Getting Blog Readers that Stick – What I Know that ProBlogger Does Not
Are you not getting enough blog readers that stick? People that come back ten times, maybe more… click on each of your links [and ads], putting more money in your bank account…
Something is wrong and now you have to admit it. You’re using the “default” method for getting readers to your blog. Just like everybody else. It is like you’re putting your “new visitors” lenses instead of focusing on “return visitors”
If you browse the web, you’ll find virtually hundreds of ways to attract new readers to your blog [aka get fresh blog traffic] but why is it that nobody teaches us how to attract readers that come back often?
Returning visitors are like money in the bank. Just go to your ATM and withdraw the cash. Next day, come back for more. New visitors are like pocket change. You can’t bet tomorrow you’ll still have them.
What I want to share with you now is how to get blog readers that stick – what I know that ProBlogger does not.
First of all, I am not talking prominently on Darren Rowse here. But it seems some pro bloggers have something in common. It is not a secret, in the positive sense. It is actually a disadvantage. Something I’ve noticed recently.
I suspect by adopting the same strategy, you’re one step further to killing your blog potential and scaring readers instead of attracting them.
Before we dive in, answer this please:
Q: Why do you visit blogs yet return often to just a few select?
I guess that’s because you like their content and writing manner; you probably also like glancing through readers’ comments and add your 2 cents when you feel so, right.
What happens if your favorite blogger closes his comments option. Would you return to his blog that often?
To be honest, I’ve seen this happening recently with some blogs that I really liked.
Michel Fortin and Leo Babuta are just two of them. They’ve decided to close their comments section. The first as a “limited testing” method, the other because they were getting too many comments [plus other "reasons"].
What kind of blogging strategy is that? Are you writing for your readers or just plain putting out an online journal…
Do you value your reader’s feedback? Do you really want to know what they think about your post? Do you want to hear what they have to say about your product?
Then accept comments. Let them speak. It is like you are talking to others in a group, without bothering listening to the other party. If you treat people that way, they are not going to stick around you. In fact, they will run from you like the plague.
Do you like people who talk all day about themselves or others, paying no attention to what you have to say, nor let you respond? Me neither.
The blogs that accept no comments look alike the type of friends you don’t want to hang around [for more than a minute].
I do not care how great a blog looks like; I care less how good the content is unless they give me the option to comment on the topic discussed inside.
Blogging was supposed to be a two-sided conversation, not a monologue.
It is your time to speak up.
Do you read blogs just because they have great content? Do you like to comment too? Would you still read blogs that often if there would be no option to comment?
I want to hear from you now. Post your comments right away, your feedback counts!
P.S. In upcoming post, I reveal a “trick” to get readers click on your [affiliate] links more often without sounding desperate or hype!
In all honestly I wouldn't visit blogs like that. One of the best thing about most posts is the discussion that continues into the post. They usually included a greater overview and a lot of peoples opinion on the topic which is so much more valuable that just one author.
And also, I think that it is a little bit stuck up and impersonal to not want to hear what your readers think. Blogs that do not allow comments I find it hard to call them blogs – they are just frequently updated websites.