{"id":1082511,"date":"2022-07-14T17:15:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T07:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/?p=1082511"},"modified":"2022-07-14T17:15:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T07:15:46","slug":"11-tips-to-create-a-personal-connection-with-your-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/11-tips-to-create-a-personal-connection-with-your-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Tips to Create a Personal Connection with Your Audience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Duy Pham on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

Have you ever experienced being very connected to a blogger?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For me, there\u2019s been several times over the years where it\u2019s felt like a blogger is talking directly to me through their writing and\/or podcasting. Some content creators just seem to have that sense of who is on the other side of their content and the ability to draw their reader\/listener\/viewer into (almost) a conversation in the way that they communicate.<\/span><\/p>\n

A personal example of this is a podcaster called <\/span>Rob Bell<\/span><\/a>, who every time I listen to him, it feels like he is directly talking to me. This is probably because he has a similar background to me and he\u2019s talking on topics that I\u2019m interested in but it\u2019s also in his personal and engaging delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether or not you have ever had this experience, I think it\u2019s really interesting and important to examine what these content creators do to create this connection to them. Certainly some people have a natural ability for creating this personal connection. But for the rest of us, I think there\u2019s some learnings that we can adapt and use ourselves to create a more personal experience for your blog\u2019s audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

What I want to share in this article is 11 tips for creating that personal connection, techniques that I\u2019ve observed from other content creators and things I\u2019ve tried myself and have worked with my audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. Tell Personal Stories<\/span><\/h2>\n

Storytelling is a very engaging technique – people love stories and the more you can tell your own stories the more relatable you will become. The stories you tell don\u2019t have to be very personal heartfelt stories (although they can be), but any story that shows you\u2019ve had some experience with the topic you\u2019re talking about creates a powerful, relatable connection in your reader.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s <\/span>14 types of stories you can tell on your blog<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo by Kevin Erdvig on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

2. Write Like You Speak<\/span><\/h2>\n

Everyone\u2019s style of writing is going to be a little different, but for me, I find that when I write in a conversational style I am a much better communicator. If you\u2019ve heard me present at a conference or listened to my <\/span>podcast<\/span><\/a>, you\u2019ll know that I speak in a very conversational tone. And I\u2019ve found that when I use this style of writing I get a lot more feedback – blog comments and emails from my readers – than when I have adopted a more formal, authoritative \u201cprofessor\u201d-like tone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more about how to write like a human, <\/span>listen to this interview I did with Beth Dunn<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Use Personal Language<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is just a little tweak to the way you write that makes a big difference to how it\u2019s received by your reader. Anytime you can use the word \u201cyou\u201d in your writing or presentations is a very powerful thing. For example, the title of this blog post is “11 Tips to Create a Personal Connection with Your<\/span><\/strong> Audience<\/span>\u201d rather than (the depersonalised) \u201c…. an audience\u2026\u201d. This tweak immediately makes your reader think about their own experience and makes it personal rather than theoretical. As soon as you start addressing your reader personally, they start applying what you\u2019re saying to them and their own situation and making it specific and particular.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. Picture Your Reader<\/span><\/h2>\n

When you start picturing your reader\/listener\/viewer rather than just typing words on your computer, speaking into your microphone or presenting to camera, you will immediately personalize your message, delivery and style. A very useful technique to bring your reader alive is to create a reader avatar and then have that avatar present in front of you when you create content for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s <\/span>How to create a Reader Avatar for Your Blog<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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5. Address Real Reader Needs<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the things you will identify as part of creating your reader avatar is what their needs are. Of course you can draw upon your own experiences, issues and problems with your topic, but you should also be asking your readers questions to find out what issues they have. You could set up a survey (if you have a big enough audience), ask questions on your blog, on your email list or via social media to find out what your readers\u2019 needs, challenges, dreams, motivations are. The more you understand what your readers need, the more you will know who they are (and they will know that you know) and the more you\u2019ll be able to address their specific issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

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6. Write About Your Readers Feelings, Fears and Dreams<\/span><\/h2>\n

When you get feedback from your readers on what their needs are, you will get ideas for topics to address but just as (if not more) importantly, you will also get a feel for what they\u2019re feeling. You may need to read between the lines of your audience\u2019s responses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example I asked my audience in relation to blogging:<\/span><\/p>\n