Recently, Sokol Blosser offered a chocolate bar to anyone who answered their "How do you read our blog?" survey, which asked:
- When and how did you first come across the Sokol Blosser Wine Blog?
- How long have you been reading the Sokol Blosser Wine Blog?
- Do you subscribe to the SB Blog using an RSS feeder?
- How often do you check the Sokol Blosser Wine Blog for updates?5
- What would you like to see more of? (i.e., more pictures? More vineyard updates? More quirky Tasting Room stories?)
This is a great idea - asking people who are interested in your blog how they found it, how they read it, and what they would like. People who read your blog are your fans, and this survey gives Sokol Blosser information about how to best appeal to their fans.
Since I'm easily bribed with chocolate, I immediately e-mailed my responses to their questions, and got a nice e-mail right back acknowledging they had received it (a good sign). Today, The Noir Bar, a bar of "rustic grown organic dark chocolate...made for Sokol Blosser by Dagoba Organic Chocolate," arrived at my office, along with a nice handwritten note from Kitri Culbertson ("Marketing Assistant"):
Hi, Mike,
Thanks again for your response to our blog poll. Your insights are extremely valuable, and we're looking forward to implementing them on our site. We'll try to get more posts on there so you have something to check everyday at work. :) Thanks again.
Cheers,
Kitri Culbertson
What a pleasant surprise, and a great example of how a mix of blogs, e-mail, and the physical world (a handwritten note and of course, chocolate) can really strengthen a bond with someone you've never met. And now, here I am, spreading my positive impression of Sokol Blosser, and wondering where I can get a bottle of their wine to taste (and reciprocate by spending some of my money on their wine).
Sokol Blosser correctly realizes that people who read their blog are fans of Sokol Blosser (for whatever reason). People *choose* to read your blog - they are a self-selected audience who want to hear what you have to say, and interact with you.
(Another example? Crush Wine & Spirits Company, the Best New Wine Shop in America according to Food & Wine magazine, casually offers a 15% discount to readers of its blog on certain wines. They make it worthwhile for people to pay attention to their blog, which in turn, allows them to tell stories to those readers, some of whom will end up being customers.)
Comments