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| Photo Credit: Waferboard Image via Flickr/Creative Commons |
I have discovered a calorie-free brunch!
Well, actually, when I participated in the Twitter chat known as Blog Brunch yesterday it wasn't as healthy as it could have been because I was snacking on Tropical Chewy Lemonheads & Friends the whole time. Nevertheless, the blogging and social media tips I gathered from the chat were plenty good for me.
Blog Brunch is "a collaborative network powered by bloggers wanting to share, dream and learn with other creatives in the blogging community" that hosts Twitter chats on various blogging topics.
Yesterday's chat was about reader engagement, something that's very important to me. This summer I've been fortunate enough to have had several of you comment on nearly all of my posts. You have no idea how much that means to me. When I decided to make The Writeous Babe Project more than just a place to post teasers to articles and essays I'd published, I decided I wanted to make this a blog that would encourage and inspire other women writers. But I have no idea if I'm doing that unless you leave comments and send me emails letting me know. And you have. And for that I thank you.
Because commenting on posts is such a huge part of reader engagement, it's important to make commenting as easy as possible. I know that's probably not the case here. You have to get through that annoying CAPTCHA crap which usually takes me three attempts to get right when I'm commenting on other blogs. Hold tight, I plan to switch to Comment Luv or Disqus soon.
Social media is obviously another way, if not one of the best ways, to engage with readers. But make sure you're not all business all the time. If you do nothing but post or tweet out links to your blog posts your followers are going to get bored pretty quickly. It's like having a friend who only talks about work. Use social media to share personal tidbits of your day that aren't blog-worthy but are still fun and interesting, suggested Lisa Butler (@elembee).
I try to tweet at least four times a day --- sharing a link to my blog, sharing a link to an interesting article I've read, promoting someone else's work, and showing a bit of my personal life and personality. Some days I fail miserably at this, but that's what I aim for each day.
Another thing to remember: bloggers must support other bloggers. Visit other blogs and leave meaningful comments. Naomi Anselmo (@ofanselm) said it perfectly: "Blogging is about connecting with others. Nobody makes friends by waiting for everyone else to visit them at their place."
How do you engage with your readers?
I love finding new blogs that are more than just those who are looking for comments or those that are nothing but giveaways. I've been blogging for a long time and I've noticed that not too many people actually "write" as a form of release therapy or just to share. It's all about ratings and comments.
ReplyDeleteI want to make sure my visitors understand this. I want them to understand that I'm genuine and when I visit their blogs and comment on their posts, I hope they can tell how genuine I am.
I love reading other blogs too. And I also get frustrated when blogs turn into nothing but giveaways. I want to read things that are going to make me think, things that are going to change me, even if only in a small way.
DeleteOh, and you're a Pro if you can get a captcha in three tries. It usually takes me about 5 attempts and a few refreshes to get another code. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHa! I know, right? Why do they make those things so hard?!
Delete"Some days I fail miserably at this, but that's what I aim for each day." With nothing to aim for nothing will ever be accomplished. Even when we fall short, we are still striving forward!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, babe!
DeleteI'm new to blogging so thank you for sharing Blog Brunch as a resource. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad I could help!
DeleteI tweet a LOT! That keeps me engaged with readers. But I'm really interested in participating/organizing more tweet-ups with bloggers.
ReplyDeletei am really hungry now after seeing this image...well this is a nicely written post very interesting to read like it thanks for it.
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