For some people, blogging is a passion, a hobby, an extracurricular. For others it’s a way to promote a business or build a brand – a way to lay the groundwork for an overall internet presence. If you’re the type of blogger who falls into that second group but you’re just not sure you’re branding everything the way you should be, take a look at these five secrets to building a better brand for your blog.
1. Be Like a Business
Is your blog a business blog? Great! You’re one step ahead of the game. If it’s not you need to think of it that way and do everything from develop a logo to creating a tagline. Branding is all about consistency and you want your blog to be the flagship of your brand. Your “brand” and voice have to be visually apparent on every page. Simply put, make sure your blog doesn’t look like every other WordPress site out there, even if that means paying for a custom template. The brand value will be worth it.
2. Carve out a Niche
No one brand covers everything. It’s important, particularly if you’re a one-man operation, to make a space for yourself and develop a reputation among your social network as an expert in a particular area. Whether it’s gluten-free baking or stock advice for baby boomers, blog often and consistently in the area you want to become a “big fish” in. Reach out to other bloggers and businesses in that sphere and attend real world events. Generally just make your name synonymous with a particular segment.
3. Offer to Guest Blog
One of the fastest and most effective ways to build your own brand is to hitch your wagon to someone else’s. By now you should have several blogs and bloggers you admire within your industry – reach out to them and ask to guest post. Try to score a link in the post to your own blog but if not, a simple header with your name and experience will do. Anything that gets you more street cred on a bigger, more popular blog will inevitably lead to more traffic and more recognition for your own blog brand.
4. Keep the Messaging Consistent
Branding your blog obviously means putting the content out there in more ways than one. Using social media to promote your blog’s brand is a great way to build a devoted audience, but you have to be consistent. If you’re irreverent and sarcastic on your blog, for example, people will expect that kind of content from you on other sites. Give them what they want and you’ll further cement your brand voice.
5. Blog More Often
Not only does blogging constantly help solidify your blog brand in the minds of others, it’s helpful for you, too, in that you’ll more naturally carve out your own tone and areas of interest. The more often you blog, the more the blog simply becomes an extension of your personal brand rather than a one-off editorial space. At the end of the day, you want your blog’s brand to closely reflect your own so everything will be seamless.
About Author: Ryan Currie is a product manager at BizShark.com, with 5 year’s experience in online marketing and product development. In addition to web related businesses, he also enjoys the latest news and information on emerging technologies and open source projects.
Image credit:- freedigitalphoto
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