What are two really big differences between blogging and other forms of writing?
It’s the only form of writing I can think of that allows for almost immediate interaction with the reader.
Another difference is how easy it is to lose a reader.
Your reader can leave your post and go elsewhere with the click of a mouse. They don’t need to close a file or put it down. Just lose their interest and they’re smoke on a windy day.
What do these two things mean to us as bloggers?
Do the first to avoid the second.
An engaged reader is, well, a reader instead of a former reader who left your blog after 12 seconds.
I was reading an email from Inc. This Morning and it had a link to The 25 Most Popular TED Talks Contain This 1 Word Over and Over. (The Explanation Will Inspire You) . While that is about speaking and presentations, it also applies to blogging.
The fact that these are the most popular talks means they’ve probably been shared and shared and shared. They engaged their viewers enough that the viewers felt it beneficial enough to recommend them to others. They went viral.
So, how did the speakers accomplish this?
They did it by entertaining and engaging their audience. His analysis showed that the combined talks had 3,910 sentences but also had 579 questions. 15% of the time, the speaker was inviting the audience to engage. Which they did, there were 475 instances of the audience laughing or applauding.
That’s slightly over one audience reaction each minute.
It’s a short article, but has a great summary which shows the difference between blogging and great blogging…
The secret isn’t just to share information, it’s to prompt engagement — and to keep doing it the whole time you’re up there.
Because anybody can give a talk. It’s another level entirely to lead an engaged conversation.
Engagement starts at the top
One other point…take a look at the title of the article.
This is a good, descriptive, accurate title.
The 25 Most Popular TED Talks Contain This 1 Word Over and Over.
But this got my attention and made me want to read it.
(The Explanation Will Inspire You)
If it didn’t have that little addition, I might not have read the article. That extra bit made it relevant to me. Something I could use, and not just some interesting information.
What will you do to engage your audience in your next post?
What have you done in the past?
Thanks for reading and best wishes for success,
Don
