As a blogger for many years, I have written on several topics. Most of my blogging has been sharing homeschool tools and resources for homeschooling teenagers on my blog, Muses of a Mom.
When my youngest graduated and I moved into a new stage of life, it caused me to question: Where should my writing go from here?
While I still provide homeschool resources at Muses of a Mom, I knew it was time to evaluate and decide the direction of my future writing. That meant restarting a blog with a new focus was necessary. And it’s daunting to begin again on this blog-saturated internet.
I knew that transitioning to a new stage in life would change what I wanted to write about. Now that I wasn’t writing about homeschooling full time anymore, how do I find my new ideal reader?
In the summer of 2021, I took an online class called “Find Your Unique Reader and Message” through Hopewriters. Through the course, I discovered some of the mistakes I was making with my current blog and where I needed to re-evaluate who my reader was.
There are 4 common mistakes writers make when sharing their message:
- Writing to the masses instead of your reader. Many bloggers want to
write for all readers, but this doesn’t translate into more followers.
The goal is engaged readers. - Forgetting that it is about the reader. When you write, it is not about you. Your goal is to answer your reader’s questions, solve a problem, or meet a need.
- Knowing when it’s time to change. It can be difficult, but a blogger needs to realize when it is time to tweak or change their message to reach and serve the right reader.
- Using the best avenue to reach your reader. Depending on your readers’ demographic, blogging may not be the only avenue you should use. It may be Instagram, where photos with a partnering narrative are most effective. It could be TikTok, where short, conversational videos best share your message. Knowing who your reader is will help you find the right way to reach them.
To keep from making those four common mistakes in my blogging, I needed to pinpoint who my (new) reader was to serve her better.
4 Steps to Find Your Ideal Reader and Message
- What kind of personality are you? Think about how others describe you and what you know about your character that can affect your writing?
- What is your passion or strength? From your strengths, what can you offer that reader? From your passion, how can you offer that energy to your reader?
- What life experiences may influence your message? What kind of help can you offer someone else because of your unique skills and experience?
- Why do you write? This can be the easiest, yet more complicated question to answer. Where does your writing take you? Do you write to encourage, educate, or entertain?
Most of the time, finding the overlap of what you have to offer and what a reader needs and wants is your unique reader and message. Your reader could be YOU – five to ten years ago!
I have lived through experiences that I can share and will help a particular reader. Through my writing, I can encourage and offer hope to other women who are currently on a similar journey.
Have you struggled to find your real reader? What tips can you share with other writers? Put it in the comments!
This post was originally published on my blog, Muses of a Mom on November 2, 2021, but republished here with updated information.
4 responses to “4 Steps to Find Ideal Readers for Your Blog”
Such an important topic and YES! Covid shifted things for many of us. It is part of the reason I have relocated to the East Coast though I have actively wanted to do so for more than ten years! In the last year I have also been fulltime character (in shifts) for my mother who is now in assisted living. Sandwich generation? Yes, indeed. Thank you, Angie – for this helpful blog post. Always good to read you!
I am writing for women like me .That's always been the goal.Now knowing what I like helps me write my content better.Looking forward to this series on your blog.
While I too try to keep these tips in mind when I write, sometimes I get lost in the writing and realize I need to backtrack 🙂 so thank you for this post
Thank you for these tips. I think I have a pretty good idea who I am writing to, but it's been a while since I have thought about it, and as you said things really have changed a lot recently.Thanks too for the Sandwich Generation information, I will check it out.