Beyond Sunday Worship

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Is Your Blog Connecting With People?

Nobody wants to write crap.

If you do, I question your calling as a blogger.

You blog for life change. You communicate to convince. You desire more than words on a page. You want to change the world.

A desire to blog starts with a desire to make a difference.

But many of us never see it. Our intentions speak louder than our results.

Do you feel your content is lost at sea?

Our content doesn’t get read by more than a few people. Readers look at our posts and barely read half of it. We are forgettable – a drowning voice in a sea of noise.

I wrote a guest post a few weeks back explaining how to write content that is irresistible to your readers.

Today I want to talk about one idea, one option that has dramatically improved not only how I blog, but how I approach communication.

For starters, pick up Andy Stanley’s book “Communicating for a Change“. No, seriously. It’s an essential read for all communicators, whether written or spoken.

Within this book you’ll find a simple formula that you can use to craft blog posts that connect. I don’t think Andy had bloggers in mind when he wrote this book, but the application is wonderful.

A Simple, Yet Effective Blogging Template

The formula is an outline that consists of 5 sections, each separated by a transition statement. That formula is Me – We – God – You – We.

Go ahead and write those headings on a piece of paper. Even as you read this post, I recommend you give it a try.

ME

This is where you personally relate to your subject matter. People like to read writing that is personal, writing that is human.

Now it is possible to become self-absorbed and therefore irrelevant to your readers but we’re not talking about this. This is where you briefly tell how you relate to the subject matter.

Maybe a funny story, a shocking, yet true statement, or a struggle you’ve experienced.

WE

This is where you connect your subject matter to the reader. Draw them in to what you’re saying. Make them feel it. Make them say, “Yes, I struggle with this. Yes, I feel the same way.” If you skip this point, your readers will leave before you can say, “This blog is a waste of time.”

Step away from the “me”, “myself”, and “I” language. Nobody cares about you anymore. Readers are reading to get something out of it.

Connect with them.

GOD

This is the heart of your post. Now I know Andy’s method is written for preachers and you may or may not be blogging about God.

This is the heart of what you’re trying to communicate – your main idea. If I were to ask you what this blog post is about, you need to distill it in as few words as possible.

If you’re not even sure what it’s about, know that they won’t have a clue. Make it clear, make it sticky.

YOU

What are people supposed to do after reading your posts? If you want to blog for life change, you need to call people to action. It’s not enough just to read. The strength of blogging is its practicality and application.

This is where you ask your reader to do something. Take a leap of faith? Apply a “how-to”? Become as awesome as you? You want your reader to have a clear plan as to what they’re supposed to do.

WE

This is the moment of vision. What would the world look like if we all applied your posts? What is the “why” behind the “what”? The goal here is to leave your readers inspired. Paint them a picture of the future. Motivate. Inspire. Envision.

This is by no means an exhaustive outline for every blog post. But it is a great way to blog for life change – to connect with your audience in a special way.

Go forth and connect with your readers.

Question: What is your style of blogging? What types of posts do you write? Leave us a comment and leave a link to your blog.

Comments

  1. TC Avey says

    I like that outline, I think subconsciously I have been trying to follow something similar to this. Glad to have some steps laid out there! Thanks!

    I blog about current events/politics from a religious point of view. We are often too busy to watch more than the weather or a few snippets of news, so I try to bring readers stories that are not always in the head lines but are very important for everyone, especially Christians, to be aware of.
    I also blog about inspirational religious themes, things God is working on in my life and the lives of those around me.

    I welcome everyone to visit my site and pray you find it enlightening. http://tcavey.blogspot.com/

    Thanks for allowing me to post a link to it,
    I hope you all enjoy!

  2. kathyfannon says

    I like the formula for the five sections, but I’m not really sure how to incorporate that into my blog…maybe loosely based?

    I’m a recently certified health coach and have been focusing my efforts on building my blog at the moment. I get disheartened when I think I have great content but I can’t even get my parents to read, let alone other family, friends or even the “social” community.

    I understand not everybody is as fired up about nutrition as I am, but somehow I need to find a way to make it interesting and informative enough for people to want to come back and read and share it with their friends.

    I’m currently reworking my main focus areas in hopes that things will pick up.

    I welcome any insights anybody has to share! (Even if you don’t care about nutrition! 🙂 )

    http://kathyfannon.wordpress.com

    • David Santistevan says

      Kathy, have you thought about guest posting on other nutrition blogs? The early stages of a blog is a lot of work in terms of finding your audience. I’ve found they don’t come to you. You need to find where they’re hanging out!

