5 Ways to Make Your Blog More Interactive
One of the reasons blogging is such a popular medium is because it allows the writer and readers to interact with one another. This gives everyone a voice, making blogs a conversation, whereas standard articles are more of a one-way channel of communication.
In light of this, I think it’s important that you do everything you can to make sure blog more interactive. The more interactive your blog is, the more participation you’ll get from your readers. As a result, they’ll become more loyal.
To help get you started, I’ve come up with 5 easy ways to make your blog more interactive. If you can think of other good tips, please leave a comment.
1. Use TwtPoll—TwtPoll allows you to include a poll or a survey in your blog posts. This lets readers who are in a hurry to quickly share their thoughts with the click of their mouse, rather than taking the time to type out a comment. Creating a poll takes just a few seconds, and embedding it in your blog is easy.
In addition to making your blog more interactive, TwtPoll can help you gather useful information. If you have a fair amount of people who vote on a poll question, you can use those results for a future blog post.
2. Respond to your comments in a timely manner—When you think of interactivity on a blog, you probably think about the comments. Comments let your readers share their thoughts on the subject being covered in your post. But it’s not enough to let your readers comment. You need to set aside the time to respond to these comments thoughtfully. Don’t just say “Thanks for leaving a comment.” Instead, try to push the conversation forward with the commenter. This keeps them engaged, and it helps you build relationships with your audience.
3. Feature Twitter followers in your posts—I got this idea from the SmallBizBee blog. Every Friday, they would hold what was called “Twitter Fest Friday.” The blogger would ask his Twitter followers a question, and he’d feature their responses in his post. It adds a social element to the blog, and it shows your readers that you value their opinion.
4. Start podcasting—I’ve already gone over all the reasons to start podcasting at great length, so I won’t repeat them here. You can set your podcast up to be interactive by allowing listeners to call in and leave a voicemail with their questions. This gives the podcast the interactive feel of a live talk radio show.
5. Let readers suggest topics for future posts—This is a win-win. Allowing your readers to suggest topics for posts not only get them involved, but it also ensures you’ll be writing about content that they’re interested in.
How do you make your blog more interactive? Leave a comment with your best tip.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:35 am
Good read
I like to do my follow fridays in a blog post.
I recently installed a plugin OdioGo that converts the blog into an audio file for listening. My primary aim was to support visually impaired readers but it is OK for Mp3 players etc if you don't mind the electronically sound American, male voice
September 16th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Another day past, ZhuoFu first exit LongTianHe, uniting XiaoYue woke up with a voice called uncle) ZhuoFu see dad (LongTianHe XiaoYue together happy before go to "XiaoYue ah, you have to wait here, how long is my uncle, is to keep you waiting for so long." ZhuoFu here will turn your head to dragon "I blame the days that son, how can you make XiaoYue waiting here for so long, didn't you?" XiaoYue bullying.
November 10th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
In my blog (which I started in January 2010) I have invited readers to vote for their favorite post or posts, enter search words, and go back to January 1, 2010 to read my 1960 daily diary entries and leave comments or ask questions. I check almost daily for comments or questions and will reply to each.