This week I talk with Vicky Wu, founder of Vicky Wu Marketing, about the roles of creativity and authenticity in growing our audience.
As bloggers, we tend to create content we want to write versus content our readers need to solve their pain points. Sometimes, we don’t even know who our audience is: their pain points, their age, their ethnicity, their gender, their marital status, whether or not they have children, their education.
But if we neglect their pain points and know very little about them, our efforts to grow and nurture an audience will fall flat. And then we feel frustrated and want to quit.
Before we throw in the towel, let’s consider these takeaways from my interview with Vicky to figure out who our audience is and reach them effectively.
- If you don’t know where to start in reaching your audience, start with whatever social media platform you’re already using.
- Once you’ve figured out which platform your ideal readers hang out, begin placing your outreach efforts there.
- If you have a Facebook business page, use their analytics to learn information about your audience.
- Survey your readers, asking them demographic data and what types of articles and content they want.
- Pay attention to your readers’ questions or what your ideal audience is asking in Facebook groups or on Twitter. Jot them down because those are their pain points. Then make content that answers their questions and solves their problems.
6. Write for your audience. Focus on your reader! Put yourself in their shoes; speak their language, and address their questions.
7. Answerthepublic.com is a great resource to figure out question oriented keywords for your articles.
8. Video is a useful marketing tool, and YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google. If you don’t feel comfortable showing your face on video, consider creating videos with voiceovers.
9. Take the leap and get comfortable with video by just doing it. Audiences aren’t interested in slick, perfect videos. Just be yourself.
10. Being creative isn’t about being a fantastic artist. It’s about creating your life.
11. Don’t let the haters get you down.
Watch the full episode of my interview with Vicky here. How well do you know your audience? How are you reaching them and learning more about them? Let me know in the comments!
