Presentation from the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference by Mary Cressler and Sean Martin. How to Increase Your Audience and Engagement: From social media groups to television producers, freelancing to working with other media sites, find ways to promote your blog and increase your community engagement.

1. Wine Bloggers Conference | 2016
Increasing Your Audience and Engagement
Mary Cressler & Sean Martin (Vindulge.com)
Instagram: @marycressler @emberandvine
Twitter: @marycressler @vindulge
Facebook: Vindulge
Photo credit, Del Munroe Photography
*Please ask permission before sharing or using any of this content*

2. 2009: Blog
Started
2015: Co-
Started Ember
and Vine
2010:
Moved to
Connecticut,
KIDS!!
2012: First
Press Trip
&
Freelance
2012:
Focus on
Photos
2013: Print
Publications
& Return to
OR
2014: Won
Recipe
Competition
Vindulge: A Journey Over Time
Photo
of Blog
Post
Is there one constant that was a theme
throughout the years and focus?
Yes – TWIN BOYS and LIFE

3. What we hope you get out of the session
• The Journey and a Plan
• Foundations
• Your Audience
• Building Relationships | Engagement
• Branching Out

4. There Is No One Way To Approach Your Blog’s Journey
Photo Credit: www.lordoftherings.com
Is it a hobby?
Is it your personal journal?
Is it a business?

5. “When Wine Folly was first
incepted it was in 2010 and it
peetered out because I didn't take
it seriously. So, when I restarted
Wine Folly (this time with the help
of 2 partners), we took it seriously:
with a core vision, values and
planning to topics and goals. As
soon as you think of your
work as business, you start
holding yourself
accountable to its
success. It not about you, it's for
your readers and customers.”
-Madeline Puckette, Wine Folly

6. Starts with a Foundation

7. Audience • Focus less on a niche, and more on who is your reader
• In order to increase your audience you need to know who it is

8. Who is your audience?
“Think about the
individual instead of the
audience. When you're creating
content think about how you can
help a specific person with their
specific need. It's not about
numbers, it's about impact, and
you make an impact by having a
clear understanding of what
people need and finding a way
to genuinely and authentically
engage with them in a way that
fills that need.”
– Bjork Ostrom, Food Blogger Pro
& Pinch of Yum

9. Vindulge Reader
Visualize your reader
Focus Your Content
Have a plan
•Novice Wine Consumer
•Wants to Branch Out
•Family
•Wants to cook with her family

10. Have Email Sign Up Form (Mailchimp, SumoMe, Wufuu)
• In Multiple Locations on Your Blog
• Pop up!
Do you have an email sign up form?

11. Social Media: What is your strategy?

12. Social Media: What is your strategy?

13. Social Media:
What is your
strategy?

14. Enter
To Win!
Leveraging Give A Ways
• Consider only items you would use – avoid temptations
• Use Widgets to capture information and increase chances
• Preview gadget as a post
• Sponsor should take on all the cost to ship
• Stay connected with reader, ask them to leave a comment as
testimonial
• Consider hosting a large give a way with other bloggers

15. TO NICHE OR NOT TO NICHE?
“Focusing in on a niche subject, Washington, was easily the most important decision I
ever made in my blogging career. Rather than looking to cover a huge vast world, as
many bloggers do, I was able to focus on a single subject and become, over time, an
expert in that subject. That expertise eventually led to writing and speaking
engagements that have allowed me to sustain myself as a freelance writer.
One word of caution about this, you don't want to go too small or too big in terms of
subject matter. Go too small and you're niche may have too small of an audience. Go
too broad and you may not be focused enough to get a command of the field.”
-Sean Sullivan

16. “Being a lifestyle writer allows me to enjoy the things I really love in life such as travel, food,
wine & cocktails, arts & entertainment--often with my family--and make a good living at it. My
audience and community are engaged because they see that what I talk about are things I
truly love. That community grows every time I post or tweet because they can see in the
content I post the excitement of what I share. That engagement can happen whether you have
a lifestyle blog or a niche blog. I parlayed into lifestyle when I realized I could get paid to travel
and see the world and explore new things--whether in wine country or Costa Rica.”
TO NICHE OR NOT TO NICHE?

17. Find new audiences
OUTSIDE of wine
Clive Pursehouse
Northwest Wine Anthem
Peloton Magazine

21. Come for
the food,
Stay for
the wine

22. Source: www.freepressmedia.com
Engagement | Get Them Coming Back
How do you measure engagement?
Comments
Sharing on Social Media
Time Spent on Site and Pages
How Much are They Reading & Exploring
Links Back
Subscribers

23. Provide a Call to Action –
i.e. ASK for Engagement!

24. Sharing on Social Media:
Instagram, connect with influencers in your niche!

25. Sharing on Social Media:
Instagram, connect with influencers in your niche!

26. Sharing on Social Media:
Instagram, connect with influencers in your niche!

27. Sharing on Social Media: Pinterest, create Pinnable Images!

30. Pinnable Images

31. Pinterest Group Boards

32. Pinterest
Group
Boards

33. Join Useful Facebook Groups

34. Be Thought Provoking

35. BRANCHING OUTSIDE YOUR BLOG ……

37. TV APPEARANCES

38. Sample Pitch to News Station

39. If you don’t know where to start when it
comes to freelancing….
Email me!!!!!
mary@vindulge.com
@marycressler

40. Video Link

41. VISUALS
VISUALS
VISUALS

42. “I started to focus on my photography when I
saw the direct correlation between improved
visuals and improved engagement. That was
about 6 months into the start of my blog. At the
time, I saw it most tangibly through food
sharing sites like FoodGawker or Tastespotting.
The better the photo I posted to these sites, the
more engagement (clicks, favorites, etc.) that I
would see from that submission. Once I saw
how much photography actually did impact my
blog's performance, I wanted to keep learning
and practicing as much as possible.”
-Lindsay Ostrom, Pinch of Yum and author of
Tasty Food Photography

43. Drink Piquepoul!
I.E. utilize your unique voice

44. Be Genuine

45. Thank You

46. Vindulge.com
Instagram:
@marycressler
@emberandvine
Twitter:
@marycressler
@vindulge
Facebook: Vindulge
Cheers!!!
Photo credit, Del Munroe Photography