Hook Readers & Keep Them Coming Back

Tips and tricks to capturing readers’ attention and winning their loyalty

So you’ve made a blog and posted some articles… maybe paid for some advertising… and you’re not growing in a satisfactory way.  What now?  

Well… have you considered the following might be the problem: 

  • Content & Headlines 
  • Attract the Right People 
  • Bribes 
  • Encourage interaction

Let’s take a closer look at each, and show you where you can improve and grow your blog subscribers.  

Capture your readers’ attention with headlines that entice them to click & read.  Then deliver great content focused on their unique needs.  

Content & Headlines 

First of all, you need to be posting constantly and consistently.  Create a schedule for yourself to write and post content– try to have a few posts finished at a time.  The more ahead you can work, the better off you’ll be.  

You probably also use multiple devices– such as a camera and a laptop– to create your content.  You have files for projects all over the place. A cloud-based storage like Dropbox ensures that all of your files are always synced and readily accessible— not to mention, shareable– no matter where you are.  Additionally, it’ll store all of your files in one place, all organized and easily searchable.  You can also create your blog posts using Dropbox Paper entirely, and post later.  

You also need to ensure that your content is what people are looking for and has a catchy headline.  Headlines are often overlooked but they function the same way that a book cover does: they make the reader want to read.  It’s not always enough to pop up in a Google search; you have to make the reader want to read your article.  

Now, you need to create consistent and targeted content that drives people back to your blog.  To avoid running dry on ideas, try creating a checklist of ideas.  It also helps a lot to make your blog posts about solutions to problems that people commonly have.  One simple way to accomplish this without using a question generator is to begin a Google search– once you start typing, see what Google auto-suggests.  Use that as a jumping point!  

Lastly, once you get a following, don’t be afraid to revisit topics that you’ve already covered.  Give old blog posts a refresh and an update– recycling is good for the earth, and it’s the same for your blog!  

Take a moment to step back and look objectively at your content– are you aiming it at the correct audience?  

Attract the Right People 

Now you need to attract readers.  Not just any readers– ones that will become loyal subscribers.  Think about the type of person who has the problem to which you are the solution– who would come to you for help and why?  What are their unique needs? Where do they shop, live, and play at? What is their life situation like– single, married, parents, caretakers?  

Once you decide who your target audience is, you need to attract them with targeted content and headlines.  For example, if your blog is aimed at home cooks, don’t write articles aimed at people in the restaurant industry.  Write articles that use common kitchenware and don’t require fancy cooking techniques. Instead, write articles about how to make dollars stretch at the grocery store to make enough meals for four people for two weeks.  

It sounds simple, but it can be so easy to screw this step up.  

Create incentives for the reader to return or subscribe– try guest bloggers and a few other tricks.  

Bribe the Audience 

Sometimes you need to offer a carrot to get the horse to move– your audience can be the same way.  One of the ways you can get and keep readers is by offering resources to them.  

But– you say–my blog IS a resource!

Well… yes, it is.  But make it even more user-friendly and increase your return rate by creating extras that they get to keep.  If you’re posting lists of resources, create a pdf for readers to download. If you’re writing a tutorial, create a checklist that your readers can download and save.  You can also offer the post in another format, such as an audio file (this is also a great way to be more inclusive with your content in regards to readers with sight disabilities).  

Again, you can use Dropbox to create these extras and keep them all neatly organized and accessible for their posting moment.  

Also think about having guest appearances on your blog.  This guest can be an established professional– which will drive their traffic over to your blog– or another newbie like yourself.  You can also create collaborations, where you split the work on the article equally and post your share on your blog while linking to the next parts on your partner(s) blog(s).  You can utilize Dropbox again to make collaborations with guests easier to create, navigate and post. It will also make continuing them into a series a breeze.  

Offer readers extras that they can sign up for, like printables and pdfs that contain information from your blog posts.  

Encourage Action & Interaction 

Finally, interact with your audience and encourage them to take action.  Give them a call to action at the end of a post– ask them to “comment down below” or give you feedback.  This is also a great way to generate more post ideas, since commenters will return to see if their “further questions” were answered.  

You also want to make your posts shareable on social media.  Add share buttons to the end of your posts to make it a super-easy one-click deal to share.  This encourages your audience to help you market your posts and drive traffic back to your blog.  Once your readers share your post on social media, their followers will click on the link to read it.  

Be sure to link other related articles in your post too– this will bait readers to click around and read some more!  And remember to post your own social media platform links as well! Better yet, post content related to your blog posts on your social media to promote more interaction and a variety of traffic.  

Meet blog readers where they are– on multiple platforms– and be sure to respond to their comments and like their shares.  

Try to integrate all of these suggestions– doing one or two of them will definitely make a difference in boosting traffic, but utilizing all of them will draw in the most.  Think of it like inviting people to a party– you don’t send the invitation out one piece at a time, do you? Of course not. You send out all of the invites and rsvp’s at the same time.  And then you follow up.  

Blogging is the same way.  Nail each of these tips and tricks, and watch your numbers go up.  

By the way… what have you tried that worked for you?  Comment below… and share this article with another blogger who could benefit from these tips!  

This is a sponsored post for Dropbox. All opinions are my own. Dropbox is not affiliated with nor endorses any other products or services mentioned.

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