Why Your Business Blog is a Ghost Town

You listened to the experts who said the best way to keep your website fresh and get noticed by Google was with a business blog.  You spent hours, maybe even days, reading and re-reading articles about blogging for business.  You’ve carefully crafted blog posts that you were sure would be a hit.  So why is it that proverbial cobwebs are the only thing your business blog is attracting?  Could it be that you aren’t writing those posts for an audience?  Could it be that you don’t really know who your audience is?

For some reason we all seem to have a hard time narrowing down our target market.  We like to give ourselves broad, sweeping terms for the people we are trying to reach.

Small Business Owners.  Coaches. Public Speakers. Attorneys. Authors.

These are some of the most common answers I get when I ask business owners who their ideal clients are.  Not only does it make marketing your business very difficult, it makes writing to them practically impossible.

Have you ever wondered why the most successful blogs out there found success?   Mainly it’s because they were writing to a very specialized group of people. Oh, their audience may have expanded over time, but when they began it was all about a small and very specific group.  Do you want to know why? Of course you do.

It’s because people connect when they feel someone is speaking directly to them.  You can’t do that if you’re trying to include a huge demographic. So ask yourself:

• What kind of small business owners?
• What type of coaches, authors, attorneys, etc.?
• Are they male or female?
• How old are they?
• What kind of economic bracket do they fall into?
• How technologically savvy are they?
• Do they have a family?
• A dog or cat?
• Do they have a tattoo? Body piercings?
• What type of music do they listen to?

You may immediately think that I’m asking you to be too specific, but trust me, I’m not.  When you can create a mental picture of just who it is you’re trying to connect to, it makes it so much easier to produce blog posts and other fresh material.  There is an old saying that goes,

“You can’t be all things to all people”.

It’s not just a saying. When you try to write for (or market to) a broad market, you end up with mediocre material, even if you’re loaded with talent and ability.

On the other hand, when you have a very clear, vivid picture in your mind of just who you are writing to not only is it easier to find topics, but your writing is more personal and thus more interesting.  Think about the difference in a conversation you have with a close friend as opposed to one you may have with a complete stranger.  Your audience wants that close friend conversation, but if you don’t know specifics about who they are there is no way you can give them what they want.

If you’re sick of writing posts for ghosts maybe it’s time you spend a little time getting to know your audience.  Discover what their interests and personalities are.  Heck, give them a name.  The better you know them, the better you can have meaning conversations with them through your blog.  Stop writing for ghosts, clean out those cobwebs and get to know your audience.