You have defined your blog’s niche and planned your blog’s content and editorial calendar.
You now want to focus on writing the content that will attract you your ideal reader. When writing content for your blog it’s important to make sure you’re creating the right content.
What’s the “right” content? Content that appeals to your niche’s audience
Writing for a niche blog can be tough you are not quite sure what the audience wants and you have to fall back and rely on some analytics to grips with what’s popular and what is not.
Before we even look at the hows and whys of the analytics we need to look at the 3 things your blog will need from you.
Your voice
As a business blogger you may have a different voice from your personal blog. My personal blog’s voice is different from how I blog here and how I blog on my transport blog. If you are highly opinionated you might want to save that for your personal blog unless you think that your strong opinion will win you business.
Establishing a strong voice can put some people off of your content, but if they are not your ideal reader then it’s not a problem. It’ll also attract other opinionated people and lively debate will ensure. It’s a bit of give and take.
Constantly sitting on the fence and having no opinions at all, clearly showing both sides of the story might be a good voice for your blog’s niche. Explore other blogs in your industry and see what voice they have.. You don’t have to emulate / mimic the voice of the popular blogs. You just have to find a voice that works for you.
A voice does help brand your business blog and helps establish your likeability. Liking someone or something is a very important buying trigger. We buy from people and companies we like and trust.
Format
Online content is formatted much differently when compared to print content. It’s difficult to read large blocks of text online you know that, and you know that people have to pack in more action in less time; they’re exposed to so much information on a daily basis. People now tend to skim read blog posts. They look for keywords and nuggets of information rather than reading an entire article.
Your formatting should support their reading style.
- Bullets
- Lists
- Sub-headings
- Bold lettering
- Images
These all help guide your reader through your blog posts. Of course all the fancy formatting in the world will not cover poor or shoddy content. Good formatting aids your reader and encourages them to become part of your audience as they have found useful, easy to read information.
Need
What does your audience need? A content mix is vital. Blog posts should not to be limited to how-to posts and opinion pieces, even though these styles of blog post are very popular and very useful.
You should also create checklists, write reviews, publish opinion or editorial pieces or simply offer information. Pay attention to what your audience actually needs from you – if in doubt ask them. Then give them what they need.
As you begin to learn what your audience responds to you can devise a more consistent content plan. Take a look at your stats / analytics and see what your audience is searching for and what they are finding. Are they leaving just after finding your content? If so it’s not adding the value they are seeking.
Look at creating new content for those phrases and see if meets your readers needs in it’s new guise. Keep tweaking and testing your content mix till you are happy that your audience is having their needs met.
In the short do your best based on the three suggestions listed above -
- Format for your reader
- Try to offer value that fits your audience’s needs
- Establish your own voice
These are just three things your blog needs right now. There are more, but these are immediate and key. How are you shaping up when it comes to them?
| Get our posts straight to your inbox! |    |
About Sarah Arrow
[...] Nice transition into this one eh? Tons has been written on the notion of “content is king.” [...]
[...] and Safer BMW DriverSteve Jobs: A Few Memories3 Things To Do If There Is No Progress In Your Life3 Things Your Blog Needs From You Right Now – For Bloggers By Bloggers3 Things Your Blog Needs From You Right Now – For Bloggers By Bloggers var mySocialLinksBarWPPath [...]