Your task for this first day of the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Challenge is to email a new reader of your blog.
Create a great impression upon a brand new readers to your blog by choosing a commenter that is new and emailing them to thank them for their comment.
It might not sound like the most profound tip but I’ll let you in on a secret – this is one of the main strategies I used to build up ProBlogger’s audience a couple of years ago.
What I found is that when you do it the chances of the readers that you email coming back to your blog again increases significantly. Get them to come back to your blog once and you increase the chances of them coming back again… and again….
So email a reader now, thank them for commenting and tell them that you’re looking forward to further interactions.
Make sure you include a link back to your blog so they know who you are and make the email relevant to their comment (ie answer a question they asked or add to their comment in some way). While there are some tools out there that do this automatically for you – the more personal you can make it the better.
This simple tip takes just a moment to do but can create a loyal long time reader. Do it at least once a day (or set yourself a higher target) and you’ll build your blog consistently over time.
Is this Tip Not SPECTACULAR Enough For You?
Last time I shared this tip with a fellow blogger they rolled their eyes at me and told me that they didn’t want to find just one more reader for their blog – they wanted hundreds or thousands.
This blogger failed to realize two things: (more…)
This is a simple tip but it never really occur to me that it can ‘viral’ or that powerful. Actually, whether it brings the results or not, it is still good to send an email to thank our readers and since it is tough thanking every single one, one or two is a good start and practice.
Thanks for the tip! It’s a good one, and I’ll bet often overlooked. I just started this personal blog (have a couple other business-related ones), but since my new personal one is less than a week old, I have made the commitment to use every single one of the tips you share this month on it. I’ll be a good “case study” for you. :) And, I’m just thankful I had a commenter already to email!
I’ve been doing this from day one. It is just common courtesy in my opinion but I do acknowledge that I intuitively knew from day one that this would be an excellent way of creating loyal readers.
As the number and frequency of commenters has risen it has become increasingly time consuming but still very worthwhile. My blogs have not yet reached the point where the number of new people commenting has reached a point where it will no longer be physically possible to respond to every new person who comments.
Well, it is a nice tip…but you have to get commentors to your blog first.
I am telling you that Darren because despite my blog gets a reasonable traffic, my readers seem not to like posting comments very much…I have thought about what I could do to inspire readers to comment.
BTW, I have been following along you tips, very useful.
This is excellent advise, Darren. I would feel as though I were being treated with extra special attention. I would feel the blogger thought I was important enough to pull me out of the crowd of commenters and spend time with me one-on-one even if for just a couple of minutes.
The idea also comes across to me as someone realizing they wouldn’t be where they are without their readers and they (the blogger) are truly exhibiting appreciation for the readers role in acquiring their level of success, whatever level that may be at the time.
I think the best way for me to explain would be to say I see being the recipient of such an email as equivalent to attending a seminar featuring a speaker(s) I admire for their expertise or whatever. If I take the time to read your blog, I admire you for some reason.
If one of the speakers were to single me out for conversation, even if just to introduce themselves to me, I would be very appreciative that they acknowledged my presence at the seminar. Naturally, I would then feel drawn to be more involved in other aspects of their business such as books, upcoming seminars, etc.
We all naturally appreciate acknowledgment whether it be simply a smile in passing in the store or that special note of thanks for whatever. Hearing or reading an acknowledgment with your own name just has a way with making you feel all warm and fuzzy because you were NOTICED in the sea of people/ readers/ personalities out there.
I tried it. My blog is barely over a month old thoug, so not many commenters fo far but deffantly think its a good idea. To me as a viewer and reader I agree that a webmaster taking the time to email me back will deffantly make me visit them again and again. I know I was totally shocked to get an email back from you before and I love this site for it and its great information.
Thank you for your reminder on this simple but important relationship building exercise. However, I think for it to be truly effective, it should be on a regular basis rather than just a one-off email to a new reader. The drawback is that after a period of time, the blogger might not have enough time to email the readers. Hence, replying to comments would be important as well.
Great tip. Here’s another tip that’s helped me get viewers is to ask for permission to use their photos on my blog. I tend to try to post my own photos, but if I need a photo that I don’t have, I’ll go hunting on Flickr. Once I see something I like, I then contact the person for permission to post their picture on my blog. They’re very appreciative and generally say yes. And often, they come back to see what else I’ve written. Here’s a post where I asked two photographers for permission.
Good idea as always Darren. I’ll be reading.
Good advice Darren. You can never put a price tag on the value of a visitor. Who knows what they’ll buy or how many people they’ll tell about you.
I like this idea. I have been doing something like it already in messaging anyone I see in Mybloglog widget…I make it a point to visit their profile and thank them for stopping by, I similar idea I think although they haven’t necessarily commented on my site, which is kinda new and not getting so many comments yet. I’ll definitely start doing this though as I get new commentors….just makes sense!
I have to tell you that Jason from money Space online has been talking about your blog so I decided to pop over and read it :) you are as awesome as he says :) He has inspired me to start blogging too :)
Terry
Totally agree with you Darren.
Unfortunately, i get only 2-3 comments daily on my blog. :D
Cheers!
Mani
I did get a couple of nice comments today and individually emailed the recipients. I have to say – it was out of my comfort zone, it felt a little ‘spammy’. I suppose that’s why I’m a tech/manager sort, not a salesperson. :)
On the subject of autoresponders, I would only recommend one if it can be set to autorespond to only the first comment. IMHO, getting the same autoresponse every time can potentially be a deterrent to future commenting.
