# Blogging # Blogging for Devs by Monica Lent​ ## Day 0 Thanks again for signing up for the **Blogging for Devs** newsletter. And an extra special thanks to everyone who replied to my previous email asking about your motivation for blogging (it's a huge help, i'm still replying to all the emails!). I want to give you a quick snapshot of how this newsletter will work, and how you can get the most out of it. We're going to start with a **7-day blogging challenge**, where I help you go from idea to distribution of a single post in one week πŸ’‘ I'll help you answer some of the most common questions people have when they start blogging, like: * How do I figure out what people are interested in reading? * How can I apply SEO to my content? WTF are keywords even? * Should I be publishing on my own domain or somewhere else? * How can I write clearly and make sure I'm understood by people? * What can frozen chicken teach me about building an online audience? (No, no one asked that, but you'd better believe the answer is gonna blow your mind πŸ”) During the challenge, you'll get daily emails from me to walk you through my process and **help you shape your own blogging strategy**. **After the challenge ends, you'll get a 1x per week email that dives deeper** 🌊 In the weekly emails, I'll be condensing my years of learning into actionable bursts of tips you can gradually apply to your posts. I'll also include relevant and timely news about what's going on in the world of online content. So I hope you're as excited as me! Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow's email. ## Day 1 - Setting up your site & Syndication It's Day #1 of our blogging challenge and I don't know about you but I am *psyched*. Today's email is going to cover these topics: - Why you should publish on your own domain name - How to syndicate content the right way - 3 quick bits of homework to do before tomorrow's email Tomorrow's email will be about generating and validating ideas for your blog posts. If you're already convinced to blog on your own domain, and you don't plan to publish content on third-party platforms like Medium or ThePracticalDev, skip down to the Homework at the end. But for now, onto publishing and syndicating content correctly πŸ‘‡ ### Why you should be publishing on your own domain name The reason for this is simple: **You own it.** It's just you and your website. And you can choose to do whatever you want with it. **And isn't that freedom why we became developers in the first place?** Social media can change "the algorithm". Google can put more ads on top of your search results. Twitter can suspend your account. Medium can run out of funding (awkward 😬). **But your domain (and eventually, your email list) are YOURS.** You can always change your hosting, your domain registrar, your email list software. **But you won't have that freedom if you lock your audience into a third-party platform.** So you might be thinking, "Cool, Monica, owning my domain is nice but NO ONE IS GOING THERE." 😰 While I don't find it necessary (and you might not either, after this challenge), you *can* syndicate your content in a way that won't hurt your Google rankings. Here's how. ### How to syndicate content in a way that doesn't hurt your Google rankings So we know that having the content on your site is the best place to have it. But what if you also want to publish the same post on a third-party website or platform for more exposure? This concept is known as **syndication**. **The problem arises when your website and another website have the exact same content on them.** Google considers this "[duplicate content](https://moz.com/learn/seo/duplicate-content)". When content is duplicated, Google may use other factors to decide who to rank. And if you're competing with a massive website, yours might be the one that gets ignored 😭 You can solve this with a **canonical URL** that designates the original content. Here's how to fix it in 3 quick steps: **Step 1. Set up canonical URLs on your own website** This is what the tag looks like in the of your post: ``` ``` Make sure you're handling common issues like trailing slashes, adding/removing the www, etc. with the proper 301s. If you search for "your blogging platform + canonical urls" you'll probably find out how to set it up (if you use Gatsby, [here's a plugin](https://www.gatsbyjs.com/plugins/gatsby-plugin-canonical-urls/) I've used with success, but don't forget the server-side redirects too). **Step 2. Publish your blog post on your own website** Do this first so you can grab the canonical URL. **Step 3. Copy the URL to your blog post into the canonical URL space on the third-party platform** Here's how to do it on a few platforms: 1. [https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033930293-Set-a-canonical-link](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033930293-Set-a-canonical-link) 2. [https://dev.to/p/editor_guide](https://dev.to/p/editor_guide) 3. [https://townhall.hashnode.com/why-you-should-republish-your-devblog-posts-and-how-to-do-it-cjyzonun0004t4zs1r601f5ie](https://townhall.hashnode.com/why-you-should-republish-your-devblog-posts-and-how-to-do-it) **Want to learn more about canonical URLs?