“Are You Talking to Me?”

“Are You Talking to Me?”

 

talkingHey everyone!

The quote I’m referring to in the title of this post is one that you may recognise as being from a famous film. I believe it was uttered by Robert de Niro in the film “Taxi Driver”, but I’ve never seen it, although I have heard the quote referred to a lot.

The film that it appears in that I’m most familiar with is “Back to the Future Part 3” where Marty, Colt in hand, is looking at himself in a mirror and reciting famous quotes from classic films.

But what does this have to do with anything?

Well, I’ve put together a short video that will shed some light on it. It’s only just over six minutes long. If you’re a content creator of any kind, or even want to be, I’m sure that you’ll find this video to be of value:

 

 

Yes, if the question, “Are you talking to me?” needs to be asked, then you are not conveying your message well enough.

Sure, a visitor to your blog may not actually come out and ask that question specifically, but are they feeling any kind of connection with you after going through your content?

talkingWhen they go through your content, does what you say resonate with them on a personal level?

Do they think, “Yeah, that was a good article”, or do they think more along the lines of, “Wow! I really like how this guy/girl thinks! I got so much from this and it’s as though they really ‘get’ me!”. Again, the person may not think that consciously, but is that how they feel?

It should be!

If you are struggling to get the engagement on your blog, the subscribers to your list, the clicks on your offers, etc. then it could be time to look at just how your are presenting yourself and your content.

Of course, it’s not necessarily so cut and dry as that. For example, if you are not getting people opting in to your list there could be other reasons, such as are you giving them a reason to do so? Is simply saying, “Subscribe for updates” going to be sufficient, do you think?

But again, even this comes back to how you are presenting yourself when it comes to reaching your audience on a personal level. If you are thinking about the person at the other end then you will ensure that your invitation for them to submit their details in an opt-in form is an appealing one.

talkingIf you want them to engage with you then you need to engage with them!

Putting up bland, sterile content that’s devoid of personality, a call-to-action, or any kind of indication that you have an interest in the person at the other end will turn your blog into snoozeville and make your job so much harder.

Your Turn!

I hope you’ve found this post and video to be of value. As I mentioned in the video, I’d love for you to comment below and to share the post if you got value from it and think that it will benefit others.

How about you? Have you noticed a difference in the type of content, bloggers and marketers you relate to versus those you don’t?

What are some of your favourite ways to engage with your audience?

Or, if you are yet to get started and are just on the receiving end, what kind of things do you like the content deliverer to do that makes you feel more of a connection, more engaged and more likely to pay attention to what he/she puts out?

Again, please let me know in the comments section below and feel free to get in touch if I can help with anything.

Until next time!

About Me

Glenn is a Certified iPro Masters Partner

Please follow and like us:
Pin Share

10 thoughts on ““Are You Talking to Me?””

  1. Hi Glenn,

    Thanks for the great post! I love to see video used in posts like this, you done a fab job. Food for thought as always!

  2. Hi Glenn.

    Nice video.

    You are so right when it comes to talking to your readers as compared to talking instead of talking at them. I hope that I’ve been talking to my audience, but I’m not getting the interaction that I’d expect, except for those few regulars I have. This tells me that I’m not giving them the WOW factor, which is what we should be striving for as bloggers. So I need to rethink how I approach the content I post.

    I know that I need to get more focused with my blog posts. I’ve been writing about what I think my readers need to know and I’m definitely not getting enough visitors. Of course, it could be that I’m not promoting my posts enough, when I do post something. Another topic for another time.

    I’ve decided that I’m going to write a post to just ask people what problems they are having pertaining to internet marketing, whether it’s lead generation, building a blog, or whatever they tell me. Not only will that give me ideas of what to write about, it will also help me to start focusing on the right group of people. Then I can either write a post, create a video, write a report, etc. to provide a solution.

    Thanks for this post. It ties in with a post I recently read by Don Purdum and another by Adrienne Smith.

