Blogging 201, Branding and Growth: Day Two: Audit Your Brand

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Blogging 201, Branding and Growth: Day Two: Audit Your Brand

Some of us have purely personal sites to discuss the day-to-day, while others use our blogs as a springboard for other projects. No matter which describes you — or whether you’re a bit of both — you’re not just a blogger: you’re a brand.

You may never be Coca-Cola or Apple, but you can still use good branding to grow your blog.

Today’s assignment: audit your brand — look at all the ways you communicate information about your blog to make sure they’re consistent and focused — and make one update to reinforce it.

confrontational-audit-committee

 

“I always do a mental audit at the end of the week to make sure I’m balancing time between my career and my personal life” Jill Wagner

Audit Your Brand

ROATK

A blog about everything and nothing.
Fiction, fact, poetry, odes, homages, photography.
Humour, yet some serious thoughts.
And it’s all done in the best possible taste!

 

You can never go wrong with black background, white font and with a touch of gray, especially when photos are concerned. And since my blog is mostly about the photographs and the stories, then the outlook is excellent!

My current theme, The Visual Theme, serves well for both the written word and the images. The font and colours came with the theme and the simplicity pleases my eye at least for now. I have gotten a few compliments as well, so I know I am on the right track.

Rantings of a Third Kind, with the slug “Blog about everything and nothing and it’s all done in the best possible taste!” pretty much describes the nature of the blog, the writer and the contents. I do not really rant about things, but I like to keep that option open for the future;) I also have visions of adding more content like videos, short and longer stories, serials and photo stories to the site. A travel blog is in planning. Therefore I prefer not to tie the knot with any specific genre, format or subject.

My user name is my name, well, with a twist of course 😉

I also registered the domain for the site “rantingsofathirdkind.com” but am yet to implement the name change for the blog. I also have a domain for my user name “gunroswell.com” with an introductory page set up for the same.

I have used widgets to create more visibility for searches and links. Also keeping a calendar of the posts on the main page. In addition, advertising the community I follow.

I have accounts in Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr, LiveJournal and Pinterest. This to advertise my postings to a wider audience outside the WordPress world. I have quite a few hits on Google alone and if you Google my name, site or use any of the tags for example from the fandom/homage posts, you can be certain my links will pop up on the top in a search!

For photographs, I also share them on Instagram, Flickr and the 500px community.

 

Tag line:
Rantings Of A Third Kind
Blog about everything and nothing and it’s all done in the best possible taste!

Contact and email:
A separate page for the contact form: https://atomic-temporary-83380856.wpcomstaging.com/contact/
Email address: gun@gunroswell.com

 

fit-for-purpose

Blogging 201, Branding and Growth, Day One: Set Three Goals, Part Two

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Blogging 201, Branding and Growth, Day One: Set Three Goals

 

“Blogging isn’t about publishing as much as you can. It’s about publishing as smart as you can.” Jon Morrow

Blogging 201, Branding and Growth, Day One: Set Three Goals, Part Two

Day One: Set Three Goals

Why do you blog? For notoriety? To get a book contract? To self-publish? To establish yourself as a leader in your field? To gain followers? To connect with others? To clarify your own thoughts?

All of the above, but then again, none of the above. Confused? Good! That means I got your attention 😉

Why did I ever start a blog you ask? Well, there really is a very simple explanation to that. In the prehistoric blogging ages, you know those, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth… Ok, so maybe not that far back. Let’s go back some ten years, before the times of today’s so called social media and blogging. People actually wrote and published on the internet, but those days it was more personal and tight knitt groups who wrote and followed each others’ writings. I used to be one of those people.

In the here and now, everything is easy and you can post your thoughts, life and pretty much anything your heart desires and there are others who either a) read and enjoy what you have to offer or b) read and hate it. Simple as that.

Still not convinced?
Well, I like to write so, there. Simple truth, now written “out loud”.
Guess a book deal, a script deal or similar wouldn’t hurt either 😉

If your blog exceeded your wildest dreams, what would that look like? Would you have a different design? How many followers would you have? How much traffic? What sort of community would participate? How often would you post?

I would actually pay good money for someone with similar vision and time to revamp my site. With the limited time I have for this “night job” which I like to call my blogging, I barely have time to write and snap photos, never mind the outlook of the pages. The knowhow is there, the time is not. I rather spend the precious time I have for writing and leave the admin to someone else.

As my blog states, everything and nothing for anyone and no one, so the net is cast wide and as far as dreams go, well, I would like the world to enjoy my offerings, both written and visual. I would prefer to post eight hours a day, have it as a full time job. The good deyeties know I have enough material to last a few lifetimes. However, the reality is, after some full ten hours on the paying job, my night shift on the blog takes only second priority before sleeping and eating of course 😉 However, that being said, I am currently posting every day at least a poem, photo and a theme per day. I am also taking part in quite a few challenges and of course, Blogging U courses!

