by angelicagonzalez.

Blogging is hard. Not only do you need to get people to read your blog, you also need them to come back time and again. Loyal blog readers are hard to come by, especially since there may be so many different blogs out there about the same things you’re posting.

In order to gain readers who will be loyal to your blog, you need to remember these four things: 1) target a specific audience, 2) tell stories, 3) provide value to your audience, and 4) be visual.

1. Target a Specific Audience

Ever wonder why people are loyal to sports teams, schools and causes? It’s because these groups are composed of like-minded individuals that are connected by a common interest. The same goes for your audience. They need to be able to rally around a specific topic but more importantly, this topic has to be clear to each reader..

Let’s say your blog is all about parenting. Therefore, make your posts specific to parents, particularly moms. Even if you have two areas of blogging expertise – say, parenting and leadership – it’s best to keep each type of post in their own separate site.

Having a target audience also means speaking their language. Talk with your audience, not at them. Often, this means talking in a light, conversational tone that makes them feel like their part of a group discussion instead of a lecture.

2. Tell Stories

People show loyalty to people they like. One way for them to like you is by sharing stories with them.

Storytelling isn’t just about your tone. It’s also the way you organize your thoughts in your blog posts. Your beginning is where you state the main point of your post. Your middle is where you usually expound on your main point. Lastly, your end is where you offer conclusions or challenges to help your readers synthesize your main point.

For example, tell your readers that the article will discuss tips on choosing the right cellphone for their needs. The body of the post enumerates and expounds on those tips. Then you can end by either summing up everything or even asking them for their own cellphone buying tips.

You can even employ certain blog styles to help you move on from point to point, making your storytelling smoother and clearer. There are list, how-to, checklist, workbook, and even Q&A formats for your posts and articles. Simply think of how your readers would like to go through the post you’re writing. Do they want to skim? Will they have questions? Do they want documents to help them follow your points? Once you’re set, then write the post in that format.

However, telling stories in your posts can literally mean telling actual stories. It’s easy to make your blog posts more personal by actually telling your reader an experience you had relating to your blog topic. These can be anecdotes of yours or even your friends. The more human, the better!

3. Provide Value To Your Audience

If you deliver on your promises, people will stay loyal to you. For a blog, its promise is to deliver valuable content for each and every blog post. It’s a simple equation: give something and people will give something back, in this case their attention and repeat visits to your blog.

Start by having a problem-solving mindset while writing your posts. Make your posts matter by showing them you know how to help! Ask yourself two things when asking what value is for your reader: 1) what is my point? and 2) why does it matter? If marketers always use the what-why pairing to maintain brand loyalty, then you should too!

And why should it matter for your readers? Why should they read your post over any other blog? Well, show your readers the evidence: articles, photos, anything that may help you bring your point across. Show them that you did your research.

But how will you find out just what your reader values? Simple: check out the comments.

Either the questions or comments readers have on your blog posts or other people’s blog posts will tell you a lot about what they want to learn about next. If they aren’t commenting on your blog posts, encourage them to by asking them questions at the end of your post. If you’re just starting out, go check out similar blogs and see how they’re engaging (or not engaging) with their readers. Learn from them and strive to be better.

You can also use your own experiences to find out what you wished you’ve learned when you were starting out. Use your writing gift to offer people solutions to our shared problems.

4. Be Visual

People remember images more vividly than words. If you want people to be loyal to your blog, they need to be able to recall your posts more easily.

Visuals can consist of photos, infographics, or banners to help your posts become more palatable to your readers. Each type of visual has its own specific function. Here’s a quick run-through of different visuals and what you can use them for.

First of all, infographics can summarize all your points neatly and are skimmable and pleasing to the eye. These are usually icon and vector-based, and you’d do well to attach one at the end of a lengthy article in fire need of some visual summarizing.

Next, photos can give a break for the readers between long sections of text. They’ll appreciate that you thought of putting photos to illustrate some things that may be difficult to describe in words. If your blog post, for example, is all about finding great furniture, it would be great to provide product photos just so your readers understand what it is you’re talking about.

Lastly, banners can be great ways to show your readers that you value each detail of your posts. Banners can contain your blog title or just be plainly spread out across as a featured image. Remember, people are attracted to photos, especially when readers share your posts – so don’t miss the chance to attract their attention.

Do you have your own tips and techniques for gaining loyal blog readers? Share them in the comments below and we’ll feature it on our future Facebook Page and blog posts!

This article was written by angelicagonzalez. You can hire her here: https://199jobs.com/jobs/writing/write-articles-essays-short-stories-book-chapters/