WAYS I ENBRACE MY AUDIENCE by Paul Flanagan

I respond.

When someone sends me a personal message, on Twitter, e-mail, or Facebook, I make every effort to respond to them promptly if warranted. It’s amazing how many people appreciate a simple response. I know I do, so why wouldn’t my audience?

Mark Schaefer, over at {grow} responds to almost every single comment he gets on his blog, even the bad ones. That’s incredible.

I ask questions.

Whether it’s for advice on a new product I should try or help in deciding what book to read next, I ask questions that my audience can easily answer. I sometimes ask questions at the end of my blog posts to generate conversation with my readers. A while back, I asked my audience to help me decide which book to read next.I got a ton of responses because the question was simple and interactive.

I welcome new Twitter followers personally.

I loathe automated DMs when I follow someone – Those, “Hey! Thanks for following me! Check out my website at www. . .!” That tells me you’re too busy to connect and engage.
Instead, I chose to welcome new followers by sharing them with my audience:

I thank people out loud.

When someone retweets or shares something of mine, I try and thank them publicly. Look at this exchange: (read from bottom to top):

Think about how you interact with your audience. Do you embrace them? Share you methods

This blog topic is part of an ongoing idea I got from Chris Brogan.Thank you for the inspiration, Chris.



Quetions.

 #1 Does Your Business Really Need a Blog?
#2 What is Your Story?
#3: Do You or Your Team Have Time to Blog?
#4: Can You Create Enough Content to Keep Your Audience Engaged?
#5: What Does Success Look Like for Your Blog?