No Subscribers? Save Your Blog/Business: Rebrand and Refocus

Posted by Jozzua on Mar 2, 2009 in Random Blabber | 2 comments

Let’s say you have a blog with it’s own niche domain name (for Search Engine Optimization or SEO purposes). You write great articles on your chosen topic and even rank well on Search Engines. Yet you find people aren’t subscribing to your blog. What can you do?

Have you thought about re-branding and re-focusing?

Branding refers to the process of associating a positive emotional experience to the company (or in our case, your blog). If users aren’t subscribing, then perhaps they aren’t getting the positive experience. Worse, they maybe getting the experience, but are not associating it with the blog.

Companies typically apply re-branding as a marketing tactic to shift visitors perception. At times, they completely dump the old look of products and services for a newer one. We can learn from how companies do it and apply it to blogs.

Consider how Piltel bounced back from near-bankruptcy through a re-brand and re-focus.

Piltel was incorporated with limited liability on July 18, 1968. It initially owned and operated local telephone exchange or landline networks in and outside Metro Manila. In March 1991, Piltel started operating cellular telephone services using various technologies — ranging from analog AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) technology to the digital CDMA technology, a US standard.

In August 1993, Piltel ventured into the paging business and launched Beeper 150. Piltel was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in July 1995. By 1996, Piltel had cornered a 42-percent market share in analog cellular services, but the introduction in the country of text messaging rendered its products and services obsolete.

From debts that ballooned to more than P40 billion and the Asian financial crisis to technology woes and an unsuccessful phone line rollout, it was all downhill for Piltel. By the end of 1998, Piltel had sunk deeper into the red with P4.1 billion in losses, widening from P620.7 million

In April 2000, seeing the futility of fighting text messaging, Piltel (by now a sister company of Smart Telco through share purchases of First Pacific) shelved its CDMA technology and launched its GSM prepaid cellular service under the brand name Talk ’N Text.

Piltel shifted its focus from the old CDMA technology to GSM and rebranded itself as Talk ‘N Text.

As of end-June 2008, Smart and Piltel had accumulated a combined 33.2 million subscribers. Piltel alone was the third largest cellular service operator with 12.5 million subscribers.

In Piltel’s case, the refocus was on the use of technology itself. They moved from the analog and CDMA system to the more clone-proof GSM-based network. The re-branding was not as subtle – an entirely new name and new logo.

How can you apply this to your blog?

1. Change your writing style (Re-focus) – If you have not done so before, develop your own ‘signature’ writing style. Use a formula that eventually becomes a familiar element in your readers. For example, take a look at Mike Villar’s writing method – full of self-deprecation that is verbally-offensive yet humorous. Or take the case of Lauren’s writing that tells stories of her daily life. These bloggers have an audience that follow their ramblings.

2. Change your website’s theme (Re-brand) – A change in your writing style would be accentuated by the change in your overall theme design. Mike Villar’s blog previously had a white-grey-black color theme. It was simple and it reflected his consistent “bastos” humor. Over a month ago, as he was going for a more fun and colorful theme (now currently white, green and blue). You’ll notice that his recent articles, though still self-deprecating, also includes overtones of his recent engagement. It’s more personal. Mike is adding “color” to his life. Like a TV show with a new twist – this gains audience interest.

Experiment on re-branding and re-focusing in your blog. The change must be obvious enough for your readers. Get the “wow” emotion from your readers – perhaps through your writing, your insights, or the news trends you publish.

Eventually you will get fans. You’ll get subscribers.