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Finding Readers Week: Mrs Woog’s Tips to Create Conversations on Your Blog

MRS WOOGToday in our Finding Readers week is successful Australian blogger Mrs Woog of Woogsworld. With a thriving Facebook community and a comment section that makes the rest of us green with envy, she’s learned a thing or two in her time. Here she spills all…

Engagement. Not just diamond rings mind you, but getting people together and talking. In the world of social media, engagement is everything. After all, if a blog post falls in cyberspace and no one is there to read it… (Insert something profound here…)

There are several things that you can easily do to increase your engagement across the social media platforms that you use. It might be your blog, Facebook, Twitter or a combination of all three. I am pleased as punch to be able to share my knowledge with you, and hopefully, if you find my advice useful for your particular genre, you can see your engagement soar!

What is important to remember when creating content if you want repeat readers:

Voice – Well it is the big one, no? With so many writers and bloggers seeking to grow their readership, your voice needs to be clear, consistent and above all else, your own. The thing about SM is that there is a readership of your own out there; you just need to give them a reason to swing by.

I am coming from this as a personal blogger, which I think is the hardest niche to try and carve out. I write the way that I talk. It is just that simple. I write about mundane topics that people can relate to. I keep things light, fast, and hopefully people can get a giggle or take something away from my posts. So, practice, practice, practice and the best way to do this, is consistency. Writing is like a muscle in a way. The more you use it and do it, the stronger your words will be.

theme week whats next

 

 

Readers like to feel like that they are a part of a social group. One of the things I have noticed lately is the interaction that readers are having with each other. It makes me feel like I am hosting one great big Cyber-Party. I start the conversations and then watch them develop. It is a truly delightful situation. And of course there is always going to be one nob that wants to crash the party, but they are shown the door quickly and with minimal fuss.

And a small spank on the bottom.

It is the facilitation of these conversations that will give you a really great insight into who your readers actually are. It is this information that will help you to work out what sort of content to deliver to them. What will work, and what will sink.

I call writing a post that gets no comments, “DELIVERING A DOUGHNUT” which means a big fat zero when it comes to interaction. Happens to everyone. I just move on, like the Soup Nazi…. NEXT!

 finding time

 

It is not always possible, interact with your “guests” as much as you would like to. If someone takes the time to email you, reply to him or her. If someone takes the time to comment, try and acknowledge their involvement. Depending on where you are in your blogging life, this will vary. I like to make time during the day to do it – 15 minutes here and there. Treat every reader with respect.

And please don’t be chicken shit when it comes to discussing the big issues. 

Why, it’s the three P’s!

PARENTING
POLITICS
PHILOSOPHY

Have an opinion and share it. Present your case and back it up with facts. It is the single most immediate way to drive up the engagement on your blog. It is not about arguing, but people want to share their point of view and you are providing the platform to do so. Plus it is fun! I am always prepared to be proven wrong. Try it!

 theme week social media

 

My social media playground is the blog, Twitter and Facebook, and I approach these very differently. It was not something that I consciously set out to do, but on reflection it is just the way it turned out.

Facebook for your blog? Everyone has one, and if you don’t, you should.

Why? Because it is the best WORD OF MOUTH was to get your blog onto people’s screens. Because it is the easiest way to get your content shared. Because it is fun and interactive. Just because, ok?

My first post on my facebook page?

image My blog is my-free-for-all cocktail party and my Facebook Page is my “Drinks with the Gals” night. People choose to be a part of it. It is inclusive and respectful and we all have a good old laugh. Sure, there are the occasional biffos, but that happens in any social group, no?

And then there is Twitter, or as I like to call it, the seedy backroom bar of some dodgy pub. Fast, fun and fancy free, you need to keep your wits about you on this popular, but sometimes much maligned social media platform. Make one mistake, and you can be taken out by faceless trolls (Just ask my friend Tracey Spicer!) but as quickly as things can flare up, they die away.

theme week top takeaways

So my top 3 tips for increasing the engagement on your social media platforms?

  1. Make a spelling mistake. People LOVE to point them out to you.
  2. Tell people you think vaccinations are the devil’s work.
  3. Write a blog post about how you are over blogging and are thinking about quitting.

What’s that? You want serious tips? Fine.

