Carving out a corner of the web for your content and audience is more complicated than ever before. Competition is all over and, if you don’t stay vigilant and dedicated, usurpers will take your place. There are a few ways to almost guarantee that you’ll keep your audience, though.
Something to consider is that most large corporations can’t personalize content or create personal connections with users and customers. Instead of focusing on growing your business, try to use some of the following tips to maintain a dedicated audience.
Keep Interests in Mind
Ambitious creators often want to add new content to their repertoire. A blogger dedicated to gardening, for example, might think to start providing info on pool maintenance. Indeed, there are a few related topics in both fields, but that’s not the point.
If your audience looks to your content for answers on a specific subject, other info will work more as a repellant than something that would keep readers or users interested. Expanding into different areas of expertise is fine, but you should do this at the right time.
Of course, sometimes, it’s almost impossible to quell the excitement and ambition behind new projects or additions to current ones. If this is the case for you, consider working on your extra content on the side. Then, only release it when you feel it’s ready for public eyes.
Request Feedback
Somewhat related to the previous topic, before you make changes or introduce new information, try testing the waters first. An efficient method for gauging the potential interest of your audience is polling. This is a technique that many large corporations with an online presence use all the time, as it provides a plethora of benefits.
There are many strategies you can use with a poll for your audience. Short and straightforward questionnaires can provide quick answers. However, if you need more details, you might have to offer something in return for user time.
Try multiple questions and a section for open answers where your audience can write feedback freely. For motivation, consider offering discounts, VIP rewards, or other bonuses. Polls will help guide your content if you’re unsure in which direction it should go.
Stay in Touch
Emails are an excellent way to reach out to an audience. However, it feels overly professional and often doesn’t boost engagement enough to justify the activity. So, you should try alternatives. One such option is text messaging.
Here’s another opportunity for providing rewards, as it can prove challenging to convince readers to hand over information like a phone number. You can often find political campaign SMS strategies, for example, using partisan motivators to connect with followers. This type of interaction can boost engagement tenfold.
A text message at a reasonable hour works as a reminder and creates something of a bond between your audience and you.
Embrace Consistency
If you can keep these tips in mind and stay consistent, your audience will likely stick around. Try and resist the urge to diversify before you’re truly ready, engage with your users for feedback, and create a connection via text message. These are all surefire strategies to find success.
