One of the things that new bloggers struggle with is trying to find their own voice and knowing where to take a stand. It’s easy to cast the nets wide and try to catch readers of all interests and beliefs, but the problem is that it isn’t a great way to build a blog. You will find that many of the popular A-list blogs, such as Copyblogger, Problogger, or the Art of Non-Conformity, have clearly identified goals that can be easily understood within seconds of loading the page. As a result, they might not capture everyone, but they will capture people that identify with that message.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are bloggers that don’t really know what they want to say…they post about whatever crosses their mind. I did this at first, so I can’t claim innocence, but what happens is that every time your subject changes, your readers are forced to re-evaluate whether or not your message resonantes with them. If they don’t know what to expect from you, then they will go to another platform that is more consistent and reliable.
In my case, it wasn’t until I narrowed my topics and became blatantly honest that my RSS and newsletter numbers started increasing. Prior to that, every week was an effort in futility.
It’s always about us
Let’s be honest. We as consumers are finicky, and we have very little time to waste on things that don’t interest us. What happens when you try to be of interest to everyone is that you become of interest to no-one.
My advice is to simply take a stand on a subject, dig in, and fight from that foxhole. If you have a business blog, talk about why all the other business blogs suck. If you have a lifestyle design blog, highlight the flaws in the skittles and rainbows thinking that seems to prevail on most of these blogs.
Don’t feel like you have to agree with the experts all the time either. If you read a post by Chris Brogan that you don’t agree with, comment about it. Take it a step further by posting a response on your own blog. You will find that having an opinion, or in essence, taking a stand, will help you recruit a tribe that passionately agrees with you. Sure, you will lose a few people on the way, but what you are left with is a group of people that will hang on your every word and count on you to be unique. That’s how you build an audience, and that’s how you gain influence over your competitors.
For the record, I’m not interested in creating an opinion just to gain traction, but what I’m getting at is that you shouldn’t be afraid to be you. You’re passionate about something…you’ve believe in something…share that with us. I strongly believe that there is an audience for everyone, but you’ve got to be authentic to get access to that audience.
What can you do for me?
The secret to becoming a popular bloggers is identifying what you can do for your audience. People are searching for content that serves a purpose based on their current set of needs. We might want to be motivated, inspired, educated, or shown the way. No matter how you slice it though, the only way to get to a reader’s heart is by helping them do something…whatever it may be.
If you are struggling to build an audience, take a look through your archives and look for trends. See what posts worked well and which didn’t. Examine your tags and categories and do a quick inventory of the similarities. If they are all over the map, then consider re-writing them or deleting those that don’t fit.
From there, create a mission statement for your blog and list it on an about page. Make sure your headline and all of the above the fold action represents that mission statement. At that point, you need to be relentless with your messaging. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you should always be working to make sure that what you are saying is in alignment with how you feel on the inside. Once you’ve found your voice, you’ll be amazed how easy this game becomes.
Nathan Hangen is an entrepreneur, a social media consultant, and is working with Mike Cliffe Jones to crack the blogging code. Coming Soon in December, 2009.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent guest post! Thanks for sharing this — such a great one, filled with very useful insights for a blogger like me.
I find that blogging with meaning and authenticity is a key factor. It reflects in the passion your posts communicate and the reactions you get from readers. This is why I focus on writing whenever I have something to say on a topic, and when my writing can flow. Not when I know it’s been a whole week since my last post. I may post regularly, but I don’t write that way.
Eduard
Nathan,
You’ve definitely given me food for thought. I know that I”ve definitely taken a broader approach to content. But, I think that in the last few weeks I’ve started to be much more strategic with everything I’ve been doing.
Eduard: I know that I probably post alot, although I find that i tend to have much to write about and have learned to manage my time in such a way that I can write enough content to publish daily.
I know my approach is too broad. I’m dealing with it by increasing the quantity of material I’m producing. This is Dave Gray’s (xplane) technique of putting as many fishing lines in the water as you can, then seeing what bites.
Once something bites, I’ll be on it.
And focus is coming clearer. I’ve been decommissioning whole blogs last couple of weeks, rolling content into pages and subpages. I still have the material, if it gets a bite in the future, I’ll something to pull with.
@positively present – thanks!
@Ideas with a Kick – You’re absolutely right. I find it very difficult to blog about topics I’m not passionate about. The money usually comes in the niches I have experience in and have genuine interest in.
@Dave – Great point. I use that system too, but it’s hard to maintain your identity if you do that for too long.
The struggle is to stay interested in writing about one niche topic over a long period of time! Sometimes I think I have attention deficit disorder because I do like to write about diverse topics. Hopefully by putting a similar spin on each topic things will work out.
Also, without wanting to be contradictory – this blog is supposed to be about lifestyle design. Is it going for the lifestyle design for bloggers niche now?:)
Annabel – I agree, it is tough!
As for the topic – It’s my fault
it is simply my take on lifestyle design for bloggers, but I’m sure that Srinivas plans on steering it back once he kicks me out of here!