Finding Your Voice with Blogging
I was someone who talked about becoming a writer for most of my life, yet I did very little actual writing. It wasn’t until I embraced the idea of blogging that I found my voice and became a writer. This has changed my life in so many ways. Let’s discuss this concept of finding your voice in more detail.
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The Art of Finding Your Voice
Having a voice doesn’t just mean the act of talking or writing. It means having a point of view, being distinctive, and maybe even a little opinionated or controversial. Agreeing with everyone and everything is the exact opposite of finding your voice. There is a lot of noise on the Internet, and one of the biggest challenges that people face is sifting through all of that noise in order to find the content that’s interesting, challenging, and sometimes controversial.
In fact, one of the things that makes blogging such a great opportunity for you – the fact that there are virtually no barriers to entry and that it’s easy to start a blog – means that there are a lot of not-so-great blogs out there.
By having a strong and consistent point of view, you’re already going to be more compelling than most other blogs. You may already have an idea of how you want to go about building your blog audience, or you may need to take a little time to self-analyze your business and your unique selling proposition. The voice of your blog should be a good fit for the product or service you’re selling. For example, if you are an affiliate marketer for natural health care products, then a writing voice that’s positive and nurturing is almost certain to be more appropriate than a voice that’s “in your face” or that uses risqué humor.
Of course, in order to have a strong voice, you also need to know who you’re speaking to.
Knowing Your Audience
Be sure to consider this factor from a couple of different perspectives. First, take a look at your current prospects and clients. On average, how old are they? Where do they live? How much do they spend with you, and how frequently do they purchase? Are there any demographic clues that you can derive from your customer data that might help you come up with a picture of your typical client?
In addition, you should also give some thought to the people you want to be talking to. Who is your ideal audience? Maybe you’re looking to just grow your following with more individuals similar to your current followers. Or maybe you’re looking to branch out into new markets and reach a new class of individual.
Another Perspective on Finding Your Voice
Bestselling author Jerry Jenkins shares an exercise in finding your voice you may appreciate and use to enhance your skills and abilities. In his post Voice in Writing: How to Find Yours Jerry shares his insight on this topic:
Based on what I hear wherever I speak, it’s clear that beginning writers agonize as much over find their writing voice as over any other issue.
Trust me, while it’s crucial you find your unique writing voice, it really isn’t all that complicated.
You wouldn’t be able to tell that from the plethora of blogs, articles, and books on the subject.
So let me make this simple.
It’s your distinct:
- Personality
- Character
- Passion
- Emotion
- Purpose
It’s the lens through which you see yourself and the world.
Your voice sets the tone and conveys your message in your own unique way.
Jerry goes on to share a personal example of finding your voice in your writing, as well as some from works you may be familiar with.
Being Relatable
Be personal. Now, personal doesn’t necessarily mean unprofessional or overly-familiar. In fact, it probably shouldn’t mean those things. “Personal” means that when you’re writing to your audience, you should speak to them as you would if you were having a face-to-face conversation. Your audience is made up of individual people, not a demographic group or statistic.
Appeal to them as individuals, not a market group. This means that your blog posts should make some type of emotional inroads with them, with the exact nature of the emotional appeal to depend on what you’re writing about. It might mean writing your posts from a first-person perspective, but not necessarily so.
Even if your business is a large one, and you’re setting out to create a blog that speaks to your customer base, there are always ways to make it personal. Show that you understand the issues they’re facing and the problems they’re looking to solve. Use your blog posts to demonstrate to your audience that you’re the best solution to those issues and problems. You might be best for any number of reasons: your solution might be the cheapest, or the easiest to follow, or the most convenient. Use your key selling proposition to relate to your audience.
Stephen R. Covey (his latest book – Primary Greatness – The 12 Levers of Success is a great one) teaches that you must ask yourself four questions as you are finding your voice. These embody your heart, your mind, your body, and your soul. They are:
- What are you good at?
- What do you love doing?
- What need can you serve?
- And finally, what is life asking of you?
Ask yourself these questions and take the time to answer them truthfully. Write every day. Blog at least twice each week. Share your most honest thoughts, beliefs, and experiences. This will enable you to get closer to finding your voice and making a real difference in your niche.
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I’m author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and would love to connect with you. If you are new to the world of online entrepreneurship please check out my comprehensive training on how to set up Funnels That Click and learn how to gain an unfair advantage when it comes to building a lucrative online business.
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