How to Know What Your Audience Wants Before You Write Content
A lot of times, solopreneurs find themselves writing content that no one responds to. They’ve read blog posts about great content - that it’s the secret to attracting a constant stream of traffic and getting conversions.
But what exactly does great blog content mean? It’s the kind of content that addresses your audience’s pain points. It relates to their interests. Great content starts by understanding your audience better.
Keyword Research
Researching key terms and phrases that people use when looking for your products or services is the first step to knowing them. Keywords reflect their vocabulary. This is why it makes sense to use them to determine the context of your blog post, add them to your Yoast, and include them in your headlines.
Start with these keyword research tools:
When you have a list of keywords, enter each keyword into Google search to see what kind of topics come up. A keyword can bring up totally different results from what you expect, so you have to be sure. Context is the key.
Social Media
If you haven’t yet, start interacting with your audience on social media. When you share blog posts, make sure to write a great call-to-action for your Facebook or Twitter descriptions. Use hashtags to increase your reach.
The first thing to be sure of is that you get your content in front of as many people as possible. Next, pay attention to the kind of comments you get. Do they ask further questions? Show interest or appreciation? Was your post shared not just once but many times? Social media reactions will guide your next blog post.
Quora
One of the best (but untapped) places to know what people want is Quora. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s a Q&A website. The one thing that makes Quora a great resource is that people write thoughtful kinds of stuff on the site. Quora also gets millions of visits each month.
First, create a Quora profile. Follow topics in your niche. You can also enter a topic into the search box. Quora will show you a list of Q&A’s. You’ll want to check out those that got tons of views and upvotes.
Look for common themes in people’s questions and responses. In fact, you can throw your own questions and even participate in discussions to get reactions.
Split Test Headlines
A/B testing is the process of trying out two versions of something to know which one works. Since headlines are the first things that readers see when they encounter your posts, it only makes sense to split test them.
If you need help creating headlines, to begin with, I would recommend tools like CoSchedule and TweakYourBiz. But take note that headline generator and analyzer tools don’t always guarantee clicks. So to split test what you come up with, use Optimizely (WordPress plugin).
Final Thoughts
When you write content that resonates with the people you serve, amazing things happen. It’ll be easier to grow your email list, get more blog traffic, and even go viral. If you liked this post, please share it!