Writing content your audience will love can feel totally overwhelming. Recently on Instagram, somebody asked me this:
“How do you sit down and write?? I know that sounds silly, but I've wanted to start a blog for a while… I'll come up with ideas and have a whole outline, then nothing….”
I think this is an issue that we all struggle with as bloggers or writers. Personally, when first starting out, I would have all the ideas, and then sit down to write, and nothing would come out because I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in it. I had this mental block. Then I switched things up, tried to find things that I am currently going through. This allows me to feel more passionate about the topic as I write. It also makes it a whole heck of a lot easier to infuse my personality when I am excited about something.
A year ago I started blogging again after a multi-year hiatus, I really struggled to find my voice. I wrote everything very stiff and text book-y because that’s what I was taught to do in school. I worried about curse words or jokes people wouldn’t get. Ultimately I hated what I was producing and so did others. the page views and shares were low, and nobody was interested because I wasn’t saying anything interesting.
Now I am definitely not a fantastic writer. I have plenty of disclaimers throughout my site about typos and grammar. No matter how many times I proofread, there will always be a typo. I like to think they show my passion for the topic, I'm typing so fast and thinking so fast about sharing something with you all that I can't contain the excitement and overlook those things. One thing people who know my IRL always tell me is they can hear me when I am writing. For those who don't know what my voice sounds like in IRL, they give me the same feedback, they tell me it feels like we are in a conversation or hanging out. It's engaging. *seriously my heart is melting even writing this, thanks for the feedback guys*
I am not telling you this to toot my own horn, I am telling you this because I feel like it was the key that nobody told me when I first launched my business online in 2015. The internet is full of content, very useful and relevant content, but if I am zoning out after the first paragraph, does it really matter how valuable or useful the content really is?
No, because nobody will remember it.
So how can you be engaging on-line? 3 Tips for creating content your audience will love:
1. Real Talk.
Talk about real issues or questions that you are experiencing n your life. Are you teaching yourself a new skill? Are you struggling to tackle a topic or experience in your life? Write about it! Chances are if you are feeling puzzled by it others are too!
2. Know Your Audience.
Check out the demographics section in your google analytics. It actually will tell you what your audience is interested in! people that read my blog are typically interested in home, career/business advice, travel tips, and entertainment (tv/movies), and finance. Which makes sense since that’s what I primarily write about. Since I have a lifestyle blog, it’s especially important to understand what my audience is interested in because there are so many possibilities of what I can write about!
4. Answer Questions.
Write about questions your audience frequently asks you about! If people are asking you questions, chances are they see you as an expert in that space or like what you have to say, so use this opportunity to reach a larger audience with your expertise or voice! *Don't forget to drop me an e-mail or comment and ask me a question for “Ask Rachel“!*
5. Know Your Mission.
Get clear on your blog's mission statement. The theme of my blog is providing valuable advice based off my real life experience or research. I want to help other confused millennials navigate this whole “adult” thing. Each of my posts go through a similar formula, where I talk about either a question or topic, my experience/struggle with it, and close with a valuable solution or life lesson. This makes it a lot easier for filtering information or ideas into “useful or not useful”.
[RELATED] Writing Your Life's Mission Statement –> it'll help your write your blog mission statement!
If you are still feeling stuck, grab this list of content creation ideas I put together. You can use these for social media or blog posts!
Lately I feel like my blog is all over the place. It’s mostly for me as more of an online journal but I want to connect with others at the same time. It’s hard to find that balance! Great post with lots of helpful tips for getting out of a rut. Time to reassess!
Totally agree with all of these! I def agree that knowing your audience is so important!
This is super helpful! I *think* I write like I talk? But I resonate with you as far as feeling like you’re supposed to write a certain way because that’s what school taught. It’s tough to break out of that. Because I DO talk about some clinical-type stuff, I have to remind myself to not use clinical language and that’s difficult! I’m learning. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Haha you are doing great though!! It’s okay to use clinical language as long as you explain it I think!
I definitely agree with these. Knowing your audience is super important!
These are all such great tips! I love the “real talk” idea, I think it’s something I’m gonna try out in the future on my blog 🙂 Also, I hear ya on the typos girl…no matter how many times I proofread there’s always at least one typo that somehow squeaks by!
Kristen | http://www.sophisticatedgal.com
I think knowing your audience is super important! I know the stats on what % are males and females. I even though what % comes from my state, and even what % comes from my city! As of now, over 78% of my Kentucky traffic is from my city!
Yes to all of these! Another great post, Rachel.
These are great tips! Plus I love anything with a Boy Meets World Gif!
Sticking to your mission is so important. Thank you for the pointers.
Great tips. It took time to get to know my audience and define my niche but totally worth it.
So true – even great writers can forget that posts need to provide value for their audience. When you’re not regularly digging in to your analytics (as I’m definitely guilty of when things get busy), you can get far away from what your audience actually wants.
Great advice. I feel like finding a voice online is really hard. It’s something I had a hard time doing and still do sometimes, but I’m learning and re-evaluating things so that my posts are lot better. Thanks for sharing.
Yes! Love this post (and the GIFs!).
These are great tips and I love the idea of revamping old content!
I love this! I’ve been working on knowing my audience more and more lately. Since I’ve been doing so it’s definitely helping me with comments from my readers!
xx
The Felicia Renee | a minimalist lifestyle & beauty blog
Love this so much! As a new blogger, I definitely struggled with finding my voice (and still do sometimes), but engaging more and more with my audience really helps build my confidence! I finally started working out my content planner in advance and keeping those things I get from my audience in my mind when I do so I can really work at proving that value to them.
Yes! engaging is key!
I didn’t realize you could find all that information in the demographics section of GA. I’ll have to look into this more.
Yes! It’s a life saver!
Good tips! Google analytics really help me to know who I’m writing to!
i think being real always helps. People love authenticity! Answering questions also draws people in because it shows that you’re truly there for them. Thanks for this.
YESSS!! You have to show you care and there’s a direct connection to you today!
I love this! Yes to Real Talk! I really appreciate it when someone being real with me. And knowing your audience. The thing I struggle with is even though I see the analytics when I ask the readers what they want the answers suggest that they don’t know what they want. haha Maybe I just need to go off of analytics alone but that is something I have noticed lately.
What do you mean? Like you ask readers what they want, you write a post, and the analytics show it doesnt do well? It could be a titling/marketing issue if thats the case, not that your readers don’t want it. I would look at your return visitor rate to get a better idea of that though!