The post featured how to create a blog that will make a lasting impact on readers on ProBlogger.
Photo by Christian Angelo on Unsplash
If you want your blog to change the lives of those who read it, I recommend asking yourself three simple (but powerful) questions:
- Who are your readers?
- what do you need
- How will they change the result of reading your blog?
I've written about these questions very briefly before and suggested that they can be a great way to create a statement of purpose for a blog.
Since then, I've interviewed four ProBlogger readers who have answered these questions and applied them to their blogs, and in the process, have seen remarkable improvements in their blogs.
So today I would like to highlight them again.
Let's cover the first two together, and then look at the third.
Who are your readers? And what do they need?
Understanding who is reading your blog (or at least who you want to read your blog) and what their needs are is very important because it will give you information about:
- What type of content should you create (topics, writing style, etc.)
- How to attract readers to your blog
- How to interact with your readers and build a community on your blog
- How to monetize your blog (if that's your goal)
Understanding the reader gives you insight into things like design, which social networks to engage with, which subscription methods to use, how often to post, and more.
To illustrate this point, I have already posted an exercise for creating a profile for a reader or person. And if you're a ProBlogger member (membership is free), I have a worksheet that will walk you through the process of creating a reader avatar for your blog.
After all, knowing who is reading it is a huge step in creating a useful blog.
Without this light, you'll get stuck in the dark!
How will your readers change as a result of reading your blog?
Over the years, I have paid a lot of attention to understanding readers' needs, but only in the last year have I taken the next step and thought about how to " change " readers .
Knowing who is reading is one thing, but if you want to create an epic blog, your blog should make an impact on people .
I recently spoke about this idea at a conference and shared the next slide. Although I didn't spend a lot of time deconstructing this idea, it was the most common quote in my Twitter chat.
Photo by Kate Davis on Unsplash
Blogs that change people are blogs that will keep people coming back again and again.
Blogs that change people are blogs that build trust and communication with their readers.
Blogs that change people are blogs that readers share with their networks.
I've always known this, it's not exactly rocket science, but for some reason I didn't understand the changes I wanted to bring to the readers.
As a result, some of my blog posts caught the attention of readers, but many did not.
Why leave the changes we want to pass on to our readers just in case? Why not specify where they are and where we want them to go?
Name the change and then split it
Let's take my main blog "School of Digital Photography" as an example.
My answers to the above three questions are not very complicated:
- My readers are the owners of the camera.
- My readers do not use their cameras to their full potential.
- My readers will get creative control of the cameras by reading dPS.
I know that if DPS gives camera owners creative control over their cameras, they will start taking pictures that help create wonderful memories for their families, capture magical moments on their travels, and create art and fashion. Case yourself creatively.
These are the benefits and results of reading our site and improving the lives of our readers.
So once we identify the changes we want to convey to our readers, we can start making informed decisions about the content we create simply by segmenting it.
What does Creative Camera Control look like? There are several steps to achieving this change. some of them:
Of course, these are just some of the things a camera owner needs to understand, but you can see here that we've already identified a number of topics to consider that will help achieve the site's overall goal.
By doing this exercise, we came up with a more intentional societal content and strategy than sitting at the keyboard every day and thinking about what we want to write about.
By being intentional, we create content that moves people through the process, produces tangible results, and transforms their lives.
So what change do you want to make?
My job today is to answer the three questions above, and then start detailing the changes you want to make.
- Who are your readers?
- what do you need
- How will they change the result of reading your blog?
If you are serious about building an audience for your blog and want to increase traffic, the ProBlogger Find Readers course will provide you with a roadmap and guide you through 6 clear steps to finding readers.
This article was originally published on June 20, 2014 and was updated on June 30, 2022.
The post featured how to create a blog that will make a lasting impact on readers on ProBlogger.