Great post, Chris.A timely reminder to check and update my About page.I won an award that I need to add and have participated in several conferences over the past year and I've neglected adding them.I also need to update with more forward looking content.
Alex Cristache
· 1 year ago
A little bit of fun, a little bit of strategy and yes, blogs can be a solid foundation for business improvement. If not as a client source, at least as an authority builder. Good post Chris!
Roundpeg
· 1 year ago
One of the challenges of using a blog to build professional reputation or business is finding the balance between content which would be relevant for a given audience.
One of the ways I solved this was to create multiple blogs. My business blog - www.Roundpeg.biz is just that, it is about business. ( my biz attire) while my random thoughts, political opinions, and warped humor end up on www.lorraineball.com definitely jeans and t-shirts..
Do people read both? Sometimes, but it is the appropirate message or Outfit for the right occasion.
Seamus Anthony
· 1 year ago
Oh God, my about page is a disaster ...
Marc Meyer
· 1 year ago
Lorraine, you're right. Different outfits for different occassions. The only difficulty I see is maintaining more than one outfit. Makes me wonder what Richard@dell is going to do should he ever leave... I'm going to have the same problem since I work for Emerson Direct and my screen name for a lot of my social media personas is for them and not Marc Meyer. I would like to try and separate them and it's a task that looms on the horizon. The question is how do you transition when so much of what has been done up to this point has been done on behalf of one's company and not for the personal brand. Chris..any thoughts?
Marigo Raftopoulos
· 1 year ago
Great post Chris. I think that a blog offers a personal, honest and direct voice which is very different to the more standard (albeit necessary) self promotion offered by a professional profile such as LinkedIn. Apart from focusing on the business proposition, I think that a blogger also needs to work on the 'realness' of the voice in which they write and express themselves. The magic word in your example about Jeremy at Seesmic is "passion". Blogging with passion in your voice will help make your business proposition come alive.
chrisco
· 1 year ago
RE: "scruffy jeans, a Hawaiian shirt, and cheap shoes without socks": It depends on the context, the job, company, company norms, position, of course. If you arrive at one type of place (creative/non-conformist vs. buzzword/conformist) dressed showing you are the other type of person, it's "bad." Best to just be yourself, dress about how you think you'll dress (or a little bit more dressed up), and go from there. Same with blogging, just be yourself. Formal is for accounting firms and such "white collar service jobs,", IMHO. Fake is for I don't know who... nobody.
Blogging Millionaire
· 1 year ago
I'm becoming more and more convinced that your about page is very important. When I look in my statistics I have always seing that they first go to your blog post that got them to come to your blog and then they visit your about page. So your about page might be one of the most important things on your blog.
Roundpeg
· 1 year ago
@mark meyer, the longer you wait the harder it will be to separate your identities. Start now... sometimes i have similar posts on Roundpeg and Lorraine Ball, but the more I write for both, the clearer it becomes which post is a better fit for a particular audience.
gregorylent
· 1 year ago
and meanwhile scoble is getting hammered for saying the same thing, by the priests and acolytes of the church of the holy start up... http://www.friendfeed.com/scobleizer
Ari Herzog
· 1 year ago
Chris, thanks for reminding me to update my About page which I just did.
Lorraine and Marc, why do you feel you need to separate your online identities? I'd rather know who you are by visiting one place, not two. Do you, for instance, drive two different cars depending what you want people to think of when they see you drive up?
chrisbrogan
· 1 year ago
@Marc - I've got some thoughts on the whole brand vs company brand thing. I'll blog it up for tomorrow, if I get time tonight.
I'm kind of the "same guy everywhere" type. Should there be more than one blog? Only if you want to try to build two properties. Technically, yes, but with some caveats.
Thanks for everyone's perspective.
kathy elkins
· 1 year ago
New reader of your blog. Great and helpful post for a smallish, niche business owner. My About page is a disaster too. Sorting through all things social media and trying to figure out what makes sense for us. I'll definitely keep reading.
Ricardo Bueno
· 1 year ago
Your "About" page is a big deal! It's the first thing I look for when visiting someone's blog; especially if it's their business blog. It's a big deal and yet so many of us struggle with putting it up. So, this is where I say asking for help isn't such a bad idea. Have a colleague/friend help by asking him/her to write some things about you. Use those ideas to get started on drafting up your "About" page so that your presentation is clean because frankly, first impressions "do" matter.
On the topic of Brand v. Company Brand: I think that developing your own distinct brand is very, VERY important. You can help develop your company's brand but you also have to develop your own. After all, what happens when the day comes that you and your company decide to part ways?
friarminor
· 1 year ago
Some of us may just be doomed to blog this earth for a very long time without finding their niche or comfort zone...
Thankfully, there's people like you Chris that inspire the rest of us to continue trying.
Best. alain mor.ph
yanchuanwei
· 1 year ago
your blog is very good ,i'm came from china ,i want make friend with you
yanchuanwei
· 1 year ago
please rember me
Mike Desjardins
· 1 year ago
I've gotten several job offers, including the offer for the job where I'm currently working, based on my blog content. A blog beats the pants off a resume because 1.) you can show that you really do know what you're talking about, and 2.) you can show that you're able to communicate your ideas with other people in a coherent way.
