In addition to gathering followers and comments, there are various ways for your readers to interact with the content of your blog, and to share their feedback and ideas. This lesson will review several methods to encourage your readers to engage with your content, and to interact with you as the blog owner.
We’ve learned the importance of social media to attract visitors to your blog, as well as notifying them of updates. Once you have your audience, you’ll have the opportunity to let them engage with your content — both as a way to interact with others and to receive their feedback. This can help you better understand what your audience enjoys and values as you consider new posts to publish and share.
The following methods can encourage your readers to engage and interact with you on your blog. While these can be replicated and combined with other platforms, here we’ll focus on how to implement them using built-in tools from WordPress.com.
Many websites and blogs offer some method to directly contact the site owner, if not a way to get support or share feedback. While providing an email address is a valid way to do this, WordPress.com has a built-in method using a Form block.
Form blocks allow visitors to contact you or send a message directly through your website. They’re often used for Contact pages, but can also be used for other types of forms to gather various bits of information. You can get creative with Form blocks to engage your readers further — such as using a form as a suggestion box for future post ideas, or as an ask-box for an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) session.
The following video offers additional considerations for creating a Contact page for your blog or website:
You may decide to gather responses from your readers in a different format, or encourage them to interact in a fun activity based on your blog’s content. Surveys, polls, and quizzes may be what you’re looking for, and many of them can be created through Crowdsignal and embedded into your posts on WordPress.com.
Simple polls can be added directly to your post using a Poll block, which can easily gather quick responses from readers. Consider how your audience may be inclined to submit their response to an interesting poll — and since people can be curious to see how their peers respond, you may choose to let them see the results as a bonus incentive.
As you experiment with different aspects of your blog, you may discover other creative ways for your audience to interact with you. Here are a few additional ideas to engage your readers on your blog:
- Using a Vote block to gauge your audience support for a piece of content or discussion.
- Using a Repeat Visitor block to share additional, secret, or fun content with those readers who frequent your blog.
- Using an NPS block (“Net Promoter Score”) to collect feedback and score your audience satisfaction — for example, “On a scale of 1 to 10…”
- Using the Event Countdown block as a visual countdown for an upcoming event or announcement.
You may recall in the Types of content lesson where we explained how a blog can be a great online resource, and how you can model your favorite blogs to build your content and share references. In the same vein, you can use other blogs, and bloggers, as a model for how to engage your audience.
Consider the aspects that you notice from other bloggers that motivate you to engage with them or to see more of their work. These questions may help with understanding what you can learn from other bloggers:
- Does their personality feel approachable, passionate, and/or relatable?
- Does their tone match their content, or do they subvert their tone in an appealing way (for example, a scholarly article with some wit and humor in between)?
- Do they offer other ways to follow their progress — such as other social media, or a contact form?
- Do they invite their audience to chime in with feedback or their own experiences?
- Are they polite and respectful to others when they respond to comments?
- Do they give credit where due, such as sharing good references?
- Do they feature their favorite work, or feature other bloggers?
Most people are willing to engage with bloggers and creators who they feel are approachable. This can be a crucial skill to appeal to your audience and help build your platform; while it may come more easily to some, it’s worth putting into practice when the opportunity is given. Commenting on others’ blog posts, and offering resources through your own blog, are examples of good ways to engage with others and encourage them to return it.
Having said that, you’re encouraged to be mindful of your own boundaries — which can be different for everyone, particularly online. While it’s great to engage with your audience, it doesn’t mean you need to be socially available all the time, nor does it mean you’re expected to befriend everyone; the last thing you want is to burn yourself out trying to please everyone!
For this reason, you should experiment with the level of engagement that works best for you, and for the longevity of your blog. While you do so, monitor how you feel and set boundaries as needed, even if it’s just as a reference for yourself. This can take time to establish, but it can be a good practice in the long run.
| 🗒️ It’s best to assume good intentions from those you interact with, but remember that no one is entitled to your time. You may also choose to disengage (step away, take a break, or stop responding) if any interaction becomes uncomfortable or unproductive. |
Some people may fall under the impression that creating their platform with their work is a zero-sum game — meaning, the belief that success is finite, and that in order for you to succeed, others have to fail. This mindset can stem from different experiences, and while it may feel true for some areas, it doesn’t need to be when applied to creative outlets like blogging.
Put another way, there’s no need to view your fellow creators as obstacles to overcome, or to disengage from them to give yourself an edge. Blogging, after all, is communal — creators feed off of one another, and when your peers are inspired and writing and thriving, so are you. Nothing is inherently wrong with some friendly competition, however, since it can be a great motivation for improving your craft. But you’re encouraged to be mindful of the way you view your blogging community; don’t let a desire to succeed “at all costs” sour potential relationships with your peers, and don’t let it prevent you from helping them when you see an opportunity.
With this in mind: if you’re privy to some helpful knowledge that may aid a fellow blogger with their craft, why not share it? And if you find yourself hesitating, or wanting to withhold that information, try to reflect on the reason why. If there’s no harm in sharing the information, and if it’s within your ability to do so, then we encourage you to go for it.
| Be mindful about your online etiquette when you directly share feedback with others, such as in a comment. Even if you intend to be helpful, not every blogger will ask for suggestions or appreciate constructive criticism of their personal work. This can be your judgment call, but a good rule of thumb is to offer direct help when a blogger expressly asks for it — or to ask their permission first, and to respect their answer (“This is great work! […] Would you mind if I offer a suggestion that may help?”) |
For this exercise, take stock of your site and what engagement strategies you currently have in place. Are there additional ones, from the suggestions in this lesson, that you could incorporate?
See if you can find one additional engagement strategy that would be a good fit for your blog and get it set up.
Add a note to your review plan to revisit this aspect of your site whenever you’re doing a site assessment.
Click to explandResources
- 9 Powerful Ways to Really Connect With Your Blog’s Readers (Article)
- Form blocks (Support Guide)
- Surveys, polls, and quizzes (Support Guide)
- Poll block (Support Guide)
- Vote block (Support Guide)
- Repeat Visitor block (Support Guide)
- NPS block (Support Guide)
- Event Countdown block (Support Guide)
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