How Do You Convert Your One Time Visitor Into A Loyal Reader?
Jul 11, 2008 Blog Optimization, Blogging Tips
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Like me many bloggers believe that comment is most powerful features of blog. You Might have come across blogs like Blogging Without A Blog or 7P Productions where readers enjoy talking through comments.
Many of you might have asked your self “How these bloggers encourage comments on their blogs”.
Well the answer is simple “They respect their readers” yes that’s the magic mantra for boatload of comments. Whenever someone leaves comment on your blog they expect response from you.
I learned this blogging lesson from Barbara Swafford when I 1st found her blog on Blogcatalog last week. I left comment on Random Post Plugin article and she responded at once with nice welcoming message (Which was very unusual for me no one ever responded to my comments) which result in series of comments from my side on her blog, and in few days I have become her loyal follower. You might think why I am telling you all this? well, just to let you know that maintaining healthy relationship with your reader means all.
Whenever some one leaves a comment on your blog try to respond back. Or at least welcome your 1st time reader. It will encourage him/her to continue the conversation and keep coming back. This way you will convert your one time visitor into a loyal reader. We wordpress bloggers are particularly lucky because there is a plugin calledComment Relish which automates the whole process of welcoming you 1st time commentor. By sending them thank you message. I haven’t used this plugin but those who have used it are really happy with the out come.
Another great way to engage your reader is to notify them if someone responds to their comment. The most conventional way would be to offer RSS feed for comments, but not every one is well-informed about RSS. So providing an email alternative makes perfect sense. Well again Wrodpress publishers are lucky here because a plugin called Subscribe to Comments effortlessly adds email alternative to track new comments.
We all look for an incentive for our efforts and your reader is not spared from that greed. In such cases free link back to top commentors can be beneficial. If you are a wordpress publisher like me you could do that using Top Commentor plugin. Else you might need to hand code all the links.
That was another lesson I learned from a great blogger. And it worked for me I have seen reasonable improvement in my comment counts in just few day’s practice
So what do you learn from this post let me know in comments
Popularity: 50% [?]
Tags: Blog Comments, Blog Optimization, Blog readers, Blog Subscriber, Blog Traffic, Blogging Tips, Top Commentor
July 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Hi Sunil,
I am humbled and honored by your beautifully written post. You know, I love having comments on my blog. It’s my readers and commenters who drive and inspire me to keep writing/blogging. And yes, as a blogger, I do feel it’s important to answer all of our comments. It is time consuming (when you get a lot), but it’s part of our responsibility as a blogger. If someone takes time out of their busy schedule to leave me a comment, the least I can do is make time to respond.
Thanks you again for the link love, adding me to your Blogroll, and your very kind words.
Happy Blogging!
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..FEFF - It’s Good For The Ego
July 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
You are right we need to give them an incentive to come back. If it is link love, then great - and hopefully they will eventually come back just for the content
Tom - StandOutBlogger.coms last blog post..Comment Here If You Want A In Depth Blog Review
July 11th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
[...] as a successful blogger you are ought to increase this number read more to know how you can do thatread more | digg [...]
July 11th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I agree, response to first time visitor is important. Even i had wrote an entire post about “How you treat your first time visitor”.
Quite impressive blogging dude - get goin
Shanker Bakshis last blog post..Chandigarh Bloggers First Meet-Up - As Seen After Fifty Years from Now
July 12th, 2008 at 1:45 am
@Barbara You are not only a good blogger but a great human too if i ever happened to write about blogger who inspire me the most you and Al with be in top 2
@Tom incentive is great when you want to motivate some one and i liked your idea of increasing subscriber count
@Shanker congrats for your successful meet-up buddy
by the way what was the agenda of the meeting?
July 12th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Hi Sunil - thanks for the link love!!
I agree wholeheartedly with your point. It’s important to try and connect with people who read our blog. If they invested time and energy to read our words, then they earned our respect to listen to their feedback.
Great tips also for tools to help the discussion. As a blog reader, my favorite is the Subscribe to Comments plugin. I’ll be installing the CommentLuv later this weekend - that’s a pretty cool plugin.
Al at 7Ps last blog post..The Hidden Water of Life
July 12th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Sunil ~
You have fabulous blog and Barbara, Al and others whom I respect dearly to rock your blog. This article about plugins is an excellent resource. I’ve stumbled it. Needless to say that I’ve subscribed to your blog.
Please let me know if I can do anything for you.
Shilpan
http://www.successsoul.com/blog/
Shilpan | successsoul.coms last blog post..7 Habits to Master the Art of Winning against the Odds
July 14th, 2008 at 12:37 am
@Al Thanx for your feed back buddy
Glad you liked this post. and about plugins yeah its really cool to have plugins that help your reader to connect with your blog without any visible efforts
@Shilpan Welcome to Bloggerslab mate
and thanx for stumble and offer for help will surely disturb you if i need nay
July 14th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Hi, I stopped by to let you know I added your blog to my list.
RT Cunningham@Do Follow, CommentLuv and KeywordLuv Blog Lists last blog post..Blog Review: California 2 Puerto Rico
July 17th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Glad I stumbled onto your blog. You have a lot of great information that I think can ultimately help everyone develop better blogs that engage their readers. I will be back to see what other pearls of wisdom you have to offer.
gsmiths last blog post..Acorn’s Aggressive Voter Registration Leads to Corruption
July 17th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Hi gsmiths Glad you liked my writing and my tips
and thanx for spending time to share your view with us
RT Cunningham
Thanx a lot for adding my blog to your excellent list mate
July 17th, 2008 at 9:15 am
wow gr8 post
,I also think that commenting creates a special bond between the blog owner and the reader. 
Blogger Templatess last blog post..How to change your Blogger Template ?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Hi Raman
yes its true commenting on other blog can really
help you build your network of bloggers
but be careful when you comment
spam comments or simply promotion your blog can create a big conflicts too