How To Turn First Time Blog Visitors Into Raving Fans And Avid Readers
I never would have figured this one out on my own unless someone pointed it out to me.
You’re probably going to think I’m a bit daft for not figuring it out on my own.
In fact, when my friend Peter Fuller told me how he gets so many repeat visitors and avid readers that keep coming back to his blog I still didn’t really get it until much later. I especially didn’t know what he meant that he was able to learn so much about people and build strong relationships,,, all through the comments on his blog?
Yeah, simple concept isn’t it? Respond and interact with the people that comment on your blog. Why didn’t I think of that? And why didn’t I understand how important it was until months later?
After I looked over Peter’s blog and saw how many comments he was getting on his posts I knew he had to know what he was talking about.
First thing I learned was the real importance of being part of a blog syndication tribe. I knew a tribe would get my blog increased traffic, I just never realized how much! (Click Here for a post on just how powerful tribe syndication really is.)
But tribe syndication was missing the piece that I had learned from Peter.
Here’s the top 3 reasons you need to communicate with the people that leave comments.
1. Start A Conversation – Any time someone comments on your blog you have to reply to them. First of all, it’s just common courtesy. Secondly, you start a conversation and can start to learn who that person is, and they can learn more about who you are.
2. Social Proof – The more comments you have (whether they are yours or someone else’s) the more you start “buzz” and it shows that people are interested in what you have to say. Which will bring in even more readers to your blog. People want to go where everyone else is going, they want to be a part of something, and they want to be associated with popular people.
3. Feeling Loved – If a new reader sees that you interact with everyone that comments they are going to realize you actually care, that you really respect people’s opinions, and that you will take the time to respond to everyone that posts on your blog. This gets even more people to comment on your blog because they know you will pay attention to them.
BONUS – You WANT some people to disagree with your posts. If you occasionally write a post that sparks a little controversy you will get a lot more comments with varying opinions.
I’ve often found that the posts I write that I’m a little nervous about ruffling feathers with are the posts that get the most attention, praise, syndication and comments.
Check out these 2 posts as examples:
1. Why I Quit Promoting MLSP
2. Attention MLM Ladies (I got a little tough on the women of MLM, this was NOT a “rah-rah” post for the dainty type, this was a tough love motivation post)
(PS. Peter and I don’t even work in the same primary MLM. This just goes to show what you can learn when you pay attention to what other marketers are doing. Plus, I had actually noticed on the blogs of the leaders in my own primary company that the ones that take the time to comment back are the ones that have stronger downlines and people duplicating within their team. Just some extra food for thought.)
Sharing Is Caring, if you enjoyed this post and found Real Value,
share it with others and leave your comments. 
Hi Stephanie… great post! I have found that working with a tribe is a real plus – I have developed many relationships with those who are in the same tribe that I am in.
I have also been able to create many more relationships with those who come to my blog as a result of the syndication I receive through the tribe.
It’s great!
Great to have you as a new friend as well – I look forward to more from you!
Make it an Amazing Day my Friend!
~ Donnie
Thanks Donnie. I totally love what you’re doing online. You’ve got integrity and class. I’m glad we met!
Hello Steph
Great info. Great minds think alike and I’m in that boat as well. Glad you finally realized this after months of uncertainty. I respond to about everyone that comments on my blog. I won’t try to intentionally miss anyone, but If I do then sorry. I do it because I appreciate people that stumble onto my blog. After all we aren’t writing for our health, but a way for our lively hood.
I’m brewing up something that you just talked about on here that I had lingering in my head for sometime now. That would make a great addition to this. And Ive been practicing a few methods to see what sort of results I’m getting before I post it. Thanks for Sharing
Steven Dean
Well hook me up with it as soon as you post it!
I had been responding here and there to people before when they would ask something or if there was something I wanted to clarify about what they said. It didn’t really click with me until I was looking at the leaders in my own MLM. The ones that were always commenting back and interacting were the ones that had the best teams in the company. The ones that barely responded were still top recruiters,,, however their team wasn’t getting those same results. I thought that was interesting. It’s only 1 of the things I noticed that set them apart,,, but still something to think about.
Hi Stephanie,
An excellent point made here.
