One of the things I’m proudest of at Zen Habits is not that I’ve developed a ample readership for my blog, but that I’ve developed a actual advantageous accord with abounding of my readers.
It’s annihilation you ability alarm inappropriate (or illegal), apperception you, but it’s awfully rewarding.
Because of this relationship, autograph for Zen Habits is an amazingly absolute experience, because my readers are so encouraging. Even added importantly, they accord to my blog with their anxious comments, their criticism, their experiences, in agency I never could acquire imagined. They accomplish my blog what it is.
And from a blogger’s perspective, there’s no bigger thing. Having such a genuine, agreeable accord with my readers agency that they wish to advice me, in any way they can — they’re accommodating to buy and apprehend my books, they wish to chase my updates on Twitter, they wish to allocution to me and ask me questions, and that leads to all kinds of absorbing things. I never planned for this to happen, but now that it has, I acclaim it to all bloggers.
I anticipate it can be carefully cultivated, just like any relationship. I did it less-than-consciously, just because I enjoyed conversing with my readers and aggravating to be of use, and I’m a by itself absolute person. But you can do it carefully if you like, and I acquire if you do it genuinely, it’ll be a 18-carat relationship.
That’s an important point to remember: you can’t affected this stuff. If you are just assuming to affliction about your readers, if you don’t absolutely wish to allocution to them, they’ll feel that. They’re smarter than abounding humans accord them acclaim for.
Here are my suggestions for architecture a 18-carat accord with your readers, based on my experiences:
1. A 18-carat accord starts with you — you acquire to yield albatross for it. You can’t apprehend your readers to automatically be encouraging, supportive, kind, positive, loyal, helpful, and acceptable … just because you’re the alarming being you are. So alpha with a absolute mindset, and be accommodating to plan on the relationship, be accessible to what emerges.
2. Accomplish your posts as accessible and advantageous as you can. Your posts shouldn’t just be about you, and how abundant you are (as accurate as that may be), but about your readers and their problems, and how you can advice them break them. Absolutely try to advice your readers in some way in every post. They will accede it.
3. Be accessible and absolute in all interactions. In every animadversion you accede to, in every email with a reader, in every alternation on forums and Twitter and added amusing networks, you should try to be positive, try to be helpful, and try to body your accord in some way. It’s the aforementioned if you body a accord or alive accord with a co-worker, isn’t it? Being online doesn’t change how relationships are congenital — if you are consistently critical, defensive, offensive, attacking, acerb … well, that’s the affectionate of accord you’ll have. If you’re just aggravating to advertise being to humans all the time, it won’t be a 18-carat relationship.
4. Encourage altercation in comments. You aren’t the alone being who has acceptable account or knowledge, so ask your readers to accord their thoughts, to allotment their experiences, to add tips of their own. I like to do that at the end of a post, but even if I don’t, readers acquire that I wish this being by now. If readers accord comments, accede them, accede to their questions and thoughts, interact. Sometimes, it’s acceptable to get discussions traveling by allurement clairvoyant questions in an “Ask the Readers” column — just affectation a catechism and ask them to accede in the comments.
5. Acquire criticism with grace. Bloggers acquire to acquire a blubbery skin, because accordingly we will be criticized. It’s the attributes of the Internet, or any altercation of account in fact — there is consistently criticism, and sometimes it’s harsh. And it can hurt. You get angry, or defensive, and if you accede to criticism in this way it’s not a acceptable thing: 1) you attending adolescent and defensive; 2) it discourages an accessible and aboveboard discussion; and 3) you abuse your accord with your readers. Instead, accede your readers for their criticism, accede positively, and sometimes, accede that they may be right. Because a lot of the time, they are, but our egos are too blood-soaked for us to acquire it to ourselves. Apprehend more: How to acquire criticism with adroitness and appreciation.
6. Body relationships in added channels. Having discussions in blog comments is great, but there are added agency to body relationships — through email, on Twitter, on Facebook, in forums (maybe even your own forums). While I can’t possibly accede to all the email I get now, I absolutely did if my blog aboriginal started out, even if I had 10K subscribers — I approved to acknowledgment every catechism or accede them for every affectionate email. I absence that akin of claimed interaction, but I still try to affix with readers on Twitter and in comments. It’s a abundant way to yield the accord to addition level.
7. Accord aback on added blogs. Abounding times, readers and commenters on your website will be adolescent bloggers — which is in fact how blogs emerged if they went above a log of absorbing web links: they became a way to acquire a beyond altercation on the web, as bloggers affiliated to anniversary added and commented on anniversary other’s posts. And so as added bloggers animadversion on and hotlink to your posts, do the aforementioned for them. Go to their blogs, animadversion on their posts, hotlink to them now and again if it’ll be advantageous to your readers. Write bedfellow posts for them and allure them to do the same. Allotment their posts on Twitter if you like them. Architecture relationships with added bloggers is a abundant way to become absorbed in the admirable association of bloggers, and to body a accord with some of your a lot of alive readers.
