{"id":1419,"date":"2003-12-18T23:00:26","date_gmt":"2003-12-19T04:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/example.org\/your_weblog_bra"},"modified":"2003-12-18T23:00:26","modified_gmt":"2003-12-19T04:00:26","slug":"your_weblog_bra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/?p=1419","title":{"rendered":"Your Weblog, Branding, and You"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my earlier post, Your Weblog – The Ultimate Power Tool<\/a>, I did a quick fly-by on the vital subject of branding with this pithy<\/a>, but unfairly brief statement:<\/p>\n

If you understand branding, you can hold your audience and make it grow. <\/i><\/font><\/emp><\/p>\n

This is a totally true statement, but I need to provide additional information so you can act upon it. <\/p>\n

Let me first define brand with a dictionary definition that applies to this discussion:<\/p>\n

BRAND:
\nAn identifying symbol, words, or mark that distinguishes a product or company from its competitors.<\/em> <\/p>\n

Jennifer Rice<\/a>, who has an interesting weblog on branding, provides an expansion of the above definition:<\/p>\n

A brand is a promise of value to customers, and it sets a certain expectation.<\/em> <\/p>\n

So, what does all of this mean to you as a weblogger? <\/p>\n

Here is what Tom Peters has to say in an essay titled, The Brand Called You<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Anyone can have a Web site. And today, because anyone can … anyone does! So how do you know which sites are worth visiting, which sites to bookmark, which sites are worth going to more than once? The answer: branding. The sites you go back to are the sites you trust. They’re the sites where the brand name tells you that the visit will be worth your time — again and again. The brand is a promise of the value you’ll receive.<\/em><\/p>\n

How can you put this to work? <\/p>\n

Think of your weblog as a brand, “Brand MyBlog.” Everything you write, everything you do has to communicate a consistent message because it communicates the value and character of the brand. It all matters: your posts, the way you handle phone conversations, the email messages you send. These are all part of the larger message you’re sending about your brand.<\/p>\n

You can get a grip on what your current MyBlog brand image is by asking yourself: What value am I delivering to my readers? What message am I delivering? <\/p>\n

You might also want to ask yourself a more difficult question: What is it that my weblog does that makes it different? <\/p>\n

To paraphrase Tom Peters: If your answer wouldn’t light up the eyes of a prospective visitor or doesn’t agree with comments from past visitors, or — worst of all — if it doesn’t grab you, then you’ve got a big problem. It’s time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand.<\/p>\n

How does this all relate to my earlier statement?
\n“If you understand branding, you can hold your audience and make it grow.”<\/p>\n

1. You have to understand what you are promising your visitors.
\n2. You need to make sure you are providing a value that will make them return.
\n3. You need to keep communicating a consistent message.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to Jennifer for reawakening my interest in brands and branding. I had conveniently tucked all I knew away under the overall subject of marketing. She also noted that 50% of business professionals don’t know what a brand means. If you have stuck with me this far, you are well ahead of that crowd.<\/p>\n

Finally, a direct quote from Tom Peters: It’s this simple: You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wishing you great success…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my earlier post, Your Weblog – The Ultimate Power Tool<\/a>, I did a quick fly-by on the vital subject of branding with this pithy<\/a>, but unfairly brief statement:<\/p>\n

If you understand branding, you can hold your audience and make it grow. <\/i><\/font><\/emp><\/p>\n

This is a totally true statement, but I need to provide additional information so you can act upon it. <\/p>\n

Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1831],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3R4iK-mT","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}