Replies vs. Comments: Which is Better Social Proof

Which is better, getting comments on your blog or replies to your email newsletter?I love to save time by writing a blog post and re-using it as a newsletter. The purpose is to provide valuable content, and the best way to tell if your content is valuable is if people interact.When I send a newsletter, I often encourage people to "head over to my blog and leave a comment." Instead, they often hit reply and send me their comment directly.It's so confusing!Now I thought that it would be better for my "social proof" to have a busy-looking blog.But the thing is, social proof is great, but what you want are active followers. That's exactly what I have with the replies!People write me back to tell me they love my newsletter. That is actually the ideal situation!You see, it signals to email service providers like Gmail and Yahoo that I'm the real deal. I'm a legit business that people want to hear from.Those replies keep my emails out of the spam folder.So I shifted my perspective on this. I DO have engaged followers. They love engaging with ME, not my blog. And I welcome that. (Of course, I would love some comments on my blog too.)I love interacting with people and replying to their replies. It makes my day! I can grab a screenshot of their emails if I want to assure myself of my social proof. But often, those people who feel comfortable replying to me will eventually become buyers.

Take Action Now

When you send that initial email after someone opts into your list, ask them to hit reply and answer a really juicy, yet realistic, question. Get them to engage with you from the beginning.If you're already sending newsletters, add that "hit reply" note to the end of your newsletter. Test it out for a few weeks and see if you get some engagement. Then add "comment on my blog" and see what kind of engagement you get.It's worth a test.Let me know how it goes!