All Entries Tagged With: "branding"

Business Blogging: Product, Service, Or Consulting?

Business blogging is a marketing technique whose time has come. Whether your sell a product, provide a service, or perform consulting services, you can maintain a blog as a form of marketing. Keep in mind that there is more to blogging than mere marketing. You are also branding yourself.

The branding comes in three different formats:

• Search Engine Marketing – Your blog should be optimized for the most important keywords that you want to capture. By sticking to a niche within your business specialty you ensure that your blogging is narrow enough in scope to achieve an effective targeted effort through the search engines.
• Image Projection – With every word you utter and element of design you promote an image of yourself. This image is what others will think about when they think of you.
• Dialogue With Readers – A blog is a dialogue. You want your customers to visit your blog and provide feedback. You may also call it networking. By distributing your blog posts through RSS and various social media outlets you encourage more participation. There is more to business blogging than mere writing. You must also connect.

When you approach business blogging with these three goals in mind you ensure that you enter the marketplace of ideas within your niche with respect and authority. It works whether you have a product for sale, provide a service, or act as consultant.

Should You Use DDAddSig In Your Blog?

DDAddSig is a WordPress plugin that adds a signature link to the bottom of all of your blog posts. Is it worth it to install this plugin?

First, before answering that question, let me tell you the positives and the negatives. First, the positives:

• A signature at the bottom of your blog posts can help you brand your blog in unique ways
• With DDAddSig, the signature will appear automatically in every post you write
• You can even include links in your signature
• You can include graphics too
• Easy to install, easy to use, and you can turn it off in a snap

Now, the negatives:

• You can’t customize your signature from post to post
• Once you start it you must keep it or you’ll lose all of your signatures on every post
• Deactivating it takes away the signature on every post

DDAddSig is a powerful WordPress plugin. But if you want to install it yourself then it’s a decision you will have to make yourself, but here are some ways that you can use it if you do:

If you don’t want to link to your website from your blog in the posts but you want the flexibility of changing your signature links down the road so that you can promote a different site then it’s a good plugin. If you want to brand your blog long term then it’s a good plugin. Those are two good uses that I’ve used it for myself and I’d recommend it if you fit into either of these categories.

Learn more about WordPress installation and plugins.