Bloggers Journal

I recently wrote my first guest post at WebsiteBegin on “Why should I engage with my readers?“.  In the post I wrote about how it is particularly important to make your readers feel valued.  This is particularly important if you are blogging for business.  Readers are potential clients.  That aside, I finished the article the the question, how do you make your readers feel valued?

I used a number of methods, each of which I will discuss briefly here.  I have had some good successes with the methods too.  There is nothing fancy or difficult about it either.

The challenge to making your readers feel valued is meeting them on their level.  Personalising your approach to them is vitally important.  It is equally important to not overstep any boundaries of comfort.  After all, you are nothing more than a stranger – so no prying questions!  Here are the methods I use to engage with readers,

Blog Commenting

When someone leaves a comment on my blog, I feel inclined to visit their blog.  I will also try and have a look around, read their “about me” page, and try to leave a comment.  All of this is excellent for trying to learn about your reader.  It is also a good reason for having an “about me” page!  The point of doing all this, by leaving a comment on the readers blog, is showing that you have taken some time to engage with them.  It is the effort, the fact you bothered, that people really care about.

Twitter

Twitter is an excellent networking resource.  Millions of us use it.  What’s more, is just about everyone who is anyone has an account.  When I go to people’s blogs, I will make a point of following them on Twitter.  This provides an excellent opportunity to see what they are posting.  They may also use Twitter as a personal outlet, from which you can learn a lot.  Similarly, it is a good way to introduce yourself to them.

I also use Twitter and my blog, to thank readers.  You may have heard of Follow Friday.  You’ll catch it on Twitter, on Fridays (funnily enough), with posts tagged, #FF.  I jump on the band wagon too and share readers who I find interesting and produce some great content.

Article Writing

When you are writing your articles, it is often possible to relate to other posts you have read.  This is particularly good if it is something by one of your readers.  I’ve done this on a number of occasions to good effect.  The other option is to do blog reviews.  It’s all about helping each other get recognised.

Skype

A final method I use to engage with my readers is to hook up with them on Skype.  Why?  Because you can continue discussions which have started on your blog.  Using this realtime one on one chat can help forge good relationships with your readers.

How do you engage with your readers?  Do you use any other methods?