By Uwe Dreissigacker
Blogging has become an immensely powerful tool to spread information to the masses. It is easily accessible and easy to get the hang of how it all works. What’s not easy is providing valuable information that your readers would be happy to consume.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of blogs out there, and many of them will be targeting the same people you’re trying to reach. How are you going to stand out among the competition? You need to drown out the noise and make yourself look better than the other guy.
You will need to come up with a strategy to effectively present your content to your readers. Creating a strategy will be a never ending process for you. Content development is dynamic and there will always be a way to improve your approach. Here are a few timeless strategies for your content development that will always prove to be useful no matter the content you’re creating or the audience you need to reach.
Figure Out Your Audience
Writing becomes ineffective when you don’t know who you are writing to. It becomes lackluster and loses integrity quickly without knowing the type of individual who will be reading it. Think about how your voice and language changes depending on the type of people you speak to; it’s the same way when it comes to writing content.
Knowing your audience will help you find the right way to approach your blog which will cater to their reading habits and connect with them emotionally. Not only will your content become more easy to digest for the reader, they will continue to come back because they know you’re there writing content that’s tailored to their needs.
Set Objectives
Objectives are an essential part of any strategy. Strategy is there to make your journey to your goals efficient. Set your sights on objectives you need to accomplish – long term and short term.
Be specific with the objectives you set. If you make deadlines, specify the date. If you create some reader growth expectation, talk about percentages you want to see your audience to grow by.
Avoid being vague with your objectives. It defeats the purpose, and can also keep you preoccupied with one task for too long when you should be already moving on ahead with your work.
Relevant Content
Don’t stray away from your topics too much. If you are writing about cooking, avoid suddenly switching to topics about automotive engineering. Your audience will be confused and will not know what to expect from you in the coming future.
Schedule Releases
Create a schedule for yourself of how you are planning on putting out new content on your blog. Again, this is all about building a familiar relationship with your readers. You want to create a safe and predictable environment for them so they know what the future holds for them.
Don’t spread your publishing days too far apart. You might lose the attention span of your committed reader. With so much information available on the internet today, it will be easy for anyone reading your blog to move elsewhere and find information that they may find just as useful.
Coax the Reader to Engage
Don’t afraid to be a little bit pushy with your readers. Consider asking your content readers to engage with your blog. Add sharing options for social media, or an email sign up.
It is proven that asking people to share, like and spread the word actually increases the user content engagement.
Always notify that there are options of them to sign up for constant content updates on your blog. If an individual sees value in the information that is being provided, he or she will be more than happy to sign up.
Never Stop Learning
These content development tips for your blog are universal. Building blocks of any worthwhile content strategy. With these things in mind, you will know how to effectively communicate with your audience through the content you’re creating, no matter the topic.
Of course there are other parts of content development that you will have to figure out for yourself that best fits your blog. It’s a non-stop learning process that is littered with challenges, but if you overcome them, you will be able to attract and impress your audience.
Uwe Dreissigacker is the founder of online invoicing software InvoiceBerry. He’s been in the online business world since over 15 years with a special interest in advertisement technology, small business software and making the lives of freelancers simpler. You can reach him via Twitter @uwedreiss.
