The post “11 Tips to Build a Personal Relationship with Your Audience” appeared first on ProBlogger.
Photo by Dooey Pham on Unsplash
Have you ever gotten too attached to a blog?
For me, there have been many times over the years that a blogger has spoken directly to me through their posts and/or podcasts. Some content creators (almost) seem to have the ability to communicate who is on the other end of their content and engage the reader/listener/viewer in a conversation.
A personal example of this is a podcaster named Rob Bell , who seems to speak directly to me every time I listen. Maybe because he has the same background as me and talks about topics that interest me, but also in his own personal and engaging way.
Whether you've ever had that experience or not, I think it's really interesting and important to see what these content creators are doing to make that connection with them. There is no doubt that some people have a natural ability to make personal connections. But for the rest of us, I think there are lessons we can adapt and use to create a more personalized experience for your blog visitors.
In this article, I want to share 11 tips for creating that personal connection, techniques I've seen from other content creators and tried myself and worked with my audience.
1. Tell personal stories
Storytelling is a very exciting technique: people love stories, and the more you can tell your story, the more intimate you will be. The stories you tell don't have to be deeply personal, heartfelt (although they can be), but any story that shows you have some experience with the topic you're talking about creates a strong and intimate connection with the reader. .
Here are 14 types of stories you can tell on your blog .
Photo by Kevin Erdwig on Unsplash
2. Write like you speak
Everyone's writing style will be slightly different, but I find I communicate much better when I write in a conversational style. If you've heard me speak at a conference or listened to my podcast , you'll know that I speak in a very conversational tone. And I've noticed that I get a lot more feedback when I use this style of writing—blog comments and reader emails—than when I use a more formal, authoritative, "teacher" tone.
To learn more about writing like a human, listen to this interview with Beth Dunn .
3. Use personal language
It's a small change in the way you write and it makes a big difference in how the reader perceives it. Whenever you use the word "you" in your letter or presentation, it's a very powerful thing. For example, the title of this blog post is "11 Tips for Creating a Personal Connection with Your Audience " rather than (personal) "...audience...". This combination immediately makes your reader think about his experience. And make it personal, not theoretical. Once you start addressing the reader personally, they begin to apply what you say to themselves and their situation and make it concrete and specific.
4. Introduce your reader
When you start visualizing your reader/listener/viewer instead of typing words into a computer, speaking into a microphone, or performing in front of a camera, you'll instantly personalize your message, delivery, and style. A very useful technique to bring your reader to life is to create an avatar for your reader and then have that avatar in front of you when creating content for them.
Here 's how to create reader avatars for your blog
5. Respond to the needs of real readers
One of the things you will determine when creating your reader avatar is their needs. Of course you can draw on experiences, issues and issues related to your topic, but you need to ask your readers questions to find out what their issues are. You can run a survey (if you've listened enough), ask questions on your blog, email list or social media to find out what your readers' needs, concerns, dreams and motivations are. The more you understand what your readers need, the more you'll know who they are (and they'll know you) and the more specific topics you'll be able to touch on.
6. Write about your readers' feelings, fears and dreams
When you get feedback on the needs of your readers, you get ideas for topics to discuss, but just as important (if not more important), you also get an idea of how they feel. You need to read between the lines of your audience's responses.
For example, I asked my audience for a blog:
- What is your biggest dream?
- What is your biggest problem?
I put all their responses into two word clouds (one for "Dream", one for "Challenge") to identify which themes arose. Yes, there were topics like "traffic", "content", "SEO", but there were also feelings like "fear", "fear", "fear", which were shared in the context of the topic: for example, " I'm afraid of SEO By expressing these feelings, I was able to write more empathetically and weave an emotional connection with my audience into my content.
An example of content I created was a podcast about dealing with imposter syndrome .
7. Get off topic now and then
On my two main blogs, ProBlogger and School of Digital Photography, I rarely go off topic, but if you check out my Instagram or Twitter accounts , as well as my podcast and newsletter , you'll see that I go off topic and include more lots of blogs and personal references about things other than photography. These off-topic quotes can resonate even more with your audience.
8. Use multimedia
Use different media to humanize yourself. When you write, you can write in a personal tone; But if you add your photo, your audience will see your face; They can hear your voice when you use audio; Video encourages you as a person and people can see your body language, energy, enthusiasm, your sense of humor... and live video can enhance the effect by adding interaction and audience engagement. Admittedly, not all of these things are right for everyone (some of them scare people off), but anything you can do to personalize your message will help.
Here's what happened when my wife, who started blogging anonymously, started sharing more of her information with her audience: How posting a simple selfie drove traffic, shares, and comments to a new blog .
9. Go to events
One of the strongest things I did in the early days of my blog was to attend events related to my blog topics. Attending events in person can take time and investment, but there are plenty of online meetings and events these days. Attending important events and interacting with people will help you understand the needs of your readers and how they might feel. Even if you don't meet your real readers, you will meet people like them and that will tell you a lot and help you create more personalized content.
10. Practice interaction
A reader once told me at an event that she had been reading ProBlogger blogs for years but had never felt a personal connection. When she joined the ProBlogger Community Group on Facebook and left her first comment, it really brought the blog to life and she felt a more personal connection with me for doing so. Many of your readers will be very passive: they will read/listen/watch your content but not say anything.
You can always make people: like something; give feedback; join the group; To send a letter; Register Vote in the survey... this will engage them and give them a little more exposure, and as a result, it will become a more personal experience for them and they will connect with you more. So call people to action! And when they interact with you, it's very important that you acknowledge their interaction and give them feedback. Even if you only interact with a small group of your audience, other people in your audience will see it and feel included.
11. Create content from the heart
One of the best things you can do when creating content is to get a feel for what you're writing or talking about. Writing about topics you like is one thing, but writing about topics you feel something about is a whole other level. Not every post you make has to be emotional and heartfelt. But allow yourself to talk to your emotions every now and then, whether it's an angry story, a sad story, or an emotional story. Allow yourself to feel something and express that emotion, and you'll create a deeper connection with your readers.
"There are no tears for either the writer or the reader. No surprise for the author, no surprise for the reader. - Robert Frost
An example of what my content was like was when I talked about the humbling awakening that changed my life and my blog . It comes from my heart and I got the answer.
If you don't want to get personal with your readers, they won't get personal with you. They take the lead. Modeling what you want from your readers and creating the personalized experience they expect from you and connecting with your audience is critical.
Now it's your turn... tell me what you think. Have you seen examples of bloggers creating personalized experiences with their audience? Have you tried any of these (or other) techniques yourself? what happened
Building a more personal connection is one way to build a community with your audience. To learn more about how to go beyond participation and unleash the power of community, the ProBlogger Build a Community course will help you turn your regular readers into a group of avid fans.
The post “11 Tips to Create a Personal Connection with Your Audience” appeared first on ProBlogger.