying these numbers are accurate when it comes to online marketing, I have no doubts in my mind that it is more cost-effective to keep your current readers and visitors pleased than it is to recruit new ones, even online.
Another interesting fact from Principles of Marketing is that a if a person is dissatisfied with a service, he or she is ten times more likely to tell someone about their dissatisfaction, as opposed to if the same customer is pleased about a service. You don’t have to be a mathematical whiz to calculate that this means that it could quickly become costly to have dissatisfied readers/visitors/customers.
I’m also sure most of you have heard that the most effective form of marketing is word to mouth marketing (or buzz marketing or viral marketing, whichever you prefer). That is of course to get people so fired up about your website that they simply can’t avoid telling their friends about it. It’s cheap and it works, because people are much more inclined to listen to what their friends have to say about a website, than what they see or read in an ad somewhere.
There are many ways you can make sure that those who visit your blog or website frequently continue to stay loyal visitors. Some will say the most effective way is to identify why most of the your visitors came to your site in the first place (quality article, groundbreaking news etc.), and keep delivering that to them. While that is certainly true for bigger sites, I have found that there are more effective ways to keep a hold of your readers if you run a smaller website or blog.
What’s the big secret? I have mentioned it before on my blog, but I don’t think I’ve emphasized it enough. Connect with your readers. I’ll say it once more, but this time in bold, connect with your readers. Yeah it’s true, that’s my miracle cure for building a steady following. It’s not easy, nor is it timesaving, but if you’re in it for the long run, it is the single most effective way of building a loyal audience for your blog or website.
There are many ways to connect with your readers, and I won’t claim to have any answers about which are the most effective ones. When it comes down to it, there are really no limits except your imagination and creativity. If you run a website, make it as interactive as possible. Make it easy for people to get in touch with you, value their opinions and listen carefully to their suggestions. If you’re a blogger, respond to comments, email those who comment frequently and let them know you appreciate that they spend time on your blog. Reach out to your audience, don’t just sit back and wait for them to give you feedback, let them know that you want their feedback.
Of course, these are just the most basic methods of connecting with your audience. I can assure you that if you are able to find an easy and effective way of connecting with your readers, you will be able to build a solid following in no time. Now tell me, what are your secrets when it comes to building relationships with your readers? I’m aching to know, because I know I can improve my own skills greatly in this particular area.