Jan
16
Coming from the word of business, I learned to become a pretty good team leader. I seemed to have a knack for getting the people that worked for me to go beyond what was accepted of them. They would take on extra responsibilities, step in to help co-workers, and in general do what it took to help the team succeed. As much as I’d like to think that my team followed me because I’m such a likable guy, the truth is, it wasn’t about me. They followed my direction because I cared about them.
As a blogger, I find that many of the truths of business leadership are also true in blogging.
Show Them You Care
People will only follow you if they believe you have their best interest at heart. While you may be running your blog as a way to generate some income, you need to make sure you give your readers something they can take with them, or they will stop coming back. If your blog is blatantly about the money, you may get a good deal of one-time visitors through your marketing efforts, but you won’t build a regular readership.
Take Darren at ProBlogger for example. Darren does this for a living. He makes no secret of the fact that he makes money off of his blog. Even the name tells you what he does. Darren understands that his blog is not about his making money. His blog is about giving his readers useful information so they can learn to make money off of their own blogs. Because he does that well, he has built a faithful following. Because he has built a faithful following, he makes money with his blog.
Success Breeds Success
One way that the success of leaders is measured is by looking at how successful their team members have become. This is true in business, in sports, and in blogging. Jack Welch of GE was not not just for his own successes, but also for the number of people that worked for him that went on teo become successful CEO’s. Bill Parcells was not a great football coach, many of his assistants have gone on to become head coaches.
Are you helping people succeed with your blog?
This goes hand in hand with the first point: give people something they can use. When you find something that works, tell your readers. If you make mistakes, point out the pitfalls so your readers can avoid making the same mistake. Help your readers be successful at whatever your area is. That’s the reason they’re coming to your blog in the first place. Give them good information, and provide a way for them to share ideas with each other through their comments.
Recognize People
Speaking of comments, do you reply when people comment? It is an area that I’ve struggled to keep up with, but I’m determined to do better at it. It is an important part of building loyalty in your readers. People like to be recognized. When they make a comment, respond. Treat it like part of a conversation. If you were peaking face to face with the person, it would be natural to respond to their comment. Do the same with your blog. Then go to their blog and comment on what they have written.
Another way to recognize your readers is to link to their articles in your posts. If you read something that triggers an idea, trackback to their article as your inspiration. It not only helps with link building, but it feels good to know that someone liked your work well enough to mention it.
Remember, without readers your blog might as well be a personal diary. You’ve taken the time and effort to write, you’ve marketed your blog, and now the people are coming. Take the steps necessary to keep them coming back.
Popularity: 10% [?]
I’m terrible at replying to other people’s comments! I have no idea why, usually I try and reply on my post, hopefully it’ll return a visit.
For some reason I tend to be better at commenting on other blogs than I am at replying to my own visitors. I have no idea why. I’m working on it, though.
I noticed a substantial increase in my blog’s traffic when I began responding to people’s comments, visiting their blogs and even leaving comments on the posts they made.
I’ve read a lot of bloggers that say it is the best way to build your blog traffic.
The whole deal with the Web 2.0 idea is the emphasis on relationships. That’s what commenting is about.
I completely agree that, as a blogger, you need to answer the “why would I, as the visitor, look into your blog and why would I come back?” question, and if “so that I make money” is your answer, your business model definitely needs some tweaking.
Alan Johnson
It seems so obvious, yet I see many sites that are so advertising heavy and so weak on content that you wonder if they can possibly be seeing much repeat traffic
Indeed, a lot of people start promoting a product like crazy and don’t even realize that it is built on a shaky foundation as far as content is concerned. Anything which doesn’t have value at its core will end up as a failure in the long run.
Alan Johnson