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5 Tactics of Reader Engagement From an Expert Blogger

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Reader Engagement

This video summarizes 5 tactics of reader engagement. The tactics are from this WriterViews interview I did with David Cain of Raptitude.com.

David’s blog posts regularly get 30-50 comments that are long, detailed and insightful. So, I asked him how we can do the same. Here is his advice:

1: Have a Support Group

  • Started blogging, went to Google Groups and found a small group of 6 or 7 bloggers at a similar experience level
  • They bounced ideas off of each other, acted as accountability to keep writing, and maybe most importantly for us: they shared and commented on each others work
  • This provides a foundation for your community to grow from

2: Ask For Comments

  • David on regular posts gets 30-50
  • When asks for comments gets over 100
  • Make sure you are genuinely curious for your readers answers

3: Write Insightful Posts

  • David’s topic lends itself particularly well to this, because he writes about humanity
  • But, no matter your topic, make sure you aren’t just regurgitating the same old ideas – add something new and thoughtful to the discussion
  • What you’ll find is that other people will join in and respond to your ideas

4: Make Friends Not Followers

  • Connect with readers on a deeper level
  • You can do this through comments, by taking the time to reply to their emails
  • Another thing David does is let Raptitude followers add his personal facebook account

5: Create Participatory Content

  • David has two sections on his site that others can easily participate with
  • One is experiments, tests he does on his own life, like going vegan for 30 days, or fighting against procrastination
  • Some readers will do the experiments too
  • Other is a life list, things that he wants to experience in his life
  • To make it more participatory, he created a guide so readers can make their own!

How did this procrastinator get 342 comments on one blog post?

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On my site you will learn the specific tactics and strategies that worked for successful writers.

