Imagine People Paid €50/Month to Read Your Blog. Would They Get Value for Money?
Have you ever wondered why people are visiting specific niche blogs every day to get information about various subjects;
It’s because they find value in them!
Whether they want to be informed about sports news, read a product/movie review or find a solution to a problem, ‘value’ is the number one criterion on which blog to visit.
I have been blogging since 2008. My first blog was hosted on blogspot.com and it had to do with news from all over Greece. My friend Panos and I managed to bring more than 5.000 visits per month, just eight months after our first launch.
Since then, I created another 4 blogs with a variety of topics such as gaming, sports, cars etc. But they failed, and I quit blogging until 2015.
Blogging is hard because of the grind required to stay interesting and relevant.
I decided to come back to blogging in 2016 where I created Grow-Digital.gr, an innovative digital marketing news portal in Greece (I ask for forgiveness from my fellows’ non-Greek speakers).
My whole content strategy was based on the following quote:
Content is anything that adds VALUE to the reader’s life.
So, the biggest challenge for me was to create valuable content for my audience and my target-personas.
I decided to shift from quantity (many short articles) to high-quality content (long-form, SEO wise and well-structured articles).
Blogging had changed since the last time I blogged, so I had to find answers to some questions which would help me to create valuable and user-friendly content. After, I would publish this content to my blog.
So, let me ask you some questions:
Why should people read your blog?
1. To find solution to a problem
The content you produce should be aimed to find solutions to problems and give answers to questions. Users spend enough of their time ‘online’ struggling to find answers to problems that concern them in their everyday lives, work and their interpersonal relationships.
In my case, users would visit my blog in order to be informed about news and trends in digital marketing, learn new tips and growth hacks and find new ways to make their work easier and more creative.
Tip:
If your visitors find a solution directly to their problem, your mission is successful! Search, analyze and understand the needs of your audience. Give answers to their biggest problems!
2. They share the same passion as you
Unless we talk about news/media blogs, other blogs that have a specific niche subject and their target audiences are -for instance- cars enthusiasts, animal lovers, fitness freaks or growth hacking geeks, there is always a strong passion which is hiding behind it.
Visitors are not just a metric, behind every “one visit” there is a human being who can understand if you love what you are writing.
As happens at work, if you love what you do and give your best, this will have an impact on the people around you.
The same applies to visitors. If they share the same passion with you and they realize that you really want to help or educate them, they appreciate it and become your best-returning visitors;
Tip:
Sharing is caring, give your best to express yourself and share your knowledge with your audience.
Remember:
Power is gained by sharing knowledge, not hoarding it.
3. You are an authority
Authority blogs can come in a lot of different forms, but the general purpose is to establish the blog as a respected authority in the industry.
If you are successful in your industry and your name is among the best, then people will come on their own to learn from you.
But, you don’t have to be famous in order to drive traffic. You can start from scratch and build your authority, offering real value to your audience since day one!
Tip:
Always have in mind that if you keep your audience happy, you will drive more traffic to your blog by word-of-mouth. This is one way to build authority!
4. They are curious
People may see your shared articles on their timeline or hear their friends talk about your awesome posts. Curiosity is born and then it’s the right time for you to impress and make them follow you as loyal fans.
In addition to returning visitors, you should aim to make a first-class impression to your new visitors as well. A warm welcome, a well-structured navigation menu and a crystal-clear design are essential if you want to impress and make new users feel right.
Tip:
It’s not only about bringing new visitors to your page. You should make sure that you follow all the best practices to impress and keep them loyal.
It’s all about loyalty!
5. To educate themselves
Similar to #1, users nowadays tend to read a lot online. In the digital world, education is free and easier than ever, but competition is big and difficult.
If you want to stand out and survive in this ‘cruel’ digital world, you have to be flawless.
Your content, CTAs, design, UX/UI, images, everything has to be perfect. It’s not exactly necessary, but it will definitely make the difference.
Tip:
Be the teacher your readers are looking for. Analyze and support every word you write as the best teacher of the world.
Students will always remember the best teacher they ever had!
Tips to provide value to your audience
Let me share with you some tips that I try to follow in order to provide an ideal user journey -from content to design- to my audience.
It’s not always easy to follow, but one is always better than zero!
Tip #1: Treat your audience like your best friend, with respect and honesty.
Tip #2: Try to offer solutions to their problems, explaining in detail all the steps to follow.
Tip #3: First give and then ask. Do not bomb them with messages asking for newsletter subscriptions and other irritating messages.
Tip #5: Answer all of their questions. Problems are not always solved in 2–3 paragraphs of text. Don’t leave them confused.
Tip #6: Act as a reader. How do you want to be treated from blogs? Be smart!
Tip #7: Always take your time and create good content!
In conclusion
Let’s be honest, no one wants to pay in order to read blogs and online newspapers and no one is going to ask for something like that (i hope so).
This question is not addressed to readers, it is addressed to publishers like me, bloggers and media owners who should learn to treat their audience as if they had a monthly subscription to their site.
Offer value to your audience! This is what makes out the good of the great bloggers
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this article, i would be happy to see you on Twitter and LinkedIn and say hi!
Cheers!
