When I first started my blog, I was writing only for myself. I'd pound out posts about my interests, from model trains to action movies, never wondering if anyone else would care. But soon I hoped a few like-minded readers might stumble onto my site. After a year, though, my audience was still tiny. 

Then I discovered Chat GPT and Sonicwriter. These new artificial intelligence tools promised to make my writing clearer and more engaging. Could AI really help connect me with readers? I decided to give it a try. You might be wondering how I got to know about these AI tools? I found this website AI Directory which has information about tons of AI and their features and how a particular AI will help you.

Understanding What Readers Want

The first thing I learned is that readers crave content that speaks directly to them. My posts celebrated my quirky obsessions, but readers visit blogs seeking solutions to their own problems and insights they can apply to their lives. 

So I started focusing my writing on serving readers, not just self-expression. AI writing assistants like ChatGPT helped me experiment with new angles and useful takeaways tailored to what real people care about. Sometimes the AI spit out total nonsense, but chatting with it sparked ideas I made on my own.

Crafting Catchy Headlines 

I also realized my ultra-plain headlines gave readers no reason to click. The AI tools came up with endless headlines packed with intrigue, even if many sounded over-the-top clickbait. But seeing all those possibilities opened my eyes - and taught me how to create headlines with a compelling question or promise that increased curiosity without misleading.

And by testing multiple headlines on a post, I found I could double my views! The AI showed me the power of words to capture attention.

Improving Readability

I used to love using posts with fancy fancy words and long sentences, never considering if anyone could get my actual point. But AI analytic tools pointed out the readability of my writing. I discovered big words and long passages made readers lost, while short paragraphs, subheadings, and clear language held their attention.

The AI feedback helped me transform large paragraphs into short lines which are easy to understand. And readability translating to higher readership.  

Understanding SEO

In the past my random keywords produced zero traffic from search engines. But the AI assistants explained search engine optimization in friendly terms. By researching the phrases real people used to find my niche topics, I could integrate those keywords naturally into posts. This boosted my rankings so more potential readers found my content.

The AI tools not only educated me on concepts that had seemed complicated and technical, it also helped me to resolve my SEO issues to improve my SEO score and helped my posts to get indexed in google.

Connecting With Comments

I used to ignore my blog's comment section, but the AI encouraged responding to each remark. I asked questions to continue the conversation and thanked everyone for reading. Readers shared stories, expanding on my posts with their unique perspectives.  

Soon my comment section came alive with a community exchanging ideas, building bonds. And off my blog, readers began emailing with feedback and suggestions for future posts. The conversations showed readers I welcomed their voices, deepening our connection.

The Key Was Putting Readers First  

With help from AI advisors, I improved my headlines, clarity, readability, keywords, dialogue with commenters - and most importantly, my mindset. I shifted from self-focused to reader-centered, understanding their needs instead of only mine. 

My passion remains pumping out posts on the niche topics I love. But by creating content designed to provide real value to others, my audience has grown. Last month over a thousand people read my blog!

None of them are my regular readers. They were genuine strangers drawn in by relevant posts solving problems they cared about, written to resonate with their experiences. My dream is to find something helpful or maybe even inspiring in my words.

So for any creative person hoping an audience will discover your work - music, poetry, TikTok, YouTube or blogging - artificial intelligence offers useful lessons. The AI showed me that while creative self-expression matters, readers matter more. The secret is learning what they want. Put their needs first and they'll eagerly return for more. On an end note, other than AI-directory, I also suggest checking out herow. It has AI tools for any purpose you can think of.