** Read this article by Yoast: [The Ultimate Guide to Canonical URLs](hhttps://yoast.com/rel-canonical/). ### Your homework. - **Buy your domain name** if you haven't yet (I recommend Namecheap, and go for a trustworthy .com TLD) - **Pick your blogging tech stack** (It really doesn't matter, I've used Hugo and Gatsby and both are fine. No shame at ALL if you want to use WordPress, either. The less you tinker with the tech stack, the more you focus on writing!) - **Get your canonical URLs** **sorted out** (View the source of your site and find the rel="canonical" tag, make sure it's the same URL as your post!) ⚠️ Even if you do not plan to syndicate content, you should STILL have correct canonical urls. Now that your site is set up for publishing, tomorrow we'll talk about generating and validating blog post ideas πŸ’‘ Let's do this! ## Day 2 - Build your idea engine It's Day #2 of our blogging challenge, and I want to start with a question. Have you ever said one of these things: - "I want to blog, but I don't know what to write about" - "I'm just not creative" - "I can't tell if what I'd write would be interesting for anyone but me" - "Does the world really need another blog post about [insert topic here]?" Whenever I talk to one of my friends in tech about blogging, one of these replies is almost automatic. After years of blogging and writing well over 100 posts across different blogs and subject areas, from tech to travel, photography, and career development, I've found a system that works for me. **It's like a constantly running production line that always has ideas at various stages of readiness.** Here's how you can apply it: 1. **Maintain** an idea log 2. **Determine** the best medium (social media vs. search) 3. **Validate** your idea with research This process is less like a step-by-step and more of continuous cycle. And I want to show you how to adapt it for yourself! ### 1. Maintain an idea log Here's something that doesn't work: #### Deciding you want to write a blog post, opening up your editor, and producing a masterpiece. Why is that? It's known as the *Blank Piece of Paper Problem*. **When anything is possible, it's hard to know where to start.** That's why I keep an idea log. For this, I use [Asana](https://asana.com). Anytime I get a new idea, it goes into my log as a new task. I use a different project for different kinds of ideas: - Ideas for my tech blog - Ideas for my travel blog - Ideas for my SaaS' blog - Business ideas - Conference talk ideas **This means that whenever I feel like writing or creating, I've already got an arsenal of ideas waiting for me.** You don't need to use Asana, you can use tools like [Notion](https://www.notion.so) or an even trendier tool like [RoamResearch](https://roamresearch.com). My main tip is to **use something with an app** you can install on your phone. Some of the best ideas happen on the go (at conferences or meetups), or, in my case, before falling asleep 😴 #### 2. Determine the best medium (social media vs. search) One of the KEY concepts we'll be returning to again and again is your reader's ***intent\***. **It's the main reason why some content performs better in social media, whereas other content does better in search.** Think about it like this. Why do you open Twitter? It's usually for **entertainment**. That's why content that is *funny, relatable* or *inspirational* does well on Twitter and social media. You do NOT typically open Twitter and search for "Vue tutorials", for instance. Why do you open Google? Usually to find **information** and **solve a problem**. That's why content like tutorials and informational content can do really well in search, provided you set up the SEO right. Understanding your reader's *intent* will help you write content that helps people better and is **discoverable in the right place**! It's a win-win for everybody. After that, it's time to do the research. #### 3. Validate your idea with research There are a lot of ways to do this. You can go on a veritable safari in forums, facebook groups, reddit, hacker news, and twitter looking for patterns and trends. It is a great place to see what kind of content is currently resonating with people. But there are a few *possible* problems with that. 1) You're looking at other people's content, which makes it harder to be original for your own 2) A lot of content that trends on social media does so, at least in part, because the author *already* has an audience **That's why I encourage new bloggers to focus on SEO.** An SEO-optimized blog post can bring you thousands of visitors every week for years. Even better, there are somewhat **objective ways to research and evaluate topics** you can write about. It's called Keyword Research. Combined with understanding your reader's intent and the rules of the medium (search), **SEO can bring relevant readers to your blog** who are likely to get value from your content and, perhaps, even join your audience or community! In tomorrow's email, I'll teach you how to validate your ideas with keyword research and use those keywords in your posts. ### Your homework. - **Create an idea log** if you don't have one already, ideally with a tool that has an app! Bookmark it. - **Fill it with a couple of ideas.