Photo Credit: websiteswithaheart.com
Traffic is the holy grail of the Internet. There are as many products, courses, articles and tools to help people generate traffic to their site as there are websites probably. Assuming you have figured out how to generate traffic to your site, how do you engage those website visitors? The key is to get them to stay on your site long enough to read a few of your posts, opt-in to your list and check out your services or products.
Below is a list of simple tweaks that you can do to your website to engage your blog visitors:
1) A picture speaks a thousand words: Use pictures throughout your website. They are very appealing, engaging and elicits trust. You can include your picture in the header of your blog, in the sidebar with a short bio and a link to read more about you. Throughout your blog posts, try to include at least 1 picture related to the topic of the post. If you are doing a tutorial post, without video, include photos or screenshots.
2) Call to action: At the end of each post, include a call to action. Guide the reader through your desired next steps. Be sure that the next step keeps the reader in mind. So if your desired next step for the reader is for them to opt-in to your email list, don’t just say, “now, subscribe to my list”. Something along the lines of “If you would like to find out about passive income models for your consulting business, you can download my free report by signing up to my list here [your link]”
3) Post your picture with a brief bio at the end of each post: Some blog themes allow you to set this up so that your picture automatically appears at the end of each post. Even though, the reader may have already seen your picture in your blog header and sidebar, they sometimes need a reminder. In the event that your blog visitor did not read your ‘about me’ page, this gives them a good summary of what you are all about. So be sure that your bio includes the value that you bring to clients or an achievement-based statement about you or your business.
4) Video: According to 1 bullet point in YouTube’s latest stats, “Over 3 billion videos are viewed a day”. Video is a great marketing tool. Here are 2 tips to incorporate videos on your blog and increase blog visitor engagement.
- You should already be using videos as part of your marketing strategy. So let’s assume you are doing exactly that. Add all your videos from a video sharing site like YouTube.com, Vimeo.com on your site as individual posts. Put them in a category called videos and display that category on your Navigation Bar so visitors can see that it is there and jump right to that link. You can also try a plugin called TubePress that lets you add all your videos in a video gallery layout on a page in your blog.
- Record a Welcome video for your blog visitors. Thank them for stopping by. Let them know what you and/or your business or blog is all about. Of course, end with a call to action, asking them to opt-in to your list to receive your free offering.
5) Post your Social Media Profiles in the header or sidebar of your blog. Find ways to extend your ‘relationship’ with your blog visitors. Let them know that you are on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks. Think of this as a way of inviting your visitors to get to know you better. This is also a great way to get them to come back to your blog, if they do not opt-in to your list. If you follow you on social networks that you update with new blog posts, they will be exposed to your updates. In time, if they are in your target market they will eventually opt-in to your list, possibly buy one of your programs or products or hire you for coaching or consulting services.
6) Make it easy to share and comment: If you are regularly sharing valuable content, you will spark reaction from your visitors. However, you have a short window of time to get your visitors to comment before leaving your post or your blog. So make sure your comments box is visible with a call to action to leave a comment. If you are using the Facebook plugin that allows Facebook comments to show on your blog, make sure to use the call to action feature for the user to hit ‘Like’ and leave a comment.
Use a social media sharing plugin that easily allows visitors to share your content. I have visited many blogs that had great blog posts and when I look for the share button, there was none. So if I would like to share the content, I would have to copy the blog post title, blog post link and look for the blogger’s twitter profile and paste it into Twitter. I actually have done this a couple of times [most people won’t], but 9 times out of 10, I just navigate away from the blog. Please do not make this mistake.
How are you engaging your blog visitors? Are you using a tactic that was not mentioned in the post above? I would love to hear about it. Go ahead and share using the comments box or Facebook box below.
Speak Your Mind