In this post we continue the series about paid reviews, it will give you no less than 12 tips on getting the most out of your reviews, whether they’re paid or not. Read the first two posts in this series before trying to grasp this one:

Mission Codename: Retain & Sustain

In the last post of this series, titled “should you get a blog review?” I mentioned “the day after” syndrome, you know - after you got hundreds of visitors and quadrupled your Adsense earnings, you suddenly realize not much is left of the review effect, which can be quite depressing.

To avoid “the day after” syndrome, aim to retain as many newcomers and to sustain readership for the long-term, a month after the review is a good time to give the verdict.

12 Tips to Retain & Sustain Readership

1. Welcome the newcomers - A welcome post greatly improves the odds that newcomers will stick around; firstly because you get their immediate attention and make sure they’re reading what you have to say, they know this post was tailored for them and will read it.

Another reason to write a welcome post is the ability to draw the newcomers’ attention to your best posts and RSS feed. Make sure the post is comprehensive, but not too long. (example here)

2. Tell them who you are - Whether the reviewed blog is personal or not, let the readers know who’s blog they’re reading, or what the blog is about; if you did target the right audience, they should be intrigued to read furthermore.

3. Crystallize your mission - After you’ve told them who you are, or what your blog is about, tell them why it was opened and what you aim to achieve through it.

4. Stand out - Remember people are more likely to stick around when they read something interesting, it can be the fact you’re a problogger, details about your growth or just something that will pump their pulse a bit higher (not too high though).

5. Stretch your popular & favorite posts - Traffic spikes is your prime time, it’s either you’re getting the people to watch the best show, or just let them get lost in your archives. Don’t miss the chance to strut your stuff, you paid for it.

6. Promote your feed - Something I don’t even need to explain. Plug your feed in the welcome post, if not - somewhere very visible. Just like when someone first comes to your business, you hand him your calling card to put in his pocket, so next time he’s around he knows where to go.

7. Promise something - Tell your readers about the upcoming post or promise them an exciting new feature, what is it all about and why they should comeback for their second (and hopefully not last time) to read it; building anticipation is one of the surefire ways to keep first and regular visitors coming.

8. Keep it real - The last three tips encourage you to use effective marketing methods to retain as many first time readers as possible, however, don’t exploit these as it will come back to you as a boomerang, especially don’t promise something you can’t deliver.

9. Respond to comments - A review may raise many questions about your blog, comments is the fastest way for readers to ask and get their questions answered, don’t ignore them.

10. Comment back - Show your commentators some appreciation by not only responding to their comments on your blog, but also heading to their own blogs and leaving insightful and useful comments.

11. Observations - It’s important to keep an eye on what were people most interested about, which posts got their attention and what kind of questions they were asking; this kind of observation should tell you what needs to be improved and which are the right strings to strum.

12. Momentum - Many people decide to get a review after writing a great post; and while readers will be impressed by what you wrote two days ago, don’t just sit there and smile to the screen, think about your next great post because if you don’t, you’re losing momentum.