Your blog is your brand.

 

I know that… now.  I’m fairly new to blogging (much newer than some, not as new as others). I stuck my toe in the water this past Spring and have been evolving & discovering my own branding ever since (even when I wasn’t realizing it).  I’m still not “there” but I’m working on it.

 

Jessica Smith of Jessica Knows recently put together a collection of information, “15 Days of Marketing” that I have found intriguing and well worth the read.  I wasn’t able to participate during the time it actually ran, but will do it at my own pace. There is also a 15 Days group on Twitter Moms.  If you want the full meat of the topic, check out those links.  In this post, you will just find my thoughts.  

 

The overall theme of day one is making your (my) blog more PR friendly. As I go through all the info in the 15 Days series, I will continue evaluating my blog for its effectiveness in many areas, this one included, and decide where changes, if any, need to be made.

 

A couple of sites that were recommended, but I have not yet used, are Skype and Get Clicky. I’m not sure at this point if Skype will work for me (I don’t have a webcam or microphone setup at the moment and not sure of the techy stuff that would go along with using Skype).  Get Clicky gives analysis of blog visitors in real time, but is not a free service.  The rates may be reasonable, but at this time I don’t believe it would be a sound investment. I do think both of these resources may be beneficial to me in the future so I will keep them in mind.

 

I have been a subscriber of Peter Shankman’s HARO mailing and although I truly believe in the unbelievably amazing resource that it is, I didn’t think how important it should be for me to pay closer attention, read it on a more regular basis, and search out queries where I would be able to offer quality insight.  I’m thinking now. 

 

I receive requests & pitches from PR firms and companies, but due to time constraints and other obligations, I usually do not blog about press releases and the like.  I am rethinking that decision and realizing that blog posts about certain topics as requested by PR firms could be viewed as a portfolio of my work and work to establish myself as a marketer.  I will still have time limitations and other obligations, but will make myself more available. I do believe in strengthening the relationship of my brand with the PR reps, the PR firms, and the brands & companies they represent. 

 

Something that Jessica suggested giving thought to is creating a top three favorite brands list.  Here’s my top three, plus some honorable mentions:

 

Hewlett-Packard: I have been a loyal HP consumer since I made that first computer purchase years ago. I have an HP desktop (love the Pavilion Slimline – takes up a lot LESS space!) plus an all-in-one HP printer (fax, print, scan, copy).  I’ll shop other brands, but I just seem drawn to HP. I’ve used them for years and trust them.  I am somewhat in the market for a laptop, and it would probably go with saying that an HP is most likely what I would purchase.

 

Zephyrhills Natural Spring Bottled Water: Let me preface this by saying I hate water.  But if I drink water (and I do try to, though never drink as much as I should), it has to be Zephyrhills, period.

 

Rubbermaid: From kitchen plastics to larger storage containers, they always come in handy and are well made.

 

Other products that deserve an honorary mention:

 

Fisher-Price and Leap Frog: Quality children’s products. I especially love the learning features, innovative ideas and technology. 

 

Huggies: As an infant, my son was a Pampers baby. As he became a toddler, I shopped around a little more and settled on Huggies.  It is a great product, seems to be on sale more frequently than Pampers, and has great coupons for diapers, wipes, and other bath & body products.  I also love their Cleanteam line.

 

Gymboree: Great quality & style, plus they have great sales!

 

TIVO: I. Am. Addicted. To. My. TIVO. Just saying.  Except for a few minutes of news in the am, I almost never watch live TV.  TIVO rocks, pure and simple.

 

Cheerios: A household staple. Always has been, always will.  My 75-year-old Daddy still eats a bowl of Cheerios every single morning. I can’t remember a time in my 30+ years when that wasn’t the case. Just about every morning, I pull out the popular yellow box to fix my two-year-old a bowl (along with his fruit of choice – banana).

 

 

Stumble it!

Written on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Filed under Marketing.
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