Many people make the mistake of writing their blog about themselves.
They think that blogging is the act of an author writing about himself, so they post about how their day is going or about what food they’re eating.
Here’s the bad news: unless your name is Ashton Kutcher, your blog won’t be popular if you only write about yourself.
The Reason
The reason for this is that readers are selfish. They care more about themselves than they care about you—the random blog author.
It makes sense when you think about it.
When people come to a blog, they want to know what’s in it for them. They want to know how the content will help or entertain them. They’re looking for value.
If the blog provides value, they’ll come back. They may even subscribe.
Readers come back and subscribe not because they feel obligated or because they have nothing better to do. They come back because they’re benefiting from what they’re reading.
This benefit can be in the form of education or entertainment. Either way, readers want to know what the blog will do for them. They don’t care about what color socks the writer wears or what his running schedule is. They care about how each post provides value.
This is the major difference between popular blogs and average blogs. Popular blogs are about the reader; average blogs are about the blogger.
This is also the secret of popular blogs.
The Secret of Popular Blogs
The secret of popular blogs is that they are focused on the audience. Instead of telling the life story of the author, popular blogs serve articles that are exactly what the readers want. They provide value to the readers post after post and week after week.
This is also true with printed periodicals.
How many newspapers and magazines do you know that are focused on the authors? The answer is none.
Instead, periodicals focus on readers. They focus on what the audience wants and needs.
Take Outside Magazine as an example. The intended audience is outdoor enthusiasts, so every article, graphic, and advertisement is focused on what outdoor enthusiasts want.
You’ll never see a national newspaper or magazine that focuses on the life of the authors. It only makes sense that the same would be true with blogs.
Of course, there are always exceptions, but for the most part, popular blogs are the ones that provide solutions and meet the needs of its readers.
An Important Question
If you’d like more people to read your blog, there’s an important question to ask: what benefit does your blog provide?
If it’s only about you, sorry to say, the answer is not much.
But if it’s about answering questions that readers have and solving their problems, then it’s definitely providing value.
So here’s what you need to find out: how can you provide more value?
How will you provide value?
There are many ways to provide value to readers, but the most important thing is to actually do it.
So what will you do? How how will you provide value to your readers?
And what do you think of this post? Do you agree that blogs shouldn’t be about the author, or do you think that blogging should be the act of authors writing about themselves?
Leave an answer to these questions by commenting below.
