Getting exposure to your blog or website is the number one ingredient for a successful business. With some time on your hands and a bit of work, you can start getting visitors right after setting up your blog. There is however a more significant problem.
Many of you might already be getting some relatively good traffic figures. The question is not how much traffic you get, but are you able to get that traffic or those visitors to actually stay on your site?
Are you able to get them to subscribe or share your content? Are those same folks buying your products?
Turning visitors into loyal followers is what makes all the difference. For this to work, you need to gain the trust of the folks that visit your site.
The following article is all about helping you make that happen. In the below paragraphs you will find 10 effective and relatively simple techniques to better conversions:
Customization and the Role it Plays
First and foremost let’s start with the platforms you use. Before you build trust, you need to find a way for people to remember you. You need to make yourself noticeable. Being able to stand out in a crowded niche holds a huge importance nowadays. One way to do so is through your blog’s layout.
There are a lot of things you can do to try and discern your blog from all the rest. More important tips I would give you are to:
- Stay away from the standard themes – With every blog platform, there are a variety of standard templates to choose from. There is also the option to purchase premium templates or to create your own. If you don’t want to look amateurish, you should either go for the second or for the third option. You will hardly get noticed with a stock grey and white template unless you are a famous person already. I use Genesis, do you want to test it?
Try Genesis Framework right now - Come up with a good color combination – One of your initial tasks after starting your blog should be to choose a color combination, which will define your brand. Most blogs chose to go with a two-color combination and I also believe this to be a good choice, since it adds the uniqueness you are looking for, while not being too flashy. My only advice would be to stay away from dark shades and instead go for something light and welcoming.
- Stick with it everywhere – Applying the color combination you have chosen on your blog only is not enough. You need to make your brand colors visible to people who are yet to land on your blog. So using them wherever possible is a must. For example you can try to make your Twitter page as similar to your blog as it can be. Twitter gives you a good amount of customization, so it’s a good place to start.
Let People Know Who You Are
The number one step you must follow before even thinking about establishing a reader base is your bio. Having an “About” page that tells the visitor something about yourself is nowadays a must if you want to be taken seriously.
The truth is that people don’t always subscribe to blogs only because they’ve stumbled upon a great article on them. That is a step of the process, but not the first and not the last. It might be a surprise to you but a good number of the folks who land on your blog for the first time will check out who you are and what you are “fighting for”.
Don’t get me wrong though. Having an “About” page does not mean that you should write a full autobiography or something like that.
More on the topic, you can read in the article “3 Amazing About Page Tips to Try Right Now”!
Write from Your Point of View
Let’s start with a question for you – what in your opinion makes an article stand out?
I would definitely like to hear your thoughts in the comments section!
Based on my experience with blogging and reading dozens of articles on a daily basis, I’ve come to understand one thing. An article that gets most of the reader’s attention is one, where you share your personal opinion and your own experience. That is what makes a blog post stand out.
Yes, the idea of a blog is to teach people a skill or to help them get a task done on a specific topic. What is really important if you want to build trust though, is that you present the information based on what you have tried.
Explain exactly which steps you have followed. Tell the reader which of them worked and which did not.
Use the Same Profile Picture on all Social Media Sites
An important step to gaining trust in the online world is the avatar you use.
As I mentioned above, to build trust, you need to have a way to be recognised. This time we are talking about you, not your blog.
Remember that as the saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
Having a long biography is a good thing and even a must nowadays. However the easiest way for you to be distinguished is through the use of the same profile picture for all of your social media profiles.
Practical Information is Everything
After all good writing is essential nowadays if you want to show to the world that you are serious about what you do. Unfortunately it doesn’t all come down to fancy writing.
People won’t come, only because they like your writing style. Whoever visits your blog wants specific information that can be applied straight away and also return good results as soon as possible.
That is what you should be striving for with your writing – practical information!
Overviewing the problem is not enough. Strangely though, many are the ones doing exactly that. They explain the problem and they tell the reader what should be done. What they don’t give away are the small steps that the reader needs to go through in order to apply the advice.
Share the Good AND the Bad
Instead of presenting both the cons and the pros, or what they did right and what they did wrong, they rather go for the good stuff only.
It’s not hard to understand that. People want to show themselves in the best possible light and therefore they skip some less convenient parts of the story. If you are a follower of that very same approach, it might be time to stop and rethink.
Honesty is valued nowadays and can greatly help you build trust as a blogger.
Trust in turn equals engagement, higher exposure and sales.
Don’t Go With a “No”
Remember that when it comes to gaining trust in the online world, being positive is a must.
Whenever you receive a request of some sort that is within your expertise, be willing to take the time and help the one who’s asking you.
Those kinds of small things are the ones that end up making a big difference.
The Twitter and Automatic DMs Issue
As the theory goes, using any kind of automatic DMing on Twitter is a bad thing. Well yes, there’s a grain of truth in that. Sending the same message to everyone who follows you on Twitter, promoting a product is to say the least not a good marketing strategy.
Looking at the problem from another point of view though, automatic DMs don’t seem that bad to me. As long as they are not promotional in any form that is.
For example setting up a really simple message along the lines of “Thanks for the follow, have a great day!” wouldn’t do any harm, nor to your brand, neither to your followers. So if you are thinking of something similar, then go ahead! Just don’t include any links and keep it short.
Give Away 90% of What you Know for Free
Advertising networks such as AdSense are losing their popularity, especially amongst bloggers, since they are very ineffective and the cons overweigh the pros.
So if you are a blogger, the chances are that you will want to sell a product (or your services).
Problem is though that most of the folks, visiting you, want to get free information and are not on your blog to buy. So if you want them coming back, you should always give away the bigger part of what you write without asking for anything in return.
Free information is what gains the trust of your reader. Gaining the trust of your reader is what transforms him into a buyer.
This post at WebHostingSecretRevealed shows how to triple your subscribers with content upgrades.
Learn that Criticism Is To Be Accepted Not Disputed
People who like and accept criticism are really not much, compared to the ones who hate being told how to do things. Throughout my almost six years of blogging, I have come across critics more than once or twice.
Honestly the feeling of hearing someone, telling you what to do is not a pleasant one. Sometimes those criticizing you don’t have a clue about what they are talking about. There are those times however, when you just need to sit down a listen.
My advice is to take all kinds of criticism positively even if their author is trying to discredit you in one way or another. Leaving an impression of a rude and offensive person is not at all in your best interest.
Reply with why you believe the critic is wrong.
If they happen to have a good point, follow their advice. Might not feel nice for your ego, but that’s how you build trust. The ones criticizing you are people who pay attention. Don’t forget that!
Final Words
I hope that you take all of the above tips into consideration.
They have helped me build trust and will help you.
Do you have any other tips that you would like to share with the community?
Feel free to give your two cents in the comments section!
All feedbacks are much appreciated.
The post 10 Smart Steps to Building Trust and Getting Readers to Take Action first appeared on Reviewz'n'Tips.
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