I am huge on commenting. My blog saw an instant surge in traffic when I began commenting consistently. All your tips are on point but showing readers Luv and writing posts that ruffle feathers jump out at me.
When you show Luv you get Luv. It’s that simple. Listen to your commenter’s voices and they return for more commenting. We all like to be heard.
Write a few posts that stir the pot. No need to How-To people to death. Sometimes it’s good to be controversial and as long as you can take the heat you will prosper from the experience. It helps you to develop a thicker skin and see things from someone else’s perspective: 2 critical qualities of any network marketing leader.
Thanks for sharing your insight Stephanie.
RB
Ugh, don’t get me started on all the “how-to” stuff I see. I started out that way myself, but I eventually learned (with some encouragement and example from my friend Aki) that the more I spoke my opinions and put my personality into what I wrote the better my posts got and the more people wanted to respond and give their thoughts too. I wasn’t getting anymore of the comments that just said “so true, good post”. I was getting REAL conversation with people.
It’s one of those things “if I only knew then what I know now”. If I had started really putting myself out there and lost the fear and the feeling that I needed to be neutral all the time then I would have had a lot better results a lot sooner. That’s why I like the saying “keepin it real” on my blog. No more dry, stale, boring and strictly informative posts for me. I’ll still give the “how-to” stuff,,,, but with my REAL thoughts on it as well.
Glad you liked the post,,, cool to meet someone that “gets it” and is able to take the heat too
Wow, you learn something new everyday! It makes sense that commenting gets you exposure, provides social proof and really shows that you do care-good or bad. We agree that belonging to a tribe is a wonderful benefit. Great “how to” post with an extra kick!
Yeah, it makes total sense. Once I got it I wanted to thunk myself on the head and say “Have I had my V8?” LOL It’s so simple, however I didn’t fully grasp it until it was pointed out to me.
Great post Stephanie. I totally agree with everything you’ve said here. It’s very important to consistently build relationships with others. I also like your technique to lead others to prior posts to get yet even more traffic to other posts
I will definitely take a look at them and I’ll come back to visit soon.
haha
I was wondering if anyone would catch that. I do that a lot within my posts. Mostly when I’m expanding on something that I already wrote and there would be no sense in repeating all of it. In this case it was to expand upon this point. Again, that was something I picked up and learned from the blogs of other Networkers 
Hello Stephanie
If someone is in Network Marketing it is all about building relationships and knowing that not all of those relationships want to do what you are doing.
However there is power in those relationships.
I cannot express how much I have learned from other bloggers.
Peter
P.S. Thank you so much for the shout out
You’re so welcome Peter. I’ve learned unlimited amounts of useful ideas from other bloggers also. Too many to name. This was one of the things I learned that stuck out in my mind and I could totally credit it to a conversation I had with you. So I had to give credit where credit was due!
Stephanie,
I really appreciate your honesty in sharing your feeling about what you learned. Yes, building relationships are so important. It takes time and sometimes I am guilty of rushing through my duties or list for the day. Thanks for sharing and reminding us of what it really is all about. I am excited to learn more about TSA and to meet and learn more about others.
Your new TSA friend,
Lynn
Thanks Lynn. Honesty really is the best policy. The more I share the more people can connect with me as a real person and relate to my story.
Look forward to seeing you in the Tribe too!
Stephanie – this post teachs an important lesson: Social media is SOCIAL!! If you just want to put stuff out there, use a website!! That’s what I love about blogging – getting feedback, meeting new people, then I can learn about what they do, and my life is richer and more fun. It’s a bonus that all this fun leads to a better page rank.
Jodi
Oh absolutely, the things I learn by connecting with people is priceless. I’ve learned new skills, plus I’ve learned a sense of what I know and what value I have that sets me apart.
Anyone that ever feels like they don’t know what they have that makes them unique just needs to connect with a few people to see how their opinions and skills differ and they will know what talents they have that they can run with and stand out with.
Damn! I knew I was doing something wrong. Who knew you had to communicate with people more to get better results? I poke fun and jest a little, but I know I haven’t been as good at talking to my commenters as I should have. And I certainly have the thought you did, “if I knew then what I know now” about it, I would have created a better conversation with my people.
