Being a Trusted Expert and Blogs Part 2
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As I mentioned in the last post in the series (yes i am going back 4 weeks here), How to Use the Free Tools Available to Brand Yourself as a Trusted Expert, the next step in using blogs to become a Trusted Expert is to start your own blog.
So, how do you decide what to blog about? Well, you could blog about anything really, but since this series is about how to make your online business more successful, I would recommend that you do it about your business and your products (niche). Duh.
Exactly what about your business may be harder to decide.
Do some research (you should already know from your reading/commenting phase) and see what’s out there in your niche. Is there a gap that you could fill? Is there some information about your category that you think is important to get out there, and that will resonate with your Buyer Personas? Then that’s what your blog should be about.
Now here’s the list of things you’re going to want to know before you start your blog:
- Your Domain (URL). Is it going be an extension of your existing main website, or will it have a unique name with branding and just point back to your site? Or is your blog going to be the main site? If so, you also need to decide what persona and feel you want your blog to have, which will influence the domain, tagline, and name you choose. If you are already adding your blog to your existing site, then you are somewhat limited as to choice, as it should relate back to the original site in some way. But if your blog is the whole site, then the sky and your imagination in the limit.
- The tagline – remember that both the name and the tagline become searchable, so you need to pick them carefully to make sure that you’re indexing under the right keywords for your business.
- The name (seems simple, but you’ll probably spend more time coming up with this than all the rest).
The reason why I’m telling you to take some time to come up with these 3 things is this: while you can change them later, as the search engines will reindex a site and you’ll maintain your rankings, but you will lose something more intangible – the branding and peronsa that you had built with that name or URL.
So, while you can go back and change it afterwards, putting a little thought and effort into it before you start will save you a headache and a bunch of rebranding after.
Here are the other things you’ll need to know when starting up your own blog:
Your design. There are a lot of software choices out there with customizable interfaces. If you’ve already got a look and feel that you like for your website, you can modify it and use it for your blog. Or, if you want something a little more stand-alone, you can just use the same colors (to connect it to your main site) but has a completely different look and feel. You can always go back and tweak it later, so don’t stress out about this one as much. Design is much more of a learning experience, and plus you’ll be testing elements to know exactly what your buyers want (and don’t worry, we’ll get to that part later, too).
Your voice. Blogs, more than any other kind of writing on the net, need to have a personality. The most successful blogs have their own unique voice that is so strong that you can almost imagine the person talking when you’re reading it. And although I’ve done posts on good grammar before, you need to walk a fine line – yes, use good grammar and spelling whenever possible, but you can also take liberties if it suits your voice. I’ve used non-good grammar thingies (see) where it’s appropriate. But if you keep to good grammar in every other way, it will be obvious that you’re doing otherwise for color and humor rather than that you don’t know any better.
Above all, keep in mind that your blog is supposed to be about you and your business. Don’t try to be something that you’re not – a big part about being a Trusted Expert is the fact that you are authentic.
Last point on this topic… just start a blog. I am serious here and I highly recommend everyone have a blog that is on a topic they are passionate about and especially if they want to be viewed as an expert in that niche.
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In my prior posts in the Trusted Expert series (Being a Trusted Expert with Blogs), Ive mentioned the importance of press releases and how they can help you become a trusted Expert. Well, today Im going to speak about them some more. Thats how crucial press releases are to you and your business. If you havent been benefiting from
In my prior posts in the Trusted Expert series (Being a Trusted Expert with Blogs), Ive discussed the importance of press releases and how they can help you become a trustworthy Expert. Well, today Im going to chat about them some more. Thats how vital press releases are to you and your business. If you havent been taking
To keep people from being too caught up in making those choices, I suggest they get their name first. Start a blog on a domain with their name in it. It lets them start learning with no pressure. Just stuff. Once they find out how easy it is to get started, they have the biggest hurdle out of the way.
Too many people think it is complex and difficult and simply never start. As Mike Litman says The first 15 yards are the hardest.
Get started. Get moving. Claim your stake in the internet
Glad to have you back Jason… Good luck with your upcoming launch. A timely post for me I am putting up a new blog related to gogvo on November 1st! and a refresher on the key basics does not hurt! Thank You!
I really like this post. I try to follow these guidelines with every (especially) blog I create. I think I’m going to change my tag line though. I need to settle on one main topic and create other blog posts that support that main topic. Again great post and it hammered home I need to continue to follow these guidelines. Oh and welcome back. I was beginning to worry about you.
Jason,
From the whole post I think I liked the second last para…
“Above all, keep in mind that your blog is supposed to be about you and your business. Don’t try to be something that you’re not – a big part about being a Trusted Expert is the fact that you are authentic.”
This is really very true and it does makes the difference.
Thanks Jason….
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