You know the feeling you get when you walk into a shop and no one greets you? You've actually bothered to come into their place of business, you've considered buying something from them, and they don't seem to even care.

Okay. Your genealogy blog is not a store. And you don't own a store. [Or maybe you do. *shrugs*] However, your blog is like a store, and you are like a store owner. Many people will look through the window to see what you have. These are your readers.

And some? Some will open the door and come on in. Your comment interrogation system [Oops, I mean your comment information system. ;) ] is the door and when a reader leaves a comment, well, that's them 'coming on in'. [After they've successfully managed the Captcha hurdle, that is.] They're willing to engage.

They'll take the time out of their busy day to see what you have. They'll compliment you on your merchandise [blog content] and your shop [blog design]. And they may even buy something. [A purchase for cousin hunters would be like a cousin contacting you; for genealogical societies, this may be a membership sign-up; and for professional genealogists and genealogy-related businesses, this IS you.]

And what will you do? Ignore them?

If you're a smart shopkeeper, you won't. It's important to get to know your potential customer.

Just as it's important to get to know your readers, your commenters, and your potential return visitors to your blog.

You're blogging with purpose, and a part of that purpose is to create a community. And you can't do that if you're ignoring your commenters.

Each comment needs to be read, and each comment needs to be replied to as well.

I think we've all been guilty of not being smart about this and ignoring our commenters. [I certainly have. I'm going back to check and fix that...] These are missed opportunities at creating community and fostering relationships.

However, it's never too late to start, or re-start.

Start making your readers feel welcomed and comfortable because make no mistake. People are reading your blog, they're reading the comments left by your readers, and they're reading your responses to those comments.

What message are you sending?

"You're not welcome in my shop. Don't come back."

or

"Thanks for coming into my shop. I appreciate it. Please come back." [and if you're from Texas, there's a "y'all" at the end. ;) ]

~Caroline

If you found this blog post helpful and would like to receive once a week in your email inbox a free subscriber-only blog post, an exclusive tip of the week, and 5 links to hand-picked, timely, and relevant articles, then sign up for my newsletter below.

The Concept

Call to Action

What do you want your readers to do?

You're thinking, "Duh, Caroline. I want them to read my blog."

No you don't.

You want your reader to do something after they have read your blog. Remember, you're blogging with purpose now. You're not blogging just for yourself anymore. It's not about you. It's about your reader.

So, what about about them? What do they want? And how does that tie in to what it is that you want them to do?

The Breakdown

Cousin Hunters
Your reader might be a potential cousin. Or they might be someone who might know where to look for more information so you can tear down that brick wall. So, do you want them to read what you wrote and then move on? No. You want them to contact you. When was the last time you asked your reader to contact you? Have you made it easy for your readers to contact you? How badly do you want your readers to contact you? That's what I thought.

You're no longer messing around at blogging. You're blogging with purpose and your purpose is to get your potential cousins or people with more information than you to contact you. So ask them. Give them a call to action at the end of every post. Craft your post in such a way that the natural thing to do next is to contact you. And make it an easy process. [Read: Stop that captcha business.]

Genealogical Societies
Your readers are either members or potential members. Sure, you want to be helpful and have as much information at your reader's disposal as possible on your site. But what about your blog? There are a lot of options and they all depend on your goals.

Certainly membership is one of those, but do you have a newsletter? [Or are you sending out way too many newsletters?] Do you have meetings? [Are those meeting rooms filled to capacity?] Do you have a conference that you sponsor or is your society participating in a conference? Or would you just like for your readers to leave a comment on your blog posts? Determine each blog post's goal. Notice I said goal and not goals. Don't make this complicated with more than one goal in a blog post.

Say for example your meeting rooms are not at capacity and your board has decided to really start making an effort at increasing membership and participation. You might craft a blog post about your society's features and benefits. Then ask your reader to come to a meeting. Is this going to make your meeting room overflowing to capacity? Probably not, but did you ask your reader to come to the meeting at the end of your blog post?

The Meeting button link in the sidebar or at the top of your website is not enough. You need to ask your blog readers to come to your meeting. You must give your reader a call to action at the end of every blog post that is predetermined by the goal of your blog post. And make it easy. [Read: Stop that captcha business.]