    Talk to you soon….Chris
    Chris DeeWaard recently posted…Walk The Walk! Don’t Talk The Talk!My Profile

    1. Hey Chris,

      Those are all valid points you mention. I think you do come across very well in the way you present yourself. All those things you’ve noticed, well, you’ve answered yourself as to what you need to do. The key is to actually follow through and do it, which I’m sure you will. It’s THAT that stumbles many bloggers – they’re not prepared to stick with it, find where they need to adjust and actually work at it. When someone will, though, it makes all the difference and is what separates a true blogger from a wannabe. In fact, this applies to anything.

      Asking people what problems they may be having is an obvious, yet so powerful way to find out what they want. It is so very obvious – you want to know something? Ask! Yet it’s one of those things that can be so easily overlooked if we’re not careful. More to the point, try to tailor it to you – what do they want from YOU? How do they want YOU to help them? Your audience must connect and resonate with you. And, indeed, you with them.

      Keep at it, Chris, you’re doing great and you’ll go on to do a whole lot better, I’m sure of it. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…What Hiking Can Teach You about Online BusinessMy Profile

  3. Dear Glenn,
    yes I totally agree with you here. I think that people forget there is someone on the other end of the line watching, listening and engaging. I think sometimes people are only interested in the outcomes like-how much money are they going to make from this or that. I do feel whenever I blog or vlog, I give it my all. I do it from a feeling place and I know I can tell if I did a good job or a bad job by the way I feel at the end of it. That’s why it’s always good to be on form for work otherwise it will prove fruitless.
    Another thing-I love it when you talk about Diseases. LOL
    Thanks for this post because I think it helps people, like me to remember how to define what it is we are doing and how we are going about it.-Jennifer
    Jennifer recently posted…How the Affiliate Club put wheels on my train.My Profile

    1. Hey Jennifer,

      Absolutely, you have to remember that behind every statistic is a person. Every visitor, click, sale, subscription and so on is a person with real needs, goals and desires. It’s our job to help that person get one step closer to their desired outcome. If, instead, we’re focusing on our own desired outcome (such as money, or whatever) then we’re doing it wrong.

      So, you liked my slip-up, huh? I did consider redoing the video or editing that bit out, but I always remember Lee McIntryre talking about how you should just leave stuff like that in, as it show that you are human. Obviously there are times when we would want to have things more ‘polished’, but just for something like this, nah, it’s better to just be ourselves, slip-ups and all.

      Thanks for stopping by, it’s always great to connect with you (even when you’re bugging me…. 😛 (just kidding!) )

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…How to Know When to Ditch Your TeacherMy Profile

  4. Hi Glenn,

    Great video

    Engagement is key.

    And certainly Robert DeNiro’s use of that famous phrase “You talkin’ to me?” was chilling when he said it in Taxi Driver, and perfectly illustrates how NOT to engage with people!

    Since I became more focused on targetting my messages to my audience, I’ve noticed that more engagement but more shares too. The other thing I’ve noticed is that the comments people are leaving are warmer and more enthusiastic.

    There’s still more work to be done, but I am happy with progress thus far

    Thanks Glenn

    Kim
    Kim Willis recently posted…If I Had My Time Over Again As a BloggerMy Profile

    1. Hi Kim,

      Thanks for turning that quote on its head and coming up with another application, I hadn’t thought of it like that! As I explained in my post, I haven’t actually seen the film, but I have seen the clip on YouTube and you’re so right – we don’t want to be engaging with people in a confrontational or accusatory way. Great application!

      I’m glad you’ve seen good results from your targeting. The thing is, once you find something that works, do more of the same and scale it up! From what I’ve seen of how your present yourself online, I don’t think you’ll have any problems in building upon what you’re already doing.

      I certainly know what you mean about an increase in engagement. If our audience feels that we are personally interested in them, then they will feel much warmer to us and, in turn, much more likely to engage and do so enthusiastically.

      I don’t get this stuff perfect by any means, but I’ve tried all kinds of different approaches and have found that the personal, individual approach always yields positive results. So now, I just try to talk to my audience in the same way that I would talk with them if they were standing right in front of me. Just like yourself, there’s work to be done, but at least we’re both heading in the right direction!

      Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts, it’s much appreciated. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Exciting Changes!My Profile

  5. Hi Glenn,

    Nice to “see you” my man. Really enjoyed your post and the key messages you were delivering.

    People who simply talk “at you” whether in a blog post or in everyday life, usually bore the hell out of me very quickly. However, anyone who shows they are interested rather than trying to be interesting, will always grab my attention.

    I might add that our blog posts should not only talk “to our audience” but also “with our audience” and that raises an interesting point.

    I just wonder how many bloggers actually know WHO their audience really is?

    I mean if they are just creating content that they feel is important and of value without knowing who their readers really are or what their “pain pints” are, then whether you’re talking “at them” or “to them” or even “with them”, would make no difference.

    Your blog content would be a complete waste of time and effort.

    Why? Because your sending the wrong message. A message that more than likely has no interest to your blog visitors.

    Just like you did in your excellent video, we should always be creating content with the reader in mind. As an internet marketer and blogger I like to write as I talk to get as much engagment as I can.

    From my perspective as a relatively new blogger, I find that if my blog posts (and my comments) are conversational as I share my content, then I seem to get a lot more responses from my blog visitors.

    Thanksa gaig for this valuableshare Glenn – have sent it far and wide as I think you have hit on an extremely important topic for bloggers.

    Best wishes from a remote Thai village blogger

    Peter
    Peter Beckenham recently posted…Why Haven’t You Got Started With Your Blog?My Profile

    1. Hi Peter,

      You wrote a key point there: “Anyone who shows they are interested rather than trying to be interesting”. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with doing both and it’s something that I would encourage! But, too often I see bloggers trying so hard focusing on the content itself that they overlook the most important thing, which is to show interest in the person.

      As you rightly say, just who is that person? You have to have this clear. To be honest, even this is something, though, that can stumble people and cause them to miss the bigger picture somewhat, I feel. It’s actually something I have discussed and disagreed about with people in the past and probably still will do!

      I’m totally on board with the idea of knowing your ‘avatar’ and not being too general with your blog. Some bloggers approach me to ask for my advice on their blogs and I see a whole reem of buttons linking to a plethora of sub-sections, such as “Internet Marketing”, “Health and Wellness”, “Interesting Tech”, “Favourite Places” and so on. I tell them to axe them all but one and to focus on the one area.

      Now, there’s the thing. Some will take one niche and go even deeper within that, which is totally fine. But when it comes to the ‘my avatar is a 40-44 year-old, blue-collar, married male with two kids and a hamster’ approach, I honestly think that this can be too constrictive. Not always, because there are times when it’s good practice, but I think that the danger is that one can go too far with it, in turn actually causing the exact problem that is trying to be avoided.

      I believe that it’s a case of striking a balance between not being so general that you lose your audience because you don’t resonate with them and not being so specific that you’re also losing a large part of your audience because, again, you’re not resonating with them because they don’t fit within this tiny sub-sub-sub-sub-niche you’re trying to appeal to.

      The thing is, unless you are actually taking the time and effort to engage with your audience, you’ll have no idea about any of this stuff. This is where it takes getting down and dirty and into the trenches, doing research and taking note of the who/what/why and then working out how best to meet those needs. It’s then that you will know who your audience really is.

      You have to know what the message of your blog is, likewise with your online business generally. If you don’t know this then you cannot effectively convey that to others. Simply grabbing some PLR article and slapping it up as a blog post will not cut it.

      I think you’re spot-on with the conversational approach. For me, this can be the ‘make or break’ point of a blog and makes all the difference. I do the same thing, as I’m sure you know – I just write as I talk. I am being me. After all, I want people to resonate with ME and to know, like and trust ME. How can they do that if I just blandly relay information? Yet, this is what so, so, so many bloggers do and this is, I feel, why so, so, so many bloggers give up, because they’re not getting the results they want, which they won’t unless they start talking TO (and WITH!) their audience.

      Many thanks for your valuable thoughts, Peter, it’s always a pleasure to hear your insights. And thanks for sharing, I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend! 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…3 Breakout Bloggers of 2015My Profile

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge
RSS
Follow by Email
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
YouTube
YouTube
LinkedIn
Share
Instagram