Blogging is hard work. Us bloggers pour our heart and soul (and lots of time) into writing content, designing our websites, and interacting with readers. But blogging can also be discouraging when readers come and go without spending much time on our websites. So here’s the question: how do you make people stay on your blog longer?
There’s no one-stop solution to this. Your blog is unique and different from every other blog out there — so you have to take a lot of things into account. But here is the general formula for getting readers and holding their attention: impress, engage, befriend, and distract. (I was going to make a cute acronym out of that but I don’t think anyone will remember the IEBD system.)
Here’s how it breaks down:
- Impress. Statistics show that most people spend 4 seconds on a website before deciding whether to keep looking or opt out. FOUR SECONDS!! You can’t read more than a sentence in 4 seconds, which means this is all about appearance. First and foremost, you’ve got to impress people with how your blog LOOKS. I know it’s superficial but THAT’S THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, FOLKS. If you’re totally lost when it comes to designing a website, try typing “beautiful blog templates” into Pinterest’s search. GREAT STUFF.
- Engage. We engage with things that interest us. It’s as simple as that. So, is your content interesting? Is it something that will pull your reader in and hold their curiosity? Is it helpful or uplifting? If you answered yes to any of these, CONGRATULATIONS. You’ve passed the Good Aesthetics Test™ and the Quality Content™ test. You’re doing pretty darn good!
- Befriend. This is arguably the MOST IMPORTANT thing: be a friend. Even if you’re a professional content-creator and web-designer, don’t sit atop your blogging throne like the voice of almighty wisdom. Be a friend!! Talk to your readers and discuss things with them. Give them hugs and slather them in love. After all, readers are the people who make your blogging dreams come true.
- Distract. Ah, here’s where the magic comes in! The only thing that keeps a reader on your blog after they’ve finished reading one post…is to read another! AND ANOTHER AND ANOTHER AND ANOTHER. Essentially, that’s what it comes down to: how can you distract your reader with other content so they mindlessly continue down this bunny trail without ever leaving your blog? That’s the question we’re going to answer right now.
There are lots of ways to encourage people to stay on your blog longer — even if desperate measures have to be taken, like bribing them with waffles or thREATENING THEM AT KNIFE-POINT. You know, be friendly. Within reason. But don’t be afraid to get assertive with your content!! YOUR BLOG IS COOL. AWESOME, IN FACT. Believe in yourself! That’s the most important thing, actually — your attitude about your own content. Be proud of what you create and get used to self-promotion. It will serve you well.
Now we can move onto the practical things:
INCLUDE LINKS TO OLDER POSTS WITHIN YOUR NEW POSTS
This is probably the most obvious thing ever. You’re like “WELL DUH ABBIE THAT’S IT??” YEP. THAT’S IT. You would be amazed by how quickly an engaged reader will click on another post that’s relevant to what they are currently reading. For instance, if I publish a blog post about writing, I’ll include a little section about halfway through the post that says something like “other helpful articles about writing” with links to three other writing-related blog posts.
In fact, I’ll do it right now because you’re here, reading this post about blogging — so you would be interested in reading something ELSE I already posted about blogging, right?? OF COURSE.
OTHER HELPFUL POSTS ABOUT BLOGGING:
- 10 Stupid Blogging Myths That Most People Actually Believe
- What Is BRANDING? How To Create Your Unmistakable LOOK And Be Instantly Recognized ANYWHERE
- How To Write An EPIC “About Me” Page (Without Ripping Your Hair Out)
Here’s the thing: if a reader has made it THIS FAR into your blog post, they’re engaged! DON’T FEEL BAD THROWING SOME EXTRA CONTENT IN THEIR FACE. They’ll actually like it. And it’s not self-obsessed to call your blog posts helpful.* Self-promotion is worth it!! DON’T BE AFRAID OF IT.
*take my advice!! I’M NOT SELF-OBSESSED AT ALL HAHAHAHA
MAKE YOUR SIDEBAR IRRESISTIBLE
When it comes to making people stay on your blog, your sidebar is valuable real estate. Why? Because it’s always there, on every page of your blog, (assuming you have a sidebar lol I just realized that not everyone has a sidebar.) BUT IF YOU HAVE ONE, USE IT WELL!! Your sidebar should tell readers a bit about yourself and your mission, but it should also be loaded with bunny trails that people can get distracted by.
Not to keep referencing my own blog (can’t help it) but TAKE A LOOK AT MY SIDEBAR. It features five portals to different categories of my blog…and it’s SUPER DISTRACTING, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. You can also insert these “portals” into other places on your website, like the top or bottom of the page…but make sure they are visible!! Keep things looking clean and minimalistic, but offer more content wherever you can! REMEMBER YOUR MISSION IS TO DISTRACT YOUR READERS AND MAKE THEM WANT TO NEVER LEAVE YOUR LOVELY BLOG.
In fact, this is more important than social media. A lot of bloggers place their social media widgets in the most prominent places on their sidebar… DON’T DO THIS. Your social media pages are important, but they lead people away from your site. Once they’re on Twitter, they’re going to click follow and then mOVE ONTO CHECKING THEIR OWN NOTIFICATIONS OR SOMETHING. This isn’t what you want. So make sure you prioritize your blog content over social media links.
ENCOURAGE READERS TO FOLLOW
I know, I know: you already do this. BUT DO YOU DO IT ENOUGH?? Remember, self-promotion is your friend. And an email list is your BEST FRIEND FOR LIFE. Include a little sign-up form on your sidebar where people can see it! Then remind people to subscribe. And remind them again. AND REMIND THEM AGAIN. It’s okay to be redundant with this. You don’t have to be annoyingly aggressive, but remind people WHY you want them to follow you.
You’re creating great content for them! You’re pouring your heart and soul into what you do… it’s like a big party that you’re throwing — and inviting people to come and join in on the fun. That’s how you have to see your unfollows and unsubscribes, too. It always discourages me a bit when I get a notification alerting me that “someone just unsubscribed from your email list.”* But here’s something very true that my dad told me once: someone unsubscribing from your blog is like someone leaving your party because they don’t want to be there — so do you really want someone at your party who doesn’t want to be there? THE ANSWER IS NO. I only want my friends at my party! I only want to hang out with the people who want to hang out with me.
So encourage people to join your party, but don’t be sad when they leave — there are too many people who love you to concern yourself with the ones who clearly DON’T DESERVE TO BE BLESSED BY YOUR PRESENCE.
*UNTHINKABLE, RIGHT??? WHO WOULD DARE??? I WILL CURSE THEM WITH NO WAFFLES FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY.
THE CONCLUSION
There’s really only one way to make people stay on your blog longer: SELF-PROMOTION AND LOTS OF IT. You don’t have to be obnoxious about it, but you DO have to be assertive! Most readers won’t actively seek out things to read… they need YOU to kindly throw it in their face. So don’t be afraid to give your readers LOTS of opportunities to check out your archives — without messing up your aesthetic, of course. 😉
TALK, BRO
Add to this list! What are some ways you make your readers hang out on your blog?? OR BETTER YET, answer this question: what makes YOU want to spend more time on someone’s blog? Do you include links to older posts within your newer posts? What about your sidebar?? What’s going on there? LET’S TALK ALL THINGS BLOGGING IN THE COMMENTS.
rock on,
abbiee
