Content creation as a blogger can often feel stifling and as if you’re on a journey but not quite sure where you’re going. Many bloggers start a blog to share what they are passionate about, which can lead a reader in various directions if the blogger is multi-passionate (which is often the case). If you want to survive and thrive online then you need to have a plan to your content creation.
IE 73: Content Creation for Surviving & Thriving Online
I recently attended a blogging conference dedicated to food bloggers and while there, I was able to meet many of the ladies who are part of my membership site. The one thing that always comes up when bloggers get together and chat is that you have to know what you want to be known for.
The Importance of Niching Down in Content Creation
You should never be afraid to niche yourself down. A smaller audience doesn’t mean a smaller income. You have to be confident in what you want to accomplish and who your people are. Think about what searches you want to show up in Google for. Figure out your lane and stay in it.
The most important thing about getting in a lane and staying there is that you need to be able to maintain your passion. Whether you started blogging as a hobby or as a business, you likely chose a topic that you loved. This is what helps us constantly come up with new ideas for content…being passionate about our topic. When we lose that passion for what we are doing, it becomes just another job.
Another thing to think about is the relevance of your topic to your life. For example, if you blog about preschool projects, you need to consider the fact that your own preschoolers are going to grow up. What happens when you no longer have preschoolers? Are you passionate enough about the topic to keep writing about it when it is no longer a part of your life?
Google can only send traffic to you for what you are known for. So if you are that preschool blogger and in a few years you all of a sudden start blogging about crafts or DIY projects, Google won’t know who to send your way. If your traffic falls off, so does your ad income. If page views are what you focus on to increase ad revenue, it is crucial that you pick a lane and stay in it for the long haul.
What’s Your End-Game in your Content Creation?
When you are creating content, your end-game is the most important piece to think about. Your end-game is what ties all your content together.
Are you trying to grow your list? Do you have a lead magnet ready? Are you planning to create products to sell? Before you start creating content, know what you want your monetization strategy to be. If you plan to grow your business through that ad income, then page views are what you’re after and niching down is crucial.
However, if you intend to go after sponsored posts or create your own products, your audience size isn’t as important and you don’t have to be quite as niched down. What is important for you is creating content that allows you to talk very naturally about your free opt-in or about the product or service you’re promoting.
Content Creation that Builds on Itself
When you create content, it should always build on previous content so that you can have several interlinks in your posts. When you do this, all of your content flows together and works together. You should have a blog that is based on a specific topic while still having many different posts and categories.
For example, I am a lifestyle blogger over at The Melrose Family. I blog about food, projects, parenting, etc. My main theme, however, always goes back to helping parents get back some of their time in order to make memories with their kids. That’s my main theme and so every one of my posts will support that theme.
The thing about content that builds on itself is that it keeps your reader on your blog for longer. If Pinterest is sending you most of your traffic, you know that they tend to come get what they’re looking for and then leave again just as quickly. If you have links within your posts of other related content, you can keep them clicking, which reduces your bounce rate and increases the chance they’ll sign up for your email list.
Think of your posts like a giant spider web. You want to spin a web so big that your visitor gets in deeper and deeper. With every post they click on, they see more that they want to read. And don’t just use the “relevant posts” plugin. Link to those posts within the post itself.
Focus on Quality Content Creation
Listen to me. You can’t just slap together a post of 300 words and a picture and expect anything great to happen. Those posts just won’t survive in this Pinterest world we live in.
Here are some tips for quality content –
- Your posts must be over 700 words
- Research keywords and make your posts SEO friendly
- Work on your photography skills
- Hone your writing skills
- Research what people are looking for
- Keep up with social media algorithms
- Create a strong brand and build on it
You have to know what sets you apart from all the other bloggers out there in your niche. Is your brand so strong that people know it’s you when they see your pins? What are the small pieces that you haven’t really got branded yet that you can go back in to make your brand stand out in a sea of blogs? I want to challenge you to find those areas where you can niche down tighter and see what a difference it makes in your business. Summer is a great time to do this kind of work on your business.
Be sure to comment below and share your insights with me! I love to hear your ideas and your progress.
Action Steps:
- If you liked this episode of Influencer Entrepreneurs, please subscribe and leave a fabulous review!
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