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Purposeful intentions that transform your writing and attract readers too

We live in an era where reading and interacting online dominate our daily activities. But, as a reader, it can get a bit overwhelming. I’ve just had to unfollow lots of blogs and Substack accounts. My inboxes and social media accounts are so busy that I only ever have time to read a fraction of the articles posted. As a writer, I know that my busy readers will be in a similar situation. And that makes it much harder to get noticed, attract readers and bring potential customers closer.

The encouraging news is that 61% of  Americans spend 3x more time reading blog posts now than emails. I’m sure the principle applies to readers elsewhere. But is that good news for writers too? Apparently, the same survey by Optinmonster also highlighted that 50% of bloggers complain about their difficulties to gain traffic, particularly from Facebook and Google.

Whilst it’s good to know you are not on your own, the question is, what to focus on now? Especially if you want to create good content that stands out!

It doesn’t matter what platform you write on or how skilled a writer you are, you will find it rewarding to find the right answers.

Bring readers and customers closer with the right mindset

 Let’s imagine you dream of creating a natural garden that expresses your love of nature and attracts bees too. Isn’t this similar to a blogger who dreams of writing about something close to their heart and also attracts readers? Both require thoughtful consideration before anything can happen.

To get the garden right, you want to understand the space, its purpose, and factors like sunlight and suitable plants. You may need to measure the space, create drawings and learn about the right plants. This is just the initial stage, and it all takes time. 

Again, blogging is not that different to any other creative endeavour. Your journey begins the moment you decide to create something meaningful. 

“You want to approach this journey with an open heart and a curious mind. A mindset that focuses on growth is tremendously helpful. Just like the passionate gardener who sows the seeds and defies the pests and storms with only one goal in mind: to help the plants grow and flourish.” (A quote from our book “Distinctive Voice”)

Here’s how to focus on what you need most

Please consider the following questions to help you explore what changes or improvements you want to make to your writing or your blog in general. It helps to grab a pen and a piece of paper (or open an online note) and mull over your ideas.  

• Who do you think your readers are? Do you know what they would love to see and what they respond to?
• What makes you different and memorable in their eyes that encourages them to become regular readers?
• What is important to you that you haven’t yet written about? 
• Is there anything that holds you back from wanting to stand out online?
• Or anything that stops you from upskilling or making any necessary changes?
• Do you truly believe that success is possible? If not, why is that? And what would help you?

In other words, where are the gaps? What is working for you and what isn’t? Without clarity your blogging could meander too much, and readers may be going elsewhere for their inspiration. 

A closer look at your writing goal

Once you’ve considered the above, you’ll have a better understanding of the thinking that goes into your specific goal or intention.

Key areas may include:

• Understanding your readers better so you know how to engage them
• Having a more recognisable voice so you get noticed more
• Improving your writing skills or mindset blocks
• Being more creative as a whole. Or more inspiring
• Becoming more confident with the technology. Even Substack can be a learning curve if you haven’t written online before. And what about SEO?
• Making a greater impact or being more convincing. Do you want to feel more confident in your message?
• Or having greater visibility in social media and developing a better strategy to sign up new subscribers?

These are just a few ideas for starters.

Here are some examples of what being more creative could mean for you:

• Working on your storytelling
• Taking thoughtful photos for your blog posts – let them tell a story too!
• Publishing your own artwork alongside your writing
• Writing more often without judgement and worrying about the result
• Creating a new blog category that allows you to expand your choice of topics
• Going deeper with your writing
• Being more open about how you think and create
• Changing the format. How about interviewing someone you admire?

Again, just a few ideas to get the ball rolling. Your list may well be different.

Now you can break down any other blogging goal, and you’ll have an actionable plan that’s easy to follow.

How to love your intentions even when things go wrong

A common sign that something is not quite right with your intentions or goals is when they get forgotten too quickly.  Or you feel ashamed that you always seem to fail to achieve them. As the  technical aspects of setting an actual SMART goal (a specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and time-framed goal) don’t suit everyone, setting an intention could be the answer. It feels more creative and intuitive which makes it a softer way to find your focus. 

You can also focus on intentions and goals in a less tangible way:

• Why are you choosing this particular intention? What about it appeals to you most? 
• How does it meet an important need?
• How will you feel when your intention or goal improves your life, your blog or your work?
• What could get in the way of your intention or your specific goal?

I love this way of thinking as it goes deeper and involves our intuition and emotions. It really helps to give your intentions purpose!

Whatever your reason(s) or feelings try to get a sense of them as they are very powerful. 

When I wrote “Distinctive Voice” with my colleague, it was our purpose and intentions that kept us going through various ups and downs. 

I once helped a new client who had a big and scary business goal. When I asked her why she wanted to achieve it, she said, “it will help me to buy a house in my home country so I can spend quality time with my mum whenever I want to”. She described her future feelings as “elated, bursting with pride and grateful that I kept going”.  A few years later she bought the house and boy did we celebrate! It turned out that her powerful reason and her feelings kept her motivated when the going got tough. 

The principle works.

You could also visualise your goal if you wanted to. Visualisation is another powerful technique! 

Here’s a great way to visualise the future:

It can be about any area of your life. This process applies not only to a writing goal!

1. Sit comfortably, relax your body, close your eyes and breathe gently in and out
2. Think about a date in the future 
3. Where are you, what are you doing and who is there with you?
4. What do you see, hear, smell, taste and feel? Involving all the senses helps to make the experience as real and vivid as possible
5. Now walk around the scene to take it all in again
6. Take a photo of the scene to capture it in your mind’s eye and help you remember it afterwards.
7. Come back to the present

If you feel creative, write about the experience in your journal, draw a sketch or create a vision board from magazines.

Would you like to make your blog irresistible to readers and bring customers closer? Our book “Distinctive Voice -The fearless way to a wholehearted blog worth noticing helps you to identify your true purpose and voice, overcome mindset blocks and create magnetic content for your ideal reader. It is interactive too! “The information is clear and easy to understand. Your actions are really good at getting me stuck in, and I enjoyed doing them. You have given me the confidence to give it a go”.