Blogging has taken the internet by storm, as a way to share thoughts and information and market individuals and businesses online. Blogs have many uses, from acting as an online diary for individuals, to driving business to a website.
Marketing yourself, or your company, is the key to success, and setting up a blog creates a strong online presence – if it’s done well. A blog broadens your network, communicates your brand, displays your products/services, and demonstrates expertise in a subject area.
From celebrities and politicians to news agencies and large organizations, everybody seems to have a blog. If you’re unemployed, or seeking new employment, writing a daily blog post empowers you, making sure that you keep busy and maintain momentum. More importantly, building a personal blog focuses your effort, through creating a brand image and allowing you to display your skills and interests. Anybody can say that they are a manager or a chef; sharing expertise in a daily blog shows the substance behind your title. Ultimately, a well-constructed blog shows your readers that you provide great value.
First steps
Before we address the mechanics of setting up a blog, spend a little time preparing, making sure that your efforts are focused.
a) Passion: You must be passionate about your chosen topic, because this shines through in your writing. If you are an expert on a topic, then you will be able to write posts off the top of your head. Even if you have a lot to learn about the subject, the discipline of writing a daily blog will give you the impetus to learn. Immersing yourself in a subject area, researching information, and distilling it into a readable post is the best way to learn, and develop a natural and authentic writing style.
b) Goals: Clarify your vision for the blog and set out what you hope to achieve. For most, it will be displaying your knowledge and showing that you have creativity, self-discipline and initiative.
c) Objectives: Establish your target audience and think about how you will reach them.
Getting Started With Blogging
1) Choose The Domain Name: A well-chosen domain name helps you to establish a brand image and makes you easier to find. There are two schools of thought about this:
a) Register your name as a dotcom. With this approach, you need to market your individual or company name and make sure that your e-mails, business cards, and headed notepaper include the address.
b) Use a keyword-based name, which will boost you up the search engine rankings. For example, if you are a professional Event Manager seeking employment, you could use a domain name such as: freelanceeventmanager.com, or event-management-blog.com, using the ‘keywords’ that people are likely to search for.
For more information on How to Choose a Domain Name:
http://www.simplewebsiteservice.com/articles/plan/domain/
2) Build Your Blog. You have three options:
a) Sign up for a free blog on Blogspot.com, WordPress.com, or Blogger.com. WordPress is a great solution; it is the most popular blogging platform in the world and has an easy content management system, making it easy for you to add pages and blog posts.
b) Build a custom blog using your own domain name. If you want complete control over your design, use your own dotcom name, rather than the free option, and hire a website designer. You should not pay more than $800 for a custom website and blog, which includes graphics, email and internet hosting services.
c) Use an online service that offers low cost monthly fee options. The downside of this is that design options are usually limited and less professional in appearance. In addition, you will be required to pay a monthly fee for as long as you want your blog online, which can soon add up.
3) Brand Image: Identify your brand image and keep your blog design style consistent with your personal branding. Most importantly, make sure that it is professional, with a high quality portrait photo.
4) Write For Your Readership: Provide value to your readers, persuading them to keep coming back for the latest updates.
• How can you help them? Marketers and business people are successful when they identify a problem and then provide the solution.
• What knowledge do you have that would assist others? Do a little research and brainstorm your blog topic, and select a few main categories to write about.
• Before you get started on your topic, list at least 50 article titles that you can write about, giving you a great start.
5) Brainstorming Blog Titles
a) Identify Your Subject And Area Of Expertise.
b) Make A List Of Sub-Topics That Relate To Your Subject.
c) For EVERY SUB-TOPIC, Write A List Of:
- 10 Frequently Asked Questions: What questions do people FREQUENTLY ASK about this subject?
- 10 Should Ask Questions: What questions SHOULD people ASK about this subject? This gives you a chance to tell people something they may not already know, a surefire way to burn your blog into their memory.
- 10 Problems People Might Encounter: What concepts may be difficult to understand. You offer solutions and show your expertise, by explaining it in a clear way.
After this exercise, you will have created a list of 30 blog post ideas for each of your sub-topics!
Resources on writing and marketing your blog:
How to Write a Blog
http://www.simplewebsiteservice.com/articles/how-to-write-a-blog/
How to Deliver a Powerful Marketing Message
with Your Website & Blog
http://www.simplewebsiteservice.com/articles/plan/website-marketing/
6) Can Your Blog Make Money? The internet is full of information about making money online through blogging. Ignoring the hype, only a small percentage of these have a solid marketing plan and make a reasonable income from blogging. Creating a moneymaking blog needs several elements, the most important of which is hard work.
7) Be Wary Of Online Marketers: They offer to teach you the mystical, esoteric secrets of making money through blogging. In fact, their secret is to provide information that is freely available (if you take the time to research the topic) in a membership service or ebook. Some of these services can save you time, and may be worthwhile. However, you can find good books on blogging at your local bookstore. Here are a few books that give an excellent foundation in making income from blogging (you can find these at Amazon.com):
Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time To Cash In On Your Passion,
by Gary Vaynerchuk
Blogging For Dummies, by Susannah Gardner and Shane Birley
ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
Brand Yourself: Whether you are an individual or a small business, if you already have created a brand image you are already halfway there. Branding is essential for developing a strong online presence.
Businesses have always known that marketing is about providing customers with a solution, and convincing them that they need a product or service. Their brand gets this message across, letting customers know what the business can do for them.
For individuals seeking employment, the same is true when you sell yourself to employers. Communicate who you are and what you can do for employers, making sure that they want to ‘buy’ you.
Branding yourself is about knowing what you do, and why you do it. Creating your unique brand requires you to be crystal clear about who you are. You need to know your own power and value and communicate it, all day, every day.
What’s in your Brand?
Items in your personal brand identity portfolio include your:
- Name / Company name
- Title
- Address
- Office space
- Business card & resume
- Personal style
- Speaking style
- Presentations
- Website and/or blog
Your Brand Is A Promise Of Value: Your brand informs potential employers, or customers, that you are, for example, a good leader or relationship-builder and that you can anticipate and solve the reader’s problems.
Become Focused: Your brand must be real and it must deliver what it promises.
Your Image Must Be Authentic: Creating a brand is all about creating a perception, communicating your core values, and selling your talents, products, or services. However, a brand image must be authentic, as people will soon see through exaggeration or inauthentic communication.
Create a personal branding statement: Attempt to summarize your brand and message in a short statement. This catches people’s attention and persuades them to read the rest of your information.
Start by answering these questions:
- What do you do?
- What are your core competencies?
- What are your core values?
- Why do you do what you do?
- What makes you different?
With this information, you are ready to create a brand that will act as a unique selling point and stand out from the crowd. Developing your business identity, and promoting it through your blog displays your expertise, widens your network, and will likely bring you new opportunties.