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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.

Let’s face it: Most bloggers suck at being productive. They stare at a blank computer screen for a while, check their email, chat it up on Facebook and Twitter, grab a bite to eat, write a few words, and repeat. Hours later, they finally have something resembling a blog post.

There must be a better way, right? Thankfully, there is. It starts by following these 8 simple tips for becoming a more productive blogger.

1. Write down your ideas—If you blog regularly, you’re always trying to come up with new things to write about. You may have noticed that ideas tend to strike you at the weirdest times and in the strangest places. An idea for a new post might hit you while you’re shopping at the grocery store. It might enter your brain just as you’re ready to go to sleep. Whenever you get a new idea, write it down immediately. It doesn’t matter if you put in a notebook or make a memo on your phone, just make sure you save the idea somewhere so you’ll have a starting point the next time you write a post.

 

2. Outline your posts before you start writing—While some writers find outlines restricting, I find that they help me stay focused so I can deliver my message clearly and concisely. Outlining your posts before you begin writing gives you direction so that you don’t find yourself staring at a blank monitor for hours at a time.

 

3. Eliminate distractions—If you want to get your new blog post done as quickly as possible, you have to eliminate distractions.
   • Close out internet tabs that don’t have anything to do with writing your new post
   • Turn off the TV
   • Stop checking your text messages
   • START WRITING!!!

 

4. Give yourself a break when you earn it—When writing for long periods of time, you sometimes get to the point that the Law of Diminishing Returns kicks in. In other words, your productivity and quality of writing starts to decrease because you’re getting tired. Whenever you’ve been writing for a while, give yourself a well-deserved break. Go grab a snack, or head outside to enjoy a few minutes of fresh air. Just don’t make your break too long or else you’ll never get back to work.

 

5. Find your favorite times to write—We all have different times throughout the day when we’re most productive. Some bloggers like to do their writing early in the morning. Others are most productive when burning the midnight oil. Find your favorite time to write, and schedule your blogging accordingly.

 

6. Set a deadline—If you don’t treat your blog as something that needs to be done, you’ll never get around to writing. You’ll keep telling yourself, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” That’s why setting deadlines is so important. It forces you to stop screwing around and to start writing. Set realistic deadlines you are capable of meeting, and stick to them.

 

7. Create the perfect writing environment—I prefer writing my blogs in silence. Other bloggers that I know like to have music on when they write. And others like to do their writing at a coffee shop. Figure out what your perfect writing environment is, and create it so you can get your work done.

 

8. Practice writing regularly—Writing is just like anything else. The more you do it, the better you become. I like to write every single day so that I continue to improve my skills and find new ways to increase my productivity. Practice. Practice. Practice.

How do you stay productive as a blogger? Share your best tips in the replies.

The key to building a loyal base of readers for your blog is to give your audience content they crave. How can you make sure you’re satisfying your readers so that they’ll keep coming back? Start by following these simple tips.

• Pay attention to your comments—Blog comments are great because they give you direct feedback from your readers. You should pay attention to the posts that receive the most comments. Ask yourself: What topics are these posts focused on? What is the format of these posts (e.g. lists, how to, etc.)? What is the tone of these posts?

             In addition to identifying the posts that get the most comments, you should also read all of your comments to see what your readers are talking about. You’ll often find that they bring up interesting topics that can be explored further in future posts.

• Use a ratings plugin for WordPress—On the SEO Hosting blog, we use the GD Star Rating plugin for WordPress. This allows you, the reader, to rate posts on a scale of 1 to 10. For bloggers, this allows you to see which posts your readers like and which they don’t really care for (don’t let your ego get bruised). Take a look at your highest rated posts, and do your best to emulate the formula in your future posts.

• Study your blog traffic—If you’re blogging, chances are you have some sort of traffic analysis program. Take a look at your blog traffic to determine which posts get the most traffic and which pages readers stay on for the longest period of time. Again, ask yourself the questions listed above to find out what exactly it is about these posts that makes them popular.

• Follow your readers on Twitter—There’s a good chance the people commenting on your blog also have Twitter accounts. Connecting with them on Twitter doesn’t just help you build strong relationships, but it also lets you see what topics they care about most. Take a look at what they’re Tweeting about and what type of content they’re linking to, and write content that focuses on these subjects.

• Check your incoming links—One of the good things about WordPress is that it alerts you whenever someone else links to your blog. Check out your posts’ trackbacks to see which posts gain the highest number of links. Many of the bloggers linking back to your posts are also loyal readers, so these are the people you’re writing for. Visit the source of these incoming links to see what the bloggers are saying about your posts.

How do you make sure you give your blog readers content they love? Share your best tips in the replies.

1. Write the way you talk
2. Don’t just copy what everyone else in your niche is doing
3. Always proofread your posts
4. Do your best to respond to comments in a timely manner
5. Don’t fight with commenters who disagree with you. Respect their opinions.
6. Optimize your posts for maximum search engine performance
7. Create a strong internal linking structure
8. Link to other blogs as well
9. Focus on writing headlines that beg to be clicked
10. Always deliver on the promise of your headline
11. Hold reader interest by posting on a regular basis
12. Have a place where you jot down ideas for new posts so you never suffer from writer’s block
13. Make sure every post is the best work you’re capable of producing
14. Don’t ignore proven formulas like top 10 lists and how-to posts
15. Make your posts easy to scan by using bullet points and numbered lists
16. Fact check your content before posting. Failure to do so could cause a permanent loss of credibility.
17. Spend time promoting your blog. Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will automatically come.
18. Give and receive guest posts
19. Don’t overlook the design of your blog. People do judge a book (your blog) by its cover (its design).
20. Place a subscribe link above the fold to attract more blog subscribers
21. Use pictures to spice up your posts
22. Break really long posts into a blog series whenever possible
23. Never stop trying to improve your blogging skills

If you’re a blogger, you’ve probably written a series of related posts before on your blog. Writing a blog series has several benefits.

• It keeps readers coming back for more
• It allows you to target specific keywords for improved SEO
• It lets you create a strong internal linking structure between posts in the series
• It lets you examine topics more in-depth than you can do in a single post

Of course, there are good blog series, and there are bad ones. To make sure your series keeps readers interested and coming back for more, follow these simple tips.

• Make sure the topic warrants a series—As an avid blog reader, I’ve seen some bloggers who seem to be writing a series just for the sake of doing so. They stretch a topic that they could easily cover in 1 post into 3-5 posts. Make sure the topic of your series has enough sub-topics that you can provide plenty of useful information and analysis in every post of the series.
• Plan it out—Before you start writing your blog series, plan out how you’re going to tackle it. Determine how many posts will be in the series, and divide the subject matter up in a way that makes sense. Creating an outline for your series will keep it organized and ensure you stay on track.
• Stick to your schedule—The quickest way to sabotage your blog series is to not post consistently. I remember coming across an interesting post on a blog that was supposed to be part 1 of a 3-part series. I began looking for the rest of the series only to find that the blogger never got around to posting it (3 weeks had passed since part 1 of the series). Set a schedule for your series (e.g. every day, once a week, etc.), and stick with it.
• Link to previous posts in the series—Every time you make a new post in your series, provide links to the previous posts in the same series. This will help new readers catch up, keeping them on your blog for a longer period of time. Internal linking structure is also important for SEO purposes.
• Don’t drag it out forever—This ties in with the first point on this list. Don’t drag your series out over the course of dozens of posts. It’s overkill. Personally, I prefer blog series that are about 3-5 posts in length. That gives you ample room to cover a topic without belaboring the material to the point of boredom.

Do you write series on your blog? Share your experiences in the comments.