Intentionally Building Your Audience

As a blogger, I often find myself asking questions like these (maybe you do too?):

• HOW do I draw people in to read my blog?
• HOW do I create great content?
• HOW can I create a loyal community of readers?
• HOW do I set myself apart from everyone else who is out there blogging too?

Honestly, it quickly becomes overwhelming.

I find answers here and there, in posts written by other bloggers, successful authors, etc.  These posts are always fantastic resources of helpful information. Sometimes the advice is quick and easy to implement. Other times it leads to yet another question, or a step I need to take before I can implement the advice.

I quickly become inundated with so much information, I can’t figure out where to begin. I find myself staring a tangled messy list of fantastic resources, and wishing someone would show me what to do in some kind of logical, manageable order.

Well, friends, I’ve found the resource I’ve been looking for! And we want to share it with you! Our friend Jeff Goins, who spoke at the Declare Conference in 2013, has SO MANY wonderful resources to help writers like you create a loyal community of readers. Check out his website, free downloads, and Tribe Writers course.

” Tribe Writers is a course that helps writers discover their voices, find their audiences, and build the platforms that get them published. And we’ve got a special, limited-time offer just for you…” (read more here.)

Jeff is famous for delivering stellar content, helpful tools, and drawing people in with a friendly, not-at-all-pushy style. His books (You Are a Writer, The Writer’s Manifesto, Wrecked), and blog posts (How To Build a Popular Blog,What You Write About Doesn’t Matter as Much as You Think, and more) are full of valuable information for Christian communicators, creatives, and influencers!

Here is an excerpt from Jeff Goins’ article, 9 Audience-Building Tips You Can Count On: 

Here’s my best advice on how to build, maintain, and grow an audience:

1. Start with one. Serve one person, reach one fan, get one reader. And cherish them. Don’t despise small beginnings. They’re the only kind most of us will have.
2. Under promise, over deliver. Go above and beyond. Wow people.
3. Don’t forget to build your craft. Lots of people want attention these days for skills that aren’t really worth noticing. The countercultural thing to do is to take your time and make sure you get good before you get noticed.
4. Keep your sense of humor. Sometimes, people take this idea of reaching a tribe a little too seriously, or a little too personally. Have fun with your work. Be open to feedback. Thank people often, and let yourself play once in a while.
5. Enjoy the journey. I had a student recently message me with an exuberant update: “I just reached 50 email subscribers!” He was elated, but then got embarrassed, because he admitted that wasn’t “many” people. I chided him, saying, “No, this is exactly the way to do it. Count every reader as a blessing.”
6. What you win them on, you will raise them on. If you give away a bunch of free stuff at the beginning, people will expect you to continue that generosity. If you send a certain number of emails per week to your subscribers, you’ll need to keep doing that.
7. Not all audiences are created equal. Be careful what kind of audience you build, because you will have a responsibility to maintain that audience. So don’t just see people as a means to an end. The relationship is the end.
8. Permission rules. You cannot, and should not, get away with doing anything the audience has not give you permission to do. When in doubt, ask. And when they say no, listen.
9. Small and relevant is better than big and noisy. The truth is you do not need as many fans as you think you do. You need a small tribe of dedicated listeners, viewers, or readers who will rave about everything you do. That is more than enough.

We love these tips and just had to share this resource with you again!

Are you trying to build your audience? What has worked for you? Share your insights with us!