{flickr photo by: rent-a-moose}
Last week, I wrote two blog posts for the site I work for and it surprisingly did well. My article on 10 Tips for Healthy Living received 105 tweets and 88 Facebook likes. I also wrote a guest post for business writer Cathy Miller that got 21 comments. I wrote 5 Steps to Transform Your Life for Feelgooder.com, a Darren Rowse creation and it too received a lot of attention. I’ve been thinking about these articles and the ones I see online and I figured something out in the process. Here’s the secret I’ve discovered to permanent, long-lasting relationships.
Human beings desire connection.
Lots of blogs get popular quick because they offer relevant, important information.
But blogs that have staying power are the ones that offer something else.
Getting Over a Thousand Comments on Their Blog
Take Young House Love, for example. They’ve been blogging since 2007 and have rounded up quite a following. And I think I know why. In addition to providing informative posts on DIY and home design, they also have a fun, unique writing style with a personal touch. Their recent posts garnered 1862 comments!! Wowza! And the topic? Their daughter’s birth story.
A lot of my guest posts and articles are written with that same idea in mind-the ability to transform your words into a voice of connection.
When I interview an expert and I get that gut in-your-stomach kind of feeling, I know that this is going to move people. I have an instinctual feeling that this could be influential. And it doesn’t matter if I’m talking about caring for rabbits or yourself. It’s that universal feeling that we all want to be connected. Especially on the internet.
How to Keep Your Followers Interested
- For business owners. Refocus your energies on your clients and customers. Forget about making the sale for now. Think about how you can really connect with people, not $. Then reach out to them through your blog, articles and Facebook updates. Today, I was listening to a free webinar by Authentic Promoter Molly Gordon. She was talking about focusing on a single client versus thousands. If you can focus on how your words and business impacts one person, you will be a lot more successful. Why? Because the more you focus on a single person, the more authentic and personal you will be and the more connection you will likely have. And more connection = longer, lasting relationships. And lasting relationships = more business.
- For writers. As someone who manages social media for a living, I know that questions and comments that inspire conversation are much more popular than ones that are void of emotions. Social media is the way people are attempting to connect and interact. And this applies to anything you write. I have
wastedspent 9 months rewriting an essay. Then, I took a class and realized why I was so stuck. I was writing around my subject. Because of the fear of letting it all hang out, I was taking a personal, important time in my life and regurgitating it without the good, revealing stuff.
Writers if you have a story, have the courage to write it. Give it the attention and emotion it deserves. If you can find a way to transform your feelings and thoughts through words, you will find not only more business, but more satisfying meaningful ones too.
In the end, it’s not about making the most money. {Well at least it’s not for me.} It’s about using what I’m good at as a tool to create a meaningful career and life. And that’s only possible when you add your personal touch to everything you do.