** You'll never use all of them, so don't worry about how good or bad the idea is, just put it in there! Let those ideas flow! ## Day 3 - Apply SEO techniques to your post's topic, title & outline When you think of SEO, what comes to your mind? It's probably something shady. Or "marketing-y". But it doesn't have to be -- in fact, I believe that understanding SEO is a *developer* *superpower*. **Because SEO means free, _recurring_ traffic!** Unlike Twitter where a tweet can get you traffic for a day or two, SEO can bring you consistent traffic months or years after you've published a post. **So what is SEO exactly?** SEO is a way of making sure that search engines can understand what your page is about, that it contains quality up-to-date information from an authoritative source, and will answer the question that the searcher had in mind (reader intent!!!). It's Day #3 of our blogging challenge, and I'm going to walk you through **my basic on-page SEO process** so you can see how easy it can be to make your blog search-friendly, from keyword research to content. It includes these steps: 1. Discover keywords 2. Niche down to a main keyword you can rank for 3. Find related tail keywords 4. Write the post and include those keywords in strategic places 5. Craft an *excellent* title people will want to click on **EXAMPLE**: In today's email, I'll walk you through my process of how to write a post that's *generally* about **"how to use react router"**. ### Step 1. Discover keywords First thing I'll do is think about keywords. I'll open up Google and search for "react router". Thanks to [Keywords Everywhere](https://keywordseverywhere.com) (a browser extension), I can immediately see that they think about 2,400 people search for "react router" every month in the United States. [![unnamed.jpg](https://codex.jjafuller.com/uploads/images/gallery/2021-02/scaled-1680-/Vso9w5FXULYE1qGx-unnamed.jpg)](https://codex.jjafuller.com/uploads/images/gallery/2021-02/Vso9w5FXULYE1qGx-unnamed.jpg) Not bad! I'll check the related keywords and see results like "react router typescript", "react router redirect", "react router params", and "react router tutorial" are all being searched for. That's great. **There's a whole cluster of keywords** **around React Router**, meaning I have a chance to rank for multiple keywords. Next I'll double-check the data in my favorite keyword research tool for beginners, **KeySearch.** It's a way cheaper tool than most SEO tools ($17/mo vs $99+/mo), and I used KeySearch to boost one of my site's traffic in 2019 from 30k to 100k page views per month. In my opinion, it's a perfect way to get started and once you master it, you can always go for something fancier. > **Are you thinking about taking blogging seriously?** > > If you use this link ([https://bit.ly/bfd-keysearch](https://www.keysearch.co/subscription/membership.php)) to sign up for KeySearch, I'll earn a small commission for referring you (it helps offset the cost of my email software, which is now πŸ€‘ thanks to the success of this course). Since I know KeySearch very well, you can always email your questions and I'll be happy to help out. Use my link and the code **KSDISC** for 20% off your subscription! **Now, let's use KeySearch to see how difficult** **it is to rank** for keywords about React Router. (*Pssst:* I've added a video you can watch for the next part, if you prefer to watch instead of read :) Find it here: [https://www.loom.com/share/774171439d7b44c98d440810c3dc4de5](https://www.loom.com/share/774171439d7b44c98d440810c3dc4de5)) ### Step 2. Niche down to a keyword you can rank for Now, first thing you might notice is that the top 3 results for "React Router" are, well, the official website for the project. Chances are I can't (and shouldn't) outrank them for a term like "react router". But what other topics are currently ***underserved\*** about React Router, which I could write about, and rank for? In KeySearch, I'll look for "react router": [![keyword-rank.jpg](https://codex.jjafuller.com/uploads/images/gallery/2021-02/scaled-1680-/3shPqgwtuloLHsHA-unnamed-2.jpg)](https://codex.jjafuller.com/uploads/images/gallery/2021-02/3shPqgwtuloLHsHA-unnamed-2.jpg) What I can see is that it's extremely hard to rank for. But what I want to do is find some terms that are not THAT hard. **And I can see two here: "react router link" and "react router typescript".** Now, 37 is not a "low score" (you can get as low as 10-20, those results will be a bright blue). But it's more attainable, and if you create multiple bits of content around React Router, you have a better chance of ranking for all of them! If I search for "react router typescript", I can see that the content is not that great and the search results page isn't over-saturated with videos, and some of the page 1 results are from Stackoverflow instead of tutorials. **I believe I can do it better :)** > *(**Note:** There are [over 200 factors Google uses to rank your content](https://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors), and KeySearch's proprietary "score" isn't one of them. It's just a tool made by a team of people trying to boil down a bunch of factors into a number. More advanced **competitor analysis** is something we can cover in the newsletter part of Blogging for Devs.).