You can build your audience all you want, but if you your website turns visitors off, you’re sunk.Your reputation is vital, and the way you hone visitors’ perception of your online presence can mean the difference between merely landing a customer and cultivating a brand advocate.

Here’s how to market your blog and develop a longstanding relationship with your audience:

Respond quickly and decisively.Don’t wait the weekend to respond to concerned or curious users, or they’ll have forgotten about their concern (unless it’s an emergency), and you’ll have missed your chance to engage.

Consider the following:

Turn idle time into an opportunity. Try responding to a comment or two while standing in line for coffee or waiting for a late meeting to start.
Assign each social media platform its own section of time. Use tools such as HootSuite to manage your presence.
Remember not to get hung up on messages you’ve already sent. If they don’t work in their intended way, learn from the experience.
Solve the deeper problem.Customers’ complaints are opportunities. If you solve their problem, they’ll be likely to return. Before you interact in any manner, ask: “What is the reader or customer really looking for, and how can I satisfy that need?”

Make sure your site looks clean and operates well.Speed up and visually enhance your website with these approaches:

Eliminate unnecessary scripts, as they increase load times. You don’t need all the latest scripts to have a high-quality website.
Maintain a focus. You needn’t have a minimalistic approach, but make sure every element has a purpose.
Use attractive fonts and design elements that align with the site’s tone and objective.
Make the most of social media.Think of online networking as an opportunity for your organization, and consider the long-term growth of your site. You might create a placeholder account to head off trolls or competitors looking to badmouth your product. Feed off positive energy flowing toward your brand.

Don’t waste readers’ time.

Your readers want to know to how you can solve their particular problem. When you send out an email, make sure you are offering something useful to them, rather than a minor deal or a brief update about an experimental program that excites only you.

Key on transparency and trust.Readers don’t want to worry about becoming scam victims. Foster trust with your readers by ensuring your website and equipment are secure. A security breach would destroy even strong reader relationships, not to mention the fledgling ones.

Protect yourself with these steps:

Make sure your website isn’t vulnerable to XSS attacks and that your readers’ (or clients’) data aren’t being stolen. A cybercriminal might commit the crime, but many people would hold you and your website responsible.
Practice safe public network use, and avoid data sniffing while away from the office. Be aware of the types of data you are sharing, and use a reliable VPN to encrypt your information and remain anonymous while performing research and communicating with readers. Their safety is on the line.
Remember the basics of cybersecurity. Don’t let scammers get to you or let malware infect your system. Keep your email safe, and stay up to date with the latest threats. Do whatever it takes to safeguard your website and build trust among readers.
Be generous, welcoming and rewarding.

Adjust your language to be open and welcoming: Anyone is welcome to read your site or try your product, and you are there to help in any capacity you can. Emphasize that point; make it part of your mission statement and your newsletters.

The online landscape is constantly changing, but human nature is more stable. Build a reputation for excellence. Treat readers the way you would like to be treated—or better.

Cassie Phillips is a marketing professional and technology writer for securethoughts.com. A version of this article originally appeared on the Media Moguls PR blog.