Chris Christoff — May 19, 2020 When you run a blog, its success relies on its readers. Without dedicated blog visitors, your content won’t be able to generate leads, build customer loyalty, or bring in revenue. That’s why you need to develop a strong connection with your audience.
Did you know that 53 percent of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority? Its impact on businesses is so great that it requires its own strategy separate from other types of content marketing.
Building a strong relationship with blog readers is essential to meet your marketing goals. So, here are a few tips to get you started.
Use Conversational Language
To effectively bond with your audience, you need to sound like a friend. The easier it is to learn from you, the more readers you’ll attract to your blog. You need to humanize your content to cultivate a strong connection with site visitors.
Use conversational language in your blog posts to avoid sounding too formal. The last thing you want to do is bore readers and send them elsewhere. They need to feel like they’re learning from someone friendly and relatable.
When writing blog posts, make sure you:
- Use short, simple sentences that are easy for anyone to understand.
- Avoid complex language and big words when you can use simpler ones.
- Ask your audience questions.
- Get straight to the point. Don’t leave readers hanging for too long or they’ll bounce from your site.
Build an Email List
When visitors become subscribers, you have access to them when you need them. Building an email list is essential to connect with blog readers because you can send personalized marketing messages tailored to their needs.
Most marketers agree that email marketing is a key strategy in their business’ success. Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than social platforms like Facebook or Twitter. It continues to grow businesses by strengthening customer relationships and catering to specific needs.
If you want to move users through the conversion funnel so they eventually turn into customers, then you need to build an email list. Your blog is the perfect place to reel subscribers in because it builds trust with readers and makes it easy for them to take action.
You can use lead magnets as an incentive for readers to join your email list. For new visitors who aren’t as familiar with your content, lead magnets are a great way to encourage them to subscribe and gain their trust.
Some examples of lead magnets you can use include:
- Ebooks
- Templates
- Resource guides
- Checklists
- Case studies
- Webinars
Engage With Readers
When someone leaves a comment on your post or tags you on social media, they’re seeking an interaction of some kind. As a blogger, you need to build natural relationships with readers if you want them to keep coming back. A great way to organically make those connections is by engaging with your audience.
Avoiding your blog comments and social media mentions shows your audience you don’t care about their input or forming a relationship with them. It also hurts your brand’s visibility as 87 percent of bloggers say that social media boosts their content’s exposure.
Respond to questions and input to assist your readers and build a connection. Similar to how you write your blog content, use conversational, friendly language when engaging with readers. Doing so will boost brand visibility and position you as an expert in your industry.
Be Relatable
Too many marketers underestimate the importance of emotional intelligence in marketing and its role in creating conversions. If you can hold someone’s attention based on their feelings, then the rest is relatively simple.
Adding humor and anecdotes further humanizes your content and pulls readers closer to your brand. Express empathy to show visitors that you understand their struggles and are willing to provide them with solutions.
Where possible, relate topics in your blog posts to real-life scenarios or experiences to make your brand more relatable. People don’t want advice from someone who doesn’t understand them. So let your readers know that you do by relating your tips and tricks to realistic examples.
Elna Cain’s blog does a great job giving practical writing tips to her audience while relating it to her life:
Back to You
Building relationships with your blog readers won’t happen overnight, but it doesn’t have to be challenging either. If you make an effort to engage with your audience the way they prefer, then they’ll feel like you understand them. This will lead to a loyal readership and increased engagement on your blog. How will you cultivate relationships with your blog audience?
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