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11:16 am
February 13, 2012
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TacklingOurDebt
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I'm just curious to hear different opinions on what type of blog posts people enjoy reading the most?
Do you enjoy reading personal experiences as they relate to finance?
Or do you find that you are drawn more towards posts that talk about specific financial subjects, for example, how to find the best credit card, how to find the best mortgage, articles about the economy, etc.
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11:36 am
February 13, 2012
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MoneyIsTheRoot
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Im interested in what is most relevant to me at that moment…so in short, my tastes change all the time.
I will say that I enjoy reading real life experiences, and that's often how I try to write in my blog. There isnt much a blogger here can tell me about debt, credit, investing that I dont already know, or haven't already read somewhere else… so real life experience is a nice change of pace. Then again, I may not be your target reader if you are looking for ideas.
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12:27 pm
February 13, 2012
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Funancials
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| Member | posts 345 |
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I definitely favor posts about personal experiences. It's hard to get my attention with "Seven Tips To A Good Credit Score." That's an article you'll find at a more established site, so why would I visit a tiny blog for that information?
If I read an article and immediately say "tell me something I don't know" then you're doing something wrong.
If you are going to post something obvious, at least make me laugh.
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12:29 pm
February 13, 2012
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Modest Money
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| Member | posts 256 |
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I think it will vary depending on your audience and specific niche. If they are already educated in financial matters, they'd probably want to hear more personal experiences. I'm trying to do a mix of both to see how that works. That way hopefully I can satisfy the search engines and visitors. With so many personal finance blogs out there, you do want to try to be unique somehow. Being more personal seems to be the way to go in that respect. You can always do some trial and error and see what works for your specific blog.
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12:38 pm
February 13, 2012
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JT_McGee
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Personally, I'm not all that keen on personal posts. I compare such posts to historical movies, where the history is displaced with some random love story. Drives me nuts!
Different strokes for different folks. I think so long as you mix it up so that you include a little bit of emotional appeal alongside a logical appeal you'll grab both audiences. Sam does a really good job of doing both.
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1:24 pm
February 13, 2012
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Eric – PersonalProfitability.com
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I like a big mix of post types as long as the content is relevant to me and my situation. I won't spend a lot of time on something for families or kids, but I will spend time reading ideas on how to quickly make a little extra cash or do something better.
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2:24 pm
February 13, 2012
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sooverthis
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I'm really big on reading about others' experiences, but I like something I can apply to my own situation as well. As a reader, I will ALWAYS skip over posts that are dry and read like an encyclopedia entry. As a writer, I try to share enough personal experience to make a topic interesting/different, yet still include information that other people may be able to use. (Sometimes I fail miserably and write nothing but personal experience, but most of my readers seem to like that.)
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2:30 pm
February 13, 2012
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Dr Dean
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| Member | posts 241 |
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The person that knows the answer to that question won't be hanging out here, he will be counting his/her bucks doing that 4 hour work week thingey….
How do you know what your audience wants without:
- watching stats-retweets and comments
- search traffic numbers
- Occ. survey to get audience/reader participation
Your search traffic has different needs from your everyday reader. I try to write for my everyday reader, and hope the search traffic will follow.
The personal finance bloggers here are great people, but they don't represent the "average reader"-just my opinion.
That said, those personal finance bloggers can drive traffic to your site, so don't ignore them either.
So I try to mix it up, throw a lot of darts and hope a few at least hit the wall where the target sits.
(And funny is always good.)
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2:36 pm
February 13, 2012
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This That And The MBA
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| Member | posts 240 |
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I love reading posts about personal experiences because I can see the world through your eyes in that particular post. The topics change day to day depending on what I am feeling. 
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3:35 pm
February 13, 2012
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Edward Antrobus
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I'm in the personal experience post. Even when I write more informational posts, I try to try it in to my life in some way.
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5:14 pm
February 13, 2012
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Daisy
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I always like to read about people's stories. The more personal, the better! I like reading blogs like I like reading books, so I'd much prefer reading a blog post that has a lot of the blogger in it.
I find that I get the most comments and traffic on my funny or outrageous posts, which are few and far between.
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8:15 pm
February 13, 2012
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ThadP @ thadthoughts.com
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| Member | posts 184 |
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I think a good post states a proposition, illustrates with personal experience, and then draws some type of conclusion. Personal experiences help readers identify with the issue.
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11:32 pm
February 13, 2012
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AmericanDebtProject
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I'm all about story-telling. I love the personal posts, but some bloggers also do a great job of making dry topics into a well-explained idea. A great example was this points vs. no points mortgage article I just read on a blog, it was LONG but so clear and I understood a lot more about the concept than before. Sorry I can't remember whose blog it was. It was great though.
I'd use statcounter to find out what types of search traffic you are getting, it might inspire you to do more of a certain post.
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7:54 am
February 14, 2012
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Michelle (Making Sense of Cents)
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I like to read stuff that I can relate to at the current moment.
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9:18 am
February 14, 2012
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Smart Wealth
| | Michigan | |
| Member | posts 304 |
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I like to read posts about real situations that I may have or will come across, as well as learn new things from it.
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11:49 am
February 14, 2012
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Jeremy @ Personal Finance Whiz
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I think you really need some type of personal twist when you write. All of the major personal finance topics have been covered 100 times over. If all you are going to do is a fact based post on the same topic – what value have you added?
There is tremendous value is talking about personal finance from your own personal view point. Personality is what makes you stand out and what will help you draw and retain readers.
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9:52 am
February 16, 2012
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TacklingOurDebt
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Very interesting feedback. Thanks!
The general consensus seems to be personal posts or at least add something personal to an educational post.
I agree!
I too enjoy reading about other people's lives and experiences.
It's like reading a book. It keeps you coming back for more.
It reminds me of a book I read a few years ago about flipping real estate. It was actually written in two formats. One was all the educational stuff about flipping and the other was following the personal journey of a woman and her mentor as her mentor taught her the ropes in flipping real estate.
I read the personal version.
But I have to ask, have you ever written a post and while you are writing it a voice in your head is saying "who the heck is going to want to read this?".
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