Image by: Kristina B

When I think of the array of topics that I have talked about in my blog posts, I am faced with the question of “why was it relevant?”. I have many reasons for each of the concepts of my posts as well as why I have chosen to write about such topics that I feel would appeal to each of my readers. Obviously, I hope that each of my posts are relatable as each of my posts are about food themed topics, I encourage all to read my posts whether if you enjoy baking, are learning how to bake, or simply interested in baking topics. But there is more to blogging than just wanting to be relatable because being relatable is more than just an incorporation of this concept but almost a science of putting yourself in the minds of your readers. By becoming the reader, you must be a number of readers, in my case, it would mostly be two very different types of readers ……. the bakers and the non-bakers as well as everyone in between that measurement of readers. But the truth is no matter how relatable your blog is it will not appeal to everyone because each person simply has their own basis of what they are willing to read and what is not as important for them to gain interest from.

First, you must create a target audience, this will enable you to fully understand what you are trying to share information about and who you are trying to reach with your posts so that you will be able to evoke that in your writing. These posts may even motivate your audience of readers to want to learn more about that specific topic or it may help them with personal events in their life. And, there is always room for your target audience to expand depending on the topic, it can be of interest for many while others may not be but that is purely up for the writer to decide what their readers want to hear based on past posts and the number of views/comments for the most popular ones.

Second, the topics that are discussed should entail newsworthy subjects that will either impact the reader to want to continue reading to gain more knowledge on this topic and also have the possibility of liking your way of writing, in terms of the way you evoke ideas which creates opportunities for them to be interested in your other posts.

Image by: Daryl Lau

Third, headlines can purely influence a reader’s decision to read the entire post or to just keep scrolling through. Ultimately, the choice of words that are selected to be used in the headline of a post may be a determining factor for readers to decide whether or not they will continue to read the post. The headline should set the tone for the entire post but should add some excitement that will persuade and encourage readers to want to read the post.

Fourth, topic tagging is an important part of blogging because it helps the readers know what the topic of the post is about because they choose to read it in its entirety. This only gives the key words that are used in the post or to describe the topic of the post. It not only helps the readers to have a common knowledge of the subject being described but helps the writer to stay on topic to reach their target audience.

And finally, ask questions in your post to encourage comments. With the addition of comments, it allows for the conversation to further continue by understanding the readers’ opinions. Comments are hard to obtain, some may not read your post all the way to the end which eliminates the option of commenting while others may not feel obligated to comment on your post. But comments are helpful, it lets writers know that readers are listening and opens doors that show that the post is not one-sided because even the readers get a chance to share their thoughts.

Comment below with your thoughts on audience engagement and what else is needed to make a blog post interesting to readers.