Naturally, content isn't just a big deal for writers and bloggers looking to make a living via their words these days. It's something everyone needs to worry about if they're serious about promoting their business, selling their products, or otherwise getting their voice out there. But becoming a decent enough writer to create readable content in the first place isn't typically enough to get people to notice it, click on it, and give it their time.
Granted, I'm still making up for lost time as far as building my personal brand goes, but I'm getting there. Plus, I've been copywriting and creating web content for my clients for well over a decade at this point, and according to them, I know what I'm doing. That said, other writers I talk to online who are still getting the hang of this whole content creation thing tend to have the same question -- "Why aren't people reading my stuff?"
If you're in that boat, too, the bad news is that the issue probably is something you're doing wrong or could stand to improve on. But the good news is that -- whatever the problem -- it's totally fixable. So here are some excellent examples to think about.
1. Your content has zero personality.
There are hundreds of thousands of other writers out there trying to do exactly what you're doing -- get their writing seen, attract clients, build an audience, and so forth. Lots of them have the writing chops, too, and quite a few of them are going to be a lot better at writing than you are. There's only one thing you have that they don't, absolutely guaranteed -- your unique personality, perspective, and writing voice.
Great content, especially the type you'd post to a personal blog or on a platform like Medium, strikes a good balance between informative and personal. Yes, you should back up your content with facts when appropriate, but you should also be leveraging your personal experience. Tell your audience what you've learned and how you learned it. Speak to them like you would a friend or close relative.
2. Your structuring is shitty.
Great blog posts and articles are like great conversations. They stick to the point and avoid rambling to the greatest extent possible. I see many articles on Medium and elsewhere that would be truly awesome if only the writer would stick to the point and stop going off on tangents. When they don't, it doesn't matter how good the topic was in the first place. I'm lost, bored, and on my way to find something else to read. Save the rambling and stream-of-consciousness writing for your personal journal, because it doesn't work for anything you actually expect other people to read.
You also want to make sure your content is formatted for the web. Split your work up into scannable chunks with headings, subheadings, and bulleted lists when it makes sense to do so. Make your work pleasing to the eye by adding images and avoiding huge walls of text, as well. Basically, just give some thought to how easy to read (or not) your post is before you hit "publish".
3. You don't know your audience well enough.
While it would be great if your readers were so in love with your writing that you could literally give them anything and have them eat it up, that's not the world we live in. So yes, your audience would rather read something with a personality attached to it instead of just another generic piece of crap with nothing new to say. But they also expect you to give them what they came for.
That means you need to get to know your audience. Who are they? What answers are they looking for, and what topics interest them most? How can you, as the writer whose blog they've landed on, meet those needs for them? Answering those questions is the key to putting together a content strategy that will serve you and your readers for a long time to come.
4. You're not consistent enough.
Your personal journal might forgive you for ghosting it multiple weeks or months in a row, but your loyal readers won't. Seriously, have you ever discovered a new writer online and eagerly followed them in anticipation of their next piece only to find out later that they only post when they feel like it? It's frustrating, to say the least. It also makes it impossible for people to become hooked on your content and start seeing it as a staple in their online reading routine.
If you want your readers to keep showing up, then you need to be willing to do the same. Yeah, I get it. You're busy, and you've got shit going on. There's a lot vying for your limited time. But if getting your writing out there and building an audience is important to you, you've got to be consistent. Create a posting schedule, stick to it religiously for three or four months in a row, and watch what happens.
5. You don't market yourself enough.
This is a point a lot of writers have trouble with, and I'm certainly no exception. In fact, if I'm honest, I still suck at being consistent with this. But I've noticed a massive difference in how well my content does when I actually bother to post it around and get some eyeballs on it than otherwise. The more consistent I am about promoting my stuff, the better it tends to do.
You also want to make sure you're spending enough time on marketing. Yes, making time to create new content is a must... but so is taking the time to make sure each of your posts reaches its intended audience. Create links back to your stuff. Share it on social media, link to it as appropriate from your Quora answers, and repurpose your content for different platforms, so you get as much mileage out of it as possible.
Yes, being a writer is supposed to be fun, especially when the content you write is close to your heart. In fact, if you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong. But you want to take your writing seriously so that you get somewhere with it, as well. Don't burn yourself out or anything, but do treat your writing like a job. Pursuits that become priorities are more likely to become successes, as well.
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