When you’re left shaking your head

The other day I got an email from someone who wanted to write a guest blog post (presumably for this website) about how to get better sleep. Do you know what I did with that email? I deleted it. Why? Because if you take even a cursory look at this blog/website, you will note that it is not about sleeping, or health, or wellness, or anything related to getting better sleep. Also of note is that I write all posts on the blog. I don’t have guest bloggers or any information on how to submit a guest blog.

A friend was telling me just the other day how she got a call about her expired car warranty. Except she doesn’t even have a car.

And then there’s the gas company that calls about your gas bill, and you don’t even have gas at your house.

It probably is spam

Yes, these are all examples of spam. We know spammers don’t have time to research and target a message that is specific to you. That is why they are spammers. They send out the same message to everyone and hope that one hits the right target.

Effective marketing is not spam. It is targeted.

The opposite of spamming is targeting. If you target your message to the right audience, you have a much better chance of success.

How do you target?

To be targeted,  you have to start with definition. You must understand exactly who needs or wants your product or service, and be able to describe those people or organizations. Once you know who you are selling to, you know your target audience. For example, if you are selling extended car warranties,  your audience is people who own cars that are out of warranty. Perhaps you can further narrow it down by how old the car is and where these people are located.

Once you’ve defined your target audience, you have to figure out where you can find this group. Where does this group go to find information?

Bottom line

Send your message to the right audience and you will be much more effective.

You want to grow your blog. You want to write consistently. You want to be shared widely.

All bloggers do. But not all bloggers succeed.

With all things being equal, (posting well written, well research, thoughtful, grammatically-correct and spell-checked posts) what sets successful bloggers apart?

Successful bloggers know the answer to this question:

Who will read this blog post?

In other words, they know and understand their target audience.

If you know your target audience, you will write the stuff that is relevant, useful and/or interesting to them.

Let’s say you are a plumber who blogs about plumbing issues. Who is your target audience? Is it potential customers? Or is it young plumbers who want to learn the business? If it is the former, then your blog posts would  perhaps be focused on what causes plumbing issues and do-it-yourself tips to keep plumbing working well. If your target audience is young plumbers interested in learning the tricks of the trade, you might write about how to get customers or how to find the best plumbing supply vendors.

If you don’t define your target audience, and think about their needs, you will have an unfocused blog, and you will end up reaching no one.

So before you write your next blog post, ask yourself who will want to read this?  If the answer is not a member of your defined target audience, think twice about posting.