I was talking with a friend who recently sent out a thank you note to subscribers.

And for this heartfelt note, we didn’t get any replies.

He was disappointed.

I told him not to worry because this is how subscribers behave.

Subscribers are people first. And, like people, many of them are not very communicative and are busy with their lives.

Even then, here is how you can get a lurking audience to engage:

1/ Increase SIZE. The bigger the audience, the more the chances that some will talk because engagement is also a function of numbers.

2/ Increase VALUE. Compress content and give more value in less time. Talk to know them better. Share what they need and want.

3/ Ask them to TALK. Ask your audience to comment, write back or vote for a poll. Your audience may be busy. If you don’t ask, they may not do it.

4/ Offer INCENTIVES. Give them freebies from time to time or give access like an opportunity to talk to those who engage.

Like in Nov last year, I got people to sign up for a giveaway where I gave away top marketing books, which got people to write back more than usual.

5/ TALK to your audience. For example, I recently asked my marketing newsletter subscribers (~12k) and will shortly schedule a time to talk to those who wrote back and wanted to talk. It may take several hours, but it will forge a strong connection and help me know them better.

6/ Be seen more. Audience engagement is also a function of trust and how often they see you outside the newsletter, so publishing regular content outside a newsletter and in places where your audience hangout will make you be seen in the right places, increasing trust and hence engagement.

Try these ideas and let me know on Twitter how useful they are.