by Tori Bowman of That Pair of Crutches. Tori contributes weekly with tips about how to improve your blog. See her others posts here. Last week we talked about how the first step to creating great content for your readers is to figure out your niche (link: http://www.thehousethatlarsbuilt.com/2013/03/15-minutes-to-better-blog-finding-your.html ). The next step in creating great content is getting to know your readers. Just like you can't get someone a really great, heartfelt gift if you know nothing about them, you can't create great content that will engage your audience if you have no idea who they are. Here are a few ways you can get to know the ladies and gents that are visiting your little internet home on a daily basis:
1. Have them take a survey: A survey is one of the easiest ways to get to know your readers. You can ask really specific questions that will help you get a good picture of who is on the other side of that computer screen. Here are a few examples of questions to ask!
-Where do you live? What is your occupation? What is your yearly salary?
-Are you married, single, have kids? What is your daily routine like?
-What makes you happy? What are your top three daily frustrations?
-Where do you shop? What magazines do you read? What are your favorite blogs?
-Why do you read my blog each day? What is your favorite type of post I write?
My favorite way to create surveys for free is Survey Monkey, but there are lots of great sites out there!
2. Ask them questions: Instead of just writing a post that gives your readers a glimpse into your daily life and ending it with a simple period, ask them what they do every day! Get them commenting by asking them questions and being genuinely interested in their answers. Instead of just sharing your daily uniform on Instagram, create a unique hashtag and invite your followers to share their outfits and using that hashtag too so you can see. Follow along with comments and posts and make sure to reply whenever you can to keep the conversation going!
3. Be creative with your posts: Another way to get to know your readers is by creating a fun series focused on doing exactly that. Here is a great example. Dani doesn't just share tid bits of her life, or even just ask her readers to share a bit in the comments. She created a series and asked others to join in and do on their own blogs, and her readers then come back and share their own versions of the series with her. It's a simple thing that people really enjoy and it has become a series that people know her blog for.
So, how are you going to get to know your readers? What have you done or seen done that has worked in the past? I'd love to hear, and if you do one of these things, please share the link with us here! Good luck, everyone!
