Monday, September 20, 2010

Question of the Day

As bloggers, we usually want followers or readers. But not just any reader. We usually want readers from a particular 'niche' or segment of the population who we want to talk to.  Being super specific in who your niche audience is will actually make you more successful. Being too broad won't speak the language of your true audience enough to grab their attention. Who is your niche audience, what do they want to hear about, and what are your secrets to create the kind of content that keeps them coming back for more?
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13 comments:

  1. I'm not sure I've mastered this yet, so I'm looking forward to reading the other answers:)

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  2. Hey Faith, That's ok if you don't know yet. But this is something to be thinking about. Think to yourself "what do I have to offer" "who wants to hear about what I have to say" "who can I help with what I know" "where do these type of readers usually hang out" etc. Is that helpful at all?
    Dialing in on who you are trying to reach will make you really stand out. If you start asking these questions you will probably realize you know more about your niche audience than you think. For example, I'm sure you already know that your audience probably isn't 20 something men, right? LOL~ Let us know If we can help you figure this out more. ;-)

    Blessings!
    Kari

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  3. I know who I would like my niche to be- other moms (particularly with little ones- say 10 & under) that desire to raise their little ones for Christ. I hope to help them out a little along the way & to bring encouragement. I'm not always sure how to keep them coming back for more though- I guess I'm still working on that;).
    Jessica

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  4. Well, I fit into a slightly humorous mom blogger niche. However, I honestly think niche blogging is overrated. There are so many different people who read our blogs... especially mom blogs. You think they are all moms but there are women with no kids, working women, sahms, single girls, a few men and other people! I found a guy linking to my site last week and he blogs about homelessness. Definitely NOT in my "niche" but he apparently found something interesting on my blog to share with his readers! I guess what I'm trying to say is if you don't know what your "niche" is then don't stress over it. You will attract readers who want to read your blog because they like it... not because you fit into a certain niche. And if you only cater to one group of people all the time then you may be leaving some of your readers out. Like mom blogging, we don't always have to blog about our kids. There is more to us than being a mom, more that women who aren't moms yet can still relate to.

    At the same time, if you right about crazy stuff ALL THE TIME then your readers don't know what to expect! :)

    Knowing your general niche is helpful to promote your blog but most of us don't really fit into one, two or even three niches!

    Great question!

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  5. Hehehe... "write" not "right". It's monday... :)

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  6. What a great question!! i hope that I'm achieving what I think my niche is... making God's Word more than words on a page - and actually very applicable to our every day regular life stuff! I want to show Moms, women, grandmothers, friends, etc how to make it through the daily trials of life (and the big ones too) by living out God's Word. That it not just be a book we pick up on our way to church - but that it's actually a book about us and how to live life victoriously!

    (opps sorry.. soapbox! - i didn't mean to ramble!) LOL!

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  8. Well my hope is that my readers will be anyone who needs encouragement in The LORD. Since I am a Christian wife and mommy that is the audience I generally write to. There are many "teaching" blogs out there and it seems that is what many want to do.
    I hope to live out the verse in Hebrews 10:24-25 "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

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  9. This is a hard one for me because as an eclectic blogger, I realized that niche blogging for the most part was out, but I found that too many topics on one blog didn't work either. So now I have a blog that is primarily devotional and focuses on Christ, His Word and His Love, (The Sword and the Rose) I have another one that focuses on family life, (A Heart's Cry...) and another one that focuses on the gospel message and lighter topics that didn't seem to fit in the other two. (Out of the Pit...) I know this sounds a little crazy, but even though I won't be blogging more, I feel better about where to place the blog posts I DO write. I tend to think in themes and now each blog has a central theme and focus, which works better for me.

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  10. I blog to bring hope and encouragement to my readers through what the Lord is teaching me in my journey. I do not consider myself your typical mommy blogger, although I do have four children. I have a vast array of followers, from teens, young moms, women my age. I believe my followers keep coming back because my content, although funny and random at times, for the most part brings much needed and timely encouragement.

    As far as how I keep my content fresh, I blog when I feel the spurring of the Holy Spirit. I hardly ever schedule a post. Some weeks I blog 5 days, others 2 or 3. It just depends on what the Lord is saying.

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  11. GREAT answers ladies! This is so not the "right" answer but my niche over at Sharing the Pages is what ever God lays on my heart...I trust Him to bring those who need to read what I write, on my Other blog Enough to Live, I write to women who want to succeed online in business, mainly. =)

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  12. Hey Ladies,

    I love all the answers you are giving for this. As Christians we want to reach the lost, encourage the believer, and add value to the body of Christ. This is what we are called to do. But we understand that to reach the lost we will either anger or alienate 80% of the POSSIBLE audience. But that other 20% is your sweet spot of influence. If we try to change (or water down) the christian message to please everyone, we end up not talking to anyone. That isn't what God called us to do with His Word.
    In the same way, when we bring our blog message to the world we may want to talk to everyone, and think that everyone has a place on our blog, but really that isn't true. You want to really speak the language of your IDEAL audience. For example, If you want to encourage someone, or help them in raising their family, you want to talk to people who are open to the idea of you being that adviser. In doing this you will actually attract more people than your original 20%. Others from different niches and demographics will see the value in what you have to say.
    Hope that helps!
    Blessings,
    Kari

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