This is a Guest Post by Danny Iny (@DannyIny). Danny, a.k.a. the “Freddy Krueger of Blogging”, teaches marketing that works at Firepole Marketing. Together with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark and Mitch Joel, he wrote the book on building engaged audiences from scratch (available on Amazon, or as a free download).

A lot of people started blogging last year.

They chose their topic, setup their blog, tweaked their design, and eagerly started writing. They loved it, it didn’t take long for them to realize that nobody was reading.

So they turned their attention to marketing, and spent the rest of the year in fits and starts.

They tried Twitter, forum marketing, blog commenting… you name it, and they probably tried it.
And nothing seems to have worked – traffic is still a flat line in the single digits.

Well, this year is going to be different…


Why the tactics didn’t work…

The tactics of 2011 didn’t work because they were just that: tactics.

There was no strategy behind them, and they were driven by hope and faith, rather than knowledge and understanding.

You want traffic for your blog, and traffic doesn't come from Twitter, forums, or whatever – traffic comes from people.

If your blog will grow in 2012, it will be because of the people who take the time to read your work – so to build your blog’s marketing plan for 2012, you have to start with the people that you’re writing for.


Who are you writing for?

Start by getting a real feel for the person that you’re writing for. Not just something vague like “bloggers” or “boomers” or “entrepreneurs” – you need to get really specific and define the one person that you’re going to be writing for.

• How old are they?
• Where do they live?
• What kind of car do they drive?
• What did they study in college?
• Are they single or in a relationship?
• Do they have kids?
• What do they care about?
• What keeps them up at night?
• What are their hopes and dreams?
• What’s their favorite flavor of ice cream?
• What TV shows do they watch?

The more detailed a picture you have of the person that you’re writing for, the more easily you’ll be able to offer them something of value…


What can you offer them?

And yes, there’s no way around it, you have to offer something valuable for them to read your blog on a regular basis.

Think about your audience, and what they really want and need. This is important – don’t start with what you’ve got, start with what they want and need.

Then do some research. Look at your competitors. Think about where else your audience could go to have their needs met.

And find what’s missing from those sources.

You’ll never build anything substantial if you’re just a “me-too” operation, so keep at this until you find something that your audience truly wants and needs, that they aren’t getting anywhere else, and then create that value for them.

If you know your audience and you’ve got something they want, then things are looking pretty good.

Now all you have to do is tell them about it…


How can you reach them?

That’s the third step, and the stuff that people usually think about when they talk about marketing; unless your audience is psychic, you’re going to have to find them and make them aware of what you've got.

This is where tactics like Twitter, Facebook, SEO, forum posting, guest posting, and many more come into play. And yes, some strategies work better than others, but the key isn’t to pick one or another because it sounds cooler or someone you respect recommended it – the key is to start with one simple
question:

Where does your audience hang out?

If you’ve taken the time to research your market, then you should know the answer to this question. Are they on Twitter? Are they on Facebook? Are they on specific blogs?

Wherever they hang out, that’s where you need to reach them.

So start with your audience. Figure out who they are, as well as you possibly can. That will help you figure out what to do for them, and where you can find them.

The rest is details, and hard work. So get to it.


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