The Biggest Blogging Mistake You’re Making

Blogging is an art form.  There’s no right or wrong for the most part.  There are popular blogs about feet, and unpopular blogs about the Kardashians.  So, why this huge disconnect?

It really comes down to one simple philosophy: Don’t talk…listen.

So what does that mean, right?  How can you blog without talking?  You can’t.  You have to talk.  I’m talking right now – to you.  But the trap people fall into very often is that they blog about what they want to talk about.  And if your goal is to be the only subscriber to you’re blog, then that’s no problem.  But, if you’re hoping some other human being will read what you’re writing, then you need to listen, listen, listen.

You need to write what other people want to read.  I want to write about the creative process we went through on a particular website design that took forever.  They want to read about how to deal with a difficult client.  I want to write about the amazing evolution of mobile technology in such a short time.  They want to read about the latest mobile device and its pros & cons.  I want to write about the art of songwriting and what how great it feels to play the guitar.  They…….don’t want to read anything remotely related to that.

Your audience is king.  Period.  You need to listen to them and write for them.  Do a little research.  Don’t spend the next 6 months researching (you could easily do this), but do some research.  See what people like to read.  What are some of the most popular blogs in your category?  What are some of the most popular blog posts on those sites?  What are people sharing on social media?  This is your research.  It gives you a window into the mind of your audience.  You’ll likely find that what most people want are short, easily consumable articles.  Lists are great.  “Top” this, and “Worst” that.  Those are things that are easy to jump into and consume.  Step by step how-to articles are also great.  But while I’m telling you what you’ll likely find, don’t listen to me.  Do you’re own research with your own audience.  Trust me, if you listen closely enough, they will tell you very clearly what they want to read.