Have you ever found yourself reading a blog simply because you were bored and had nothing else to do?
Don’t think so, right?
People will rarely visit a blog just for the sake of passing away time.
They visit blogs looking for specific solutions to a problem that they are facing.
Unfortunately, most bloggers do not write content to solve problems, but to inform about solutions.
Now that seems like a funny observation, right?
Let’s break it down further.
You probably have seen review blogs for Smartphones that go on and on about the kind of image quality of the device, how light it is, ad infinitum.
The issue here should be, what superior solution would Smartphone A have over Smartphone B, for someone who wants to start a video channel on YouTube using a Smartphone as a video recording device.?
If you came across a blogger who showed you why one device was superior to another in making videos that you can quickly post on YouTube, you would probably click on the affiliate link and buy the device immediately.
Perhaps he makes a good point about how the device has a beautifying mode that makes you look smarter in your videos.
Maybe the device has a powerful “night” mode that records clear videos in low-light environments.
Maybe the auto-focus feature is so effective that you do not go out of focus when you are moving around when recording.
The blogger who lets you know why that device has a better camera, in this way, will convince you to buy it for video recording, right?
This is why solution-based blogging is making the blogging world a better place for bloggers.
Learn how you can leverage solution-based blogging to bring more people to your blog.
What is the Achilles Heel that Plagues Bloggers?
Bloggers spend a lot of time and effort writing great content.
The structure is great, the grammar superb, but they still do not get as much traffic as they would like.
Nobody ever comments on their blog posts or shares them on social media.
Does this sound familiar to you?
You know how frustrating and heartbreaking this can be.
You start to wonder if your blog will ever become popular and if it will ever make any money for you.
The problem may be because your blog posts are not sufficiently engaging the readers; you are not providing the solution that they are looking for.
You are great at stating what problem they have, but you are not helping them solve it.
If this seems to be happening to you, do not despair; there is a way in which you can change the way people interact with your blog posts.
Today, you will learn how to create solution-based blog posts and engage your readers in a way that improves your blog’s performance.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Stalking Your Prospective Audience
You can follow your prospective customers and look for their pain points and needs.
It does not mean stalking them in a creepy way, but in a way that will help you help them in addressing their needs.
You must have an intimate understanding of the pains and needs of your prospective customers.
- Who are they?
- Where do they live?
- What are they suffering from?
You need to understand what people want to change in their lives, what they aim to do currently and in the future.
You also need to know the kind of blog topics that will gently push them into taking the action that you want them to make.
Maybe you want them to join your email list and benefit from a course that you want to sell; you must know why they need the course and also how it will help them.
Maybe you want them to buy an affiliate product that you are promoting; you need to show them how it will change their lives for the better.
So how will you go about doing all that?
Find out what their core need is; what they are stressed about.
Every day, people are searching the Internet for information that will help them meet an urgent need.
They are probably frustrated because nobody seems to understand their need and therefore nobody is giving them the answer that they want.
If you can somehow help them, then they will forever be grateful and reward you by visiting your blog whenever you publish another insightful and helpful blog post.
They will also share your posts with others who are sharing the same need on social media.
The key to creating successful blog posts is to know just how useful they will be to your audience.
Let us go ahead and look at a simple but powerful formula that you can use to write solution-based blog posts.
How to Create Solution-based Blog Content
First Step – Identify their pain
The Internet has never lacked information aimed at solving people’s problems and helping them live a better life.
For example, there are lots of blog posts all over the blogosphere talking all about the benefits of guest blogging and how you can use this channel to bring boatloads of traffic to your blog.
The truth is, guest blogging can get more traffic to a blog, as long as it is done IN THE RIGHT WAY, and if you also know that having a guest blog published on a high-end blog is ONLY PART OF THE STRATEGY.
So, what is the pain point in this case?
People know that guest blogging will get them more traffic, so that cannot be the pain point.
The pain point is knowing how to do it right and knowing that this is only part of the overall strategy for maximizing the performance of your blog.
This is the reason why many people are struggling to get guest posting opportunities that will drive a lot of traffic back to their blogs.
And how will you know the ACTUAL pain point?
Listen.
Listen to the way they put across their pain.
When you do your research on any topic, you will come across blog posts that seem to provide the correct answers, from your point of view.
However, if you want to understand the pain point from the audiences’ point of view, you should look at the comments section.
You will see what they are complaining about.
You will see what they are saying about the things not addressed by the blog post.
And there you will have an idea of how you can provide a solution for them.
For example, someone may say that they have written a lot of guest posts and they have not increased traffic to their blogs.
So, the pain point is not getting guest post opportunities, the problem is the fact that they are NOT GETTING THE TRAFFIC THEY EXPECTED.
Armed with this information, you can go back to the research you were doing and check to see what all these posts MISSED OUT!
Perhaps the information they missed out on is crucial in getting traffic from guest posts.
All you have to do to get these people to come to your blog is answer how they can ACTUALLY get traffic from gusts posts.
What steps are they missing?
How will they implement them in order to start getting traffic from their guest posts?
This is how you start off getting the REAL pain points that you need to address in solution-based blogging.
Step 2 – Provide the solution and take away their pain
If we follow the example above about people who write guest posts but do not get the expected increase in traffic to their own blogs, the answer seems to glare out at you, right?
Well, there is a lot of information about how you can get guest post opportunities, writing for big blogs, but there is a lack of information about promoting the guest posts.
The people who actually benefit from guest blogging opportunities are those who methodically promote the post.
The pain points that people are not having answered is how to promote the guest posts, and then get the increased traffic flow to their own blogs.
