Purpose. We all have one. Most likely, we have several. We try to make our choices with a sense of purpose. A sense of purpose is believed to be a top contributor to a person’s happiness.
1 – Success Story – Finding Purpose
I always assumed I had a purpose – to be a good sister and daughter, and friend, to be a hard worker, a good citizen and of course, a best-selling romance author. It never dawned on me that I was wandering without purpose when I wrote. After all, writing is what I do most often and by choice. I would certainly do it with purpose. Right?
I understood my goals when I wrote my novels – provide escape, love, sexy heroes, sassy and smart women, offer my readers entertainment, show off my hometown. I also knew I wanted to create character arcs and plotlines that make my readers think.
But, when it came to writing blog posts and emails, I was struggling in front of the blank screen. Even posts to social media eluded me. I needed to connect with my purpose – my readers.
2 Hints: What to write?
Many authors create a website, then start a list, or a blog, because someone told them they should. Yep, you guessed it. That is exactly what I did. But, if you don’t know your purpose in writing, and your audience’s purpose in reading, how can you determine what to write?
Bloggers – and habitual emailers – struggle with creating content. Oh no, not Thursday again! What the hell will I write this time? Yep, that was me too. And, since my purpose was to satisfy some “expert” who advised “You have to have a mailing list” or “You absolutely must have a blog”, I had a real problem.
Sarah Morgan, of xosarah.com, teaches in her “Dare to Blog” class that there are four reasons readers tune in to a blog or read a newsletter. Just four. Wow, if you thought this was going to be easy, you were wrong. If you only fulfill one reason, you lose 75% of your readers. You have to know what your purpose is, after all, you only have a 1 in 4 chance of being right.
[clickToTweet tweet=”There are four reasons readers tune in to a blog or read a newsletter. Just four. You need to know your purpose to reach your blog readers. www.madisonmichael.net/purpose-driven-content #blogger #amwriting” quote=”There are four reasons readers tune in to a blog or read a newsletter. Just four. Wow, if you thought this was going to be easy, you were wrong. If you only fulfill one reason, you lose 75% of your readers.”]
So what are the four reasons someone might read a post?
- They want advice or motivation,
- They want updates on events,
- They want information about new products or discounts,
- They want to learn more about you and what you do.
I am a gambler, so I understand odds. I did not want to lose 75% of my audience for failure to provide what they wanted. But, I was worried about trying to be all things to all people.
In the world of romance authors, I am still a novice and only two years into blogging. There are certainly more experienced gurus to help provide advice or motivation – but I believe there are writers who are new to this too, who might enjoy following my journey as I share my experiences.
I do on occasion share information about events like book signings and conferences but so infrequently that I knew it could be a secondary purpose and not one to be overlooked, but it could not be my primary goal.
My products and discounts –people do find out about those here, and about the products of other romance authors. It is a key component of my blog week, introducing romance authors on Tuesdays, sharing promotions, blog tours and deals on Wednesdays. My readers want that information. I was 3 for 3.
But it is the fourth reason that resonates with romance readers. They want more of your voice, your personality, your experiences, and processes. In short, they want more of you.
When I share myself, my successes, my failures along with my hints, tips, advice, events, products, and discounts I provide everything my audience wants and I do it through my personal Madison Michael lens. My unique perspective on romance, on writing, on indie publishing. It has to be authentically me to succeed.
3 – Resources
If you have followed my blog before, you know that I am a big fan of Sarah Morgan. She energizes me to improve my email and blog writing and deliver skills I needed as a novice and that I need now. She knows everything blog, from the best tech (with screenshots) to organization and planning for consistent content and success. Learn from the expert who had the smarts to make me ponder and identify my purpose. Sarah Morgan is dedicating to making your blogs and emails better and she knows her stuff.
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“Creating a Blog Content Plan” from Problogger.com
Once you have your purpose, you can more easily create a content plan that is consistent with that purpose. Once you know what your readers want from you, and what you have told them you can expect, jump over here to Problogger and read this great post on creating a full year of content. I followed this to get started and now I find working from goals to annual schedule to monthly then weekly works for me. I still fall back on this post for ideas to fill in some blanks though. It never ceases to be helpful.
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“A Formula for Happiness” from the New York Times, December 2013
I found this article on happiness fascinating. A lot is written lately about how to be happy but this one rang the truest for me. It just makes sense. If you have one you prefer, please share it in the comments below.
Why did I include it in the 3 resources for this post? Purpose, it matters in a blog and it matters in life. That’s why.
Gem of the Week
Today’s Gem comes from Nayelle Atkins and Australasian Christian Writers. “To Preorder or Not to Preorder” is a short, fact-filled post to help authors decide whether offering their books for pre-order is a good decision for them. I am launching two books this summer. Besotted, the last in my Beguiling Bachelor Series, and Moonlight & Moet, the second in my B&B Billionaire Romance Series. This issue of whether to offer a pre-order option on Amazon or not was plaguing me until I read this post. I think if you wrestle with this question, it will help bring clarity to you too.