Marketing WilesUsing Wiles to Market Your Brand

I have recently had a slew of people ask my advice on ways that they can improve their business or professional presence on the web.  FIRST and foremost, I tell them they need a stationary website for people to learn more about them.  SECOND, they should consider social networking.  And THIRD, I tell them to Blog.

Blogging has quickly become one of the best mediums to connect to other professionals, future clients or consumers, and create a conversation with the rest of the world on what you can offer.  There are tons of free blog services out there (blogger.com, wordpress.com, posterous.com)  so why wouldn’t you blog?  It’s cheap, easy, and it gets your ideas out.  If your blog is good, it demonstrates you are an expert in your field and if you are a business, it generates positive PR and shows you are innovative

I have seen some really good blogs and seen some that could use some help.  So in this blog, I have decided to create some guidelines as to what some people or businesses should do in order to write a successful blog.

Select a Blog Title
The start of every blog is the title.  Give some thought each time you write a blog to what the wording of your title will be.  The title is key because it is picked up first by a search engines.  The title should give the reader a good idea of what your blog is about.  The biggest rookie mistake of any blogger is to title your blog something like “My First Blog” or “Last Tuesday”.  Why?  Because it doesn’t tell anything about what you will be writing or set the tone for what readers can expect.  There is so much generic information on the internet, you have to set yourself apart and define your blog from beginning to end.  Additionally, if someone were to go to Google and search “how to write a blog” they would have a better chance of landing on my website than they would someone who wrote about their “first” blog.

Content is King
Everywhere online I read “Content is King.”  Well, it is very true.  As a blogger, it is imperative to the success of your blog to have useful content in your blog.  Otherwise, why would someone take the time to read it?  Also, blogs are all about transparency so do not, I repeat, DO NOT treat your blog like a sales pitch or advertisement for your product or service.  If I wanted to be sold, I would watch the commercials on TV, but no, I change the channel and so will your readers if you try to pitch them.

When you are pulling together the content for your blog, ask yourself, “is this helpful to my readers?”, “would they find it useful and interesting?”, “could they apply it and even share it with their peers?”  If the answers are no, then you might as well write a blog about how you are sitting on the porch eating Cheetos because no one will care.  Give your readers something they can use: a new idea, a lesson learned, etc.

Add Some Flavor
Treat the wording in your blog like it is a conversation with a peer.  If you are stale throughout all your writing it is like your are back in high school, reading one of those boring summer reading list books.  Feel free to make appropriate/tasteful jokes or side comments to your readers.   However, avoid extreme or highly controversial comments.  A blog is highly visible (the entire world can see it) and if your ideas and thoughts are inappropriate, it may come back to bite you.  If you are unsure if your comments are appropriate, just imagine if your sweet 80 year old grandmother were to see it.  Hopefully, yours is as well mannered as mine.  If she would gasp at it, don’t post it!

GRAMMAR!
I am the worst at this so spell check has become my true ally.  Make sure you take some time to read through your blog a few times before publishing it.  Check for errors in syntax or grammar even have a friend read it before posting.  Someone reading your blog may not take you seriously and will definitely not become a subscriber if you have tons of misspellings or your sentences don’t make sense.

Length
People have short attention spans.  I recently read that most people will spend around 96 seconds reading a blog, so don’t aim for War and Peace length in your posts.  If you have a longer than normal blog, break it up.  Have bullet points instead of long paragraphs or even try a Blog Part I and Blog Part II.  Your blog should aim for around 250-1200 words.

Frequency
While there is no set rule as to how often your should blog, if you are able and have the time, I recommend doing at least a weekly blog.  If you blog too often, you may overwhelm you readers with info.  Plus, unless you are a true blog rock star, you should take your time in coming up with a good idea, adding flavor to it, not just spitting something out.  Vice Versa, if you go a few months without a new blog, you will lose subscribers.  Whatever length you choose, make sure it is consistent and clear to your readers.

Allow for Comments
Since a blog is supposed to mimic a conversation, be sure to allow people to make comments back to you.  Often times you get positive feedback or additional information that may further help your readers.  It is also a great way to get quantifiable feedback that your blog is getting noticed. 

*Warning – Allowing comments can open your blog to spammers.  Be sure to moderate comments that come into your blog before they go live or else you may be flooded with Viagra and Ambien links, amongst other things*

Set-up Your Blog to be Optimized and Monitored
Whenever possible associate Key Words, Tags, or Categories with your blog.  Bolding important words within your blog is also helpful because a search engine (and people) will notice a bolded word before a non-bolded word.  Additionally, include outside web links within your Blog (it will help with SEO) and make sure you use some service to monitor and track your blog subscribers.  Feedburner is a free and useful tool to help you see how many are subscribing and reading your blog.

Promote Your Blog
Finally, after you have taken time to carefully construct your blog, proof it, and publish it, you must PROMOTE IT!  Though a blog is live and on the web, people will not notice it until they know about it.  Take the time to email your peers who would be interested in it.  Post a link to it on your social networking sites.  Seek out forums or others who have written on your blog topic and let them know you have a voice as well.  Lastly, be aware that it may take a few months of consistent blogging and promoting before your blog gets noticed.  The more you promote, the more people will read, and the more you will reach and have the opportunity to share your knowledge with.   And, before you know it, you will have a healthy group of subscribers consistently eating up your every word.

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