5 Tips To Increase Engagement With Your Blog Posts
People spend a lot of time creating content, but this can be frustrating if your readers are not engaging with your content. Engagement means readers are interacting with your content by sharing on their social media pages, leaving a comment, or mentioning your blog post in an email or newsletter. When readers also come back to your website to read more posts, that’s a form of engagement.
If your blog posts engage readers, they are most likely to buy products or services you are selling, subscribe to your email list, and become regular visitors to your website. So how can you increase engagement with your blog posts? In this article, we give you practical tips to help you increase engagement.
1. Use a mobile-enabled website.
Over 4.6 billion people worldwide use their mobile phones to access the internet, and the number is expected to rise in the coming years. This means that you should ensure your website is accessible to mobile and desktop users. If your blog isn’t compatible with mobile users, then it means you are losing 90% of your potential readers, meaning your engagement will also be lower.
Ensure that the same way people can navigate your website on a desktop is the same way on mobile phones. You can check WordPress if you are using WordPress. They have features to make your site mobile-friendly. Responsive themes on WordPress adjust to any device screen that the user is using to access your site. Responsive themes on your site will not only boost engagement but will also help your site rank high on search engines.
2. Create high quality and relatable content
Most readers, when reading your post, are always looking for an answer to something. Put yourself in their shoes and try to answer questions they may be asking. Ensure that you focus on the needs of your audience because that makes your content relatable. Most people are tempted to create content about their products and services online, which may put off some readers. You can go online or on Quora and ask what readers are asking in your industry, then create a post that answers their questions. This will attract more people to your blog and create engagement.
Don’t only create content, but the post should be high quality and informative. If your content is valuable, your readers will want to share that with their friends on their pages. Create appealing headlines that attract your readers to click on your post since the headline is the first thing your readers interact with and ensure it is captivating.
Remember also to add visual content to your blog posts. People love to watch videos online because it’s also entertaining. You can also add images and graphics to make your post even more appealing.
3. Use internal links
Internal linking means linking your post to other blog posts on your website. For example, if you are writing similar or relatable content to another post you posted, you can link your post to that. When readers click on the link, it takes them to more relevant content they can read. It makes them stay on your site longer and interact and engage with your content more. Using internal links on your blog posts will not only increase engagement but will make your content rank better on search engines.
Since internal linking encourages your readers and visitors to stay on your website more, it also increases your page views. Ensure you are using relevant anchor text to link to other content on your site. For example, if you are writing about using websites to market your freelance services, you can link to a post you wrote about how to create websites. The text you will be linking to will be relevant to the post you are writing, and the chances of the reader clicking on the link is very high.
4. Be original and consistent.
Writing original and unique content is also another way to increase engagement from your readers. Ensure that your content is one of a kind. You can share personal experiences and input or knowledge about a topic. People will engage more with your content if you are offering something that is not common online.
Being original is not only enough. You also have to ensure you are posting content on your blog consistently. You don’t have to post daily, but once or twice a week will keep people on your page, and they know what to expect from you. If you are posting every Monday, ensure that every Monday, readers expect a post from you. You can set up a content planning schedule to ensure you maintain consistency with your posts.
5. Respond to comments
If you want to encourage engagement in your blog posts, responding to comments left by readers on the posts is essential. When responding to comments, it helps you build a connection with your audience, helps you get to know them better, and helps you understand what type of content they value most.
Comments also provide valuable feedback from your readers, which will also help you improve your blog’s content. If you are getting many comments, you may not respond to each, but you can respond to as many as possible. Or better still, if you can spare some cash, you can hire a VA to do that for you. When the readers see that you respond to comments and questions, they leave on your page; others will be encouraged to comment. Increasing engagement on your blog posts is not easy, but you can do it. Remember to ensure your website is compatible on both mobile and desktop to create the same user experience on both platforms. There are tools to help with that. Create high-quality and relevant content; this makes readers trust your authority on a subject and keeps them on your page. Also, ensure your content is original, post consistently, use internal links to keep readers engaged with your content, and respond to your readers’ comments. Lastly, check out The MECLABS Institute CRO training to get a more in-depth idea of the reader’s behaviors.