The key to being successful is to discover the problems people are having and provide unique solutions for those problems. But that brings up the question of how can I find out what problems my readers are having? It’s not like they come to you like you are a Psychologist and they are having therapy sessions. So here are several keys to discovering what those problems are, so you can help to provide solutions.
Listen to what your Audience is Saying – Readers will often make comments, both on topic and off topic, listen to what they are saying or asking and begin thinking about it. You can even use their question as a jumping off point for a new blog post to see if others feel the same way.
- Write a Blog Post – talk about a subject that a reader brought up, you don’t have to mention that they brought it up, What you are doing is judging to see if there is any interest or issues in this subject area. If so, look for the solution, you can do this by tailoring your questions to discover the solution.
Ask Questions – One of the best ways to discover problems is to ask questions. You can do this at the end of your blog post by adding an open-ended question. This will encourage responses from readers and offer fresh ideas to provide solutions for. - Run a Survey – Surveys are another way of asking questions. If you form your questions correctly and create a series of them, you can get a good snapshot of your readers and what their needs are. Survey Monkey is one of the best resources out there for creating surveys.
- Write a Controversial Blog Post – Don’t worry about offending anyone, this will probably happen whether or not what you write is controversial. When your blog post is controversial, you stimulate conversation and comments. Along with that, your content gets shared.
- Get Engaged in Conversations – You want to be active in the comments on your blog and others that you visit. By being engaged, you take part and create conversation. You can also direct the conversation and ask other questions to clarify things.
- Get Engaged in Social Media – Social media is a great place to discover problems that a group of people are having and to engage them in conversation. You also get almost immediate response to your questions which allows you to create on the spot.
BONUS!
Read Blog Posts on Other Sites – See what they are talking about and engage in the conversation there. You can also discover what they are writing about and cover what other bloggers are not.
Following these steps, you can discover the issues that your audience is facing and engage them in conversation while developing a solution to help solve their needs. In doing so, you can develop a strong brand and a loyal following.
So what methods do you have for discovering the problems your audience is facing?