Blogging for the Non-Social Writer
I've been writing for a few months now, and I've found the real challenge of blogging: connecting with other people.
Writing is relatively easy for me. Writing something that reaches other people, AND keeps them interested enough to stick around AND come back? That's a completely different skillset.
That's all about people. It's all about understanding them and writing in a way that appeals to them.
I have a style app that helps me write to whatever reading level I'm aiming for. It reminds me to keep my sentences short and limit my use of adverbs, etc. It's great.
But it doesn't make my blog posts appealing or engaging.
Sure, I can identify keywords using a variety of methods and tools, but my perspective on these keywords is often quite different, sometimes out of necessity. (The most common competitive keywords are some variation on "free online pattern" - I don't write patterns & I don't want to keep sending people to other unaffiliated websites.)
But even when I get comments, I'm almost always more than 24 hours out in responding. Not a good way to get a conversation going.
That seems like an easy fix: set up a regular daily check in for my website. When I first started requesting comments on my site, I started having issues connecting to WA. I spent hours every day trying to get logged in so I could get to the comment responses. I think I have that worked out now, but...
Then there's life. I'm trying to get my home ready to sell. It's going much too slowly and it eats into my computer time. I'm trying to split my focus between 2 money making activities: selling my house & writing. As you can imagine, socializing online is now dead last on my to do list.
But, socializing, online or off, is always dead last for me. I can always find a reason (excuse) not to do it.
Keeping my interactions minimal might be ok, if I write to meet readers' needs. So I read the forum posts on major sites to try to get sense of what & how people, my potential readers, are feeling, thinking, and, most of all, what are they struggling with.
No matter what your subject, all your readers read with the same question in mind: "what's in it for me?"
Many, many years ago I read that out of a hundred people who have a problem with a product/service, only 1 will speak up about it.
That was pre-Internet.
Today? Everyone is speaking up all the time. Sometimes they're even heard.
Perhaps people's greatest need, in general, is to feel heard.
I'm at least as terrible at that as anyone else.
Let's be honest. Writers write to hear themselves talk.
Writing is not about listening. Good blogging probably is.
I don't have any answers here. I'm just exploring the problem.
I know. Recognizing you have a problem is the first step, but that's all it is: a first step. It's certainly not a solution.
Research. Mull it over. Write. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
That's all I've got. Here's hoping it's enough.
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Recent Comments
13
Karen, I found your blog very engaging and appealing.
You have the general idea of addressing your customers pain points and putting their needs first
You can use a person experience to bond with your readers as well as you did in this blog
I know that you will continue to do well. Looking forward to hearing more about your progress
Your writing is easy to read, and as I noticed in your knitting website, quite clever to compare knitting to pretzels...grin. THAT caught my attention as I scrolled through the blog page.
I was attracted to that blog. The TITLE 'made' me want to read it. The TITLE piqued my curiosity, and the reason for the following comment - Creative titles will attract your readers.
Weaving your title keywords into your blog will catch the eye of google. I wonder how that particular post rates among all of the other posts on your site.
I'm sure there is a way to find that data.
Keep writing as you do, Karen. We all suffer from being too critical of our own efforts, and so far, all of the comments here have mentioned that you are a good writer.
It's time to believe in yourself a little more...
Rudy
Thanks Rudy.
I have no doubts about my writing skill. What's new for me is writing for others. That is my new skill to learn.
I know I'll get there, but it takes time, which is hard to find right now.
Karen
Hi Karen
You definitely can write extremely well. I am sure you will "attract your tribe", keep going, there is a lot of "noise" out there and that is part of what makes our jobs challenging. Something that may be well worth looking into is Answer The Public. Also, sign up on forums that are related to your niche (Quora for eg) and see what questions people are asking there. I realize of course that this can also be consuming, something you don't have an abundance of right now.
As far as time limitations are concerned, there are seasons for everything, perhaps for now your writing time is limited. Once your house is sold, that will change - something exciting to look forward to.
Wishing you every success!
Blessings
Louise
Haha! Your reply really made me laugh - I can so relate!
This too shall pass, impatient or not, lol.
Blessings always
Louise
Hello Kiww,
There is no doubt that you can write and write well. What WA is all about is learning to formula write. And for some of us that is the problem.
The lessons are geared to teach us how to write in such a way that we reach our potential readers--first by recognizing their needs and then by convincing them that we can help them.
Help is the central word.
Once we convince them that we can help them, we start to see results.
In all this, we learn about ourselves, too.
A lot depends upon our niche, as well . Do people respond to it?
Is it something they need? How inspired are you to keep writing about the same thing in many engaging ways? For years maybe?
Unfortunately, you will, eventually, need to learn how to use social media, but you can take your time with that. Spread the word about your website yourself .It builds slowly. In the meantime you will learn about yourself- it this your style of writing? Where are you going with this? Can you learn different styles and be comfortable with it?
I hope this helps.
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For me Karen, you have knocked the nail on its head when you say readers only want to know one thing, "what's in it for me"!
In this line of business, we have to put our audiences needs to the forefront. If they have a problem, it is our duty to hear what it is and solve it!
A quick solution is normally best, but, offering different angles and perspectives can lead to more and more people following us on a regular basis!
I hope it all goes well for you my friend!:-)
Thanks, Jessefido.
Best wishes for your success!
Much appreciated Karen!