Your Blog Image – Look Like A Thousand, Not A Million!
Posted by
eli
on 9/05/09• Categorized as Business Advice
image from www.sxc.hu
How does your blog appears in the eyes of the public, especially to your readers?
A perceptive blogger who is a marketing expert once said:
“Everything a blog looks like sends a signal about who the blogger behind that blog is, what he believes in, and what he wants to be. For his blog is a reflection of himself.”
In this age of high competition, where the blogosphere is full of blogs in the tens of millions, looking like a million is no longer enough.
Why? There are three (3) good reasons.
First, Alexa does not really give importance to blogs in which the traffic rank is low, like in the millions.
Second, if you want to monetize your blog, advertising firms always look at your Alexa rank as one of the criteria. That should not have been the case, but that is a fact of life in the blogosphere.
Third, many bloggers also consider Alexa traffic rank as a factor, an indicator of respect. The higher your Alexa traffic rank (lower number means a higher rank), the more respect they have for your blog. Again, that should not have been the case, but that is a fact of life in the blogosphere.
Therefore, since the blogosphere has zillions of blogs out there, why should people visit your blog vis-à-vis millions of other blogs?
So, what to do now?
Three things you can do. First, promote your blog. Second, promote your blog, and third, promote your blog.
In blog promotion, you need to design and /or improve your ad image. Your ad image must be able to represent your blog, its brand, niche — to communicate to the public and your potential readers the kind of image that you want to maintain.
You need to make sure that your ad stands out from the rest of other ads out there, that it should not be dull or boring.
Do anything and everything legally necessary that will enhance your blog’s image and make sure everyone knows you’re still blogging and in the race.
In the last analysis, your blog’s look and your ad image are important because no one wants to read your blog and take you seriously if your blog is crap, or junk.
Sensible and good tips. Thanks for posting! I agree with your ideas, especially of striving for a thousand rank, not a million. Although Alexa traffic rank is not a major factor, yet it counts.
Excellent post, Eli.
As I’ve posted previously and as you’ve so eloquently reinforced, your blog is an extension of who you are as a human being. Right or wrong, one will be judged, not only by the content of your blog, but also by the appearance of your blog. If your blog looks, for lack of a better word, cheesy, visitors to your blog will judge you accordingly.
It’s unfortunate, yes. But true.
As always, I hope this finds you well, Eli.
Sincerely,
Mike
@ Donabelle, thanks for your comment. Your observation about Alexa rank finds my assent.
@ Mike, thanks for your comment. Every time you comment, my article is always enriched because of your in-depth knowledge in blog marketing and in many other relevant subjects which are very useful to my niche and readers.
I agree with Donabelle and Mike. I am into writing paid reviews and traffic really counts and page rank, if I may just add.
As to our avatar’s look, and the entire packaging of our blog, I must say it has great bearing as to how others see us. As what Mike have mentioned, our blog is a reflection of ourselves. If one talks trash, one can infer so much. It’s human nature that a person offers his judgment too quickly and he usually gets his judgment from his first impression.
Bloggers can always opine anytime they want. No matter how much effort we put in to enrich and make our blog pleasant for others, we can not always please everyone. There will always be people who will wag their tongues. I may sound too blunt but this is entirely true.
@ Lainy, All I can say is “Amen” to your wonderful comment.
You have pointed out the point, but still yet provide enough information of how to promote the blog. Actively involve in the blogger community is another strategy to promote your blog. Of course, to do so, you still need a good image of your ad and excellent design of the blog, in order to attract other people attention on your blog.
I agree with what you say, and would just add that if you have a blog that doesn’t fall into one of the major categories of universal interest that you need to be a bit patient. You MUST promote your blog, as you say, but it may take months to find and build the readership of like-minded people as yourself. And if you want your topic to become of interest to a wider readership don’t use trade jargon, make it open and understandable to all people.
Let me add a couple additional thoughts: First while Alexa is popular with less savvy advertisers, QuantCast and Compete are more popular with serious advertisers. I strongly encourage people to get quantified on Quantcast. I think compete is falling off a bit these days, but Quantcast is the best.
Brand images are important. I try to have a consistent image for my avatar on various sites, for my ads, for my business cards as well as for my blog.
Yet the most important thing, I believe, is less about the look of the blog, than it is about the value of the content. If you are writing something that is interesting, people will read it and come back.
As always, my two cents, your mileage may vary.