I agree with the majority – a personal note is best.
I feel like I just did this to tell a reader about her contest win at my site, but I’ve never thought of doing it just to build the relationship. I’ll tryit right now.
I have to admit that I haven’t thought about emailing the readers before…
I will definitely be sticking with your 31 days project and beyond.
As usual Darren, with the simplest of tips, you have provided me with just the kick up the backside I need… I am guilty of neglect of my gorgeous, loyal readers and it is an outrageous state of affairs. Im off to say thank you to one and all.
great tip, never thought about it that way (the 365 page views)
Great post! As previously stated, it never crossed my mind to email new visitors. It’s definitely on my to do list going forward. :)
Darren,
I currently don’t have any readers. Can I just email some of your readers? Your fan base is made of really cool people!!!
Darren – great tip! I just got a nice comment from a guy in Iceland on my blog, so it inspired me to drop him a mail.
Oh, and shawn, great comment too.
Interesting that I should come across this post today as I just read about a WordPress Plugin that sends a thank you email to people who post to a blog for the first time. I haven’t tried it yet but if it lets you customize a nice greeting, it could be very effective.
The plugin is “Comment Relish” at http://www.justinshattuck.com/comment-relish/
If anyone has tried it, drop me a note. I am interested in seeing how it works.
Hope this helps,
Jim
Finally got one to email. It is still Aug. 1st here. I have started seeing more and more comments left with “no-reply comment…” Is this a general trend?
Wow Darren, now you have 74 commenter. Who’ll be that lucky commenter to receive your mail then… *wink* Thanks for the tip anyway!
yeah you got great tips i like this blog
Thank you for the tip! My blog is less than a week old, so I only have two people who have commented so far. I think it’s a great suggestion that will help me build my audience, starting with these first couple of visitors.
really good tip I’m gonna take your advice
This is a great tip, and it’s so very important. My own experience is that it not only increases readership, but it also increases links back to you from other blogs. It’s all about community.
It took me a while to clue-in that responding in the comments didn’t always cut it — there’s no guarantee that any particular reader will return to any particular post to see if there’s a response, after all. So I have started to respond by email when someone leaves a really genuine comment, anything more than “hi nice blog”…
Someone asked about how to get an email address for a commenter if you’re on Blogger… When I was still on Blogger, I did try to track through the profile or website links on people’s names, to see if there was any contact info available. Labour intensive — too say the least — and not everyone has an email published on their site, but at least *something* can be done to try to connect with readers in this way.
Would it not help to start this out with maybe something for noob bloggers?
Maybe, say, someone wanted to start fresh with a blog taking your suggestions..
I emailed a new commenter today, who manages a book store. She subscribed to my newsletter that I send to bookstore owners and boookclub presidents. Usually I respond in the comments section, but I will begin to comment to at least one person a day via their personal email.
Thanks.
It’s a great tip. If only I can find a list of those readers.
Great post but the process is a little cumbersome but we also know nothing ventured nothing gained. Does any body here know about other innovative ways to build up a blog audience and traffic.
I’m only leaving this comment in the hopes that you’ll email me.
I have just visited this site and came accros the 31 days theme.
Emailing seems a good idea but in moderation. Don’t email the same commentor over and over, I guess?
Problogger, I don’t see you add to the comments (maybe you do). How many did you email today?
It’s a good tips.
Someone using unknown email so I delete his comment. Am I wrong ?
This is a great tip.
Great tip. My blog is on blogger. I don’t think I automatically get the email addresses of commentators. Maybe time to switch?
Great Tip Darren,
I never know that we can E-mail people and increase the user base. I will follow.
Keep up your work.
http://analogstuff.blogspot.com
I just found this series and I’m dying to dive in. Love the first tip. I almost always respond to a new reader’s comment, in fact, I respond to probably half the comments I get. And my readers have grown tremendously since I began doing that.
Did it! Always worthwhile to email new people, thanks for the reminder.
Nice tip. I will email my commentors building a better network. :)
I love your blog! Particularly this series of posts. I will definitely walk through this the next 31 days. I am excited to apply your principles.
Hello ,Darren your tips are helpful and informative specially for begginers I am reading how to write blogs.thank you!
How do you get their email addresses? I have a typepad blog and I don’t see one.
Darren,
I’ve been going back through your 31 Days series and reading all of the posts. This is definitely one of the things I’m going to do! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. :)
I agree completely, that we need to go after the 1 loyal reader.
Great tip. I’m starting a little late, but i’m going through your list. I know someone who did follow this tip, and it did indeed build up a loyal following to his blog.
I agree it’s a great tip, and I love getting thank yous and want to send them (although I really hope people understand when you don’t). My issue is I have a blogger blog (Google) and they don’t make it very easy to send an email as far as I know. I get a “no-reply” email notification, go to my blog, am directed to their google profile, go to their web, try to find an email address or sometimes end up commenting on their own post as thanks. Whew, thanks for letting me get that off my chest :)
Yea loyal readers are the best .
This is a great tip, as everyone has already mentioned. One mistake people often make with any type of community they’re building (be it a forum, a network, or – yes – a blog) is not engaging with their users, especially in the early days.
If someone takes the time to post on your site, even to call you a dimwit, then you should encourage their participation. They might even stop calling you a dimwit :D