Bloggers have an increasingly strong voice on the internet - 81% of online consumers in the US trust information and advice from bloggers, and 61% have made a purchase based on blogger recommendations (BlogHer).
Whether you’re blogging for your business or blogging as a business, you need to present yourself as an authority. Having an authoritative voice will help you attract and keep readers, generate more social shares, and ultimately earn yourself an expert online reputation.
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In order to fulfill this goal, you have to create a blogging voice that is consistent and appropriate for your business and audience.
Know Your Niche
While some bloggers have found success writing about their lives in general, most bloggers need to identify a niche – especially if you’re blogging to promote your business. Your blog needs to conform to the parameters of your business niche and consistently produce appropriate, engaging content.
For example: If you blog for your web design business, you can produce a wide range of articles related to web design: analyses of other websites, web design news and events, advice for other designers and for web design customers. The more you talk about web design, in various ways from different angles, the more authority you’ll have in the subject.
- Splitting up your voice too much between two or more subjects decreases your overall authority. It begets the question: “They just posted about interior design, how much could they know about web design?”
Know What Your Readers Want
Finding your blogging voice is a process of trial-and-error. You may experience wide fluctuations in your traffic levels and social shares as you experiment with your voice. During this process, keep track of your blog’s analytics. Who visits your blog, what are they looking at, and what do they share? This data helps you to determine what kinds of content your readers want, and this knowledge in turn informs your blogging strategy.
To continue the web design example: After producing several weeks or months of blog posts, you find that the most traffic and shares occurred on posts that were written for web design customers, rather than designers. With this information, you can expect to increase your overall shares and followers by producing more content directed to this particular audience.
Share and Be Active in the Right Networks
Just as with any other business, marketing your blog online and generating authority takes significant amounts of outreach. Simply writing posts and sitting back isn’t enough – you need to get involved with your niche’s online community.
- Find other blogs that work within your niche and start commenting on their posts. Avoid leaving comments that don’t provide value or only link back to your blog; these tactics are considered spam and won’t contribute to your online reputation. Your goal in commenting is to have a conversation and forge relationships with others in your niche. Share an opinion or ask a question to engage the blogger and their followers in a discussion.
- Join Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, and independent online communities that connect people within your niche for networking and discussion. Again – your goal is to have conversations and create relationships, not to advertise your blog. If people find quality in your comments, then and only then will they will continue on to your blog.
In establishing your blog’s voice, concentrate on producing valuable, relevant content that appeals to your audience. Connect with your peers and potential readers on industry networks. Consistently speak from the position of an expert in order to cement your blog’s online authority.
on
The points you have shared are very good points! With this, I firmly believe that bloggers are like the new journalists. People listen to them, and would take their words because of their credibility. In line with this power, us bloggers should become more responsible of our actions and of our words. Thank you for sharing.
on
Your idea of comparing site analytics to the voice of a blog post is an excellent tactic.It’s seems like common sense, so why didn’t I think of this before? Also extending that voice to reach other members of your niche is something often overlooked. Thank you for the useful reminders and ideas for new approaches to building blog traffic.
on
I did not know that splitting up your blog could decrease your authority but it makes sense because nobody can know it all. The chances of somebody making a blog with inaccurate information about multiple topics is probably higher then the chances of a person making a blog with multiple topics using accurate information. I will be keeping this in mind when writing blog posts for my blog.
on
I think you have touched on some very valid points. One of the most important aspects of being a successful blogger is being able to make that connection with your audience. When you write, you write for them, and if more bloggers would focus on the reader, they’d see a much better response.
on
One thing I didn’t think about, which seems obvious now, is networking through Facebook in specific areas. I just thought of creating a Facebook page to promote it. One could really find a huge audience of people with the same ideal mindset.
on
A good article with some useful tips, especially the one on splitting your focus. Another thing I feel is important for someone writing a blog post is the tone behind the post. I feel that a more conversational tone helps to engage others rather than a neutral one.
on
I really appreciate the tips because I’ve been wanting to blog for a couple of months now but didn’t really have a great understanding of it. Thanks again.
on
I started a blog last year and have had very few followers. After reading through your article, I’ve found some key things I can improve a great deal on. It’s difficult looking at things form the inside, but if I step outside and take a look in, I can see the mistakes I’ve made. Thank you for this helpful post!
on
Some really great tips in here, thanks for the post! I have yet to make my own blog, I currently have three Squidoo lenses waiting for me to complete though. I have yet to find the free time to create my own blog, but I will get there!
on
Wow, thank you for this post. There are some very helpful tips in here. As a future blogger I found the prospect of it quite overwhelming, but the information here set out a plan of what I need to do in steps. So I can slowly make my way down the list, lol.
It’s not easy to get out there, so I’m grateful for every piece of advice I find. 🙂
Thanks again.
on
You made a great point about splitting up your voice too much. I’m a strong believer that a writer should stick to one niche as much as possible. It definitely gives them more credibility on their topic in the long run. Thanks for the awesome article!
on
Analyzing your customer base and their interest through setting Analytics to your blog is a wonderful and meaningful thought. We should always learn from our experience. Thanks for the great tips Megan.
on
Thanks a lot for the link to the women social media study; that was an absolute gem for me!
Many bloggers have trouble finding a niche, but it really comes down to what you know and enjoy. I think the beauty of finding your own voice is really augmented by this. If your passion lies in video games or music and you decide to blog about it, you’ll already have an advantage because it will be as if you’re discussing your favorite songs or games with friends, albeit with authority. 🙂
on
Very informative indeed and I also think that even though it can be fun writing for a blog, it takes lots of patience and hard work to have a successful blog. I must admit that I once had my personal blog but I just could not manage it properly due to time.
on
I think you have touched on some very valid points. One of the most important aspects of being a successful blogger is being able to make that connection with your audience. When you write, you write for them, and if more bloggers would focus on the reader, they’d see a much better response.
on
These are good tips to construct an engaging blog. The needs of readers should be given high priority. For the success of a blog authors must analyze the readers.