Earlier this week I wrote about the ways a narrow target market broadens your chances for business success. Today I’m going to extend that thinking to blogging, since I believe blogging is an exceptionally useful part of many mediators’ marketing strategy.

When you have a well-defined, focused target market, I believe you’ll blog more successfully. Here’s why:

• It’s much easier to blog with well-defined target market because you know exactly whom you’re talking to. Don’t believe me? Try writing two short (250 words) articles on the ways that mediation can specifically help your reader. Write the first article for “everyone and anyone.” Write the second for a specific, narrow target market that you’re interested in or know something about (e.g., rock musicians, construction companies, real estate brokers, visiting nurses). Which one is more convincing?
• When you know the people you’re writing to and for, you’ll know how formal or informal your writing style should be.
• When you know your specific audience, you’ll be much better able to determine what kind of content will be compelling and what will bring them back to your website again and again.
• A focused target market helps you be alert to value-added resources for that market. For example, if your target market is couples who are getting married (and their mothers, perhaps), you’re going to be able to provide great resources and advice on hiring and communicating effectively with the wedding photographer, on how to avoid disputes with the facilities staff, etc. You may also be able to point your readers to blog posts and other online resources that have to do with creating a great wedding—and those resources need have nothing to do with conflict. Your readers will come to know you as someone who’s looking out for their interests.

What’s the buzz at Mediator Tech?

Teleseminars on blogging and its benefits for building business.

Making Mediation Your Day Job by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at MediatorTech.com.