How To Reach Your Audience During the Holidays Without Losing Who You Are as an Author
I love scrolling through social media during the holidays. Posts about the birth of Christ during Christmas or articles about how to stay thankful amid Thanksgiving tend to be some of my favorites to happen across. Takeaways, how-tos and thoughtful insights abound during these special times of the year. It’s wonderful to take in the different perspectives and foods for thought that each person brings to the table through their writing.
Yet as writers ourselves, we often find solace in others’ pieces. We appreciate them greatly, read with enthusiasm, and apply everything we read to our own lives, but some of us may feel inadequate or unmotivated to do this kind of “holiday” writing ourselves. Many of us simply don’t feel comfortable writing anything that could be perceived as outside our niche.
But nothing could be further from the truth. It’s not only fun to write during the holidays, it’s also rewarding for your readers. Here are a few ways to help you get started in your quest to write attractive holiday content for your target audience without losing who you are as an author.
First, write out a list of all the holidays — big and small — for the entire year. Make note of the holidays that are an obvious fit for your audience. You don’t have to tackle every single holiday, and you certainly don’t need to know exactly what you’re going to write. Just choose which holidays work for you and your audience.
Next, think about what your audience might be dealing with in their lives both daily and during the holiday season, and write to their needs. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- Why does this specific holiday blend well with my usual content or audience?
- What are my audiences’ biggest struggles, concerns and questions in general and especially during this holiday?
- What is their day-to-day life like, especially when it comes to this holiday?
- How might this holiday relate to them during their struggles or even in their good times?
- What takeaway would they most like to read about during this holiday?
Finally, brainstorm some ideas on how you can tie each holiday into a blog post or social media post that you would regularly write anyway.
For example, if your target audience is young single mothers, you could decide Christmas is a great opportunity to write something impactful for young mothers who may need special encouragement and tips during a very busy season that may come with some hurdles.
If your weekly blog posts are always based on goal setting and vision casting, as another example, you’ll be able to tie something in quite nicely for a New Year’s blog post or article that caters right to your readers.
Writing for the holidays doesn’t have to be daunting or complicated, and you don’t have to travel outside your niche to do so. It can be a new and fresh way to engage your audience. We all go through the holidays, so what better way than to use them as an opportunity to shed some new light in a way that only your unique readers will understand.
Happy writing,
Melissa Labieniec
Do you find it difficult to find things to write about during the holidays for your audience? Leave us a comment below on how you have overcome this.
Melissa Labieniec
Born and raised in Connecticut, Melissa Labieniec always loved to write. As an enthusiastic blogger and published author, Melissa enjoys writing devotions and encouraging articles for online magazines, websites, blogs and other publications. Additionally, she has two published devotions (as a contributing author) in print with COMPEL and Proverbs 31 Ministries. She delights in spreading God’s joy, love and hope whenever she can to women of all ages and in all stages of life. Melissa earned her Bachelor of Science degree in leadership and ministry, with a concentration in human services from Grace Christian University. Always desiring to learn and grow, she is a member and volunteer leader of COMPEL Training. A Christian for just over 22 years, she attends her local church with her wonderful husband and two daughters. You can connect with Melissa on Instagram @melissa_jean77.
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