The Unexpected Benefit of Engaging with Readers
How to develop a never-ending string of ideas
There are many great reasons to engage with readers of your stories.
First of all, it’s polite. They gave you the time and attention to read your story and comment on it. The least you can do is read what they had to say, and thank them for their interest.
Second, it improves your writing. If many people are asking questions about a certain area, it means you were not as clear as you could have been. If many people are highlighting a passage, it means that produced value for them. This helps you see what to fix and what to do more of.
Third, they give you ideas.
Yes, that’s right. I get ideas from my readers. Because one reader was curious or interested in it, odds are pretty good others will be, too.
The types of responses that give me story ideas come in three basic types: general topic responses, specific questions from the reader, and comments that make you think. Here’s how to handle each type of response.
General topic responses
A general topic response is when a reader answers one of your articles by mentioning a topic. It could be something like “I’d love to hear more about your cute cats.”
Cute cats rule the internet. This is a topic that not only could I write about, but I probably should.
I don’t want to be just another crazy cat lady posting online about my babies, though. (They are the cutest, most intelligent, and most interesting cats ever, of course.) But let’s face it, they’re not as interesting as that cat the lady taught how to eat with a fork.
So I’ll tuck this thought in the back of my head, and when my cats do something interesting I’ll revisit it. Can I use that as the intro story for a greater point? Will it make the idea resonate better with the cat lovers out there?
And, just to be sure the cat lovers have a chance to admire my kitty’s brilliance, I’ll add the #cats tag.
Other ways to handle general topic responses
If the topic is one you have no interest in writing, thank the reader and bow out gracefully. For example, I do not wish to write articles on etiquette, even if my readers want to read them.
If you’re interested in the topic, and it matches your general niche, go for it! You can start with a limited series of articles about the topic, flagged with a kicker. Then see how they do with your larger audience. You may have just discovered a whole new vein to investigate and write about!
Specific questions from the reader
Sometimes, readers will latch on to an off-hand comment that I added for color or interest. They’ll ask for more information. They want to hear the story behind that!
Other times, they’ll focus on an area that I dealt with at a very high level of abstraction, and ask about it. How would that be applied in this particular situation? How is that different from this other explanation of a similar concept?
Tell me the story!
The story might be interesting or amusing, but without greater purpose. In those cases, I’ll make it the basis of a short-form.
Sometimes the story could be used to illustrate something. Or it could be combined with similar stories. In those cases, I’ll generally put it on my list of topic ideas for long-form stories.
It takes longer to research and write a long-form story, even if it’s about my own experiences. And I rotate through the main topics I write them about (writing, self-improvement, etc.). So I need to make enough notes to be able to write a story based on this in the future.
Interesting, but what about…?
If the reader just has a quick question, I’ll answer in the comments. But if it’s a longer elaboration, I may end up writing a follow-on article.
Unlike the “tell me a story” responses, this is one I’ll write right away. After all, the research is fresh in my mind, and there were probably a bunch of things I pruned out.
So I’ll write a story elaborating on the point that was questioned. Once it’s published, I may add a link to the new article from the original. The best way to do that would be an inline link from the passage that was originally questioned.
Comments that make you think
People often raise discussion points that send me scurrying down internet rabbit holes. In a comment about where people would like to live, someone mentioned needing a work visa.
That got me to thinking. If you were working remotely, the company you were working for could be in another country. Which country do you count as working in?
Turns out, this fascinating question had also been asked and answered on the internet. Technically, you count as working where you are physically located. So, you would need a work visa.
Many countries realize that’s needlessly bureaucratic in this day. They include provisions for a “working vacation” on their tourist visas. This is such a big deal, that Forbes ranks countries yearly on a digital nomad friendliness score.
Still others go out of their way to attract remote workers and digital nomads for longer stays. Those countries have special digital nomad and remote worker visas. The visas give you permission to work in the country, working online or for a company outside the country.
The original commenter was interested in this topic. I became interested in this topic. If Forbes rates countries on this yearly, clearly many other people are interested.
I put together my own spin on the information, produced an article, and got it published by The Startup.
Three steps for comments that make you think
As you can tell from this example, there are three parts to handling a comment that makes you think. First, there is identifying the broader question or context. Second, there is basic research to answer that question.
During the research, you’ll get a good sense of how many other people are interested in it. If a major publication such as Forbes or Psychology Today covered it, there’s interest. (Those are the ones that usually dovetail with my interests. Depending on your niche, you’ll have different bellwethers.)
Once you have found your answer, and scoped out the interest, make a call. Is there something you can contribute to the information, not just repeating it? Is there a likely audience for the information?
If the answers to both of those questions are yes, go ahead and write an article about it.
Conclusion
Engaging with your reader comments is polite, and makes you a better writer. It also gives you a never-ending stream of story ideas.
The three types of reader responses that lead to story ideas are:
- General topic responses
- Specific questions from the reader
- Comments that make you think
Each of these types of responses can be handled in a different way. Some produce stories immediately, and some produce stories for the future.
They all help you to write stories that you know will appeal to readers.
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