* So now I've decided, I want to try for the *main* keyword "**react router typescript**". ### Step 3. Find tail keywords Tail keywords are basically like **related keywords** that can help you make a more COMPLETE blog post. So if I see people search for "react router params" and "react router link", i should definitely include those in my post with e.g. sub-sections titled "How to use React Router Params with TypeScript". It's also a chance to "double dip", just in case I might rank for a more competitive search term. Just make a list of those related keywords as bullet points in your post for future reference. Aim for 10-20 tail keywords at a minimum, they don't all need to be sections or perfectly related to your topic. ### Step 4. Write the post and include those keywords in strategic places You should *naturally* use those keywords in some places, such as: - Your meta title and description - Your subheadlines - Your first sentence or sentences - As the anchor texts on internal links from your other related posts to the post you're writing - Your image file names and alt tags (just remember the alt tag's primary use is for accessibility reasons) - Throughout your paragraphs Try not to sound like a robot. Once you understand how keywords work, you might see a lot of people writing robotic content to comply with "keyword best practices". So focus on quality, completeness, and showing your unique voice, alongside making the subject clear to our buddies at Google. **However, there are other important tactics for ranking besides pure quality,** especially for competitive search terms (think "software development" or "tech jobs" or other popular terms). Probably the main tactic you'll hear about is "building links" or "getting backlinks". I won't talk about it in this 7-day challenge, but getting people to link to your content is one of the most important ways to get your content to rank -- and sometimes the trickiest. Luckily, as I will mention later, **most developers don't optimize their content for SEO** whatsoever, the competition is lower than you might expect. #### Step 4b. External links You should also link to websites with more resources on related topics, but not necessarily to content that is competing with you for the top spot. For example, React Training doesn't have any content about "react router typescript". So I can "safely" link to them, as a major authority about React Router, without *competing* with them. **This tells Google I'm a complete resource on the topic and doesn't hurt my chance at ranking.** (That's because, as I just mentioned, Google uses links as a way to determine a website's authoritativeness on a topic) (Note: As I said before, if React Training did have content on this topic, I wouldn't be writing about it in the first place. In cases like these, I'm an opportunist. So ideally you can always link out to "authority websites" on the topic you're writing about. Just think about what links your readers will find handy, and use them contextually!) ### Step 5. Craft an excellent title people will want to click on It doesn't need to be *clickbait* to be a compelling headline. It should be descriptive, succinct, and accurate. Here are just a few ideas for our example: - **React Router with TypeScript: The Complete Guide** - Completion is important! - **How to use React Router with TypeScript** - Simple and straightforward - **Step-by-step: How to use React Router with TypeScript** - Promises to approach the topic in small steps - **Use React Router with TypeScript (2020 Guide)** - Tells you the material is up-to-date The reason the title is so important is a) Google uses your click through rate as a ranking factor b) If no one clicks on your post by reading the title, your effort is kind of wasted. Always write multiple headlines before deciding one! These titles are good for "informational" content because they clearly answer the reader's question. You may want to consider different elements when creating inspirational, or more personal content. Again, we'll have to dig into headlines more in the newsletter part of *Blogging for Devs*. **Tool tip:** One of my favorite tools for testing headlines is the [Co-schedule Headline Analyzer](https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer). Honestly it doesn't work great for tech tutorial headlines (it doesn't know that "react" isn't always a verb) but you can still learn from it. ### Your homework. - **Put some keywords in your idea log!** To start, my tip would be to find keywords with **300-1,000 search volume and a KeySearch "Score" of 35 or less**. High volume with a low difficulty score is where the magic is 🌈 Again, if you can use my link to sign up for KeySearch ([https://www.keysearch.co/subscription/membership.php)), it would be a big help. **KSDISC** is the code for 20% off! - **Create an outline** (markdown is great for this!) of your post with both head and tail keywords. And feel free to send it to me for feedback! **Look, there is a waaaaay more to SEO than this**. This is one small piece of the overall puzzle. But you can start to see real results with just these 5 steps. Especially because most developers don't know SEO, so you, my friend, have a special advantage πŸ˜‰ **It does often take Google several months (1-6 months, sometimes longer) to rank your content**, so you will need to be patient and keep writing! But the more you write, and the more interconnected the content is, the *faster* you can show up in search. ## Day 4 - Craft an excellent piece of internet-friendly content It's Day #4, and by now, you