Interactive Features That Can Change a "Blah" Blog into an
Amazing One
Many writers wonder why they do not
receive much traffic on their blog. They write insightful articles. They update
content regularly with new posts. They invite people that they meet to visit
the blog. However, the blog stagnates. How can you generate more traffic to
your blog? One of my job duties at Grammarly is to pursue solutions to the
problems writers have. In studying successful blogs, I notice that blogs with
interactive features attract followers. Here’s a list; which components can you
introduce to your blog?
★
Question of the Day/Week: Ask open-ended questions on
at the start of each day or week. Invite site visitors to weigh in with their
opinion. Before you know it, people will be checking the blog throughout the
day to check other’s viewpoints or for responses to their submission.
★
Quizzes: Quizzes should not be like the ACT. Instead
post short, fun quizzes that subscribers can complete in less than five
minutes. Quiz takers should receive immediate feedback, but you can also
compile and post statistics to compare results. Relate the quiz topics to your
blogs. For example, imagine you post a travel blog. You can create a quiz,
“What type of luggage are you? Test your travel personality!” The
multiple-choice answers that quiz takers select should categorize them as
duffel bags (budget), carry-ons (spontaneous), Louis Vuitton suitcase (luxury),
etc.
★
Surveys / Polls:
In a poll, site visitors vote on a question, often a simple one that
requires a yes/no answer. As the votes aggregate, the data is displayed. For
example, should Justin Bieber be deported? Add a display of the breakdown. A
survey is similar, but usually consists of several questions. Surveymonkey
is a great website to create quizzes, surveys, and polls.
★
Games: This is not as difficult as it sounds. Simply go
to Candystand.com,
a website that hosts free games. Copy the embed code, and paste it on your
blog. If you can find a related game, such as Job Runner for a career blog, it will provide
a cute, relevant distraction for your fans.
★
Videos: How you post a video depends on where the video
is stored. Google Help pages explain how to link videos
from Youtube and how to upload from mobile phones and computers.
★
Podcasts: A podcast is a digital copy of a multimedia
file that you give your readers permission to access through your site. To kill
two birds with one click of the mouse, visit the Smart Passive Income
podcast to learn what a podcast is and how to monetize your blog.
★
Freebies: People love free stuff. As a writer, consider
giving away a few copies of your book. It is also a good way to get contact
information from your blog visitors. If you prefer to cut the costs of mailing,
offer a couple of free digital copies.
★
Raffles and Sweepstakes
This is another
good way to create excitement on your blog and to minimize the expense of the
prizes. With a single copy of a book up for grabs, hundreds of fans may enter
the same contest. With permission, post the winner to show that the opportunity
was legitimate.
With any interactive feature, you
have to weigh the pros and cons. Will the feature interest your target
audience? What is the time and monetary expense of running the feature? With
links, including ads, individuals could be directed away from your site. If possible, make sure that links open in a
separate window. Spellcheck
your quizzes, edit your podcasts, and review videos in their
entirety before adding it to your site. If you fail to do so, people will be
commenting more about your errors than the new interactive formats. So, do you
have big plans for how to improve your blog? I hope so!
------------------------------------------------------//-------------------------------------------------------------
Bio:
Nikolas discovered his love for the written
word in Elementary School, where he started spending his afternoons sprawled
across the living room floor devouring one Marc Brown children’s novel after
the other and writing short stories about daring pirate adventures. After
acquiring some experience in various marketing, business development, and
hiring roles at internet startups in a few different countries, he decided to
re-unite his professional life with his childhood passions by joining
Grammarly’s marketing team in San Francisco. He has the pleasure of being
tasked with talking to writers, bloggers, teachers, and others about how they
use Grammarly’s online proofreading application to improve their writing. His
free time is spent biking, traveling, and reading.
