By Lucy Wyndham
The number of bloggers in the United States is set to grow to 31.7 million in 2020, Forbes reports — which is a lot of competition. If you’re a car enthusiast looking to start a blog, you need to find smart ways to make yours stand out from the crowd. Niching down, providing readers with actionable steps, and remembering the importance of visual branding will help your car blog get the attention it deserves.
Choose your niche
Cars are a saturated blog niche and it’s easy to find numerous within moments of running a search. Niching down is a great way to stand out from the crowd. You’ll find it easier to write in-depth content, build an audience of engaged readers, and become a thought leader on your topic. So, consider your specific area of expertise. Perhaps you’re a whizz at car repairs and maintenance. Or maybe you could write detailed car reviews and ratings. Car buyers are always eager to hear unbiased opinions from reliable and trusted sources. In fact, 95% of cars buyers look online for information before making a purchase. There’s no need to over-specialize, but choosing a solid niche will give your blog coherence and boost your credibility.
Provide actionable steps
Focus on providing readers with the most useful content possible. This means not just telling your readers what to do, but also explaining clearly and thoroughly how to do it — something many car blogs are lacking. Think about the goal your reader is trying to achieve. What exact information do they need from you to achieve it? Make sure you teach your reader how to achieve their goal and include as much detail as possible. If you’re posting a car repair tutorial, for example, include examples, how-to steps, and valuable resources (such as, a list of necessary tools). Clear and descriptive images are also highly useful. Never skip any steps, no matter how small. The more useful your content is, the more unique and memorable you become to readers.
Don’t forget visual branding
It takes roughly between five to seven impressions for people to remember a certain brand. That means visual branding is just as important as crafting unique, high-quality content. If your car blog appears outdated, ugly, or boring, visitors are likely to click off quickly — no matter how good your content may be. Additionally, a visually unappealing blog leads to a higher bounce rate, which decreases your visibility in the search engines. This means it’ll be harder for readers to even find your blog in the first place. Updating your car blog with a responsive, modern, and aesthetically-pleasing layout will attract readers and decrease your bounce rate.
Running a successful car blog in 2020 is certainly possible, but you’ll have to work to stand out from the crowd. Following these tips can ensure you remain valuable and memorable to readers and don’t get lost in a sea of sameness.
