What Is Your Blog Brand Image?
Are you a blogger bitch? An art and entertainment lover? Or a jolly food connoisseur? What is your blog’s brand?
I keep coming back to the topic of branding since I noticed people who blog about many different random topics without clearly defining their niche. Yes, you can do that. However, if you focus on one topic, one expertise per blog, you gain a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) advantage and you make it easier for people to remember you.
Branding is important cause it gives people a sense of familiarity. In the book BUYOLOGY by Martin Lindstrom they studied the effect of subliminal marketing. People were hooked up to machines that measured brain wave patterns. People were then asked to think about things like religion vs. Apple computers or smoking and cigarettes.
Guess what, the brain waves of people thinking religion and those thinking Apple computers are similar.
Branding is a form of subliminal communication. Having a consistent “image” and conveying a certain message regularly gets users into your blog. It becomes a familiar pattern in their lives.
My personal logo, for instance, is already recognizable to my blogger friends. I bring the same logo to whatever social network I go to. They’ll know it’s me.
You also want to get to the point where people will miss your blog when they don’t see it. If you don’t update, they’ll wonder what happened to you. They’ll ask why your blog isn’t updated. Maybe they’ll even worry.
Branding gains people’s trust. Remember my discussion on Persuasion, Emotion and Trust? The content of your blog is your message. That taps your reader’s mental facilities. If you have something of relevance, they’ll remember you. If you have shown you are an expert in your field, they’ll believe you.
How do you get to that point? I revert to Merlin Mann’s article on blogging. You explain your point to someone you respect.
So do this – Imagine you were talking to someone you really respect. Explain to them the issue you want to discuss. Provide evidence to support your argument. Keep doing this in your writing. Keep sending your message in many different ways.
The keyword to remember is RESPECT. When you talk to your readers, give them the respect they deserve. Be a patient teacher explaining to your students. Or a parent coaching your child.
Be consistent in your writing tone. People will become familiar with it.
Give them a ritual that they’ll do in the morning – read your blog. Once you have that, you’ll never miss an audience.