Nuts.
After visiting a handful of new blogs the past few days I spotted an alarming trend.
A shocking number of bloggers are not easily accessible.
Check that.
An absurd number of bloggers cannot be reached.
Are you bonkers!
Seriously; imagine trying to grow an offline business without giving people a way to call you, email you, mail you or send you carrier pigeon messages.
I was stunned at how many bloggers have no contact page. Getting in touch with them was literally impossible, with no social media account links, no contact form and no email address listed on their blogs.
Of course you will struggle horribly to succeed with blogging if people cannot easily get in touch with you.
On the flip side, if you are highly and easily accessible you lay the foundation for growing a stunningly successful business.
Video
I filmed a video on Facebook explaining why you need to be easily reachable:
I want to share 4 tips to help you become an accessible blogger.
A1: Contact Page
Devote an entire page on your blog to giving readers an easy way to get in contact with you.
I was absolutely floored earlier today when I had to look around for 10 seconds to find a contact page.
I was even more flabbergasted when I looked around for a full minute only to find no contact page.
Are you kidding me?
How can a business owner not include a quick and easy way to find all of their contact information? Are you doing so because you fear getting spam?
This would be like a stockbroker who refuses to give out their cell phone number for fear of getting unsolicited calls.
Build a transparent contact page. Link to the page along the top of your blog or via your sidebar.
Never ever make it difficult to find this page until you make millions of dollars and have millions of readers. At that point, you can consider putting up barriers to entry.
Until that point you better make it easy for people to click your contact page and connect with you within seconds. At least if you want to build a successful blog.
1: Contact Form
Some readers will have little time to copy and paste an email address.
Posting a simple to fill out contact form gives readers a quick, easy and convenient way to connect with you within seconds.
If you fear getting spam through your contact form simply learn how to scan and delete spam entries quickly.
I can scan and label a high volume of spam emails in seconds; trust me, you develop this skill as your presence expands more quickly online.
2: Email Address
Post your email address in at least a few spots on your blog.
Consider pointing readers to your email either through your sidebar or on your contact page.
3: Social Media Accounts
Post at least 1 or 2 of your social media profile links to your blog.
Give readers a quick, easy way to get in touch with you.
Being accessible on social media sites is a non-negotiable these days. As more folks join Facebook and Twitter they expect bloggers or any online entrepreneurs to be active on a range of social sites.
Readers demand transparency. Be seen and easily contacted by maintaining a presence on social sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.
4: Email List
When someone joins your email list they can respond in a split second to your latest email newsletter, giving them quick access to you.
Build an email list. Connect with readers quickly and allow readers to connect with you quickly. 2 way street.
Your Turn
Are you easily accessible through these channels?