Who?
The silent ones. While it seems as though only blogroll pals are visiting your space, you have lurkers out there. It’s time to draw them out.
Why?
Sometimes people just need a push. There are those who feel that unless their contribution is helpful or interesting, they’ll just stay quiet and muse alone, nodding their head knowingly at your insight into the human condition. You can help them come out of their shells.
How?
By asking open-ended questions that not only apply to the content you’ve written but are also universal enough to inspire contribution. There is a good way and a bad way to ask questions and you’ve probably seen both. “Has this happened to you?” gets fewer responses than, “What would you have done?” With better questions, you’ll also get better answers from your regulars. The best thing to come out of this will be conversation among your readers.
What?
Darren Rowse has suggestions for asking questions in the 31 dbbb workbook, but his main idea is best exemplified in a post he wrote on ProBlogger in 2009, 13 Types of Posts that Always Get Lots of Comments. Lots of good information there, but the end of the post is the most relevant to us today. Darren doesn’t just ask a question of his readers, he gives them a task by which they should come to an answer. This means everyone, from extrovert to hardcore lurker can respond feeling like their comment is insightful and with purpose. It’s a strategy that opens conversation up to everyone comfortably. You have to be careful, though. There’s a fine line between asking people to dig up information and giving them homework like a know-it-all. Be confident, but communal in spirit.
Other ways to ask questions:
- ask something requiring many different answers, ensuring people come back to learn something new from your readers (“How do you talk with your tween about self-image?”)
- either/or questions and don’t forget to ask why (“Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck? Why?”)
- ask a question to which you truly don’t know the answer (“What the hell is kimchi?”)
You can also lean on your work from Day 19: Solving a Problem for good post content and questions.
When?
Sometimes. You don’t want this to become unmanageable. Don’t employ this tactic so often that you are just collecting comments for the numbers. Ask questions when it seems organic to do so and you have time to engage the responses.
Where?
In your title or at the end of your post. Doing both is preferable. Save the best answers for future posts. This highlights readers and shows your audience you’re listening and taking people’s thoughts seriously. And, if you are a reader that finds a good answer in comments, let the writer know right there. In comments.
Question?
Which has been your favourite day so far at yeah write’s 31dbbb summer series? How has that day improved blogging for you?
Definitely the editorial planner, not that I have managed to stick to it yet as I have been hugely busy but hoping to start fresh from Sunday. It made me realise that it not in my or my blogs best interest for me just to blindly post everyday.
Also looking at my blog from a new readers eyes made me start to redesign my blog. My old blog was a bit heavy and unwieldy. It’s still a work in process though.
There is nothing worse than posting because you feel you must, rather than being excited to share.
I feel that way sometimes during a challenge week. I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog, and what better time to update than when it’s time for a new yeah write challenge, but then, it feels more like an obligation. It’s hard to square obligation to readers with the joy of sharing with readers.
I think my favourite day so far was actually the first one; defining what my blog is actually about really made a difference in how I approach it and it gave me a clear picture of where I want to take my business blog.
I did write a question post for today and it’s kind of awkward…
http://kerstinauer.tumblr.com/post/56399453731/whaddayathink
I have to agree with Kerstin: Day 1 was the best. It’s not that the other days haven’t been helpful or interesting, it was the way that first day set the tone for the whole month. I wasn’t convinced that this project was going to be relevant or helpful to me. Writing the elevator pitch and getting everyone’s feedback got me motivated to continue following along.
I agree with you guys. It’s true that the elevator pitch really 1) gets you serious about what you are trying to achieve and 2) helps you focus your efforts more clearly for the rest of the activities. I really enjoyed reading people’s new mandates and seeing how they changed direction in anticipation of the coming month.