YOU ARE BORING AND YOUR BLOG PUTS ME TO SLEEP

Isn’t that funny? My best guess is last summer I participated in a Ménage a Blog promo. Other than that, no freakin clue!

Yes, absolutely JBo! Content is king, no doubt. My goal with branding is simply to help people come up with ideas for content — it’s especially helpful if they’re stuck for inspiration. Having go-to words is like a security blanket — you always have something to write about!

The other important factor in discovering one’s keywords, and therefore branding, is when it comes to SEO/SMO and this carries across one’s entire platform. Most authors (including myself when I first started blogging) had no clue about any of this stuff. It’s more common knowledge now which is great. But it becomes increasingly more important when we have books to sell.

xo and great points!

Thank you, sweet. I can barely keep up w/ everyday life in general, let alone maintain a daily blog. I have no issues with people who do; but for me, I’ve seen so many people become so stressed by HAVING to blog as opposed to being EXCITED about it. That’s when you know it’s time to back off a bit. My Alexa rating is still good (on RachelintheOC.com — this is a newer blog but still gets a decent rating) and I post 1-2X/week. And yes, having a daily topic is difficult unless you’re doing something every day that merits it. My thoughts, anyway.

I help people manage their writing time — if blogging daily takes away from that, then you need to prioritize. Thanks for visiting!

Ha, thanks Barb. Not sure why my mind went to pink ninjas but she is kinda awesome. I see lots of stream-of-consciousness type blogs and often wonder: if these people went to someone else’s blog, would they read this? My next few posts will discuss HOW TO BLOG more specifically (have a beginning, middle and end to your posts, for example) but this is a start. A foundation, if you will. There are also tons of terrific blogs out there which I aspire to. It’s all a great learning experience.

Thank you, Jane. People fear branding, but it’s really just a matter of knowing what your focus is more than anything. If you’re a cookbook writer, then write about food, right? If people came to your blog knowing you’re a cookbook writer and see posts about politics in Mexico, that would throw them off (unless perhaps, you’re discussing the difficulty of obtaining a certain ingredient due to political strife — or something). Of course, what I advise people is to be your authentic self and do what comes naturally (because people see through the facade anyway very quickly). When you can achieve that perfect mesh, magic happens.

I hope that makes sense. :))

Funny, Miss Groovy. I see the dark humor for you, for sure! Yes, there are a lot of rants which CAN be very funny however, when it ends up as whining I agree — enough. People say I ‘rant’ in my Mancode book which is interesting to me, given that it’s satire and not meant to be taken literally. Well, what can you do? Humor isn’t fickle; people are.

Dammit.

Excellent attitude, Peach. Promoting others is a terrific way to engage, and Pinterest is a great place to concentrate since many aren’t understanding how to use it promotionally or for business. Focusing on ‘new media’ and learning all the ups and downs also helps you become an expert and go-to person. 🙂

Thank you, Eden. I agree with you on lack of focus — when I see a header or tagline that says ‘random musings’ I think ‘UH-OH’ because I really want to know what that person has in mind or whether I should make it a point to come back.

I enjoy your blog immensely and often refer clients to it — both for layout (it’s beautiful) and focus. You’re doing an amazing job.

xo

Ha, thanks Toby. Not sure if that’s the case, but I love your support.