Blogging Strategies to Build an Audience and Create a Brand

Blogging is one of the best ways to build your own audience online. People connect with blogs, and they give a real-life voice to even the biggest of companies.

If you’re not blogging, you’re not building a brand successfully. In 2017, a startling 65% of marketers wanted to increase their own use of blogging as a marketing strategy.

However, building a blog isn’t as easy as it sounds. While many blogging “gurus” and online marketers will try to convince you it’s as easy as hitting publish on a few posts to create an engaging blog, this isn’t the case. It takes time to perfect this skill, and that’s why you need these blogging strategies below to quickly build an audience and create a brand.

Start with Your Audience

Do you know your audience? If so, how well? One of the biggest mistakes new bloggers make is not knowing their audience or their objectives. Remember, if you’re talking to everyone, nobody’s listening.

Think about the content that’s relevant to your audience. If you sell cookbooks, you’ll want to blog about recipes and cooking tips. If you’re a marketing agency, you’ll blog about marketing trends, research, and tips for businesses you’re trying to target. This is what it means to be focused on your audience.

Create a Content Strategy

As we said before, it’s not enough to simply hit publish and send your content into the void of the internet. Creating a clear content strategy is one fundamental part of an integrated digital strategy. A content strategy means knowing what exactly you plan to publish, and the lifecycle of a blog post.

Start by knowing exactly what the reader wants. What questions does your audience have? The more you publish, the more you’ll learn about your users’ interests. Your content should fit into your long-term goals. For example, if you’re running a financial blog, you’ll likely address common financial problems for your target audience with the intention of directing them towards your financial services.

Write Conversationally

People engage with other humans. We now live in a world where computers can write blog posts, but that doesn’t mean your blogs should sound like there’s a robot typing away. Write conversationally and on an even level with your readers. Nobody likes to feel talked down to or like they’re not good enough.

Finally, add some personality to your blog posts. This is where you let your brand identity shine. If you’re a hip blog for Millennials, make sure you sound like it. Even if you’re talking about serious, professional topics, don’t be afraid to add some humor and personality when appropriate.

Drive Action with Your Content

Your content shouldn’t just exist for the sake of it. You’re running a business with your blog, and your blog needs to help you bring your business further. A blog is a success when it’s not just about rambling on to your readers. You need actionable content.

What action do you want your readers to take while reading your post? Do you want them to sign up for an email list? Do you want them to research your services further? You might only want them to read additional content. No matter what the goal is, make sure it’s clear and easy to understand.

Promote Your Content

Finally, don’t expect readers to find your content on its own. Even the biggest blogs have a method for promoting their content to readers. You might user search engine optimization (in fact, you should be using this) or social media promotion. No matter what strategy works for you, don’t be afraid to push further.

Becoming an authoritative member of your niche and spread the word about your content. Promoting your content isn’t a single action but many. You’ll need to find what works in your industry to bring your content to new heights.

Conclusion

As you can see, blogging isn’t as simple as it sounds. It takes a lot of work to develop a content strategy that performs highly. However, it’s well worth the effort. Blogging is one of the most effective forms of communicating with other businesses and customers.

Your audience is waiting for your blog. Now it’s time to deliver. From answering customer questions to writing with your brand identity in mind, a blog will take your business up a level.