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Are You Connecting with Your Readers ?

Are you connecting with your readers ?

Day 5 of the Build a Better Blog challenge is about building a community on your blog and make an impressesion upon your readers by giving them some personal attention. Quoting Darren at Problogger "When you pay personal attention to a reader it signifcantly increases the chances of them not only returning to your blog but also spreading the news of your blog through their network".

Most of us here on Active Rain do this very well. Some examples would be as follows:

Commenting on a readers comment in your blog post. This makes the blog much more interactive. Also it shows you took the time to read and respond to the reader's comment.
Reciprocal comments - Go to their blog and make a comment on their blog post. By doing this, you begin to develop a rapport of sorts, a bond and even a friendship.
Thank you emails - Send an email to your blog reader and say thank you for their comment. As we are starting to get more consumer interest on our blogs sometimes, reach out to them and say thank you ! Also, include a RSS link option to have them come back again ! Better yet, use the opportunity to connect on Twitter or Facebook . (If not connected with us yet, please click on the links ! )
Thank you to subscribers - When you have a new blog subscriber, why not send them a thank you email !

The benefits according to Darren are 2-fold: (1) Loyal readers spread the word through their own blogs, word of mouth as well as social media and (2) Loyal readers build page views.

So what did I do today for my Day 5 task of Build a Better Blog ?

I emailed 2 readers to say thank you this morning, one to a consumer who commented on "Sugarhouse Casino - The drama continues in Philadelphia" and one to Amber Noble-Garland who commented on a number of our blog posts. Through our comments back and forth, I learned that she is from Philadelphia ! Very cool !
Responded to comments on our recent post "Learning from Other Succesful Bloggers - Watch, Listen and Observe"
Made reciprocal comments as much as we could - have some more work to do there today !
Emailed 3 recent blog subscribers to say "thank you" !

This excercise is a good reminder for all of us in the Rain to connect with and to engage our readers. From this, not only can our blogs grow but we can make great business relationships and friends as well !

What are you doing today to connect more with your readers ?

Other Related Posts:

Learning from Other Successful Bloggers - Watch Listen and Observe

Are You Blogging for Business ?

Have you read some of these top Bloggers ?

Promoting Your Blog - Day 3 of the Build a Better Blog Challenge

5 Ways to Recommend Price Reductions to Sellers

Day 1 of Build a Better Blog - Elevator Pitch

I am really excited to be doing this 31 day challenge (see Matt Stigliano's post - 31 Days to Build a Better Blog - Who's in ?). It is not too late to be a part of it. You can join the Active Rain Group "Build a Better Blog" today. Or subscribe to our blog to follow along ! Is just a click away !

The Somers - Chris and Stephanie Somers

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Posted by Christopher and Stephanie Somers - Realtors - Philadelphia Real Estate on 04/11/2009 04:28 PM

Comments (9)

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9 Comments on Are You Connecting with Your Readers ?

APR

That sounds like a lot of work. I'd rather invest the time creating better posts. But that's just my anti-social side showing up again.

Tim - It may sound like a lot of work but it really is not. I think if someone invests 20 to 30 minutes a day most of the above can be accomplished. I guess the main point is you can have a tremendous post but if no one sees it, what is the point ? However, if one is connecting with their readers, over time, one is bound to have a larger base of both subscribers and loyal readers. At the same time, other benefits include building business relationships and a referral base. ~ Chris

Chris and Steph..Your Blogs are an inspiration..I always comment on my blogs..it is an etiquette that is lacking in many blog..I like the email ..I shall do that more often..Thank you I do enjoy your blog!

Helpful remax Hannah your friend in Philadelphia

Hannah - Thank you for the compliment. It is great to be an inspiration. Also, blog etiquette is certainly important to help with those special connections that can be made. I think the email is a nice gesture as it is similar to writing a personal note. ~ Chris

Stephanie, That was a good lesson. I emailed some of my commentors off the post. Of course it is soooooooooo easy here in the RAIN. Not so much out there but I did it. Stretching........

Missy - Awesome ! Some days it is very easy, others days not so much. We struggle keeping up with our blog (adding new content and commenting) on those super busy days in the offline world of real estate. So all in all, I guess it is a win-win ! ~ Chris

APR

Chris - Connecting with a reader, even when they don't connect back is always great. A good example is Darren Rowse. I sent him an email figuring he'd be swamped with all of this with some questions about people not getting their task emails. He responded and I was excited. It took him 5 seconds, but will stick with me for much longer.

APR

Matt - That is a great example with Darren Rowse and impressive. Connecting with and interacting with readers is very important for building relationships and so forth. Just like in the future tasks too it helps bloggers help each other when they feature someone on a list post, share some link love or do some retweeting on Twitter... the list goes on and on ! ~ Chris

Chris - That's what I have found most interesting about this challenge. Not only are you learning a new task each day, but I'm finding myself combining them into each subsequent day. My nine posts for sellers was based on the task of linking to other bloggers, but it was also a list post and a way of saying thank you to the many great bloggers I read regularly.

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