blogging.wurk.net

The most important part of any weblog are the readers, make no mistake. Think about it - what’s the point of writing if no-one’s going to read it?

But an audience - no matter how big - is pretty much worthless if it doesn’t collectively respond in some way to what you’re writing. If you’re not getting any feedback at all, then you might as well not have that audience in the first place. And, like I’ve said before, all the important stuff happens in your blog’s comments section anyway.

But the real million dollar question is: how do you fire up your readers enough to get them to respond to what you’ve written in the first place? And here’s the million dollar answer. Two of them, in fact…

1) Help, advise, guide, support, lead, and inspire your readers.

Easier said than done, eh. But this is exactly what people are looking for when they search and read blogs. They want tips, secrets, how-to’s, inspirational tales of success, someone to steer them in the right direction, someone to tell them where they’re going wrong - and how to get it right.

It’s about owning a topic, or a niche. Being an expert. Being reliable, trustworthy, honest, and empathetic. And it’s about being a constant source of information that will help people improve their lives, their businesses, their health, their relationships, their bank balances, whatever.

Because those are the things that people want.

And if you can back your advice up with believable, real-life success stories, and demonstrate that once, you were in the same position as your readers, then that effect is multiplied tenfold, or a hundredfold, or more.

You’ve virtually created a whole new religion.

People will listen to you. And they’ll want to talk back at you. Guaranteed.

2) Do exactly the opposite.

Who was it that said…

“…annoy your readers so much and they’ll practically write your column for you…”

I can’t remember. Maybe I just made it up. But either way, it’s not just true, it’s gospel. It’s not about being snarky. It’s about having a strong opinion, and not being afraid to voice it. It’s about sticking to your views, no matter who disagrees with them. It’s about arguing your point without letting anyone stand in your way. And it’s about not caring about upsetting anyone who drops by.

People will listen to you. And they’ll definitely want to talk back at you. Guaranteed.