should have the following pieces of the blog post puzzle: - A **main keyword** you want to write about - A list of **tail keywords and topics** to include for a complete post - A list of **external sites** you can link to - An **outline of your post** with headlines and subheadlines - A couple of **ideas for your headline** > *(P.S. If you've not finished this because the KeySearch referral link didn't work for you yesterday, my apologies! Here it is: [https://bit.ly/bfd-keysearch](https://www.keysearch.co/subscription/membership.php) πŸ™Œ Lesson learned: don't skip the QA, even on emails ;) I've been informed that the Free Trial isn't available anymore, so use the coupon **KSDISC** for 20% off)* Now it's time to fill in that skeleton with some great content. But there is something important you need to remember: **Blogging is not a college essay.** It can be SO EASY to fall into a rut of writing like a robot. Or...accidentally sound like a pretentious know-it-all πŸ™ˆ **This is where your unique voice, your perspective, and your expertise (and a degree of vulnerability and humility) can make a difference.** These are my top 8 tips for writing content that holds people's attention online: ### 1. Headline is king Yesterday you learned that the click-through rate on your headline is **one of Google's more important factors** when deciding how to rank your content. But headlines are also important for promoting content on social media: **You might have awesome content inside, but if your headline sucks, no one is gonna see it.** Instead, get creative with your headline. Spark interest. Be concise. And then deliver on that promise with a killer blog post. **My #1 Tip: Always come up with MULTIPLE VERSIONS of your headline before you choose one!** It's worth it to get it right. It is a *game-changer*. ### 2. Make your post easier to scan with varied formatting I know that blog post might feel like your *magnum opus*, but tragically, if you publish it online, no one is going to read every word. **The Internet *skims*.** And the sooner you understand this, the sooner you'll be able to write content that's optimized for it. **Try techniques like:** Call-out boxes for important points and take-aways, shorter sentences and paragraphs, lists and summarizes (think: TLDR), plenty of headlines and sub-headlines, and bolding key phrases. ### 3. Shorten the intro (and the whole post) Get to the good stuff, faster. Establish the answer to "Why should I care?" at the beginning and then dive into the valuable content people clicked-through for. (P.S. this is a truth that applies to MANY kinds of content: YouTube videos, conference talks, writing newsletters πŸ˜‰) There are some topics where EPIC content is required, especially for SEO purposes. I'm talking 15,000 words or more. One way to find out if that's called for is to look at the length of the content that's already on Google's first page for your target keyword. Still, keeping paragraphs short will be a huge service to your readers! ### 4. Internal cliff-hangers Internal cliff-hangers are an excellent way to keep your reader's attention and draw their eye down the page. Until they're not. (See what I did there?). A cliff-hanger works like that: it's a short, standalone sentence that surprises people or draws them to read the next sentence or paragraph for an explanation. Used sparingly, you can create suspense as you tell your story. Used excessively, it can get annoying. ### 5. Make it relatable This is the number one thing I've learned about developers, especially from conference speaking: **Developers love relatable content. \*Especially\* if it involves one of the unique forms of misery that all developers share.** I recently saw [a tweet](https://twitter.com/zhuowei/status/1254266079532154880) that said, "*Never spend 6 minutes doing something by hand when you can spend 6 hours failing to automate it**.*" It's almost a textbook example. We have ALL been there. In fact, you might notice some twitter accounts that basically do exclusively this. It's kind of like "that one weird trick to gain developer followers" which gets old after a while. You don't need to go overboard or make it "your thing" that you're constantly complaining about a job you theoretically like doing. But a bit of relatability, vulnerability, and being open can go a long way with establishing trust. **You don't need to "perfect" in the eyes of your readers.** (And especially if your audience isn't developers, it's on you to get to know them and find out what their goals, fears, and struggles are. The only want to do it is to talk to people!) ### 6. Use humor **Great content entertains, educates, and inspires.** Humor is a big part of that. But you don't have to be "traditionally funny" to make people laugh. Developers go for all sorts of humor, just be mindful of what "translates" to the internet and what could be misunderstood. Some people love self-deprecating humor, because it gives the audience permission to say "That happened to me too!" without feeling stupid. Some people love the "in jokes" because it makes them feel like part of an exclusive club (AKA the story behind almost every joke about Yaml). There are lots of forms of humor that work in developer content. **Ultimately, you need to find your own voice.