While newspapers and other classic media are on the decline, blogging is burning a hole in the roof. This is mostly due to the reader-author-community interaction. Word of mouth should be the holy grail for any blogger. So here are:

Seven Ways To Entice Reader Participation

1. Contest

One of the best ways to get bloggers to participate is by holding a contest. Whether you’re giving away money, prizes or links; people want free stuff, and even more so they want to win. Start a contest, such as my Donation Contest or better yet, Darren Rowse’s [1] Writing Project .

2. Meme

I am still surprised how many people don’t know what a Meme is. A Meme is a conversation starter, such as a question or assignment, in which you ask other bloggers by “tagging” (linking tag bloggers, they tag more bloggers, and everyone tags to the original question asker. A good way to draw attention to yourself.

3. Newsletters

Newsletters are supreme in permission marketing. They give you a great outlet from which to send updates and product information, without people having to visit your blog.

4. Ask questions

A great way to get your readers to talk to you is to ask questions. Something simple and thought provoking, that requires the reader to give their opinion or be personal. When people open up to you, they feel closer to you, so they’ll be sure to visit you (their new friend) more often.

5. Controversy

Post something completely new, or against the general consensus. Being opinionated (do not confuse with vulgar), establishes you as an authority, and gets people talking. If you manage to not fend off all your readers, it’s going to lead to many interesting conversations. Do not just rehash a story and say you don’t like it. Mix in a story or personal anecdote so your readers get to know you.

6. Comments and Forums

Make sure you have an easy to access comment section and interact with your readers. Make friends with your readers, and they’ll be back to see you. If you have a very large blog, consider putting in a forum. You’ll have an army of people evangalizing your brand, and referring friends.

7. Carnivals

Carnivals are great for small blogs, because they get you noticed. During your early days blogging, getting as few as 15-25 new readers, could be the difference between no one and someone visiting your blog. Submit to as many relevant carnivals as you can, have quality writing, and people will start talking.

My Evil Bonus: When you submit articles to a carnival, you can specify what they should use as the anchor text. Provide quality writing to many carnivals, and you’ll be ranking page one for your chosen term.