Unfortunately, now that I've just started my new job, I've found that I don't have the motivation to continue posting that I once had. It's been several weeks since my last post, and I used to post at least one each week. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the groove again soon.
Michael Gass
· 1 year ago
A friend forwarded this post to me. Great info Chris and I like your blog. My blog has been the central communication tool for my new business as a new business consultant to small and midsize advertising agencies.
asglasgow
· 1 year ago
Presently, I am onto my fourth or fifth blogging platform. I just couldn't get the hang of blogging. I tried some platforms that I couldn't work, at the time, but if I went back to them I probably would have a better idea now. I am only on-line this year, since April, and have found many changes since 1999, when I was last on-line, regularly.
I needed clarification as to how my blog should "sound" and "feel". I want to blog for business AND for 'real'. By 'real' I mean to just be myself. I spent years trying to be "not me" and now that I have found my true self in the real world I want to carry that over onto my on-lne presence.
Hence, Chris, I have found that mixing a little fun within my blog allows me to somehow express myself. I have the obligitary news feed scrolly thingy, I forget what it's called. I have some adverts, tag fed news widget which is optimised to show stories pertaining to my line of work. I also have two games and a joke feed. Why not? I like fun and they are not really part of the blog as they are hidden way below the fold-thingy. :-)
I might change my mind about these widgets over time, but for now they lie low in the bottom right hand corner of the side column.
The one thing I did get from this post is the fact that my "About" page, (by that I am presuming you mean the profile page on my blog), is a complete disaster. It points straight to my LinkedIn profile - allowing potential readers a reason to leave my blog without reading ANYTHING.
I can't remember how I found out about you, Chris - I was actively seeking advice, hints and tips, however. The point is that I am so glad that there are people like you around - I am definately a fan now - No doubt.
Justin Levy
· 1 year ago
Great post Chris! You mentioned some of the items which have been sitting on my to-do list to update/tweak. One of the other big benefits for businesses is the SEO benefits of having a blog. Every post is another page which a potential reader or customer may find when searching for topics pertinent to your blog topic/company industry.
melaniekissell
· 1 year ago
Terrific and to-the-point, Chris!
I've clicked on many blogs that simply "confuse" me. There's no way of telling what the blogger's intent is or the definitive purpose for the blog. I don't like to be sent in a myriad of directions and having a mishmash of posts leaves me feeling anxious to exit!
Thanks for your insight and sound business blogging tips, ~Melanie Kissell
All Comments
Good post Chris!
One of the ways I solved this was to create multiple blogs. My business blog - www.Roundpeg.biz is just that, it is about business. ( my biz attire) while my random thoughts, political opinions, and warped humor end up on www.lorraineball.com definitely jeans and t-shirts..
Do people read both? Sometimes, but it is the appropirate message or Outfit for the right occasion.
Lorraine and Marc, why do you feel you need to separate your online identities? I'd rather know who you are by visiting one place, not two. Do you, for instance, drive two different cars depending what you want people to think of when they see you drive up?
I'm kind of the "same guy everywhere" type. Should there be more than one blog? Only if you want to try to build two properties. Technically, yes, but with some caveats.
Thanks for everyone's perspective.
On the topic of Brand v. Company Brand:
I think that developing your own distinct brand is very, VERY important. You can help develop your company's brand but you also have to develop your own. After all, what happens when the day comes that you and your company decide to part ways?
Thankfully, there's people like you Chris that inspire the rest of us to continue trying.
Best.
alain
mor.ph
Unfortunately, now that I've just started my new job, I've found that I don't have the motivation to continue posting that I once had. It's been several weeks since my last post, and I used to post at least one each week. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the groove again soon.
I needed clarification as to how my blog should "sound" and "feel". I want to blog for business AND for 'real'. By 'real' I mean to just be myself. I spent years trying to be "not me" and now that I have found my true self in the real world I want to carry that over onto my on-lne presence.
Hence, Chris, I have found that mixing a little fun within my blog allows me to somehow express myself. I have the obligitary news feed scrolly thingy, I forget what it's called. I have some adverts, tag fed news widget which is optimised to show stories pertaining to my line of work. I also have two games and a joke feed. Why not? I like fun and they are not really part of the blog as they are hidden way below the fold-thingy. :-)
I might change my mind about these widgets over time, but for now they lie low in the bottom right hand corner of the side column.
The one thing I did get from this post is the fact that my "About" page, (by that I am presuming you mean the profile page on my blog), is a complete disaster. It points straight to my LinkedIn profile - allowing potential readers a reason to leave my blog without reading ANYTHING.
I can't remember how I found out about you, Chris - I was actively seeking advice, hints and tips, however. The point is that I am so glad that there are people like you around - I am definately a fan now - No doubt.
I've clicked on many blogs that simply "confuse" me. There's no way of telling what the blogger's intent is or the definitive purpose for the blog. I don't like to be sent in a myriad of directions and having a mishmash of posts leaves me feeling anxious to exit!
Thanks for your insight and sound business blogging tips,
~Melanie Kissell