Reconnect with your readers in the mobile era
In our last post we explained how you can reimagine your blog in the mobile era. Today let's focus on your readers... and how you can literally "stay in touch" with them now.
Smartphones and tablets are changing people's daily routines all around the world. After the desktop computer was the dominant online platform and command center of all digital activities, we saw the multi-platform era. In 2014 another key milestone was reached. The authors of comScore's report call it the app majority. Why? Because in the US, the majority of digital media consumption takes place in mobile apps today (comScore study, 2014). That means mobile apps eat up more of the Americans' time than desktop usage or mobile web surfing.
People don't subscribe to your content as they used to:
- RSS? - this standard was too geeky on one hand, and too "open" on the other - Google killed their Reader app and Apple removed support of RSS from Safari browser... making RSS a very rarely used now way of subscribing to your content
- Bookmarks - people stopped using bookmarks / favorites in their browsers a while ago. Social bookmarking sites like "Delicious" also stopped being popular anymore. No, people won't bookmark your blog.
- Email - yes, email marketing is still alive and kicking. However, very few bloggers really focus on email list building... and when they do these emails are not very likely to be read. The trend is obvious: every year we're receiving more and more email messages so this channel is getting crowded... and now Google Mail introduced three new tabs and most of the communication goes to the "Promotions" tab now, so the likelihood of your emails being opened is getting slimmer.
Give people an easy way to subscribe to you
When you have your own mobile app, you just point them to download your iPhone/iPad/Android magazine app and that's it. They're subscribed:
- They will never have to look for your blog again.
- You won't have to ask for their e-mail addresses and send them newsletters.
- They'll receive direct push notifications from you. They'll be coming back.
You can stay "in touch" with your readers better
Yes, thanks to Remag you can be on their home screen. Imagine, once you make your headshot your app icon - the readers will look into your eyes many times a day :)
Reach your followers where they are
Look at the successful media publishers and find at least one who doesn't have a mobile app. Impossible? Of course, because in mobile-first times you can't afford not having an app.
App will give your journal, magazine, business and, obviously - your blog visibility that goes beyond the Internet. It extends your reach straight to your readers' homes, purses, pockets. They needn't log onto their computers and search the Internet to find you. With your own app, you'll have a direct access to their personal mobile device that they carry everywhere with them.
And it is not just the US
The mobile-first era is not just happening in the most developed countries. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 1,004.2 million smartphones worldwide which accounted for 55.1% of worldwide mobile phone shipments. Along with the shipments come the changes in people's behaviors and habits...
...also reading habits
A "mobile reading revolution" takes place also in developing African countries where after a year-long study by Unesco it was found that adults and children are increasingly reading multiple books and stories on their phones. The study proved that "people read more when they read on mobile devices and that they enjoy reading more".
Don't lag behind
A blogger like you shouldn't miss the opportunity to build a stronger and closer relation with the readers. Try out Remag Wordpress plugin and move your blogpost from the Internet directly to your reader's home screens.
Posted on Thursday, March 19