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{ 27 Responses }

  1. Carmen Brodeur says:
    I have never joined a blogging group but my assistant and I work together to bounce ideas off each other, proof each other's work and come up with post ideas. It has worked well for us.
  2. Daniel says:
    Engagement can be tricky, especially depending on the niche and site owner. Some topics like blogging and such are conducive to comments, feedback and discussion while others really aren't. Luckily, engagement can be more than just leaving a comment with all of the social sharing options available now.
  3. Jamie Northrup says:
    I tried on a couple occasions to join groups on Google groups, but both times it didn't really work, there wasn't participation aside from myself, I guess I just haven't found the right group yet.
  4. rahul says:
    Agree with you Having a support group can help you gain more exposure from boosting your seo to building backlinks to your blog. Thanks for mentioning this point, it was worth mentioning.
  5. Matthew Price says:
    I think that this is one of the biggest problems. People try to market using blogs and social media. Where they fall short is building any real engagement. Thanks for giving a few ideas to consider when reaching and connecting with our audiences.
  6. Nick Sotos says:
    Hello Michael! I love this post! At the end of the year it is very beneficial to reconsider some of your plans and perhaps make some strategic changes! Your advices made me think my own blog, and gladly I did improve some of my next steps. Thanks Michael! I wish you a happy New Year, full of joy, love and good health.
  7. Maninder says:
    Nice post Michael. All the tips you mentioned work really well. However, it may not be always true with everyone. Most of the blogs which are based on topics that interest other bloggers and webmaster are the ones generally tend to attract more comments. It is because, while commenting every blogger do have a personal interest of getting a backlink and traffic. Whereas blogs which are getting lots of traffic from general people (general mean non-bloggers or the people who don't really have any website or blog of their own) are the ones with the least amount of comments inspite of getting high traffic.
  8. donna young says:
    Love the part when a blogger responds to his readers and forms a bond with them. I believe that is very important because you are building up loyalty. A lot of bloggers would not even consider providing their personal Facebook account to readers but it is a good thing that there are still that do because the writer is acknowledging his/her followers. Keep up the good work.
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Yeah, I really like that David uses his personal account to connect with readers. I've noticed some bloggers even sign off with their phone number. Wonder how many people actually call... -- Michael
  9. Mark says:
    Mike, I have to tell you bro, I like it when writers get to the point in their articles and learn to write without getting too wordy. Nice job, friend. With respect to the article: I second your advice for asking for comments because I have done that myself and seen similar results. When a blogger actually responds to comments and interacts with his or her readers, the blog takes on a much more classy feel to it. Mark :)
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Thanks, Mark. Usually I include many more words - but this post was originally supposed to include a video. re: comments, yeah - its funny that it is so simple and actually works. -- Michael
  10. Dave Lucas says:
    Michael! You Wrote "Make Friends Not Followers" - ok - I have 180 "Google Connect Friends" - how can I entice them to become REAL friends and TRUE followers? (I'll betcha most of them never returned to my blog after they "checked in and signed up" on the friend connect widget). Seasons Greetings, and Blog On!
    • Jacko says:
      Think about the things that keep you engaged to the websites you currently visit. Use your creativity to emulate the most useful features you noticed and you will see a big difference. What ever you do make it quality make it your own do not copy someone else's content. Try to give your subscribers discounts or other goodies, happy new year.
      • Michael Alexis says:
        Aye, "make it your own do not copy" should be a tag-line for the whole web. -- Michael
    • Michael Alexis says:
      I don't think making friends involves enticing anyone to do anything. David does online what we do in real life - build real friendships with real people by being real. You watched my interview with Ana Hoffman, yeah? There are lots of tips there on how to draw traffic from social media to your website. -- Michael
  11. Tushar says:
    I always believe in making friends and not followers. Too much business aspect in your life is never too good. You need to get personal to have a long lasting relationship
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Yeah, I think that idea was one of the best that came from the interview. David really has created genuine friendships from his blog. He recently wrote something that I think fits well here: "Stuck on a desert island with a billion in hard currency is a terrible place to be, because you're poor in all the things that matter." -- Michael
  12. Dean Saliba says:
    When I first started blogging (although I've been doing it for 4 years I still consider myself a novice) the number one piece of advice I was given was "don't be afraid to ask for comments at the end of your post" I was slightly hesitant to initially do so because I thought people might accuse me of 'begging'. I normally advise people to end their posts with a question, I feel more comfortable with that. :)
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Recently I interviewed Ana Hoffman of Traffic Generation Cafe. She said when she was first getting started she really wanted comments, and the phrase that got a lot of them was "leave a comment, even if just to let me know you are alive". So, no doubt it engages the audience. Now, over to your blog to leave one... -- Michael
      • Michael Alexis says:
        Hmmm, looks like I can't access your site from China.
  13. John Allen says:
    Your first idea of teaming up with some of the bloggers who share the same experience as yours is a good way of gaining support in your blogging journey. Engaging your readers is an effective way to ensure that you deliver what they want. This will also ensure that you create a good and lasting relationship with your readers as long as you continue writing post which are helpful to them.
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Hey John, Yeah, I wanted to find out more about how to assemble/manage those teams - so when I interviewed Ana Hoffman (trafficgenerationcafe.com) we went through it in detail. -- Michael
  14. Ryan Biddulph says:
    Hi Michael, Give, get. If you want reader engagement offer up engagement. Comment, connect and most importantly, aggressively promote others. Promoting someone else can build an instant bond, the foundation for friendship. I aim to write a mini guest post each time I comment. My intent is to add value to the post and to make an impact. The more value and impacts the more blogging buddies I make. The formula is simple. Simply give in the area where you would like to most receive. Writing value-packed posts helps too. Inspire readers to want to comment and the commenting handles itself quite nicely. Thanks for sharing your insight Michael. RB
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Howdy Ryan, I think give-get is spot on for everything in the blogging world (and the world beyond). When I interviewed Ramit Sethi awhile back that was basically what his blogging philosophy boiled down too - "give an enormous amount of value before you ask for anything in return". We were talking about monetization at the time, but no doubt it applies right down to comments as well. Speaking of comments - yours are noticeable. I found your blog before via them... maybe on ProBlogger? -- Michael
      • Ryan Biddulph says:
        Hi Michael, It might have been anywhere ;) I comment on many blogs...but a good chance it was on a higher profile blog like PB....thanks again for sharing. RB
  15. Shamelle says:
    Also.. Polls and surveys are an excellent way to have an insight into reader’s opinion. The poll results helps the blogger in assessing reader’s attitude and preferences and thus paves way for creating relevant content, contests, giveaways, etc.
    • Michael Alexis says:
      Thanks for adding that Shamelle. A week or two ago I was on a small (not very busy) blog, and the blogger was using a poll. It went something like this: the post was about blog maintenance at Christmas time, i.e, how often to write. Then there was a simple poll widget at the end asking, "what do you plan to do?". I really like this because it is a) EASY for your readers to give their feedback, and 2) with the write question that feedback can be quite valuable. -- Michael