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10 Ways to Boost Your Brand On Your Blog

- By Kristie Tamsevicius -

It used to be that you had to have a website to be a somebody online. Now the bar has risen a bit. Blogs are becoming a status symbol of sorts. To own a blog, shows you have arrived. That’s why the cutting edge companies of today are quickly jumping on board with blogs to stay with the times.

And when it’s about image, those cookie cutter blog templates won’t do. You need a blog with style and flair. So how can you transform your blog from boring to brilliant?

Here are some branding tips to kick up the brand on your blog.

1. Personalize your template. Make the look and feel of your blog match your website. People should be able to visually identify that it belongs to you. You can either adapt the header from your website, or just add your logo and use the same color theme.

Tweak the footer. Add information about how to subscribe to your ezine. You can also add Technorati and Delicious Tags. These identify in those blog search engines what topics your blog is about.

Jazz up your sidebar by adding links for media room, products, books you are reading, and blogs that you visit.

2. Bio – Add a short bio that lets your readers get to know you.

3. Description – Create a short zippy 1-line description that says what kind of content they can expect on your blog. You want it to be engaging enough that they’ll say, “oh, that sounds interesting…” and jump on down to start reading posts.

4. Name it! Give your blog a fun, inviting name that grabs someone’s attention. For instance, we named our Webmomz Blog, Kristie T’s Home-Biz-A-Pa-Looza to show the fun theme we wanted to portray.

5. Serve up regular doses of fresh content - Blogs are meant to be an ongoing conversation with your audience. If you aren’t posting at least 2-3 times a week, your blog goes stale. A little trick is to make an editorial calendar with a list of topics that you’d like to blog about. You can also keep a “blog idea file”. Whenever I run across an article or idea that I want to blog about, I tuck it away in this file.

6. Lively topics – Your readers want to hear from you. So reward them with original content. There is so much you can share with them. You can offer comments on current affairs, product reviews, or books you are reading. You can post inspirational quotes, views, opinions, and jokes. Some of my favorite blog posts include what the blogger is going thru whether it be a good day, a problem, a learning moment, or an off the wall point of view. Be authentic. Let your blog readers get to know the real you.

7. Create a conversation – Some of my favorite blogs are the really conversational ones. They make you feel like the person is writing just to you. Have you ever been to a workshop and the speaker looks directly into your eyes and you feel like they are looking right into your soul? That’s a powerful feeling of connection. And you can create that same sense of intimacy in your writing. To do that, try creating a mental picture of one person you are blogging to. Give that person a name. Think about what they do for a living, what car they drive, what music they listen to, what books they read etc. Then write your blog posts just to that person.

8. “Jenny Jones” your blog titles – When you write blog post titles, try to be fun and inventive. One thing I do is ask myself, “If this blog post was on the Jenny Jones show, how would they introduce this segment?” The answer always gives me a title that stirs curiosity.

9. Snapshots Rock – A picture is worth a thousand words. And adding photos to your blog really adds impact. istockphotos.com has great photos for web resolution for just $1 each. ClipArt.com has a week long subscription where you can download as much clipart and photos as you want. So you can go and grab a whole bunch of images that relate to your topic.

10. Sense of connection – One way to create a relationship with your audience is thru comments. Make sure that it’s easy for your readers to see how to comment on your posts. Also, if at the end of your blog posts you ask a question and tell them how to comment and add their answer, it will increase your posts. When the conversation is 2 way, it’s much more fun for your audience. And when someone does post a comment, email them back or go comment on their blog. The blogosphere is a very social medium. Make friends, build connections, expand your network and reach.

Article by: Kristie Tamsevicius, is the author of "I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home"! Thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs have used her step-by-step home business system to earn money working from home. Get a free ecourse Home Business Success Secrets at http://www.Webmomz.com

Other related Blogging Articles:

Why Blog: Aren't Websites Enough?
What's Wrong with Your Blog and How to Fix it
What to Blog About
Blogging Your Way to Loads of Content
Making Money on your Blog
10 Ways to Boost your Brand on your Blog