With hundreds of thousands of bloggers it can be hard to feel like you are standing out. While many of us cover similar topics, there is just one thing that will keep your readers coming back to you, instead of finding another similar blog to love. Your voice. While your topics may have been covered in the past, writing in a way that is unique to you, is what will set you apart.
Sharing you and writing in your own unique style and voice is essential for blog growth but I wanted to take it a step farther today and share another writing tip that will take your great blog posts to the next level. A lot of bloggers struggle at this point because they think in sharing their voice they are limited. This isn’t true! Here’s how you make it work and the difference that will take your posts and ideas from “good’ to “viral”.
****Update: This post was originally published several years ago. The numbers on the posts are dated but the point remains the same. ****
It’s all about the way you write. Unless you are a diary blog (those are great too!) find ways to focus on your readers, not on yourself. What do I mean by this? I’ll share an example from my own blog.
When my second baby was born I wrote several posts about our transition as she joined our family. Some of these barely saw the light of day, while others went viral. In fact, one of the posts from this time period is still my top viewed blog post of all time and inspired me to write an ebook on the topic. Just look at the difference in stats between these two posts on my blog.
The top post with over 100,000 views compared to the bottom with a whopping 64 views. So what was the difference between these posts? They were written on the exact same topic, and I even used the same image for both posts. So what made one of them go viral and the other get read mainly by my friends and family?
It all has to do with the way I wrote them. The smaller post was all about me. “This is how our transition is going, this is how my kids are behaving and how I’m dealing with it…” and so forth. It was still great information for other moms in the same position, but they would have to wade through my stories and figure out how to apply it to their own situation on their own.
The post that went viral was still very personal, but I wrote it to my reader. Instead of “how we’re adjusting” it was “8 ways to help YOU adjust”. Immediately drawing in the reader and showing them how the post applies to them.
I broke it up into 8 tips in which I shared something we had struggled with and how we dealt with it. In this way I was still sharing our personal story (which makes the blog relatable) but showcasing how it applies to my readers, instead of leaving that for them to figure out.
Every one loves to read stories, but they also need to know how it applies to them. Finding a good balance between sharing your story and clearly communicating how it applies to your reader can be a challenge at first, but it truly makes all the difference in how far a post will reach!
You can read the non-viral post here: Little Man’s Adjustment to the New Baby
Ready the viral post here: 8 Ways to Help a Toddler Adjust to the New Baby
That way you can compare them for yourself!
What is your favorite writing tip? Has anything specific made a huge difference in your blog’s reach?
This is a great tip! Just this morning I was thinking to redo a post from awhile ago titled “Miss G’s Special Day” and it would be much better to make it into “How to Give Your Child a Special Day” and then share our day at the end as an example.
Loved this post. I am a writer and newish blogger. I am always looking for ways to build a stringer connection with my audience
Great advice! I’m still trying to find my voice and this is a great tip too keep in mind.
Great example (love the stats!) of how shifting things “just so” can turn a so-so post into a so-special one. This is particularly key with the first first sentences of a post, too — where you want to immediately grab the reader’s (busy) attention by using words like “you” vs. “I” and “me.”
Wonderful tip!
Thank you so much for sharing it. I will write this down and put it in my workspace wall.
Hata
The word “You” definitely makes a big difference to a blog post. Your post definitely helped me gain more insight into my own writing. Thanks!
I needed to read this! I often find myself writing a journal and making it “me” centred (hello, read that past sentence haha). This post is amazing, readers want to know what helps THEM. Time to go through my posts! I can see a huge difference between both posts as well. Same images, but the second one is also easier on the eyes. 🙂