In this post I’m going to assume that you connect with your reader at an intellectual or emotional level through writing great content.
Still, just because a reader is aware of your blog, likes your content, or even follows you via some sort of subscription, it doesn’t mean that you are reaching your reader.
Though there is no guaranteed method for improving your reach to readers, one differentiator could be to let them “take you with them” by making your blog mobile. In this post I’m going to discuss the topic of reach and then share a huge secret on how you can create a mobile application for your blog.
And for one lucky subscriber to How-To-Blog.TV, I’m actually going to give you a credit to have your own AppMakr iPhone application built for your blog! (Have you subscribed yet? If not, subscribe to our RSS Feed as it is the only way you can win!)
Four Ways To Reach a Reader
There are four standard ways that bloggers reach their readers.
The first is direct reach. This happens when a reader likes a blog and simply makes it one of their regular destinations on the Internet. In my opinion, this is the strongest relationship that can exist between a blogger and a reader.
The second method is when a reader subscribes to a blog through an RSS Feed or email subscription. This is a very strong form of reach as the reader has made the choice to have your blog content come to them. Readers who subscribe to blogs do so through RSS Readers, Microsoft Outlook (RSS functionality), or simply receiving an email of a post.
The third method of reaching a reader is through social media. Hannah has and will continue to provide great insight on the connection between social media and blogging. For now, I’ll simplify it and say if someone has connected with you on social media, you can reach them with your blog through that connection.
The fourth method of reaching a reader is through a search engine. We’ve talked a lot about this topic on How-To-Blog.TV as search engines are a great way to drive traffic. Search engines expose your blog to thousands of readers who could add your blog to their Internet destination list or simply subscribe to it.
For the most part, readers who come to a blog from a search engine are looking for something specific and a post on your blog potentially satisfies that need. Search Engine traffic is great. Jerod, for example, lives by search engine traffic on MidwestSportsFans.Com. Still, reaching a reader through a search engine isn’t as strong of a connection as the other methods I’ve mentioned.
The four forms of reach described above all have downsides as well. The biggest challenge facing bloggers is competition. Your blog is not the only source of information on the Internet. Your blog is not the only feed your reader subscribes to and certaintly isn’t the only email they get in their inbox. You aren’t the only connection your readers have in social media. And, your blog isn’t the only site that search engines consider.
Pioneers Win In The Blogosphere
Bloggers who started years ago before search engines were hot have a huge advantage today. The same goes for those who got out and kicked the tires of Twitter early on. So what is the next frontier? That’s the billion dollar question and one can never truly predict “the next big thing”, but it is safe to say that the mobile applications are on the short list!
Mobile Applications
People don’t buy platforms just to have a platform.
Consumers bought Windows to use word processors and spreadsheets. They bought cellular telephones to have mobile voice communications.
Today, people are buying handheld devices for a combination of communications and the applications. Mobile applications have taken the world by storm. Many feel that mobile computing is just getting going.
“Apple kicked it off, Google picked it up and the millions of dollars that Nokia, Palm and Blackberry are spending indicates to us that we are just on the verge of a multi-billion dollar market.” Scott Suhy, CEO of Point About Inc.
According to Juniper, mobile application revenues are expected to reach $25 billion by 2014. At 99 cents an application, that is a lot of applications! Still, the cost to develop a 99 cent application has been $10K, $25K, and in some cases $100K. That is a little out of the reach of a blogger.
But technology has disrupted the market to the point where a blogger can now get their own iPhone application, for example, published to the AppStore for a couple hundred bucks.
Before I tell you how, let me explain why mobile applications are great for your blog!
People Like Mobile
Whether you are a sports fan and you want to check the latest updates in fantasy football before you even roll out of bed or you are a road warrior who is constantly looking to pass a few hours at the airport or on a flight, mobile applications and information have become such a big hit because they are accessible and convenient. Still, if you don’t make it easy for a mobile user, they’ll shun you for something that does work on mobile.
There is a Thai restaurant down the street from our office that I used to order take out from simply because I could Google their name on my iPhone by typing the first two letters and it immediately produced a clickable phone number as the #1 hit. Well, something changed in their Google Local Business listing and this stopped working. Unfortunately, I stopped going.
Yes, it is that bad!
Another example is that I read the New York Times because I like the content and it is a single click on my iPhone.
Mobile Applications are great for bloggers for the following three reasons:
- Visibility – My iPhone has 16 apps on the front page. If your blog’s application is one of those, you have very little competition compared to your email feed being in my inbox.
- Accessibility – My iPhone is with me where ever I go. Period!
- Usability- Using a mobile browser is not fun. Using a mobile application is great. Enough said. . .
How Does A Blogger Go Mobile
As a blogger, you have two options for taking your blog mobile. The first is to ensure your blog’s theme renders correctly on a mobile device. The easiest way to do this in WordPress is to download a plugin called WP-Touch. In my opinion, this free solution is simply for mobile readers who come to your blog from social media references or search engines. For the true reader, you need to give them much more of an experience to truly reach them. This is where AppMakr can make your blog shine.
Scott Suhy, the CEO of Point About Inc, and I go back to our days at Microsoft. He is a business leader and technologist that I greatly respect. Scott introduced me to his company’s mobile application offering called AppMakr on a Saturday morning.
After I got off the phone with Scott, I blew up Jerod’s phone and then started to bug Matt. ”Jerod, give me your top RSS feeds for MidwestSportsFans.Com!” . . . “Matt, I need you to make me a cool PNG file for an iPhone app!”. Well, fast forward to Saturday afternoon, I spent 15 minutes in a wizard, $200, and the Midwest Sports Fans iPhone application was born. After hitting “Go”, it appeared in the AppStore two weeks later!
Go download the FREE Midwest Sports Fans iPhone application and play with it. Then go to AppMakr and create one for your blog and play with it in their iPhone simulator. You can do that for free. . .if you want to publish it to the AppStore, this is where the $200 comes in. Of course, if you are subscribed to this blog, you might just win an iPhone application for your blog! We’ll announce it on Monday!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
How do I enter to win the free app? I clicked on the "Subscribe to our RSS Feed" link in the post and it took me to an email subscription page but I couldn't enter any info. So I subscribed through my Google Reader. I really want to win this! Thanks! =)
That will work. We get multiple views of the RSS feed and if for some reason or another you don't show, I'll put your name in the hat anyway! Thanks for the heads up on the link!
Where are you going to post the winner?
We contacted them directly and wrote a summary post after this.