That’s right: you don’t find your audience. They find you. Your job, as a blogger, is to make it easy for them to find you when they decide to look for information. It’s a simple formula, but it’s so easy to get off-track.
- Identify your audience, or “Tribe” if you prefer. You’d be surprised how few bloggers even think about this. If you’re writing for one-legged ex-sailors with an unhealthy obsession with white whales, you will need to write differently than if your audience is primarily librarians who recommend books about sailors with an unhealthy obsession with white whales (also, these two groups will face different problems, I would guess).
- Understand your audience’s needs, desires, and frustrations. Do NOT assume they are just like you: they aren’t, although you may have some things in common. Do some research. Find bloggers who are already engaging your audience and read their posts and, just as important, read the comments.
- Once you understand who they are and what they need, share information that helps them solve a problem. Pick one problem per post. Another day, another problem, another blog post.
Worried you will run out of problems to help your audience solve? Don’t. Your audience will never run out of problems. Collectively, they have more problems, with more variations than you can possibly imagine. If you keep researching your audience (oh, did I forget to mention that’s an ongoing task?), and interact with them, you will discover new things you can help them with.
Their problems (it doesn’t have to be a big problem; it could be a small problem like “where can I find pipe tobacco locally?”) are what send them to Google in search of solutions. If you have created a focused, frequently updated resource of information and search engine magnet by writing blog posts that address their questions and issues, they will find you.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! I’ve had people asking me “What’s the point? Who cares what you’re doing?” as I’ve started my blog, and this is more or less my response: If I build it, they will come.
Ken – They will come, to the extent that you address issues/problems relevant to your audience. Be prepared to re-examine on a regular basis who your audience is and what they need. Good luck.
Hi Ray,
I really liked your post. Do you think that you don’t need to solve your audience’s problem in a post but instead you can touch on a subject that your audience finds interesting and the comments themselves can generate questions and solutions?
I am going to start a blog in the next couple of weeks and my aim is to touch on subjects my audience may not have thought about too deeply. I want them to get talking and thinking around it. Identification of the problem/issue itself may provide enough value without having to give a solid solution.
Anyway, really enjoyed your post. If you ever fancy chatting on twitter I will put details below.
Thanks
Rob – http://www.twitter.com/robertpickstone
Rob – Completely solving all of your audience’s problems isn’t really the goal (and it would be damned difficult to pull off). Occasionally you may offer something that is exactly what someone needs to solve their problem. More often, your role is pointing them in the right direction. And remember to offer a point of view or opinion when appropriate: take a position; go out on a limb; invite disagreement. That’s how discussions develop.