How to Engage Readers on Your Blog
Do you know what is one of the most common problems with most blogs? It is the lack of engagement.
You spend hours writing and publishing a blog post, but many visitors just skim it for a few seconds and quit. How can you change that?
The solution is to make your blog post – and your overall blog – more engaging. There are several tips that almost always work. In this post, I share 6 such tips and tricks that can help you create more engagement and keep your readers longer on your blog posts.
1. Start With the Headline
The content of your blog post is important. There is no doubt about it. However, in the online blogging world, headlines are equally crucial.
You see, there are hundreds of bloggers in every major niche, who publish thousands of posts every week. You just can’t hook the readers with an ordinary headline.
In reference to our topic, headlines that raise enough curiosity and interest make sure that the readers stay with your blog posts till the end.
2. Write a Powerful Introduction
Once the headline reels the readers in, it is up to the introduction of your post to keep your readers engaged. A lot of bloggers lose most of their readership during the introductory phase of the post.
However, if you do these two things right – the headline and the introduction of the post – you would generate enough interest and curiosity to keep your readers engaged throughout the post.
3. Write Like a Conversation
It is really important.
If your writing style is boring and dry, you won’t be able to engage your readers for long. Blog posts – as long as you are not writing on a sensitive topic – should have a funny, personal and friendly tone.
It should sound like a 1-on-1 conversation with a friend. Use words like you and I to make it more like a personal conversation. You can also ask questions to make your writing more interesting.
Blog posts that are funny, personal and sound like a conversation hold readers a lot longer than boring, dull and dry posts.
4. Engage With Comments
A common technique to encourage more comments is to have a simple call-to-action that invites thoughts, comments and opinions from your readers.
Blogs that actively respond with their readers in the comment section build more credibility and engagement. Their readers spend more time on their posts, because they can also have their say on the topic – which they know will be responded by the contributors of the blog.
5. Try to Keep Your Posts to 1,500 Words
Although search engines now prefer longer and more detailed blog posts, readers still prefer shorter, comprehensive and concise posts. They are easier to read and, therefore, are more convenient for readers.
On the other hand, if you publish an 8000-word blog post, chances are that many readers will read a few paragraphs and then start skimming it.
If your blogging goal is to engage your readers, try to keep your posts to 1,500 words. If you can provide more information in less than 1,000 words, that will be great, too.
6. Don’t Use More Than 3 Images
Images are great and you must use them. Relevant and meaningful images can increase readability, views and engagement.
However, images can also be distracting. And if you use more than 3 images, chances are that your readers will become too distracted to read your post. In the end, it is going to hurt the readability of your content and the overall engagement of your blog.
Neil Patel ran a few tests using the tool Crazy Egg to see what kind of impact more images have on readability and engagement. He says:
“By running a few scrollmap tests on Crazy Egg, I found that posts containing more than three images tended to get read less by roughly 15% than those with fewer than three images. Interestingly enough, the time on site for posts with three or more images was also shorter by 26 seconds, which is roughly 15% of the average time you spend on my site.”
Final Words
So the next time you’re trying to increase engagement on your blog, you can use any of the above-mentioned 6 tips.
Always remember that the more engaged your readers are, the better it is for your blog and business.
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Hi Josh, Thanks for sharing these awesome tips to engage readers more.
Hi Josh, Thanks for sharing these awesome tips to engage readers more.
Hi Josh, Thanks for sharing these awesome tips to engage readers more.