Ways I Embrace My Audience

Image source: Freedigitalphotos.net

In my last post I told you about my short period of unemployment and how eager I was to make a living online. I dipped my toe into many different areas of online income production, writing being one of them.

My first blog was atrocious! I'll help you to paint a picture in your mind of my situation. To begin with, I had chosen a ridiculous pen name to write under so that people I knew did not know how desperate I was (the subjects contained in my blog were quite evident of my desperation!). 

I thought this pen name was fantastic, it matched the subject I was writing about - now that has to be a winner, right?! No. No, it was not a winner!

My blog's niche was all about my path towards making a full time living being online. Thrilling, yes? My thoughts at the time were so jumbled up and confused that I just couldn't write to an audience. As I said, I had my toe dipped into many areas such as affiliate marketing, photography, paid surveys, paid to post links, content sites etc. I was making a small amount of money by this stage so I thought I was on my way! 

I figured I should start to document my journey so that others could gauge my success and follow the same steps. I also thought that by doing so, I would at a later date be able to write a book about my journey and make money off it!

The mistake I was making, both with that blog and with my huge book idea, was that my readers did not need or want that. I wanted that. I wanted someone to show me step by step how to succeed in making enough money to live comfortably online. 


The small amount of readers that I had gained in my first week or so disappeared by week two, I wasn't embracing them. I was writing to please myself. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that, however, my style of writing does not accommodate that.

I have learnt in the years following that venture to firstly embrace my style of writing. In doing so, I can talk to my readers in much the same way as I would talk to my friends in person. For me, this helps me to embrace my audience, as I am being myself when I am writing. 

I believe this can make or break a blog when I am reading other people's. After following a writer for some time, I begin to feel as though I know them and can trust what they are saying. Building trust. That is the key to any relationship, and it is no different when building a relationship with your audience.