The one thing that I really care about on this blog is what readers think. You could spend 24 hours a day checking your stats, where your readers are from & what their demographic is but if you have 0 engagement, it's all pretty useless. I've been trialing a few techniques to see if they alter the amount of comments I get and I have to say, I really am surprised.
YOU DON'T REPLY TO THE ONES YOU ALREADY HAVE I always make sure that I spend some time replying to comments because I think it's so important in improving audience interaction. If you're not replying to comments, you're almost giving the impression that you don't care about what your readers have to say, making them less likely to leave a comment.
YOU DON'T COMMENT ON OTHER BLOGS If possible, try & set out a few minutes per day to comment on other blogs in your category. Having said that, make sure your comments are valuable - not something like "Great post! Check out my blog here" which can come across spammy. I know that if someone were to leave a meaningful comment, I'm definitely more inclined to check out their blog and comment on their posts.
YOU DON'T END WITH A QUESTION This is a tip I've only started doing recently and I think it's made such a difference in terms of the amount of comments I receive. I always end my blog posts with a question relevant to the topic I've discussed and it shows that you value & care about what your readers think. It's a great way to spark up a conversation, also.
What is your best tip for helping your readers to engage?