The most effective use for a blog is to use it to convert sales and turn readers into customers.
While that’s the goal, many of us don’t create effective content that’s tailored for the target market we’re actually trying to reach.
Why would your audience want to read your blog? Are you offering valuable information that meets their needs and solves a problem?
How can you reach the right audience and convert your time spent creating content into actual results? We answer all these questions and more, below.
1. Identify your target market.
Before you can create quality content, you have to know who your target demographic is. Are they male or female, old or young? What are their interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes? All of the answers to these questions are key when developing content that’s customized toward your audience.
There are several ways you can find out who your readers are:
- Do a simple survey. This can be via email or with a service like SurveyMonkey. Don’t make the questionnaire too long, but do ask specific questions that will help you narrow down your target market.
- Look at your blog’s analytics. If you haven’t already, sign up for a free account with Google Analytics so you can see who’s reading your articles, what part of the world they are in, as well as how they found out about your blog ( through an online search or link from another site).
- Develop a customer avatar. Give your reader a name, along with personal characteristics and fill in the details of their life. How much money do they make? Are they employed, self-employed or unemployed? Treat your customer avatar like a real person!
Once you know who your audience is, it will be simple to create content catered directly to them, their needs and their interests. You may even find that you have several different demographics, and can work on finding ways to blend information so it’s helpful to everyone reading.
2. Understand how they like to consume information.
How do your readers like to consume their information? Do they prefer to read it, listen to it or watch it in a video? Understanding how they like to consume content is just as important as the value you provide. This could be a question you list out in the survey mentioned above.
It also depends on your own brand’s aesthetic for publishing content. If you have a knack for writing, then obviously written content will be your best bet, and can really showcase your skills. If your brand relies very heavily on visual products and content, then creating videos is the best way to go.
It’s really important you take the time to confirm the best route for your own brand, and for the audience you’re trying to target. Once you find that sweet spot, it will be easy to connect with your readers on a deeper level and them with you.
3. Solve a difficult problem.
What are the main issues your audience is facing? What problem can you solve for them that displays your experience, knowledge or skills? If you can help ease a pain point for people, they will remember you and your site long into the future.
Give your readers a quick win — something they can see results from within the first 5 minutes of reading and applying your tips. This will establish your blog as a site that brings solid, but quick results and solves issues that are pain points.
This is why it’s vital you talk directly to your readers when you’re publishing blog posts. Use words they can relate to and easily understand. Just as important, however, is the fact of sharing your personal experiences and how you solved a particular issue. People relate to other people, not to hypothetical situations.
4. Be specific with your words.
This tip relates back to tip #1 so make sure you’ve done the research up-front. If you don’t know who your audience is, you won’t know the kind of language and wording they use. For example, Millennials will be more adept to social media lingo (like using #hashtags), whereas older generations will have understandings about using Facebook, but that’s about it.
You don’t want to use words that make your audience feel overwhelmed or outdated, and you also don’t want to make it too simple. It’s important you find middle ground and strike a good balance. Don’t be afraid to address topics specifically, and share case studies and personal experiences that you or your brand has faced. Be as specific as possible!
5. Ask the right questions.
Your readers want to be entertained, find help when they need it and also feel like they’re part of the community. Essentially, how are you going to engage your readers to make them feel comfortable interacting and reading your content? The first step to this is asking the right questions.
Find what fires up your readers and what they respond to most. Maybe it’s a controversial topic like stay-at-home moms versus working moms. A heated subject like this will draw out your audience’s opinion and let you know what their views are.
Of course, you don’t want to write content specifically for creating controversy, but it can be a good source of engagement and feedback.
Once you take time to go through each of these steps you’ll have a better understanding of how to relate to your audience, and properly leverage your blog to enhance your brand.
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