It’s day three of Take Your Content To The Next Level Week and today’s post is all about something I’m super passionate about - creating content for your ideal readers. I’m forever talking about the importance of getting specific with your blog, knowing your ideal readers, and creating content that is specific to them and their needs. If you’re starting to take your online space seriously and you really want to craft a blog with purpose, impact and reach then getting specific on who your ideal reader is and how you can create the perfect content for them is one of the best places to start.

This post is for you if:

You want to make money with your blog: You’re a solopreneur building your very own online empire. Whether you have a shop, sell digital products, services, or something else altogether, if your blog works alongside your business then creating content that connects with your ideal clients/customers is a must.

You want to establish yourself in your industry: If your blog is an extension of your career, a place to share your voice, experience, and expertise and connect with people in your industry then getting super specific is a great way to really work towards those bigger goals.

You want to connect with a specific type of reader: Maybe your blog exists as a resource for a specific audience, or maybe you’re aching to connect with likeminded people. If there’s a specific audience you’re trying to reach then it’s a no brainer that content ideally for them is the perfect thing to share.

You want to blog with intention and be guided by a bigger purpose: So many of us blog due to passion for our chosen subject and niche. If you really want to make a difference and share your words of wisdom and experience with the people who need it, creating intentional content for your ideal readers will be one of the most fulfilling things you can do with your blog.

Are you free tonight at 9pm GMT?

Before we jump into the post, if you’re free tonight at 9pm GMT I would love to connect with you over on Twitter for the first ever #jennypurrchat. I believe blogging is better when done with community and people to share the journey with and I’m really looking forward to spending an hour tonight connecting with the Jennypurr community and I would love to see you there!

Know who your ideal reader is First and foremost, you need to get super specific on who your ideal reader is. Writing out to the masses can leave our work feeling a little cold and stale, whereas if we have in mind a specific type of person we’re writing for we can feel much more connected to the content we create and that will translate into our posts as well. You might have a few different ideal readers. For example, Jennypurr is for bloggers & creatives and we all know how varied the awesome people in those two categories can be. My focus is to create for anyone who is as passionate as I am about using their online presence to share their voice, connect with others, and maybe even start a business and income streams.

I’ve got three questions to help you figure out who your ideal readers are and how you can create engaging and useful content for them.

1. What are they interested in? Figuring out who your ideal readers are starts off with figuring out what exactly they’re interested in. You’ve started your online space for a reason. Whether it’s to connect, share your expertise, or lessons you’ve learned along the way, once you start thinking in-depth about who exactly it is you want to connect with then the awesome ideas will just start flowing and flowing. Feel free to really be completely honest with yourself when deciding who exactly it is you want to create for. Don’t worry about it being too niche specific or off-the-wall, chances are if it’s something you’re crazy passionate about there will be tons of others too looking for the perfect blog or resource for them.

Task: Ask yourself the following questions (and actually write down your answers - it helps, I promise!)

What are my ideal readers passionate about?
What are the top five websites/online resources they love and read every week?
What kind of information are they looking for?
What do they like to do with their spare time?
What are their long term goals and aims?

Something to note: Don't just limit yourself to the readers you have now. Think outside of the box and explore who it really is you want to be creating for. And if you think it's a niche that doesn't already exist? That just means you have the opportunity to really create a unique and exciting online space.

2. What problems do they face? Now that you’ve explored what your ideal readers are interested in, it’s time to explore in-depth the problems they may face. Whether it’s making savvy consumer choices, getting their business off the ground, or maybe finding creative fulfilment and freedom, whatever it is that you feel driven to share now is the time to really get specific on the problems your ideal readers are struggling with.

Task: Write down 10 problems your ideal readers may struggle with. Stuck on what those problems may be? Three awesome ways to figure that out is:

Explore the places where your ideal readers are hanging out (Social media, comments, Google+ Communities, Twitter chats etc) and see what issues they’re talking about and sharing the most
What problems did you struggle with in relation to your niche a year ago? 6 months ago? 3 months ago?
Ask them. Sounds obvious, but host a reader survey or ask on social media.

3. How can you help them? I think it’s super important to note at this point that solving problems doesn’t always have to come in the form of advice posts. Informative content full of implementable steps is awesome, it’s probably the thing I read online the most, however you can still offer support and help through personal insights and less structured content. Now that you have figured out 10 things your ideal readers are struggling with, you can now explore how and if you can help them.

Task: Look at the ten problems you chose in the previous task and brainstorm different ways you can solve each one for your readers. Whether it’s in the form of a post, a series, a monthly theme, or even a product or larger offering, explore different ways you can bring a valuable perspective to the topic. You may see that some problems can be broken down into small subcategories, and hopefully at the end of this you’ll have a big list of upcoming post ideas that you’ll be excited to start working on.

Something to note: Don’t be afraid if there’s a problem you don’t have the experience or knowledge to be able solve yet. Whatever you do, don’t fake it til you make it. Only share authentic advice that comes from a place of experience, and the things you’re not clued up on yet? Put them on your further learning list and use them as jumping off points for areas to research and experiment with.

The awesome thing is, as you grow and evolve and your audience does too you can keep repeating these three steps so you can keep the engaging and interesting ideas flowing and stay in tune with the overall purpose of your content and blog.

I'd love to know your thoughts and your experience of creating for your ideal readers?

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How To Create Content For Your Ideal Readers

TO CELEBRATE TAKE YOUR CONTENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL WEEK I HAVE A SPECIAL DISCOUNT ON MY CONTENT COACHING PACKAGE FOR BLOGGERS & CREATIVES. BOOK NOW AT JUST £63 BEFORE THE DISCOUNT ENDS THIS WEEKEND.