How to Engage Your Readers with High-Quality Content
Have you ever read a blog that immediately pulls you in? You can relate to what the author is saying–almost like they’re reading your mind? As a result, you feel compelled to respond with a comment or by sharing their post? You might also go as far as bookmarking their post or using it as a link in one of yours in the future.
Then, later on, you wonder how the author accomplished that goal.
There’s a simple answer–they used empathy. It’s how many masterful bloggers are opening doors to engaging with their readers.
Without going into too much detail, once you have a firm understanding of what your audience wants, the more enthusiastically they’ll respond to everything you write. Unless you have empathy, your blog may wind up collecting dust.
Where Do You Find Your Audience to Begin With?
While it’s great to have empathy with your readers, and figure out where they’re commenting—where do you find your readers to begin with? If you’re blogging and notice radio silence, it could be because:
- You’re not engaging with your readers.
- You haven’t developed a following.
Analytics will help you determine if anyone is reading your blog. If your numbers are low, then it’s time to solve that problem. QuickSprout has an excellent article detailing how to build your audience that includes how to find your first one hundred readers here.
Where Should Your Focus Be?
If you want your readers to return frequently, don’t focus on who the “ideal” ones are. Instead, think about who your “real” readers are and develop empathy for them. I know, that seems simplistic and obvious. However, it’s how you’re going to build a following.
What you’re going to do is figure out who is already visiting your blog, as well as who will potentially visit in the future. Where are these potential visitors currently reading? If you don’t know, then it’s time to conduct some research.
Look at who is currently sharing your content and pay attention to other pieces of content they’re sharing. When readers are commenting on your blog, take a look at other blogs or social media posts where they’re commenting. You’ll find out a lot of information about your readers by digging deep into this data.
While these sites may not be your exact audience, they’ll likely have a tremendous amount in common with your blog. Using this data will help prevent you from doing guess-work and, instead, attracting more subscribers to your blog.
Can You Master Empathy?
It’s possible to master empathy by showing your audience you know what they’re going through and understand their experiences. Show them you share and understand their preoccupations, as well as other concerns.
Instead of relying on a collection of demographics, you’ll be using the drivers of human behavior–desires, dreams, fears, and frustrations.
You can engage with your audience if you know their deepest desires, most significant dreams, frequent frustrations, and paralyzing fears.
Mastering these skills will help you develop high-quality content. You’ll be writing about what your readers want to come back and read because the content:
- Helps them solve a problem
- Reaches them at a personal level
- Provides them with the research they need
- Lists resources they’re searching for
- Is anecdotal and provides a fresh perspective on a topic
- Isn’t condescending or belittling
You can read more about if you should launch a lifestyle blog here:
Should I Launch a Lifestyle Blog?
Final Thoughts
Freelance writers turn to blogging as a way of bringing in income on their websites, as well as for outside clients. It’s an incredible opportunity not only for developing client relationships but also for building your business. Once you embrace the tools and tactics for launching a blog, it’s possible to engage your audience with high-quality content using empathy.