Understanding who Reads your Blog
When I first started this blog, I thought that my posts would mostly be about different ways to make money and rants about me hating my job. Since most of us become frustrated with our jobs, I thought my target audience would be gigantic. In addition, it was my hope that people who were interested in making money online would find and visit my blog and become my referrals. Seems like a logical enough plan, right?
Wrong. Most of my posts end up to be categorized under Blogging Tips. Why? The reality of the situation is that the majority of my readers/visitors are fellow bloggers. This fact is especially true for new blogs. In addition, no matter how successful this blog eventually becomes, my core group of vistors will always be bloggers. Luckily for me, many people who blog are also interested in making money online.
So how should you use this information? Simple–write posts that would interest bloggers. Let’s say you have a blog that is all about dogs. Even though the majority of your posts will be about dogs, it is a good idea to sprinkle in some posts about how you have driven traffic to you blog or how you have made money with your blog. Maybe devote a day of the week to be off topic day in which you discuss other blogs or blogging topics. Don’t want to ruin your “flow” of dog posts? Consider creating a separate page that would intrigue bloggers like “101 ways to drive traffic” or “5 Ad Networks that Work for Me.” By branching out, you may increase your audience from just those who are hardcore into dogs to add bloggers that happen to have a dog.
Taking the next step, you should really analyze EXACTLY where your traffic is coming from. If you have been successful on StumbleUpon, make sure to write a post containing StumbleUpon tips. Obviously a stumbleupon user will be interested in this topic. If you notice that your are getting a lot of traffic from a foreign country, maybe include the word for hello in their language in one of your posts.
If you cater your message to your audience you might just find that your message is being heard by significantly more people.
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Filed under: Blogging Tips
I write for two distinct audiences on OpTempo, regular readers/subcribers, who’re interested in blogging and marketing articles, and search engine visitors, who’re looking for info on a product and want to buy it. About 80% of the articles are for the search visitors since they pay the bills.
Frank Cs last blog post..Sennheiser MX70 Sport Earbuds Review
Great point Frank! Once I regain my Google rankings and become a little more established like Frank, I will have to target more of my posts to people who are more likely to click on an ad rather than actually read all my posts.
I think you should try to avoid the temptation of mostly targeting bloggers with your posts. Although it is easy to write about, since you spend a lot of time doing it, there are two downsides
1) there is a lot of competition blogging about blogging
2) there isn’t any money in it - most people who blog are web savvy enough not to click on ads. It’s hard to sell products to people who sell products
These are good tips. It can be difficult to identify who your audience is going to be. That being said, identifying this group before you begin can really help you get off on the right foot.
If you are interested in making money from your blog, it is key to figure out how to monetize your content. Adsense? Commission Junction? Selling links? All viable options.
Don’t forget, if you are going to use Adsense, you will need a CRAZY amount of traffic to make any money. Sad, but true.