It’s great when a certain post gets lots of activity, but they key to a successful blog is maintaining this activity and not letting it become a one off. Don’t be disheartened if this doesn’t happen straight away- it’s hard and it will take time! However there are ways that you can build a steady repeat readership, here are just a few ideas to help you along the way:
1. Create a Series
If a certain post gets some great traction, capitalise on this- turn it into a series! Once you discover people are interested in a certain type of feature, figure out exactly what they enjoyed and then replicate this. For example, say you write a post called ‘The 5 Best Vintage shops in Berlin’ you could turn this into series of ‘Top 5’s’.
First you need to identify what exactly people liked- the fact the post was about Berlin, or that fact it was about vintage shops. You can do this by reading any comments you get- or by just asking! A simple tweet asking what people thought often gets a good response. If the feedback shows people loved the top 5 vintage shops idea, do a weekly article about the top 5 vintage shops in different cities! Make sure you publicise the fact that you are now doing this series, so that readers who loved the first article will be drawn to read the rest!
2. Ask Your Audience
Don’t just guess what people want to hear from you….ask! It can be really difficult to predict which posts will be a success and which will fall flat; the only people who will be able to tell you what’ll work are your readers. Interact with your fans either on social media or by commenting on other blogs, try and find out what they enjoy reading. This is not only a great way to work out what you should be writing about, but it will help you build relationships with your following- which in turn should get you a loyal fan base!
3. Get your Readers Involved!
Consider a monthly feature which focuses on your readers, this will really draw people in and will keep them reading! If you write about travel, perhaps consider a monthly feature which includes recommendations from your readers on certain destinations. For example ‘The Readers Guide to New York’. People love blogs that let them be involved, and once they are involved they are bound to keep reading.
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