What’s the #1 tip for a successful blog? The key to reaching the most people and making a difference in their life?
You have to know your avatar….. to understand exactly who you’re writing to.
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When you try to write to everyone, you write to no one.
Doesn’t seem like it would make sense, does it?
We have a blog to help others and, of course, we want to reach, and help, as many people as we possibly can. That’s just the nature of being a blogger, the reason we even started this, to begin with.
But the truth is, when you try to be all things to all people, you won’t reach near the number of readers that you would if you would just niche down.
The most successful blogs are the ones that actively seek to help their readers. Ruth Soukup Elite Blog Academy
Know your avatar and write to them every single time you write a blog post or newsletter.
What’s an avatar
The first time I heard the word avatar in my, I couldn’t figure out why they were talking about the blue people in that movie from several years back. I mean, I loved the movie, but what does it have to do with blogging?
And then I read on……
An avatar is your reader. The person that goes to your blog to solve a problem and can’t wait to see your newsletter pop up in their inbox because they know you have something important to share with them.
How to determine your avatar
So just how do you figure out who your avatar is?
Simply sit down with a piece of paper and write down absolutely everything you know about your reader.
How old is she? Is she single or married? Does she have children? If so, how many? Where does she work? What is she passionate about? How does she like to spend her free time? Where does she like to shop? What is she good at? What are her biggest challenges?
Give her a name. You may even want to cut out a picture of her so that you can see her in your head when you’re writing.
Why is an avatar so important
I know this may seem weird, and truthfully, I didn’t do this when I first started blogging. I thought I had an idea of what she was like and really didn’t need to go through such a silly exercise.
But when I started Elite Blog Academy, I told myself I was going to complete every single assignment before moving on to the next.
When it came time to get to know my avatar better I, grudgingly, sat down to work. Oh my goodness! Can I just tell you that once I got started, I couldn’t stop writing!
I went into explicit detail and once I did, everything became crystal clear for me. I knew exactly who I was writing to.
Once you start narrowing down your niche, it completely blows the roof off your writing.
You now know every single detail about her.
You’ve learned how to help her, how to motivate her, what her needs are. You begin to understand the entire reason you are writing and even have a blog.
Avatar example
So what exactly does that look like? Let me give you an example of an avatar for a lifestyle blogger:
Mary is 35 years old and is a stay at home mom (SAHM). She has 3 young children and is considering home-schooling. She and her husband are living paycheck to paycheck and have no idea how to get out from under their bills. They count the minutes until the kids go to bed in the evening so they can pour themselves into their own bed for a much needed good night’s sleep. She’s an online shopping junkie and would rather surf the web than tackle the heaping mounds of laundry she has every day. She knows she has to get her life in gear but has no idea how to even get started because she’s too busy running around after the kids all day. She loves to spend time in the mountains and longs for the days that the kids are older so she can.
Do you see it?
Knowing everything about Mary allows you to see that she needs help getting her life organized. She’s exhausted all the time and is needing to learn how to make life more enjoyable for her instead of just going through the motions.
Now, you can write about:
- Tips and strategies for organizing each room in her house.
- You can teach her ways to get out of the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck by getting an emergency fund started, teaching her how to make a monthly budget, and how to execute a debt snowball.
- You can give her great reviews for mountain getaways.
- Help her know that she isn’t alone, that you understand what she’s going through.
- Write about super cheap places to take the kids during the day. Someplace to get away from the house and change the scenery without cutting into their budget.
- Show her some fun games to play with the kids – perhaps something educational at the same time.
- Give her some new tips and strategies on home-schooling.
Knowing your avatar will also be extremely helpful if you decide to monetize your blog.
You’ll know exactly what she needs and will be able to offer the best solutions for her while getting paid to do it – at no additional cost to her!
It’s a win, win, win! Most importantly, for your reader, but also for you and the company you’re an affiliate with!
I’ll say it again….when you try to write to everyone, you write to no one. So spend some time with your avatar this week and really get to know her.
Then sit back and smile when you begin to see how it completely opens up what you can do for your readers!
I’d love to know your niche. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you write about.
If you’ve already enrolled in Elite Blog Academy and need help getting started, check out So You Enrolled In Elite Blog Academy – Now What.
Happy blogging, my friend…..
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I like the idea of focusing in on a target reader-type (avatar) but am not entirely sure how I can drill down on my own. I run a mental-health blog & my target audience is men, women and teens of all ages and economic backgrounds. How do I focus on creating the ideal reader when my potential audience is so diverse?
Hi Tim! Thanks for stopping by the FOI. That can be tricky for sure. What I usually recommend in an instance like this is to create a few different avatars. Create one for men, one for women, and one for teens. And then when you’re writing an article, speak only to one avatar. I know it’s tough to narrow down like that at first, and it can feel so constrictive, but when you start doing this, it completely opens up the possibilities of how you can serve your reader.
Another thing I’ve heard others recommend is to hone in on one avatar at a time. Sometimes just focusing on one can help you see how you can best serve the others too.
I hope that helps and good luck!