This article follows on nicely from my previous one, Blogging Isn’t A Two Way Street, in which Judi left a thought-provoking comment:
As I read your post, I kept thinking how do I learn more about the 90% to better serve them if I never get input from them.
Bloody good question that, which I attempted to answer in the comments section. I quickly realized that the topic deserves an article of its own, which brings me here.
The fact is, it is very difficult to know what the ‘90%’ really want from you. What you need to do is have a very clear idea in your head as to who you are targeting, what you want to offer them, and how it will benefit them. In that way, the 90% becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
But there is another layer beyond that, but thankfully, it makes your life a little easier.
There are three different ‘types’ of people that will hit your blog, and you only need to worry about one of them. Let’s address each type in turn:
1. Bouncers
Bouncers, as you might expect, will hit your site and just bounce straight off. They’re just plain not interested. Most likely they thought your blog was going to be something it is not, or they have absolutely no interest in your topic and just happened to hit your blog randomly.
2. Groupies
Groupies already love you. There are many reasons why your blog might attract groupies – they could have been referred from a trusted source, they may have read and loved a guest post you did, or they might simply hit your site and feel like it has been made for them.
3. Fence Sitters
Fence sitters are perhaps intrigued by your blog, but certainly not sold. They have an interest in your topic, but are yet to see what you offer that makes taking a solid interest in your blog worth their time.
Who Should You Cater For?
You can ignore the bouncers. There’s no point trying to sell ice to Eskimos. And whilst you should of course love your groupies, you do not need to worry about them – they will take care of themselves. It is the fence sitters that should get your special attention.
Imagine a user car salesman that spends 45 minutes trying to sell a car to a guy who was ready to sign a check after 5 minutes, whilst undecided customers come and go. You run the risk of losing the fence sitters because you are trying so hard to please your groupies, who already love what you do!
So how do you turn fence sitters into groupies? Simple – you need to IEM your USP (apologies for the acronyms).
For the uninitiated, USP stands for “Unique Selling Proposition”. Otherwise known as “what sets you apart from the crowd”. Yes, the concept has been beaten to death, but with good reason – it is vital to the success of your blog. So let’s explore the three ways in which you need to exploit your USP – Identify, Establish, and Maintain.
1. Identify
If you don’t offer a unique solution, or a unique spin on a well-covered topic, your blog readership will never get above the average. You have to figure out what it is that you bring to the party that will make you the centre of attention. Otherwise, you’ll just spend the whole evening munching on the canapés and feeling sorry for yourself.
It helps if you have a good knowledge of your chosen topic. Having true passion for your topic is a huge selling point – it will shine through in your writing, and can be infectious. Alternatively, you can think outside of the box and approach a topic from a unique angle. Finally, you can broach as yet unexplored territory. Although this may seem impossible, the world is developing at a rapid rate – there are always new things to talk about. And blogging is the perfect way in which to do so (i.e. it is instant).
2. Establish
Once you have identified your USP, you need to establish it. Not only do you need to create content that reflects your USP, you need to actively ‘sell’ your angle. It is not enough to just “do it” – you need to promote your USP.
The internet is far too crowded a place to rely upon the quality of your content alone. You need exposure. I could talk to you about marketing but that is not the purpose of this article. But the inception (or re-launch) of your blog should be irrevocably intertwined with your USP, placed front and center, in bright neon.
3. Maintain
But don’t stop there. Your USP should course though the veins of every paragraph that you publish – now, and forever more.
You may have written that ass-kicking manifesto a few months back that laid out exactly what your intentions are, but 95% of new visitors probably won’t even read it.
You constantly need to revisit your USP and ensure that your message never gets lost in the noise.
Conversion Of The Fence Sitters
If you can successfully establish and maintain your USP, you will have a much better chance of converting your fence sitters into groupies. Because ultimately, all they want is a reason. You’ve got them on the hook – you just need to reel them in.
If you successfully inject your USP into the DNA of your blog (apologies again for the acronym fest), you can rest assured in the knowledge that you have done all you can to convert the fence sitters. If they are still not convinced after that, then they were probably closer to bouncers than groupies to start with. Or perhaps they’re not just enamored by your angle. That in itself is fine – I’d rather appeal to a small bunch of groupies then attempt to keep a large bunch of fence sitters in check.
Over To You
What is your take on this topic? Do you agree with my theories? Or do you follow a different path? Let us know in the comments section!
Images courtesy of Robert Park, macwagen, Tom Rolfe, Esther Dyson, Lee Carson and Incase
Judi says
Thank you for answering that for me.
Tom Ewer says
No problem Judi! 🙂
Cristina Ansbjerg says
Again, a very good article, Tom. Very useful and smart 😀
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Cristina! 🙂
Bon Crowder says
For those of us who are working the day-job while busting the hump early morning/late night creating the real job, sometimes the USP isn’t clear right up front. Any advice on what to do when your blog/business/site started in one direction and morphed into another?
In particular, I have old content that is still useful but doesn’t have the USP built in. I have many early autoresponders in my subscription list that also might not be hitting it as hot and heavy as they should be. I’ve had minimal unsubscribers, so perhaps I’m okay. But is it worth my uber-valuable time going back to these?
Tom Ewer says
Hey Bon!
It’s difficult to give you a specific answer without knowing the exact circumstances, but it sounds like you’re okay.
The beauty of online businesses is that you can change direction with minimal cost. But there are of course issues with doing so – one of which you have pointed out (old content being less relevant).
In principle, would say that you should definitely go back and adjust your early autoresponders. But if your unsubscribe rate is low, it is a case of judging whether or not it it is worth your time (given that it is at such a premium).
When it comes to blogging, your highest exposure is with (a) your most recent content, and (b) old content that you choose to expose (for example, with “most popular posts” widgets or by interlinking in new posts). So to an extent, you can control how much of the old stuff your visitors will see.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Tom
Gregory Ciotti says
Hey Bon, I’m getting a “Malware Detected” notification from your site on Chrome, this is probably due to a TimThumb exploit.
I’d check your site with something like Sucuri’s scanner (found here: http://sitecheck.sucuri.net/scanner/) and if you do have Malware, feel free to shoot me an email, as I just dealt with this a few months ago myself.
Best,
Greg
Tom Ewer says
Not to get too soppy, but I love you guys. All helping each other out with no expectation of reward. It makes me feel all warm and cosy inside 🙂
Bon Crowder says
You’re way soppy, dude.
But it takes one to know one. 😉
Bon Crowder says
Greg, I just got this (I’m a little behind because of the malware problem).
Indeed I was hacked. But HostGator took care of it and now I’m back and stable.
Thanks for the support!