Sunday Food for Thought: BRANDING YOU and me
Hey, if you came here from a search, can you tell me what got you here? This is an old post. I'm not sure what is driving traffic. Brand me. Brand you. Branding for Bloggers?
Sunday Food for Thought? I used to write those every Sunday and then I decided they were too personal for what the blog has become. So, leave a comment and let me know. Enjoy!
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Sunday Food for Thought:
BRANDING YOU and me.
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I've been reading up on professional blogging through posts sent to my inbox by Problogger. For the most part, I am doing everything wrong. I'm a disaster. For example, did you miss me? I was MIA for about two months. Apparently, I'm not supposed to ask, as it is a sure sign of an unprofessional.
And then, there are the theories on 'to post or not to post', to whichever theory you subscribe (posting every day or every other day or once a week) you should maintain a schedule.
That is, you shouldn't post sporadically- every day one week, once the next week, none the next, and then a few times a day the next, just because you have something to say, like I do.
I can say, based on my absence and the noticeable drop in stats, okay the DRAMATIC drop in stats, posting at least once a week is important.
Someone pointed out that posting everyday might annoy my subscribers. Ahem... I would have to have subscribers to annoy them.
Another common mistake the naive, unprofessional blogger makes is not focusing on a particular subject matter. Specialization is best, know your readership, find your niche.
My niche?
Mommy Bloggers? Nope. Aspiring authors? Nope. Nutty people? Noooo. People interested in Dramatic Arts? No. Crafters? No. Freelance writers? Humor? Overweight Moms? Nope, nope, and more nope. Maybe a Blogger's Club for Midwestern Mommy Creative Types? Uh that's a big, fat, no. (10 followers) My very own .com just for my rambling mind? Apparently not. (20 followers)
Update: I have found my niche. Education Bloggers. Afterschool, Summer Camp, Teachers, Homeschoolers, and Daycare Workers. Things are going quite nicely now.
Don't use slang, vernacular, incorrect grammar. Don't get excited and post with spelling errors, your reader's will lose respekt for you. (See what I did there?)
Puffalump! Cheese and rice! Bleep, I ain't got no chance of becoming a professional, branded blogger. Or do I?
Update: I didn't even realize I was making mistakes back then. I still make mistakes today. Probably for the same reasons.
Content is Key and the Perfect Title is Golden.
Update: Okay, I used to write cute titles all the time. Now, before I even think of content to write I do an SEO search for the BEST keywords to put in my title. Downside, it won't attract my Facebook family and friends to read my blog. Upside, it is evergreen. The gift that keeps on giving. Titles and keywords used this way can take awhile to stick. Sometimes, posts don't get SEO juice for up to two years!! Then, they just take off. That is why, I want to know... what brought you here?
You see, I have found my niche. It's Kid Bloggers, who are mostly moms like me or Early Childhood Teachers looking for new twists on old ideas. I work for them, but I like to mingle with aspiring or published authors too. I love reading posts that flow, engage, and make me laugh or cry.
I don't want to scare off my niche group with posts about my fatness, laziness, or craziness. Or my my core Christian readers with my liberal take on Christianity. Or my Non-Christian readers with my Jesus talk. Or worse yet, bore everyone with my obsession with ancestry and historical fiction.
So... I tried to split my personality with my various blogs and Facebook pages. Know what I found out? People seem to like me despite my ramblings, outspoken political views, or overall reckless blog behavior.
Hey, fellow writers: I just learned how to spell reckless. Are you kidding me? All of these years, I thought it was Wreckless. I guess that is my Indiana upbringing... he is such a wreckless driver. Then again, that was dumb. If he was a wreckless driver rather than a reckless driver, he'd probably be a good driver minus the wrecks.
Ramblings.
That's what I, Lora Langston, do best and you don't have to hop over to loralangston.blogspot.com STOP THE PRESSES THIS LEADS ME TO A THOUGHT WITHIN A THOUGHT (loralangston.com was a nice thing to own until I didn't and then they raised the little renewal price of ten dollars to sixty, meanies) or Midwestbloggersassociation.com or theplayconnection.com or on Facebook or Lora Langston on Examiner.com even Kids Creative Chaos on Facebook.
Nope, because when I wasn't paying attention or even trying I discovered Lora Langston is my brand even if you have to work through my split-personality to find me on Facebook (Lora Langston) or Twitter (@playconnection) or Pinterest/kidschaos: (we do the scavenger hunt).
I'm gonna continue to ramble, write in my Indiana vernacular, post when I feel like it, and go off topic sometimes 'cuz that is what my subscribers seem to enjoy about me, my unpredictability. I'm a train wreck or is it reck?
My dry sense of humor lends to a few things: Some find me stupid and annoying but can't resist reading... and others aren't quite sure if they should laugh or run. The rest, well, they get me.
Whichever category you fall into, I hope you'll stick around! There are many more ramblings to come and lots of creative, crafty fun for kids.
Subscribe to Lora Langston on Facebook, and Check me out on Twitter and Pinterest-
This is where my branding is best with over 180,000 followers.
Okay, I won't be mad if you like me here too because this is the brand that didn't go but inspired this post. Kids Creative Chaos on FB (hoping for 500 Likes, for now).
Update: I have over 11,000 Facebook likes as of 12/2015.
Cheers to a happy 'You' Brand too.
Update: I'll pop back in and update this post as things continue to improve.
Adubahwha? That's what people used to say to me in college, when they had no idea what I just said...
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