The more I work at my online business – and just deal with people in general – the more I realize that you can’t really assume anything, especially when it comes to wanting to get a specific action out of your readers or customers. You may think that you’re being clear as to what you want, but in many instances, that may not actually be the case.
It’s not that your readers or customers are dumb, it’s just you need to make sure that you’re not leaving any room for doubt or misunderstanding. Your job as a writer is to make it clear, beyond any shadow of doubt, what it is you want your readers to do.
You’re not talking down to your readers, you’re just being explicit. It’s as simple as that.
Here are two simple mistakes that I think all beginning bloggers make that unfortunately leave a lot of money and traffic on the table.
Mistake One: Comments
I know the purpose of the great big comment box at the end of each of your posts is pretty obvious; it’s there for people who have read the article to leave their own thoughts.
However, we’ve sort of become oblivious to this stuff, mostly because we’re already thinking about what we’re going to read next before we’ve even finished your post. That’s why it’s your job as a writer to bring the reader back into the fold.
At the end of each post, leave a quick blurb telling your readers to share their thoughts and leave a comment. It makes the reader feel like they’re a part of the site.
By engaging them and telling them to let you know what they think you’re making your site much more interactive and fostering an environment that is much more likely to bring this person back to your site.
Mistake Two: Affiliate Reviews and Offers
One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is the chance to review other products and recommend them to my readers. Obviously, as an affiliate marketer I get a certain portion of the sale price if someone ends up buying the product I’ve written about after clicking my affiliate link.
After writing a long article talking about how great a product or service is, one would think it’s fairly evident that I want my reader to go ahead and purchase said product or service. Unfortunately, by not explicitly telling my readers I wanted them to buy, I left room for misunderstanding and subsequently lost their business.
I’m sure over the years I could have made thousands more had I simply ended each review with a simple “click here right now to go buy” whatever product I was promoting. Instead of allowing room for doubt to settle into the reader’s mind, a simple nudge of reassurance probably would have been enough to seal the deal.
On that note, please leave a comment below letting me know what your thoughts are. And after you do that, be sure to sign up for my free newsletter so you can get a copy of the free 10 Best WordPress Plugins ebook!