      • kathyfannon says

        David, my frustration is similar to TC’s (below). My Blogger site (which I decided to switch back to) has almost 13,000 page views and it’s rare that I get comments. One young lady will comment with consistency, but I can’t seem to get comments, conversations or discussions going. I’ve had this blog since May 2010, and haven’t been consistent with posting (which will help), but I still feel that somehow I’m missing something.

        But, you are right about guest blogging. I’m just not sure where to find that. Others I know in my field are starting their own businesses in other areas of the country, so not really my target market. I have considered *having* guest bloggers from this area, as I really want to focus on health in West Michigan. Maybe personal trainers or something like that.

        Anyway…thanks for ‘listening’ and I’ve added you to my Google Reader so I can catch your posts on my Flipboard app! 🙂

    • TC Avey says

      The only insight I have is that I share your pain. I am trying to build up my base, but am struggling.
      I understand how it feels to put work into creating a great post and get few, if any interest.

      I also get frustrated when my friends that do look at it don’t bother to post comments, instead they email/text me and tell me they like it. why won’t they take the time to say that on a comment?

      I have decided to not get discouraged. Instead, I have given this to God and have peace.
      I am now focusing on posting what God wants. I am going to be faithful to do what he asks of me and not worry if people read it. I know that if I remain faithful to him, he will bless my efforts. It may not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen. Daily I pray over my blog and postings and ask for his direction.

      I am not a health “nut”, but I do care about nutrition. I will check out your site.
      Not sure if you care about current events/politics and religion, but that is what I post on if you would care to check it out.

      Good luck. hope it helps to know you’re not alone.

      • kathyfannon says

        TC, that kind of became my prayer today too, asking God to bring the ones who need the information I have to share, and to help me share the information they need. All I can do is all I can do and I’m going to let Him take care of who reads it. I really have to keep focus of this as a ministry for now. Although that little validation is nice sometimes! 🙂

        I’ll check out your blog too. I was way into current events and politics a few years ago, but it’s too frustrating to watch the news and keep up anymore.

        Thank you for your encouragement!

        • TC Avey says

          You’re welcome. Thanks for checking out my blog. I understand the frustration of muddling through the news, I get that way too sometimes, but since I happen to have a love/hate relationship with it I keep on watching!

          That’s part of the reason why I post on certain topics. I try to pick topics that are important for Christians to be aware of. I am not a news reporter, so I don’t try to bring ALL the news. I trust that major headlines catch peoples attention.

          However, when God lays something on my heart I share it. There is so much distortion of the facts that it can get overwhelming, but somethings are too important to not try and clarify.
          At least I give it a shot.

          Since I know not everyone likes politics/current events, I try to give some religious and inspirational postings as well. We need encouragement, especially with all the depressing headlines glaring at us!

  6. Don McAllister says

    And to answer your question. My style of blogging is constantly evolving as I learn more. Right now I’m finding templates like these work great. I have noticed more interest in my posts the more ME I put into it..people like authentic bloggers. I also need to work on shorter and simpler aspects as well. Again, great advice here I’m going to start putting to practice immediately.

    I write in two main areas: Christian personal development and Blogging

    Check out my sites:
    http://myoneresolution.com
    http://linchpinbloggers.com

    Thanks!

    • David Santistevan says

      You’ve done a great job with your sites, Don. Keep it up! The short and simple is something I want to explore further as well. Where does the pressure come from to go big all the time?

  7. arny says

    Wow…i think i’ve always written that way…with out knowing it! lol…

    maybe because i have always “preached” to yongins…lol…so it always flowed…if that makes since…

    I write about Analogies…so this formula is always in…

    i do feel a need to change it up sometimes…cause it starts to sound repetitive…But for the most part YES, it works.

    by the way…you haven’t stopped by in a while my friend…
    I’ll be looking out for you! LOL…

    • David Santistevan says

      We all need to change it up a bit. It’s easy to just do what has worked in the past, but bloggers need to constantly reinvent and stay fresh. Still figuring out how to do that 🙂

  8. Chris says

    Good call David!

    I preach in the format that I preach in because of this book!

    I outline everyone sermon using ME, WE, GOD, YOU, WE

    Love it!

  10. Johan Borg says

    Wow, thank you for this! I’m a big fan of structure but haven’t really figured out how to break out of my writer’s block. This seems like a wonderful way of doing just that.

    Your blog rocks my socks!
    Johan Borg
    Sweden

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