This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
I arrived in the Adirondacks High Peaks Wilderness recently.
My wife and I observed a cute coyote hunting in the field beside the house. We love animals. Seeing a wild coyote casually pouncing on prey in a remote wilderness fascinated us deeply.
One neighbor drove by, He remarked how he hated coyotes. He followed up noting how he’d hunt this coyote that evening.
My wife and I heard someone crack a few shots one hour later. I hope the coyote safely escaped into the forest.
Even though I do not like hunting I saw the coyote hunter’s perspective. He explained how ‘yotes put a serious dent in the local deer population. Hunting these carnivores partially restores a natural balance. I instantly felt a deeper bond with the individual because I saw the world through his eyes. I respected his perspective.
Pro bloggers see the world through reader’s eyes. Amateur bloggers tend to see the world through their eyes. Pros build deep connections with readers because pros address readers with empathy, compassion and a keen desire to solve reader problems. How? Pros recall how it felt to struggle blogging-wise. Every human enjoys the company of someone who appreciates their point of view.
Imagine if I saw the world through my eyes alone while chatting with the coyote hunter? I would deem him a jerk who murders animals at worst. At best, i would disagree with him and leave it at that. But since I appreciate how other people think, feel and act I did not see him as a bloodthirsty killer. I connected more deeply with the individual by seeing the world from his perspective, even though I do not even kill flies and mosquitoes, let alone coyotes.
Develop Empathy
Bloggers sometimes lack empathy. Scared bloggers see the world through the pinhole of their perspective. Do you wonder why bloggers usually struggle? How can you see, address and solve reader problems by seeing the world only from your perspective? Struggling bloggers distance themselves from readers by lacking empathy.
Struggling bloggers tend to just want money for themselves; failing bloggers usually have no interest in seeing the world through reader’s eyes to solve their problems compassionately. Pro bloggers bond with readers by empathetically seeing the world through the eyes of their readers.
I considered hitting the sack early tonight as I drove quite a distance to our new location. But I thought about you guys. I want to help you succeed online. Staying up a few minutes to share this helpful message may help you become a smidge more successful.
I pondered struggling bloggers. I recall the confusion of struggling well; that frustrated emotion of having no idea why you struggle compounds the dearth of traffic and profits. Seeing the world through struggling blogger eyes goaded me to write this post even though I feel a bit exhausted.
Do you see how pros think? Professional bloggers connect with readers, render generous service and grow their business by seeing the world through the eyes of their readers from an empathetic perspective.
Even if you blog professionally you can still benefit from receiving this empathetic tip for seeing the world through your reader’s eyes.
Suspend Your Point of View
I easily write and publish 5 guest posts daily. From my point of view, writing a 600 word guest post consumes 13 minutes of my time. But struggling bloggers may spend hours writing and submitting a 600 word guest post.
Suspending my easy-writing point of view bonds me with struggling blogger readers. Bonding helps me see the world through their perspective. I seamlessly address their problems through:
- blog posts
- guest posts
- courses
- eBooks
Because I put myself in their shoes before creating free and premium content.
Stop judging readers. Stop vehemently disagreeing with people. Cease seeing the world solely through your pinhole-sized perspective. Practice seeing the world through their perspective. Of course you won’t agree with everyone but respecting different viewpoints allows you to connect with more people. Forming deeper bonds makes it easier to succeed because you easily address reader problems by seeing the world through their eyes.
Great post Cori. I love how he turned his coyete experience into a blogging perspective. We do have to understand how others think and feel. We have to have empathy to write for others. I think this is something we have to practice and practice often. Thanks for the tips!
Lisa, I love the coyote story too and how he tied that in with the post. Changing perspective is so important for all aspects of life. Very true and essential for bloggers as well. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment Lisa.
Know Ryan? Even in my mind this thought has been popping from a couple of days…why do most bloggers see the around circumstances with their point-of-view? as you talked, why they cannot suspend their point of view for a while and put themselves in the shoe of a reader and offer the advice that the reader would like to hear but not that they wish to convey?
Seeing the world through the eyes of a struggling blogger definitely makes you craft the helpful content and gradually shapes you as a pro. Great advice, Ryan.