  1. Be around. Dedicate time to write and share and promote and respond. Be consistent.
  2. Give them content that is worth reading. Ask yourself, what are they getting out of this post? Give them a reason to come back and get involved in the online world that you have created, and reward their loyalty with fantastic (and varied) content.
  3. Be brave. A dog never barked at a parked car.

 What are your tips? Does Facebook work for you?

About Stacey Roberts
Stacey Roberts is the Managing Editor of ProBlogger.net: a writer, blogger, and full-time word nerd balancing it all with being a stay-at-home mum. She writes about all this and more at Veggie Mama. Chat with her on Twitter @veggie_mama, follow on Pinterest for fun and useful tips, peek behind the curtain on Instagramand Snapchat, listen to her 90s pop culture podcast, or be entertained on Facebook.
Comments
  1. Haha, love your first lot of summary tips. People especially love to point out spelling mistakes when you’re a self-proclaimed word nerd! Great post – I love the conversations that develop underneath your facebook posts.

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/08/2014 at 6:46 pm

      They are a lot of fun. Thousands of women who like a laugh and have similar outlooks on life. I love that community to bits! x

      • I noticed your spelling mistakes in this post and then I was DISAPPOINTED to read that this was intentional.

        I’m really disheartened that you don’t have the confidence in your own content that you have to resort to such a cheap, shameless tactic, especially when I came to this post seeking information from an expert.

        :(

        • Stacey Roberts says: 05/26/2014 at 3:45 pm

          Yeouch!

          I’m sure you realise Mrs Woog’s advice to have spelling mistakes is a joke. Her actual advice is written after. Any spelling mistake in this article would be my fault, as I would have missed it during the editing process, and not Mrs Woog being underhanded.

  2. I appreciate your tip to “be brave.” Sometimes its too easy to just always be polite and cordial, but real discussion comes from being brave and open.

  3. You do Facebook better than anyone I know. Keep on keeping on Mrs Woog x

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/08/2014 at 6:47 pm

      I think we both know that that came about completely by accident! x

  4. I love to add infographics and videos into my blog posts to make them more interesting and engaging. Using polls and surveys are also great ways to uncover topics that my readers are interested in.

  5. Your first three take-aways are absolute gems (and will definitely boost engagement), but what I really took away was the mantra “Practice, practice, practice” when it comes to voice.

    I’ve been blogging for well over 10 years in some form or another so my voice is of course evolving with me (I’m not that angsty teenager with a LiveJournal anymore), but sometimes I think I lose ‘me’ when I’m on my business blog. I’m a huge believer in an authentic and personal brand so I’m recommitting to myself to ‘write as I speak’.

    Thanks Mrs Woog!

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/10/2014 at 1:52 pm

      Thanks Katie! Writing the way you speak is easy, it just takes a while to get used to. It is so entrenched in us as kids to write a certain way. We kind of have to undo what we have learnt x

  6. Ah Mrs Woog, you never fail to make me laugh. Love the tip about the spelling mistakes – so true. Keep up the great work!

  7. Great! Mrs Woog’s tips are very useful for me. I think that social media is the best choice for blogger. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube always help the traffic to your blog. Thank you for your sharing, Stacey!

  8. Love it Woogie. I think I might try your first set of tips. ;)

  9. Why do I have some dude as my profile pic!? Lol

  10. This article is a great, it made me think about Neil Patel’s blog post I’ve read earlier “Why No One Comments on Your Blog and What to Do about It” is the title.

    I am thinking that your post and his are great combination if you wanted to have a blog post that attracts comments.

    In your tips on how to create a conversational blog, I like the thought/tip about reaching your target audience. If they go social, follow them wherever they are. That tip was shared redundantly and that is very important to take note. Often time, others forget about it.

    I found this post shared on Kingged.com, the Internet marketing social bookmarking site, and I “kingged” it and left this comment.

