If you knew you could guarantee targetted traffic for your blog I’m sure you’d jump at the chance .
If someone wrote an article or blog post specifically about you you’d want to read it wouldn’t you?
This post isn’t a formula for instant traffic but it may just help you find your own formula for attracting visitors to your blog.
I don’t usually write posts about blogging. I generally just get on with the job of posting and interacting with the small community of readers that frequent my blog but I was reminded of a very clever way of attracting attention during the past week.
What’s in it for me?
Our state newspaper recently ran a feature on house prices around the metro area. They do it every six months or so. In the feature they list the average price of houses in each suburb around Perth. They give an indication of how prices have risen or dropped over the past few months. They essentially tell readers what their home is worth. When your family home is your biggest investment you’re pretty interested when someone wants to talk to you about how much it’s worth. I’d be very surprised if they don’t see a spike in circulation whenever they run such features.
A couple of weeks ago they did something similar with Valentine’s Day. They published their ‘Book of Love’ as part of the newspaper. They essentially sell space to hundreds of people who want to declare their love. They make money from those placing the messages and then on the big day those who’ve paid to say ‘I love you’ are sure to buy a copy. Of course their loved ones will also buy a copy to read their message. Added to that you get many people buying the paper to search through to see if anyone has left them a message. Brilliant marketing.
The key is that they’re publishing something that doesn’t just interest the reader, it involves them.
Creating an audience.
It’s the same principle that some some people use when putting on a local concert or production. The easiest way to get lots of backsides on seats is to invite the local school choir or drama group to perform. They might only get five minutes on stage but you can guarantee that their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties will all turn up to see the little darlings perform. If there’s 20 kids in the choir you’re likely to fill an extra 40 seats or more.
What’s that got to do with blogging?
So how do you apply the principal to blogging? You find something with which people feel passionately involved. You write about them or something with which they are very closely connected. That’s easier said than done but it’s possible. Can you suggest a couple of ideas in the comments section of this post that use this idea? Maybe there’s something you feel passionate about. If that’s the case, write passionately about it but with your audience in mind. Talk about how it applies to them, not just your situation.
I’ve seen it in action when I’ve posted details of some of my radio interviews. If I’ve interviewed a celebrity or musician it’s not too long before fans will find the post. Often fans will add details to a fan forum and then I’ll get a rush of passionate readers wanting to hear their favourite singer talking about their latest album. Fans like that have more than a passing interest in their ‘idols’.
It’s not all about you.
You might think that writing about specific groups will narrow your reading audience but find the right target, write something that they can’t resist, and you’ll find the readers. I suppose it’s simply about taking our eyes off ourselves and focussing on our audience.
I’m no blogging expert but I’m hoping that we can get a conversation going in the comments of this post to better define how we can harness the principle.
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