Thanks again for the lessons and messages that trully needed to be brought up and said. You are bold, contoversial, and staying a ahead of the curve (or reinventing your curve) with posts like the ones you have been doing as of late. This one, especially, is more important than ever as the social marketing crowd choose where they go and who’s content they prefer. And if you are making the return conversation…they will be coming back for more, more often.
Yeah well, I have a few cool guys that I associate with that would be disappointed in me if I weren’t bold and badass.
It’s true, responding to comments encourages more comments, and brings people back. Sometimes the comments section can be more interesting, and more enlightening than the post.
Right, you’ve had some crazy comments come across on your blog sometimes…. ok, maybe all the time.
I agree with you that comments are a critical part of having a blog. That is where the social part comes into play. You can take advantage of it through tribe syndication, but you can also be very effective by selecting some authority blogs in your niche. If you consistently contribute to those high traffic blogs, you will start seeing an increase in traffic to your blog, and more often than not an increase in the number of comments.
Exactly, I make it a point to comment on the blogs of the top recruiter and top income earner in my primary company. I get a lot of incoming referral visits from the comments I leave on their blogs. Also I’m part of an “inner tribe” within the network of marketers I know in my primary company too. So we are all linked together as well.
That’s a very good point about contributing to high traffic blogs,,, I hadn’t really thought about that. Now that I do I’m realizing just how many referral visits I’m getting from those blogs. Thank You Karin!
Comments are a great way to interact with people on your blog. I use a WordPress plugin called ReplyMe that send only my response email to the person that left a comment. That way they don’t have to subscribe to comments or come back to the blog to see if I commented.
It’s a great way to connect.
Thanks Debbie! I love it! I just went and installed that. I think that’s awesome. There’s blogs that I want to know if someone replied to my comment,,, but they’re popular blogs so I don’t want to subscribe for updates for all of the comments on the entire post. That’s a very cool plugin. Hope it worked and you get an email for this post
Hi Stephanie,
I did get the email. Isn’t that plugin great?! Thanks for connecting!
The first time I got an email from a blogger, I quickly asked how they did that. Replyme was the answer.
I’m totally loving it… It’s quick and even sent me an email when you replied to my reply. I think I need to write a post about just that plugin. It might be my new favorite.
Completely agree that blog comments are so key to keeping the hype of your blog going.
I’m still somewhat of a newbie but love that leaders like you continue to update content that is relevant for folks in my position as well as those who have been part of the industry for years.
Well done and thank you!
James H.
Thanks James, I don’t believe in holding anything back. Sharing what you know is actually what gives an edge and attracts people. I love it when I find new stuff too, there’s no way to be an expert on everything so I still learn something new every day.
You just blew me away…Stephanie thankyou ..You point out commenting on blogs isnt it funny i always did this and then as time moved on i moved into other learned things and slipped away and have noticed the results…but hey im back again thankyou for the reminder and the importance of it all.
Sometimes we have to be reminded of it all and good kick up the butt get that engine running again…
Give luv and u get it back…You are dynamite! hehehe
I think a lot of people have slacked off with commenting on blogs, myself included. I used to make it a point to comment on 5 sites a day. I think I’m gonna have to put that back into practice. One thing I still make sure I do is to reply to EVERY comment I get, that way you know I appreciate you!
Hey Stephanie,
Really great tips here!
I was super impressed to see how some bloggers have created literal communities on their websites where it just seems that everyone is dying to be the first in line to comment and to engage in a conversation about the topic. One blogger who especially captured my interest was Adrienne Smith. I have been following her for some time and have seen how quickly her posts fill up with all kinds of banter.
Initially I felt a bit concerned about getting too opinionated on my blog (I tend to be a very opinionated person) because I didn’t want to stir up too much commotion, but have found that it’s actually really cool to have people disagree with me, as you mentioned. It’s much more authentic for the outside reader to see that it’s not all people drinking the same Kool-Aid, holding hands and singing Kumbaya.
I’m going to go and check out your controversial posts. I don’t believe I’d seen these yet.
Thanks for sharing your great insight!
Cat Alexandra
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