The Internet has certainly revolutionized the way we connect. Through blogging, you can reach audiences all around the world and create a community of readers and friends with likewise interests. Whether you’re blogging for fun or writing for business, increasing your blog traffic is always a worthy goal to have. If you’re particularly interested in attracting a Japanese audience, here are three tips to consider to make your blog appeal to international readers.
Know the Culture
No one reads blogs they can’t connect to. What attracts readers and makes them stay a loyal follower is when they find a common ground between themselves and the writer. You don’t have to be an expert on everything about Japan but it’s easier to penetrate a global audience if you know their culture. This would involve learning about their interests, popular culture, and even common expressions.
Paying close attention to their traditional holidays and seasons can also dictate whether you’re writing time and seasonal appropriate content. When detailing your product or service recommendations, it’s a nice touch for you to convert prices to the local currency so foreign readers don’t have to get distracted with conversion issues.
Translation is Valuable
The language barrier between audience and writer can be detrimental to your blog traffic. This doesn’t mean that you have to become fluent in the Japanese language to attract a Japanese audience, although it’s certainly a big plus, but making your website translation-friendly is one of the easiest ways to draw foreign readers. You can equip many tools and features for your blog to make translation easy and accurate.
Keep in mind that direct translations may not work sometimes. Keep a tight lookout on your keywords especially to make sure that they are relevant phrases for your target country. This will take a bit of research but will be well worth the boost you can get from search engine optimization or SEO-driven traffic.
Stay Connected
It goes without saying that you have to be connected to the web for your blog to reach your audience. Even when you’re traveling abroad, it’s a good idea to keep your blog active and engaged. Staying connected in Japan is pretty easy thanks to mobile applications like Japan Connected Free Wi-Fi and Travel Japan Wi-Fi. Download these on your phone and you’ll gain free internet access for 14 days. Here you’ll also be able to see the free Wi-Fi hotspots you can connect to while in Japan.
Most hotels and Airbnb’s will offer free WiFi in their packages to attract customers. If you want to keep connected outside of your accommodations, it’s handy to know that most Starbucks cafes in Japan also offer free WiFi. You can also use your passport to get into free hotspot areas thanks to Japan’s biggest telecommunication company.
Stay authentic to your blog and put in the work to make it great. International audiences may not come as easily as your local readers but over time you’ll see that the effort will be worth it.
Originally posted on June 5, 2021 @ 12:56 am
