Successful blogging is all about building relationships. The relationship you create with your readership and other blogs will have a huge impact on your success as a professional blogger. Here are five tips on how to create that relationship. Feel free to add your tips in the comments.
1 – Get Personal
Creating a relationship means letting your readers know more about you. Most bloggers do this with the About page. However, I would recommend going beyond the About page with a personal post about your life every now and then.
I read many blogs about making money online and the ones that I always come back to are the ones that reveal the most about its author. If all you do is stick to your topic and never deviate from it, you’re going to have a hard time separating yourself from the millions of other blogs talking about the same topics. Readers relate to the writer, not the topic. Let your personal style come out by telling how the topic affects you. And don’t be afraid to tell your readers what you had for lunch. 🙂
2 – Post Some Pictures or Videos of Yourself
Readers can relate to you more if they can connect a face to a name. Your About page should have at least a photo of yourself. This shows your readers that you’re not trying to hide behind some computer screen. It also makes you more trust worthy. If you want to go beyond that and really get personal, upload some videos of you and your friends having Pho.
3 – Offer Many Ways for Readers to Contact You
At the very least you should have a contact page where readers can email you. The more ways for readers to get in touch with you, the better and faster you can build that relationship. Therefore, look beyond email and start taking advantages of services like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites. Twitter is proving to be a fantastic relationship building tool. It can also be a huge time waster so use it wisely.
4 – Answer The Comments
If a reader leaves a comment on your blog, then you should answer them. This especially true if the comment is a question. The blog comment system is the best communication tool between the blogger and his readership. You should do everything possible to encourage blog comments.
5 – Attend Trade Shows and Networking Events
One of the best ways to build relationships is by attending trade shows and networking events in your niche. I built many life-long friendships by attending events like Affiliate Summit, Blog World, Ad Tech and many other events.
You don’t even have to travel far if you don’t want to. Start with local events and work your way up. Use Meetup.com or another service to find others blogging about the same stuff you’re blogging. I’m sure you’ll find tons of event in your own backyard.
I’ll be speaking at a WordPress camp this Wednesday. Seventy five people have confirmed RSVPs with another 36 maybes. Not only is attending this event a great way to build a relationship, it’s also a great way to build a readership.