I believe the most successful bloggers and writers are those who also consider themselves entrepreneurs. And this means that, like any good entrepreneur, you need a business card.
To be clear, you need a business card specifically for your book or blog. Don’t take your business card for day job and scribble your blog URL in the margin because, girl, that just looks raggedy.
A business card shows that you take your blogging and your writing seriously and thus encourages others to take you seriously, too.
On your business card be sure to include your name (Duh!), your email address, and your website URL. If you’d like you can also include your telephone number and social media channels.
These cards will come in handy at conferences and local networking events. And if you host giveaways on your blog, you’ll want to include them in the packages you send to your contest winners.
Be sure your card makes people excited to go check out your blog. And remember to employ good business card etiquette. This means do not go to a networking event and make it rain with your business cards. Only give people your business card after they ask for it.
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
Image by Alexander Baxevanis via Flickr/Creative Commons
What’s the point? There comes a time when every blogger will ask herself this question.
Creating good content on a consistent basis is hard work and most of us aren’t pulling a paycheck from our posts. So why bother blogging in the first place?
Well, some folks do get lucky. Some bloggers build a massive following and grab the attention of big-name brands. Some bloggers generate enough revenue from ads, sponsored posts, and affiliate links to quit their day jobs.
But most of us do not. But here’s why you should keep blogging anyway.
Blogging can make you a better writer. Writing is a practice. Just as athletes must train to get better at their sport, writers must practice to get better at our craft. Blogs make for a great training field. Blogging has taught me how to be more concise in my writing and taught me how to write faster, even faster than I did as a reporter with the Associated Press! If you set a posting schedule for yourself, blogging can train you to meet deadlines, too.
Blogging can help your writing career. Blogging will only help you as a writer if you’re striving to post quality work. And it’s important that you don’t put out crap just to say you’ve updated your blog for the week. People are paying attention. Your blog could land you a book deal or at least opportunities to write for some of your favorite publications. Case in point, I have a journalism degree from UC Berkeley, but the editors I work with couldn’t care less. Nearly all of the regular freelance gigs I have right now I snagged because I blog. So while I don’t make money directly from my blog, I do get paid for my freelance work and so blogging like crazy is worth it.
Blogging can help you establish an online platform. And you can use this online platform to promote your book or business or to spread ideas.
Blogging can help you find community. Blogging can help you find like-minded people with whom you can wax poetic about your passions or just hang out with and have fun. You thought you were the only 35-year-old black woman in the South who loved comic books, graphic novels, and video games. But then you started a blog about this obsession of yours and now you have a gaggle of geeky gal pals to take with you to Dragon Con.
Blogging can help you position yourself as an expert. As I mentioned, most people don’t make much money directly from their blogs. But your blog is a great way for you to promote your expertise. So use your fitness blog to promote yourself as a personal trainer. Use your fashion blog to promote yourself as a stylist. Take for example, Megan LaRussa Chenoweth, who owns the style coaching service Southern Femme. Chenoweth a top-notch, in-demand image consultant and personal shopper and is also a stylist for several magazines and fashion shows. But Southern Femme actually began as a fashion blog. Chenoweth used SouthernFemme.com to show off her style expertise and soon she went from bloganista to businesswoman.
Why do you blog?
Are you interested in blogging more but having trouble finding the time to do so? Then don’t miss the launch of my time management e-course. To be notified of the launch date, simply click here and sign up for my personal blog’s newsletter.
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
Image by Juliana Dacoregiovia Flickr/Creative Commons
I used to pride myself on being a workaholic. Javacia “No Days Off” Bowser I called myself.
My work ethic is necessary if I’m going to do all the things I want to do: teach, write, and build a business.
But all work and no play makes Javacia a dull and crabby girl. So earlier this year I made the decision to take one day off each week. I decided that Saturday would be a day for having fun with family and friends or just relaxing. Some weeks this isn’t possible. Today, for example, I have spent the past 10 hours grading papers. Seriously.
But I think it’s important for everyone, even folks who are trying to build their own business while still working a full-time job, to take one day off a week.
Firstly, it helps you avoid getting burned out. Whenever I don’t take a day off I pay for it. I usually feel stressed and overwhelmed the next week. I feel discouraged and start loosing sight of why I’m doing what I do in the first place.
