Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

August 21, 2008

Engaging the Offline Customer: Do You Talk with Non-Bloggers?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 12:13 pm

by Scott McIntyre

Scott McIntyre — The Avid Blog Reader Without a Blog

Last week, I considered which features of your blog itself can create a positive first impression and be welcoming to the offline customer.

To briefly recap, I suggested that it is of benefit to both you and the non-blogger if they feel at ease on arrival at your site. By making it as simple as possible to navigate your pages, the first-time visitor is guided to your best quality content. This is further helped if you file that valuable information into relevant, streamlined categories.

It is also worth avoiding the use of too much ‘blog jargon’ which can confuse and make the blog experience ‘difficult’. And don’t forget to tell the new visitor, in easy-to-understand terms, of the value in subscribing to receive your carefully crafted content!

If you are mindful of all these elements, you will be well on your way to ensuring that your online offering is a place where the non-blogger wants to return.

So, how else might you develop a successful relationship between yourself and the offline customer? How can you begin to involve them in your community of readers? I’d love for you to share your views in the comments section below.

As I mentioned last week, the comments section is where the exciting activity takes place. There, your audience is able to have a conversation with you. The reader can shape the very content itself simply by leaving a comment. It’s a very powerful idea. But, how best can you encourage the non-blogger to participate in this dialogue?

Today, I’d like to consider five methods you can adopt.

Involving the Non-Blogger in Your Conversations

Imagine for a moment that you have come across your blog for the very first time. You eagerly read the articles. Then, you notice that lots of people have left messages with their views. ‘What’s all that about?’, you might ask. Even more bewildering is that box at the foot of the article asking you to share your views. What is the non-blogger going to do? Here’s a few things you can try to assist them to add their voice:

As with any invitation to talk, encouraging the non-blogger to join in your conversations means making them feel that their input is valued. If you can help them to feel at ease with the idea of commenting, you both can strike up a long-lasting and fruitful relationship.

If you’re a blogger, leave a comment to let me know how you involve non-bloggers in the conversation? What might you do to encourage non-blogging customers to participate in your comments section?

If you’re a non-blogger, tell them what they can do to make you feel part of their blog community.

Next week, I would like to take a reader’s question and discuss it a little further here. So, if there’s a particular issue you’d like me to explore that relates to connecting with offline customers or non-bloggers, please leave a comment and I’ll aim to write about it in the future.

–Scott McIntyre

Related

Week 1: Connecting with the Offline Customer: A Non-Blogger’s Perspective
Week 2: Targeting the Offline Customer: Do You Blog for Non-Bloggers?
Week 3: Reaching the Offline Customer: Do You Promote Your Blog Offline?
Week 4: Attracting the Offline Customer: Why Do You Promote Your Blog Offline?
Week 5: Top 10 Social Media Tips for Connecting With Non-Blogging Customers
Week 6: Welcoming the Offline Customer: Does Your Blog Create A Good Impression?


Filed under Marketing, Successful Blog |



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12 Comments to “Engaging the Offline Customer: Do You Talk with Non-Bloggers?”

  1. August 21st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
    Writer Dad said

    I have to batch my comments, simply because of time, but I make sure I respond to every single one. I put a suggestion box on my site last weekend, and it’s been amazing how many people have dropped a line already.

    Also, Scott, I read your words everywhere. You are always thoughtful and intelligent. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I’m unsure how to use Twitter and am not quite ready to jump yet. But you are an absolute gentleman.

  2. August 21st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
    Vered said

    I ask questions, and always respond to comments.

    Off to check my comment box for freindiness. :)

  3. August 21st, 2008 at 2:30 pm
    Marelisa said

    Hi Scott: I also have to check my comment box to make sure it’s welcoming for bloggers and nonbloggers alike. How about a phrase like: “Please join the conversation by leaving a comment below.”

  4. August 21st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
    Scott McIntyre said

    Hi Writer Dad,

    Thank you for your kind words.

    I’ve just popped over to your blog, and you certainly have a lively community. See you there soon!

    It’s perfectly fine to reply to your commenters the way you do- your readers are used to your style.

    As for Twitter, there are some useful guides out there. But, as with all social media and networking, there’s only so much we can do.

    The key is to work out whether your blog- and you as a blogger- would benefit from the investment of time and effort involved.

    Hi Vered,

    Your community is thriving- and that is definitely because of your welcoming and attentive style.

