Want to blog, but not sure what to write about? Or not sure who your audience will be? In this post, I will cover these topics and give some personally tested (and tested by others) tips on how to figure this out.
When I started my blog, I had a general idea of what I wanted to write about. So I created categories and subcategories and started writing. But after a few posts, I realized that my blog was kind of…all over the place. I wasn’t really speaking to anybody specifically, and my posts were difficult to read and understand.
So I started researching. I read lots of other blogger’s blogs and took note of how they wrote. I purchased a few resources and signed up for other blogger’s email lists to get their free pointers on writing.
And from that, I developed my own style.
Now, writing a post is easy (and fun!). I’ve honed my writing strategy and have written and re-written enough posts to pretty much have it down to a science.
So, from my own personal research, here are some time-tested tips for narrowing your blog’s focus.
Jot down some categories
When you first start your blog, you most likely have an idea of what you want to write about (if you don’t, keep reading). Jot down between 5-7 categories and then some subcategories underneath those (if you have any).
Don’t worry if you don’t do this perfectly to begin with, or if you feel like you can’t quite nail down the categories you want. I can tell you honestly that I’ve changed my categories several times since I first started blogging and I just now have them exactly where I want them. So don’t sweat it!
At first, you may just want to jot down some ideas and rearrange them before entering them in WordPress. It will be a lot easier this way. And after you make categories, you can start brainstorming some posts!
But what if I still don’t know what to write about?
If you want to start a blog but don’t know what exactly you should write about, then you can ask yourself a few questions:
- What do I have experience in?
- What am I passionate about?
- What am I studying right now?
- Is there anything that people always ask me advice for?
- How would I want to encourage others?
My blog is an all-things-motherhood blog, and my desire from the beginning has been to encourage moms (especially new stay at home moms) in what they do. This is what I have the most experience in, so I didn’t need a learning curve before I started to write.
And if for some reason you’re still stuck, then just start writing! You may get inspired along the way and be flooded with ideas!
Think about real people
When I was first learning about who my audience should be, I kept seeing things all over the place about “avatars.”
Avatars are basically the “ideal” people who would be reading your blog. Everybody seemed to be saying how important this was, so I literally spent weeks honing my avatar and making sure that I fully understood who I was writing to.
And while this strategy may work for some, it really didn’t vibe for me. What did work was thinking of actual people that I know who would be reading my blog. For example, I thought about my friend who just had her first baby this year and is a brand new stay at home mom. I thought about my other friend who has two little ones and struggled with the challenges of staying home. And I thought about yet another one who is pregnant with her first child and has expressed to me that she has no clue what she’s doing.
To take it even deeper…
I realized that I would be writing to someone who is at the beginning of the same road I’ve walked down.
And I found that when I had people that I personally know in mind, it made it a lot easier to focus my blog and write specific posts and emails because I knew the questions on their hearts.
Be very specific with titles
When you look on Pinterest, there are a million pins for how to start a blog. So when I wrote my own post on starting a blog, I wrote it specifically for people who are not tech savvy (like I was, when I first started out) and titled it “How to Start a Blog: Clear and Easy Explanations (for the non-tech savvy)”. That way, anybody who sees it knows exactly who it’s geared for.
It’s super important that you are specific in your titles. It’s easy to think that you might lose readers if you are, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. Just think about it. If you’re not a tech-savvy person, would you rather read a post titled “How to Start a Blog in 2017” or “How to Start a Blog if You’re Not Tech-Savvy?”
You get the picture.
Learn what people are asking for
When I started editing some of the older posts I wrote, I realized that I wasn’t actually writing to help others. Which is fine, if my blog is just about me. But I knew that if I wanted to help others, I’d have to make sure I was being helpful.
So I began to use Google Keywords to research what moms in my niche were typing in every month. I would jot down some of the areas I knew I could address and structure posts around them.
And I began to see an increase in traffic from this. So it became more evident to me that knowing what people are asking for within your niche is key.
You can also think about the questions you had on your heart before you grew in your niche. What did you wish you knew then that you could teach people now? Take all the questions that you yourself have asked about whatever topic you’re writing on and answer it for others.
So there you go! I hope these tips help you get your blog focused and on track. Happy blogging!
Related Posts:
How to Start a Blog: Clear and Easy Explanations
Why You Should Seriously Consider Starting a Mom Blog