Secondly, taking a day off is also good for your health. Before I started taking Saturdays off I would often get severe headaches — some even approaching migraine territory as I would feel nauseous and dizzy and have trouble seeing.
Lastly, your day off can be great motivation. You can’t take your day off unless you get a certain amount of work done the rest of week (hence the reason I’ve been grading papers all day). So use that day of fun and relaxation as motivation to tackle your to-do list without procrastination. Your day off can also motivate you to learn to say “No.” This month I have taken on entirely too much, which put me behind in grading papers, which led to this craptastic day. Let’s hope I learned my lesson.
And remember not to feel guilty for taking a break. Your day off is your reward for all the hard work you did the rest of the week. You deserve it!
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
Whether you’re attending a national blogging conference like BlogHer or just networking at an event in your hometown, you need to be able to quickly and concisely explain what your blog is all about. You need an elevator pitch. Here’s how to craft one:
Be brief. In your elevator speech you need to explain what you blog about and why in about 30 seconds.
Be clever. When working on your elevator pitch consider comparing your blog to something the folks in your niche would recognize. In the New Year I plan to relaunch my personal blog with a new look, a newsletter and a new focus. And after that relaunch I want people to say that I’m like a feminist Jeff Goins. But feel free to be funny or witty when finding a comparison for your blog. Maybe you’re Erika Napoletano without the f-bombs. Or maybe on your running blog you hit people with f-bombs and the hard truth on the regular and so you’re the Erika Napoletano of the fitness world. (Can you tell I really like Erika Napoletano?)
Be yourself. Mainly, you just need to be sure your elevator pitch is authentic. Your blog’s tagline is not your elevator speech. While that tagline is great for your business cards, if you say it in actual conversation it will probably sound too contrived. For example, my personal blog The Writeous Babe Project is about “writing, wellness and women’s empowerment.” It’s about how I am “writing my way through life as a southern fried feminist.” But when I say either of those out loud I sound and feel like a jerk store. So instead of an overly rehearsed speech, consider just having bullet points that present the highlights of your site.
To craft a truly effective elevator pitch start with the mission statement for your blog. Focus on your Why. I blog to empower women, especially those who write and those yearning to live a life worth writing about. That should be at the core of my elevator pitch and at the core of all I do for my blog.
What tips do you have for crafting a good elevator pitch?
Interested in learning more about the relaunch of The Writeous Babe Project? Click here to sign up for updates.
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
Your voice establishes your brand. (Image by Ricardo Bernardo via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Your blog is your brand.
We writers hear this a lot. But sometimes viewing our blog as a brand can feel limiting.
For example, let’s say you have a style blog that focuses on chic, work-appropriate fashion for young professionals. But you’re also inspired by creative, avant garde fashion shows. Because you’re trying to build a brand you may feel it’s not OK to write about both. But here’s why I think it is.
Establishing a brand for your blog isn’t solely about deciding the focus of your content. Building a brand is mostly about your voice and your values.
Whether you’re writing about runway looks or office party attire, your voice is the same. (Or at least it should be.) Your unique writing voice is much more important than what you’re writing about because it’s your voice that makes your blog stand out. Your readers aren’t just coming to your site because you’re giving suggestions on how to dress well for their 9 to 5. There are probably thousands of other blogs out there on this same topic. Your readers are coming to your blog because it’s your blog! They’re coming because they’re drawn to your voice and your style of blogging.
Your values also help build your blog’s brand. Why do you blog? What’s your mission statement? Yes, you blog to help young women feel both posh and professional, but why? Why do you think this is important? If your goal is to empower women and to help them feel more confident then simply make sure that everything you post — including a review of an avant garde fashion show — does exactly that.
For marketing purposes, it is smart to make sure that most of your posts center on your blog’s primary topic (unless you’re trying to shift the focus of your blog). Thus, consider creating a weekly or monthly feature that lets you go a bit off topic. So Monday through Thursday you’re blogging about what to wear to work, but at the end of the week you have “High Fashion Friday” and on this day you showcase the looks you’d love to rock the runway in.
Remember the thing that makes your blog unique isn’t its topic. Your blog is special because the woman writing it is.
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
