Audience Involvement Exercises Build Trust and Relationships

Ask prospects to contribute by writing in with questions or by doing exercises and taking action steps while consuming your content. Involvement is the key mechanism for building relationships and trust with your audience. Passive consumption creates passive audiences. When people act on your content — even small exercises — they form a different relationship with you and your material. The same principle applies when you ask for detailed survey responses: tell respondents explicitly to answer in depth and explain what's in it for them to provide comprehensive answers. Most people won't go into depth unless you specifically ask and show them the benefit of doing so. Involvement converts readers into participants, and participants into buyers.