Professional Genealogists & Genealogy-related Businesses
You want clients or customers. [And you want them to come back. Well, most of them.] That's your ultimate goal, but today's online business environment mimics days of old when a business owner or business person actually got to know their clients and customers before they were their clients and customers. They went to church together. They shopped at the same grocery store. Their kids were on the same little league team.

Oh wait. That happens now. But in addition to it happening close to home, so to speak, it happens online every single day on social networks. People are finding they have something in common with someone else halfway around the world. Oh wait. That used to happen with the Pen Pal network. [Remember that?]

Turns out we're pretty social people. No matter the time period or method of finding people, we find and hangout with people we have something in common with. We build relationships.

And relationships between business owners and the people they come into contact with can foster loyalty. And that loyalty can turn into a client or a customer because people do business with people they know before they'll do business with someone they don't know.

Which brings me to a call to action. Depending on the goal of your blog post, you need to be giving your readers a call to action. Your blog post goal may be to help your readers with a particular genealogy research method, or how to use your website or software more effectively, or to come meet you at whatever conference you're going to have a booth at.

So as you form your relationships with your readers in blog post after blog post, then ask your readers to do whatever it is you want them to do at the end of each blog post. Remember, you have a relationship with them, or at least you're trying to build one. Go ahead and ask your readers to do what you'd like them to do. Every blog post is an opportunity. And make it easy for them to respond. [Read: Stop that captcha business.]

The Take Away
Have your goal determined before writing your blog post, write your blog post, and then present a call to action to your reader at the end of your blog post.

~Caroline

If you found this blog post helpful and would like to receive in your email inbox once a week a free subscriber-only blog post, an exclusive tip of the week, and 5 links to hand-picked, timely, and relevant articles, then sign up for my newsletter below.

The Concept ~ Should you have your biz blog separate from your website?

No.

I was recently asked this question, and I promised I'd answer it in a blog post. Your business blog is an extension of your business as well as a marketing tool. It should definitely be a part of your website. If you happen to use a separate platform for blogging than the platform your website is on, then your blog needs to match your website in its design. Exactly. As much as possible, and then your website should have a link to your blog. It should look seamless. In fact, when someone on your website clicks on your link to your blog, they should not realize [at least not a first] that they aren't on your website anymore.

Plain and simple.

The purpose of your blog is to enhance your online presence so you can further your online goals. If your blog is treated like a separate entity, then [Yes, I'm gonna say it.] you're doing it wrong.

The Breakdown

Cousin Hunters ~ If your family website is separate from your blog, then you are missing out on potential cousin matches. Also, it makes it easier for your readers to refer to your tree or charts when they're reading your blog posts. Your blog posts are just a natural extension of your family website. No, you're not in a traditional business, but you are in the business of cousin hunting.

Genealogical Societies ~ The whole idea - the purpose - of your blog is to communicate with current members and to reach out to potential members. If you're blogging with purpose then your readers should naturally and easily be able to explore your site for more information, and you certainly do not want your blog looking separate from your website. You want it to look seamless. They shouldn't click on a link, and then wonder if their browser has been hijacked. Right? Right?

Professional Genealogists & Genealogy-Related Businesses ~ Your blog and website need to look professional. First of all, they are not separate entities. Your blog is an extension of your website. Second of all, you are branding yourself in such a way that when a person stumbles upon your site, they say, "Oh yeah. I've heard about this blog. I've gotta read it!" Wishful thinking? Maybe. Maybe not. Your blog is a marketing tool, and it's helping you to snag clients. How many times have you been on a site and you click one of their links and it looks totally different? That's not professional looking. It's distracting. The only thing a visitor to your blog should be distracted by is your writing [and in a good way]. They should be totally caught up in your blog post that by the end they want to hire you. Or by the end you've helped them out with a problem they were having in their research. And if they ever need to hire a professional genealogist or if they're ready to buy from your business, who do you think they're going to remember? The professional genealogist or company who has that awesome blog they read every week. That's who.

The Take Away
Your blog is a part of your website and if they're on different platforms, the visitor should not know it.

~Caroline