  11. Wow! Great ways to increase blog engagement! But making spelling mistakes so that commenters point it out? Most of the commenters won’t do it according to me.
    Building comment conversations and crafting those conversations into a blog post, is a great idea.
    Cheers,
    Akshay Hallur

  12. I really enjoyed the read, and loved the top takeaways. Thank you for the advice and I will try my best to use it :)

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/08/2014 at 6:47 pm

      Thanks Jon! I am glad you got something out of it. Best of luck! x

  13. How to know that you will get traffic from social media?

    But This is good articles to read about and many thanks of it

  14. Engaging read, I love the excitement,keep up the good work.

  15. More great tips and advice from Mrs Woog! Thank you.

  16. Very nice speech! Everything in life starts as a dream first – so have a great one. Believe in the beauty of your dreams, because if you don’t – who will?

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/10/2014 at 1:59 pm

      And back yourself! We Aussies are notorious at putting ourselves down. x

  17. Oh you are one funny woman.. ‘ a dog never barks at a parked car ‘ like!
    A lot! Your voice is your voice & so true of you the most successful parent blogger i know. Awards may come & go but I know what I mean. Most successful parent blogger! You!

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/10/2014 at 1:58 pm

      I am not sure about that Denyse, but I do know that I love what I do x

  18. Above all I love your voice, and your tips aren’t half bad either :) Your words are, as ever, light and entertaining but with a sound and very sane undertow. Loved it :)

  19. I really enjoyed reading this and the top tips were amazing and the first were very true. I am a horrible speller and when I started blogging I misspelled a few things even when I tried to make sure everything was right. I had so many comments about it!

  20. Hi ,MRS Woog ,

    You raise very wise points in your article i will try to follow your guidelines on my Blog .

  21. Thanks for the great post. Great info and very interesting indeed

  22. I’m working on my social media interaction… In Facebook I’m doing well, however, I need to work on twitter.

  23. Hi Mrs Woog,

    Hahaha…well said on a mis-spell, or quitting blogging. Always guaranteed to get some pop. I say leave comments to score comments. Social people have few problems making an impact, and shy people have terrible problems getting the engagement train going/growing. Take. A bunch. Keep talking. One other note; if engagement is realy, really important to you, and you need it to grow business, set aside an hour each day to do nothing but comment on blogs. I swear, leaving 10 or 20, or even 50 comments, on kick ass days, will drive engagement to your site like nobody’s business. If you want convos, start conversing.

    Thanks MW!

    RB

  24. after i read your artickle i understood, i made al ot of mistakes then I really enjoyed reading this and the top tips were amazing and the first were very true. tx for your share.

  25. Love the top tips explained in best way at the end of the article, thanks for this useful posts.

  26. I think social media IS the thing nowadays! It’s the best place to keep the engagement going on. The visual nature of something like a Facebook page makes it very convenient to carry out the process in a sustainable manner.

  27. Great post! I would love to hear more about how you got such great interaction between your readers/commenters. I have tons of comments but 90% are bidirectional between me and the reader. However lately there’s been a trickle of people interacting with each OTHER and I would love to encourage more of that. But how?

    I also agree with your tip about responding to everybody. But how? I barely respond to 2% of email now because I would have to give up eating and sleeping to carve out enough time to respond to everybody. Even with the trick of having pre-fab email responses and cutting and pasting.

    Maybe you can do another post on Problogger to dig into these juicy details because I would love to get your thoughts!
    Cheers,
    Alexis

    • Mrs Woog says: 05/10/2014 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks Alexis. I blog full time, so I do have the time to do it. I have had a community attached to it for a few years now and they kind of get to know each other, I will do another Diggy post soon xx

  28. Loved the article and your voice is too good. You are to the point and gonna share it for sure.

  29. Learned a lot from your post. I will now increase my interaction with readers on my website and on social networking websites.

  30. When For the first time i started with my own blog, it was you who helped me with your tips. I really appreciate these tips. They were really helpful for me.
    Thanks a lot sir

  31. Nice Ideas. I will implement some of these ! thanks for the tips !

  32. Loved the article and ideas and I appreciate these tips… these tips really helps me in blogging….

    And yes will surely do some spell mistake in my blog :p

    Thanks Mrs Woog :)

  33. nice tips…thanks ..
    socialyounger.blogspot.com

  34. thanks, nice tips i think social media Is the thing nowadays!

  35. Power of Social media is the important for marketing your blog.

  36. Thanks a lot for important tips. Your article is good and very knowledgeable.

  37. The “Top Takeaways” cracked me up…I may have to make a few spelling mistakes on purpose! (Or at least, claim I did them on purpose!)

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