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You’ve started a blog and now you’re stuck. You have no idea how to improve your blog.
It could be to get more content there or you may want to make more money from it. Or it could be that you would just love for people to actually read your blog.
Whatever it is, you’re stuck.
The key to getting unstuck is knowing your blog’s purpose. What do you want to gain from your blog now you’ve created it?
There isn’t a wrong or right answer when it comes to what you want to get out of your blog. For some people it’s a way to get out a few vents from the day. Others want to create a resource for certain individuals.
It’s just important that you know what you want from your blog. Don’t think about others in the market. Ignore your competition for now. What do you want to achieve to improve your blog?
But how do I know what I want to get out of my blog?
I know. It’s not easy initially sitting down and working out your blogging goals. This can take time and I do suggest giving it that.
Purposely take a couple of hours or even more to work out your goals.
When I start a new blog, I’ll spend a few days to gather what I want to gain from it before I even think about a domain name.
Do I want to promote specific products? Is it there to educate readers? Do I want to create a resource for specific individuals?
The answer to this one question will affect the type of content I write, the layout of the site, and the theme to it.
It also affects the marketing afterwards.
Who’s your blog audience?
You need to consider who the people are coming to you. This will affect the type of content you write to help you improve your blog.
Let’s say you’re setting up a website for students—sharing tips on how to make it through those three to four long, hard years. You don’t want to focus on business activities too much. There’s no need to look into team building activities or delve into the world of being a stay at home mom. Y
ou need to think like a student—think about what students need to know and learn to succeed.
As you consider your blog audience and what they want to learn, you’ll work out the type of posts you need to create. You’ll be able to find products that will help them and share materials that support them.
MORE: 5 amazing tips to crush writer’s block and create more content
Is your blog for you or them?
Take a step back and think about who this blog is really for. We tend to say that we’re sharing our content to help educate others. Really, it’s a way to get our information out there instead of in our heads.
I remember starting out. I wrote what I enjoyed but it wasn’t necessarily what other people wanted to learn. I had to be honest with myself that the writing was more for me.
If I wanted to make real money from it—create a sustainable income—then I needed to change the way that I blogged.
That’s when I started focusing on niches for different blogs. It’s at the point now where I don’t just make pennies and it’s mainly because I’ve given the audience the content they wanted. Not just what I wanted to write.
Does that mean I was initially wrong? That you’re wrong for writing for yourself? Not necessarily, if that’s what you want your blog for.
I still have a blog that is for myself. I don’t expect to make much money from it but it’s there for me to rant and vent and just get things off my chest.
At the same time, I have blogs that are for me but also tailored for an audience to make money. I make sure the niches I cover are ones I enjoy.
Improve your blog by creating an avatar
The best thing you can do is create an avatar. This is your ideal reader.
You may also hear of it being called a persona.
What does the avatar like to do? What are they looking to learn online? What would they come to your blog for? What types of products are they looking to buy?
The more you think about the avatar, the more you’ll improve your blog.