How to write a post that crackles with life and sparks replies
Do you know how to write a post for your online community that gets a response?
Most of us have had this experience. You’ve got a question or a great idea you’d like to share online. You lovingly write this post and share it on your social media or online community platform in anticipation of the praise, adulation, scintillating discussion, and feelings of well being.
But then, nothing happens. Crickets.
(Listen to this post on Racket.com)
Writing a post that’s likely to get responses from others can be a bit like looking into a crystal ball to divine the future. It is impossible to predict how others will respond to what you post.
As a community strategist, community manager, and community member going back to 1999, I’ve condensed some of my best tips here in this blog so that you can begin with an advantage.
As a community manager, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of day-to-day management. When you post, it’s got to count, so keeping a checklist handy so that you don’t miss an opportunity to get maximum response from others is important.
As a community member, your time is also precious. Remember the following suggestions as a way to stack the deck in your favor and get responses from others.
Content suggestions for a cracking good community post
Keep some of these content suggestions in mind to give you a better chance to get a good response from others.
Use a title that describes your post both accurately and creatively
Add an image or a video
Mention others who you think will be likely to respond (using the @ feature)
Ask questions that are open-ended (rather than yes-no)
If you want a response, you should ask for it
Formatting suggestions for a cracking good community post
Follow these formatting suggestions for a better response:
Post in the category most likely to get a response
Add tags that are appropriate to your topic, making it easier to find your post in search
Proofread your work to ensure that it’s understandable
Use formatting (like emphasized text or bullets) for emphasis of big ideas and readability
Avoid long chunks of text since most of us prefer to skim
Taking your post a step further
In addition to all of the above suggestions, you can go even further by making sure your post matches the tone of the community and subject matter. Does your post elicit an emotion? Does it create curiosity? Does the tone uplift and inspire? These qualities often result in more engaged responses from others in the community.
You can keep the conversation going too by making sure you respond to every post. Mention those who respond by name and thank them sincerely for replying.
Then keep them talking by asking further clarifying questions. You don’t want to belabor the conversation any more than you’d want to be the last person hanging out at a party, but sometimes conversations don’t really hit their stride until there have been a few really good back-and-forth exchanges.
You can really practice some conversational kung-fu by relating ideas from multiple people who respond, asking them to relate to each other, and maybe even suggesting a video call to further develop an idea. What began as a tentative inquiry with your post could become a full-blown collaboration, provided that was your aim.
Conclusion
So much online discussion can seem like it’s just a series of throwaway interactions, but taking some time to write something that paints a picture, captures the imagination of others, and sparks creative conversation and collaboration is worth the effort. What conversations have you sparked online today?
Do you have a suggestion for getting more engaged conversation from others online? Please respond with your experiences and ideas in the comments.