** But if you can bring a little bit of humor into it, that's one thing that makes people interested in reading what you have to say. ### 7. Be specific One of the big blogging mistakes I see is blog posts filled with generalizations without any stories to back it up. (Ironically this is a bit of a generalization, but I'm not going to name and shame πŸ™Š. Avoid writing about hypotheticals and talking about "some people". Find a balance between sharing your story and specific experience and bringing value to your reader in an actionable format. ### 8. End with a call-to-action My last tip, but one of the most important. **End your blog posts with a call-to-action!** Don't just leave them hanging wondering, "What's next?" or they'll just close the browser tab. You can ask them to follow you on twitter, share your post, or even leave a comment. As with so many things in life -- you just have to ask. To formulate a great call-to-action, be specific. Here's an example, "What's the number one lesson you've learned since starting in tech as a junior developer? Tweet me @myusername and share your story." **These calls-to-action are a great way to spark a public conversation about your content and get feedback.** ### Here's my call to action! Your homework. **It's time to finish writing your first draft.** Go ahead and spend some time with your post. Get a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or whatever beverage makes you feel creative. Don't over-edit, just let the ideas flow. We'll revise it later. In the mean time, tomorrow we are FINALLY going to answer the question you've been waiting for: *what can frozen chicken teach you about building an online audience* πŸ— ## Day 5 - Understanding your audience (through a frozen chicken lens) It's Day #5 and by now it's time to take a break from all the hard work and enjoy a story that surprisingly relevant for this course. It's still a lesson. But in story form. Here it goes. In case you don't know, I've been bootstrapping building my own SaaS product full-time for the last 6+ months. And as part of my weekly routine, I talk to current and prospective users. A lot. **A few weeks ago, Amy from Canada made the top of my list for "Most Hilarious User Interview Ever" by sharing this incredible anecdote with me.** We got to talking about different segments of blogging. My SaaS product is for bloggers who run their sites like a business and earn money through affiliate links. Amy suggested that I look into the segment of *homesteading* bloggers πŸ€” I thought to myself -- don't homesteaders live that farm life and grow all their own fruits and vegetables? And live sustainably? What could homesteading bloggers possibly *sell* to their audiences of...other homesteaders? Hay????? **Then Amy tells me about the most \*lucrative\* email campaign she's ever heard about.** One homesteading blogger (let's call her Janet) sent out a newsletter containing an excellent deal on *frozen chicken*. **Yes, a frozen chicken deal. To her newsletter.** And for every deal that one of her subscribers bought, Janet made a small commission from the frozen chicken company. Guess how much money she made from sending that ONE EMAIL to her subscribers? **Janet made over FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS in commissions.** From one email! About FROZEN CHICKEN. Frozen chicken?! Frozen. fucking. chicken. Estimating she perhaps made a 10% commission, that would be mean her one email generated over **HALF A MILLION DOLLARS in frozen chicken sales**. Now you might be thinking, "Wow, I should be a homesteading blogger. ***Sounds easy, you just send meat deals to an email list and make bank\***." And you would be wrong. Why was this one email **so profitable** for her? **It's because of how intimately she understands her audience.** From spending years writing content, growing a big list of subscribers, creating a community, and providing value to them over and over again -- she LEARNED that her audience just so happens to have massive spare freezers and loves to stock those freezers when a good deal arises ☝ Did she *predict* the frozen chicken would be such a hit? Maybe not. **But she probably had an intuition.** ### What can you learn about growing an online audience from a homesteading blogger? Janet's frozen chicken deal was a win-win for her and her community: she made an outrageous amount of money, and her audience got an amazing deal for stocking up on chicken. **This synergy happens when you deeply understand what your audience values.** I want to leave you with two final thoughts: - **Create content that demonstrates this same, intimate understanding of your audience.** It will become the cornerstone content that people know you for, because when reading it, they feel like you're talking directly to them. - **Email lists are extremely powerful, and you should start one.** I personally pay for and recommend ConvertKit for your email list. I've used literally every email tool and keep coming back to them. Here's my link if you want to support this newsletter: [https://bit.ly/bfd-convertkit](https://convertkit.com/?lmref=PWIpww)(They even have a free plan up to 500 subscribers) ### Your homework. **What's the "frozen chicken deal" of your unique audience? What's that blog post you can write that makes your reader feel like you're speaking directly to them?**