Blogging for Personalization and Connection

Blogging Creates an Opportunity for Personalization and Connection

Blogging has been an integral part of my marketing strategy since I first began at the end of the year in 2005. It was a struggle at first as I found my way as both a writer and a marketer. I wrote about what I knew at the time and created numerous blogs on topics such as small dogs, the Law of Attraction, real estate for investors, weight loss with walking, reinventing your life, and how to write an eBook. At that time I did not fully understand the power of blogging for personalization and connection and was simply pushing out content to the world. Soon I changed my habits and it was the final blog I mentioned here that helped me to take off and build a solid business.

Why was my blog, called “eBook Writing and Marketing Secrets” such a popular one? It was due to the fact that I was sharing more about myself and my journey with eBooks, I believe. This personalization helped me to connect with my readers. They flocked to me as I outlined every detail of how I wrote my first book – the topic was Real Estate Farming – and sold it on a website. This was years before Amazon had jumped into the publishing world and afforded us great opportunities with the now defunct Create Space and the ongoing Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) so everyone who wanted to could become a published author. And by the way, the blog I just referred to here now redirects to my main site.

When I was ready to update that eBook I took my visitors along for the ride. By then many had become prospects and customers and they were thrilled for me when my local Board of Realtors purchased a license for this eBook to make it available to all of the members.

Add Something About You to Your Blog Posts

Blog posts are not articles released to millions of syndicated newspaper all across the globe. They’re a representation of your beliefs, your expertise and your voice. So therefore, they should never be sterile and void of personalization. Personalization is touching to the reader. When you talk about the shame you felt walking into a gym at 100 pounds overweight, that helps the reader see you understand where they’re coming from. This is actually my personal story. After I began an intermittent fasting practice in March of 2020 and joined an ongoing group for guidance and sound nutritional facts I realized at some point I was on track to lose a hundred pounds in about a year.

It also helps them not feel so alone. Some people tend to feel stupid when they have a problem, and have to go to someone to get help figuring it out. You adding a personalized touch eliminates that potential humiliation. Personalization also lends authority to your recommendations. You’re giving them advice because you’ve been there, done that. That holds a lot of weight with an online audience.

What do you do if you’re in a niche that didn’t personally affect you? You can still be personal and touching by showcasing your understanding of these feelings. For example, you might write something like, “My heart breaks for the shame people feel when they walk into a gym and see people whispering about them.”

You might be able to tie feelings of shame to another experience you had that’s similar, but not related to that problem. For example, “I remember walking into the classroom and hearing people whisper about my clothes that I’d outgrown, and it’s a shame that grown men and women act like school kids when someone is trying to better their lives. But it happens!”

Don’t be afraid to weed out the non-audience and take a stand that polarizes your audience with your personalization, either. Many niches don’t have this problem, but some do. This will endear you to like-minded people and the others can find someone else to lead them to their goals. I was controversial in 2006 when I heard a big name marketer say that you couldn’t make any real money online until you had a list of at least ten thousand names. My response was that I was sure glad I didn’t get that memo, because I had reached six figures with fewer than a thousand names on my list. Since that time I have gone on to take a stand on a number of issues around marketing, authorship, and mentoring people to greatness. Blogging for personalization and connection makes all the difference.

Blogging for Personalization: Make Your Reader a Part of the Blog Post

Whenever someone reads a post, it’s as if you’re talking to them, not a worldwide online audience. That’s what they believe, anyway – or want to believe. So it makes sense to bring them into the equation.

This is easy to do, but unfortunately, some people forget about the reader completely. To start with, always use the word you when speaking to or about the reader. Instead of saying something like, “Men and woman want to feel healthy and vibrant,” say, “You want to feel healthy and vibrant.”

This is a simple tweak that changes the entire approach of the content. It’s especially helpful when describing their emotional journey. It sounds better to say, “You’ve been trying for years to succeed, and something has always held you back” than it does to say, “Many people have obstacles that hold them back.”

Pull them in. Make it about them. At the end of each blog post, invite comments – and if someone comments on it with something insightful or interesting, don’t be afraid to add it to the actual blog post (maybe as a quote) and republish it with more of a discussion. People love to give their opinion and appreciate their comments being valued.

I’m Connie Ragen Green – author, publisher, marketer, and online marketing strategist. If you’re interested in writing and publishing your own eBook for credibility and profits, take a look at the best training available on this subject by Jim Edwards. He’s a friend and colleague and helps people like you and me to write an eBook in as little as 7 days.