    Hi Marelisa,

    I love the idea of gently inviting the non-blogger to join your conversation.

    You too have an enthusiastic community- one I must visit more often :-)

  5. August 21st, 2008 at 6:22 pm
    Shilpan | successsoul.com said

    Scott - Bloggers focus should not be just on creating an avant-grade content but also to make sure that it is easy and simple enough for the non-blogger to understand and derive benefit from it. Your advice to write without jargon is right on the money.

    Shilpan

  6. August 22nd, 2008 at 6:46 am
    Cath Lawson said

    Hi Scott - I do all those things but I still struggle to involve many non-bloggers. I was talking to a non-blogging friend about this and he said, a lot of folk just simply don’t have time.

    Or sometimes, they’re looking for a solution to their problems and once they’ve found it - they quickly move on.

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot. According to my stats, I get lots of folk returning - but only a fraction of them are commenting. As a lot of value is in the discussion, I wonder whether lots of readers are reading the comment section too?

    Another thing I’ve been thinking is this. While we’re keen to draw non-bloggers into the conversation - how many is too many?

    I know when I have a lot of comments, it takes a lot of time to respond to them. And Steve Pavlina had to turn off his comments and start directing folk to a forum to discuss the topic instead.

    Are there any other alternatives that we can use, to enable huge discussions on our blog?

  7. August 22nd, 2008 at 11:10 am
    Karen Swim said

    Scott, I am truly learning so much from you. Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience, wisdom and insight. Lately, I have been batching comments out of sensitivity to those that “subscribe to comments.” I have wondered if this is a good or bad strategy. I am also curious how non-bloggers find blogs? Is it best to reach them through email marketing campaigns, offline marketing or do they simply stumble upon blogs from search engine results?

  8. August 22nd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
    Scott McIntyre said

    Hi Cath,

    It’s a very interesting point you raise about having too many comments. I can see how this could cause admin. difficulties.

    Forums certainly are one way to encourage an environment for discussion. The format naturally lends itself to conversation.

    Another method I’ve seen on a few blogs is ‘threaded comments’ where readers can chat in mini-forums around one main comment (a bit like the Digg style).

    This might work to foster dialogues within the overall conversations.

    Hi Karen,

    I really appreciate your positive feedback.

    Batching of comments is perfect- as your readers expect that from you when they subscribe to get follow up comments.

    (I’d be interested to find out the proportion of commenters who actually do this?)

    My thoughts are that, in actual fact, a combination of the strategies you suggest could be beneficial.

    Many people who don’t read blogs still use search engines as their primary route to online information. So, one eye on the search engine results can be helpful.

    I think that a little experimentation with the approaches you suggest is really the best way to find out how effective they are in reaching your own specific offline customers

    I’m thinking also that having your other eye on site visitor statistics is also the other part in assessing how well the outreach methods work.

  9. August 25th, 2008 at 12:11 am
    Amber said

    My commenters are very few so I think I need to make posts that are more engaging. :)

    I try to reply to all commenters within a few hours or more quickly if I can. The thing I love about WordPress is that anyone can leave a comment. I read some great posts on blogspot only to found out I need a blogspot ID in order to leave a comment. I usually stop visiting with any regularity once I find that out.

  10. August 25th, 2008 at 9:04 am
    Al at 7P said

    Hi Scott - this is a great tip. I went back to my blog and I think I can make it more presentable for people to comment. I really like Marelisa’s suggested line about “joining the conversation.”

  11. August 26th, 2008 at 8:07 am
    bariles said

    I host a placeblog so naturally, most of my commenters are non-bloggers. At just 10 months, I now average 15-20 comments on a good day on my various posts, which I think is good enough considering how much work it takes to answer them one by one.

    Before, it was just a dialogue between my readers and me but now, they address each other, owing to the fact that they could write anything and react to just about anything. I do not reject comments as much as possible although I moderate them. This makes the discussions on every post a free-wheeling conversation of people from all over the world, something which must have clicked with my readers. :)

  12. August 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
    Offline Customers: Do You Meet the Needs of Non-Bloggers? - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. said

    [...] Last week, I discussed ways in which you might help to involve the offline customer in your blog community and, in particular, make it a little easier for them to participate in your comments section. It was very interesting to learn of the different ways you are already talking with non-bloggers. [...]

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