Before you sit down and write the first word of your next blog post, stop and think about what you want to accomplish with your post. What’s your goal? How is this blog post going to help you accomplish something to help you move forward with your business.
Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:
- Are you writing a post that you hope will get shared across social media and grow your reach?
- Are you writing a post that also invites readers to join your email list so you can get back in touch later?
- Are you writing a post to get the attention of a big brand you’d like to work with?
- Are you writing a blog post to start a conversation with your existing readership?
- Are you writing a blog post with the end goal of selling your readers a product?
- Are you writing a blog post to start a conversation with a fellow coaches in hopes of growing a mutually profitable relationship?
All of the above are valid goals for your blog posts and I’m sure you can add a few more to that list. The important thing is that you are aware of what you’re trying to accomplish with your post.
Then start with the end in mind. If your goal is to get the attention of a big brand you’d like to work with for example, think about a post you can write about your experience with one of their products.
If your goal is to grow your list, think of a topic that’s complimentary to your opt-in offer freebie. Write the content and then transition into an invitation to join your list and download the free report.
Now that you know the goal of your blog post, we’re going to discuss different ways to encourage your readers to engage and interact with your blog posts.
Engage Your Readers And Encourage Interaction
Blogging can feel like a very one-sided conversation sometimes. You’re sitting there, typing away, and sharing content with your readers. But you don’t hear anything back. They read and respond with silence. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way.
Blogs were designed to facilitate engagement and communications. There’s a reason you can leave comments and all it takes is a little encouragement to get your own readers to do that on your blog. Combine that with a little social media interaction and there’s no reason you can’t turn this into a fully engaged conversation that will help you grow a loyal base of fans.
Because let’s face it, while it’s nice for our ego to get lots of comments and interactions, when you’re blogging for a living what really counts is making enough money to pay your bills at the end of the month. And for that to happen you need a loyal audience that not only knows, likes, and trusts you but is also comfortable spending money with you or your sponsors. And for that to happen you need an engaged audience.
Interaction helps too because with each email your readers send you, with each comment they post, and each social media post they write you learn a little more about your target audience and how you can best serve them. And that right there is the key to becoming a profitable coach. Know your market, serve your market, and present them with offers to help them reach their goals or fill their need.
We know it’s important, but how do we get the ball rolling and encourage our audience, our readers to interact with us coaches? We do it by asking them questions, by asking them for feedback and by encouraging them to share their options – right from our blog posts. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re writing a post about getting your baby to sleep through the night. Within the post, ask your readers how old their kids are, or what their own experiences are with their infants. Ask them to share if they are struggling with getting enough sleep right now because baby wakes them up every few hours. Encourage them to share their stories and tell them exactly where and how to do it – by leaving a comment below.
Now the next step is crucial. As soon as you see that first comment or two pop up, reply to them and keep the conversation going. This will do two things for you. Not only will you have a great conversation with the reader that commented (and a chance to form a deeper relationship), seeing you reply also shows other readers that you care and really want to hear from them. And that’s what’s going to encourage more and more of your loyal readers to comment.
The same goes for social media engagement. When you post a link to your latest blog post, ask your friends and followers to like, share, and comment. Then let them know how much you appreciate it when they do. Of course you can get the conversation going there too by asking a question related to your blog post on Facebook for example. It’s a great way to share another link to your blog post and get the conversation going at the same time.
Give these tips a try and see if you can’t get your readers to engage and interact with you. It’s well worth the effort.
Encourage Social Sharing Of Your Blog Posts
We live in a social world where much of our news comes from sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To grow your readership and make sure your blog posts get the attention they deserve, you need to encourage your current readers to share what you’ve written on their favourite social media sites. What those sites are will largely depend on the niche your in. Find out where your audience likes to hang out and then focus on getting them to share on those social media outlets to attract more like-minded readers.
Start With Quality Content
Of course it all starts with quality content that your readers want to read and share. No one is going to spread a crappy post on social media. Start by writing the best blog posts you can and do some research into what your audience wants and needs.
In other words, serve your market well and they will in turn share what you’re writing with their friends and acquaintances.
Make It Attractive
Next it’s time to pretty up your post. Break up your content into small bite-sized chunks so it’s easy to read. Add some subheadings and formatting to make it easy to scan through the content. And don’t forget to add a pretty image that captures the essence of your post.
Step away from your desk and then come back and look at it with fresh eyes. Is the blog post visually appealing? Does it grab your attention? If not, go back to the drawing board and see what you can do to improve it.
Make It Easy To Share
When your goal is to get people to share your blog post on social media, you want to make it as easy as possible to share. We talked about what social media sites your audience favours earlier. Make sure you have one click buttons to share the blog post available for all those sites. If you are running your blog using WordPress you should be able to find a plugin to help you do this.
Ask For The Social Media Share
Buttons are great, but sometimes it takes a little extra push to get your readers to take action. Don’t be afraid to ask for the social media share. Close your articles and blog posts with a little sentence or two that asks them to share on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest etc. if they enjoyed the post. And don’t forget to let them know how much you appreciate it when they share the love.
How To Craft A Good Call To Action At The End Of Your Post
If there’s one thing I see a lot of coaches do wrong when blogging, it’s not giving their readers anything to do at the end of the blog post. Put yourself in the shoes of your readers. You read a great article, get to the end and there’s no call to action. What do you do? You go back to Facebook or go watch some cat videos on YouTube. Why not give your readers something more. What if they wouldn’t mind learning more from you or connecting with you via email or social media or even take you up on a product recommendation? That’s what a call to action at the end of your blog posts is all about.
Encourage Them To Comment And Interact With You
One of the easiest ways to craft a call to action is to ask your readers to leave you a comment. Invite them to share their own experiences on the topic, a tip, a recipe etc. In other words, ask them to comment on the post.
Example: What are your favourite ways to end your blog posts? Do you use a particular call to action? Leave me a comment below and let’s talk.
Invite Them To Connect Further Via Social Media
If growing your social media reach is a goal, consider adding some calls to action on to “like” the blog post on Facebook, share it on Twitter, pin it on Pinterest etc. Or share one of your social media profiles in the call to action and invite them to join you there.
Example: Got questions about crafting calls to action? Let’s talk about it on our Facebook page. (Link to your Facebook page).
Make A Recommendation
Sometimes it makes sense to make a sale and monetize your blog post in your call to action. This is also called pre-selling. You talk about a topic and then at the end make a recommendation for a product that helps your readers learn more or take the next step.
Example: There’s a lot more to be said about crafting a strong call to action. Take a look at this guide to learn more.
Invite Them To Join Your List
Often the best thing you can do at the end of your blog posts is to invite readers to join your list. Once you have them on your email list, you can invite them to come back and read other posts, comment on them, join you on your favourite social media platforms and of course make offers to your readers.
Getting them on your list should always be your first priority, so use that call to action often.
Example: I have a lot more to share on the topic of blogging and would love to email you with more tips and strategies on a regular basis. Just enter your name and email below and we’ll get started right away. As a thank you, I’ll even send you my guide to writing strong blog post titles that will grab your readers’ attention.
Do you see how much easier it is to craft goal driven blog posts when you know what your goal is before you sit down to write? You can reverse engineer the entire process and make sure everything flows well and leads your reader to whatever action you want them to take at the end.
Being able to do that is pretty powerful stuff. It allows you to craft different posts strategically. Write a post that helps you grow your reach. Then work on one that starts the conversation with our new readers. Next work on getting them on your list and finally make them an offer. Getting strategic with your blogging will not only grow your blog and your audience, but grow your business as well.