So, when it comes to solution-based blogging, you need to show these people how to promote their guest posts.
That is for the example we used above.
Now, you have to learn how to use this method in providing solutions to the pia points of your audience.
Look at what the competition has done as mentioned above, then see what they are NOT doing.
Address that which they have failed to pay attention to and you will bring those readers to your blog.
That is the amazing nature of solution-based blogging.
You see what people, even the experts, are struggling with, and you address it.
There is no better way of getting fast recognition within your industry, than by solving an issue which even the experts failed to solve.
Once you find what ails your target audience and give them the solution, in the way they understand it, then they will read every piece of content that you have on your blog.
But that’s not all there Is to it, is it?
Simply knowing the pina points of your potential readers is not enough to get their attention. You have to implement ways in which to make them aware of the pain point.
You must make the pin and solution very clear when you write your content.
The first thing that you have to do is echo their pain point or frustration right back at them.
For example, when writing a headline for a solution to the guest posting problem discussed before, you could write something like this:
“Why You Don’t Get Traffic from You Guest Posts (And How You Can Change That)”
In this title, you echo their problem right back at them by pointing out why they are not getting the expected traffic from their guest posts.
Then in the last part of the headline, you tell them that you have the solution; you want them to see that they can change that situation.
Now, this is just one way to get attention from your target audience.
Actually, if you were having a problem getting traffic from your guest posts, would this title catch your eye?
Of course, it would.
It portrays a problem that people are struggling with and the solution.
Let’s get a little more practical with solution-based blogging techniques.
Problem – Solution Content Method Demystified
One way of getting the best headlines is to almost quote what a disgruntled reader may quote.
For example, if someone said:
“I have written so many guest blogs and still cannot get more traffic to my blog, what am I doing wrong?”
What headline would you formulate that would catch the attention of this reader?
Go ahead, try it out for yourself and see which one sounds great.
The person writing the comment has given you a clear idea about the pain point he or she is suffering from.
You need to get their attention with a headline that hits them square between the eyes.
“Why You Don’t Get Traffic from You Guest Posts (And How You Can Change That)”
Now this is just an example, but if you have been reading blogs in your niche you will come across people who have similar problems; they are giving you a direct way in which you can grab their attention.
Smart bloggers have come to find this a great way of starting out solution-based blog posts.
These are the blogs posts that will earn you dedicated readers who will subscribe to your blog and follow your advice religiously.
Practical Way of Using Solution-Based Blog Posts
We already mentioned the steps you need to take above:
Step 1 – Identify their Pain
Step 2 – Provide the solution and take away their pain
The question is, how do you practically undertake these steps? How should you approach it from your niche?
Identifying their pain
There are various places in your niche where potential readers spend most of their time.
Some of the great areas to find pain points are the comments sections of blog posts, private Facebook groups, Reddit, Quora, and more.
Just take the time to read through the issues raised by these potential readers and a trend will soon appear.
You find that people tend to be honest about their issues on these forums and platforms.
So, when you follow these social platforms and forums, you will identify the pain that potential readers in your niche face.
Once you have got the main pain point, you simply have to write a blog post about it, IN THE RIGHTWAY.
Providing the solution
Start by announcing their big pain in your headlines.
If the pain point is about why they cannot get people to read their blogs, then you should write a headline like:
“Understand Why People Don’t Read Your Blog Posts (And What To Do About It)”
This way, you will grab the attention of all those bloggers who seemingly cannot get people to read what they write about.
Think of the issues that you identified in the step above and then see how you can create headlines that address the pain point and also show that you have the solution.
This will definitely get readers to click on the headings and start reading your blog.
Calling out their pain point is not enough, you av to promise that you have the solution that they are looking for.
This means that the content that you have must measure up to the headline that you have used.
One way in which you can do this is to make sure that you have their attention within the first few paragraphs of your blog post.
People are finicky and can easily step away if your opening paragraphs do not show the promise you made in your title.
You have to show them that you understand their pain point, and you are going to give them a profound answer within your blog content.
There must be a way to get them to keep reading your blog posts.
One great way is to use a comment that you read about when identifying the pian pint and answering it to some extent in the opening paragraphs.
You don’t want to give them all the solutions at the start of your post.
But if you give them one significant piece, then they will continue reading to get the full solution.
You must provide solutions in a streamlined manner, in small bites, which will not overwhelm your readers.
If you give one small solution at the start of your blog, your reader will say, “sure, I can do that, then what else do I have to do?”
That will encourage the reader to go over the rest of your blog.
Another great way to solving a complicated issue is to create a series of blog posts that will provide solutions one piece at a time.
This is what will get readers to subscribe to your blog posts to keep getting more answers targeted at solving a huge problem that they have.
Every time a potential reader solves a small problem using your advice, they will come back to solve the next small problem that they have.
Solution-based blogging has the power to keep people coming back to your blog because you actually provide practical solutions to the problems that they face.
They will come back to your blog for more solutions, share your posts with others within their groups, leave glowing comments which will help bring more people to your blog, and a lot more.
Are You Ready To Practice Solution-Based Blogging?
It is time that you started following your potential readers, and know all you need to know about their pain points.
This does not mean getting a general knowledge about their problems, but getting to know them intimately.
Read comments, find out who they are, find out what EXACTLY they are suffering from.
Then get down and craft a solution that addresses their REAL problems and they will love you for it.
Although we have used the issue of guest posts and why people don’t get as much traffic as they expect as an example, this method can be used in any niche.
Get to know what your target audience is suffering from in your niche, get to know the gaps that your competition is leaving out, and then fill in those gaps.
This is how you get ahead of your competition using solution-based blogging.
