The big question, how can you convert a first time visitor to your blog into a lifetime visitor?
How can you glue them and make them stay on your blog for a while, bookmark it and keep visiting it frequently?
Well, if you ask me how I got started with blogging and affiliate marketing in the year 2007, then there is very short story that I would like to narrate, six years back I visited John Chow’s blog and fell in love with it, instantaneously heard a voice in my heart that blogging is what I want to do for a living.
 Now lets see the few basic things I noticed about John Chow’s blog that impressed me to instantly become a big fan and a reader of his blog?
I will try to echo and explicate in this article about the things that I discovered on his blog and also the things which help us converting a first time visitor to our blog into a lifetime visitor.
Simplicity is the Key
What make us bloggers different from news correspondent is that we do not write complex things on our blog, right? We do not analyse the impact of Large Hadron Collider on particle physics (?) or other perplexed things like that, but we just write our opinions , thoughts, share our view and experience. What I like about his blog is that he writes articles in a simple way and you enjoy reading it.
 The idea is not to put our readers in puzzles and try to be as simple in writing as we are actually talking to them.
Don’t hide, come upfront and talk to your readers
Unless you are running a corporate blog, I do not see any reason why you should not pitch yourself as a Brand. You must come forward to tell about yourself and interact with your readers via comments and interactions on social networking sites. John Chow used to reply to almost all comments initially and still does to a few comments on his blog.
 It makes your day when you directly get a reply or tweet from the master himself. That’s the thing I like about his blogging style. Every reader should feel connected with the author.
Sharing personal information, images and news helps building a community
You feel connected; your readers always want to peep a little bit into your personal life. They want to know about the likes and dislikes of their favourite blogger. I have noticed it many times when John Chow shares his daughters Shelly’s report card, her videos and other personal stuff with his readers. It helps build a loyal and strong community around his audience. His blog readers always feel connected.
 Help others build their dream while achieving yours
You must help other bloggers to building their following too while you build one for yourself. This way you always get mentions on their blogs.
 John Chow is the kind of guy who goes out of his way if you seek for any help or advice from him and that’s what makes him outstanding and unparalleled.
 These are a few basic things that you must keep in mind while blogging as these will help you convert the potential first visitor to your blog and into a lifetime frequent visitor.
Image Credit:basheem
14 comments
Thanks shankerbaksh after reading the article I realized that
Look like your comment broken up in between…..thanks for appreciating though…
Thanks for the great tips Shanker Bakshi. It’s not easy to build a good site that will make a visitor return for more, but your tips definitely helps. Hopefully you and ZK will come to my blog too. 🙂
You have a great niche site there Jasmine, thanks that you like the article.
Your site is pretty awesome too, Shanker. I am sure you have managed to capture a lot of visitors and turned them into lifetime visitors!
I may not have that luck in you… seems like you have not been converted to a lifetime visitor of my site. 🙂
That’s not the case Jasmine, I have bookmarked it, will keep on visiting to your blog for sure…
Always stay fresh and true are two the main rules of blogging. I hate when bloggers start rewriting each other.. This is so wrong. Who needs to read 10 times a bay about Google reader adortation? Fresh and True Only!!
I agree, content should be fresh and should be straight from the heart.
Thanks for appreciation, hope you will keep visiting it…
Customers are very wise and what get their attention is simplicity of the web page. It doesn’t have to be that artsy to be noticed. You have to have quality content because it is what they are always looking for.
Thanks that you like it, we would love to see you here often…
Showing some personality is key. You don’t want your blog to read like a white paper, press release, or other official document. If it’s written in a conversational tone it keeps people engaged.
I can’t seem to tweet this via iPhone. Oh well. All the things you said are true. When people leave you comments you should answer it within 12-24 hours. It’s good to be connected. Thanks for the additional knowledge I’ve gained today.
~Angela
It was a big issue for me, because my visitors has never visited my blog again. I think after following your tips, I can enhance my readership. Thanks for the tips.