So to summarize (or to make a promise):
1) Never miss a day of blogging
2) Keep in touch with the community
3) Try on new things (for the blog) ;P

Keep Calm and Keep On Blogging Everyone!

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Blogging 201, Branding and Growth, Day One: Set Three Goals, Part One

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Blogging 201, Branding and Growth, Day One: Set Three Goals

 

“Don’t procrastinate. If you want to blog, then blog.” Fritz Chery

Blogging 201, Branding and Growth, Day One: Set Three Goals

Day One: Set Three Goals:

Welcome to Blogging 201: Branding and Growth! We’re excited about what we’re going to cover over the next two weeks, and we’re glad you’re joining us for the ride.

Today we want you to do a bit of thinking about your blog, so you can focus the next two weeks effectively.

Today’s assignment: consider what you want to accomplish with your blog. Write down three concrete goals.

Why are we doing this?

* Because writing down goals forces you to think carefully about what success means to you — “success” is different for everyone.
* Because having goals helps you focus. If something you’re doing isn’t helping you achieve your goals, ditch it.

Here are some questions to mull over to help you uncover/refine what’s most important to you about your blog:

Why do you blog? For notoriety? To get a book contract? To self-publish? To establish yourself as a leader in your field? To gain followers? To connect with others? To clarify your own thoughts?

If your blog exceeded your wildest dreams, what would that look like? Would you have a different design? How many followers would you have? How much traffic? What sort of community would participate? How often would you post?

Answering these questions helps you create a vision for your blog. Next, translate that vision into three specific goals. You can articulate your goals however you’re most comfortable, but we recommend making them simple, concrete, and time-based to create laser-like focus, like:

* Gain 20% more followers by January 15st.
* Increase average daily hits 30% by the middle of 2016.
* Publish three times each week during December and January.
* Spend one hour each week visiting my followers’ blogs, reading, and commenting from now until February 1st.
* Establish a new weekly feature on my blog by January 1st. (Throwback Thursdays, Wordless Wednesdays, Soup Sundays), and publish that feature each week through 2016.
* Create an editorial calendar for the next 90 days by December 31st.
* Gain 100 new Twitter followers by February 15th.
* Publish posts from three guests over the next three months.
* For bonus points, write a post detailing your blog’s goals and publish it. Making your goals public ups your accountability. Your readers will cheer you on, and might even find ways to help you achieve your goals.

Create a private page on your blog to keep track of your goals, or just write them on a post-it note — whatever works for you.

Stuck on what to pick for your goals? Not sure what’s actually reasonable? Head to The Commons to bounce ideas around with fellow challenge participants. You know the old saying: 1000 heads are better than one!

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Blogging 201, Day 1: Understanding Your Theme

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Blogging 201, Day 1: Understanding Your Theme

“Your theme is the foundation of your blog’s layout. To start, let’s make sure we understand what our themes can do.

Today’s takeaways: Where to find our theme’s details, what all those features and functions do, and how to find theme-spiration.”

Action time! After finding your theme’s details, try one new feature you never realized your theme had — a template, a specialized theme option, a post format. You can remove it if it doesn’t float your boat, but give it a try!

title

“Don’t procrastinate. If you want to blog, then blog.” Fritz Chery

Blogging 201, Day 1: Understanding Your Theme

* Finding your theme’s details
* Understanding theme features
* Finding theme inspiration

“Keep it simple stupid” is a great guideline to follow for any occasion. How many times have you stumbled into a blog where there are lots of thing-a-magics and doo-das and you scroll, scroll, scroll and there is never an end in sight…

So for myself, especially taking lots of photographs, I love the black and white theme, which brings out the best especially for colour pictures. I also like a structured theme, where, at least on the main page, there is a clear intro in one frame and the title with links -frame will follow through out the pages. In addition, the widgets frame runs smoothly on one side of the page.

Today, I dared to venture with my blog and tried of for size the “Cubic” and the “Intergalactic” themes, as they both looked great in the demo. I have also tried out several themes on my blog before and ran with them until I found the current one. At the end of the experiment, I returned back to the “old faithful” theme of “The Visual Theme”.

Keep calm and keep on blogging!

blog-details

My Coffee Addiction

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“Coffee and love are best when they are hot” German proverb

Blogging 101: Day Four: My Coffee Addiction

Blogging 101: Day Four: Identify Your Audience
Today’s Assignment: Publish a post you’d like your ideal audience member to read, and include a new-to-you element in it.

Coffee, probably the most searched for topic on the World Wide Web. Most people can handle their coffee and enjoy a fine blend every now and again. And then there are the others, us, those who are completely hooked on the intoxicating, exquisite dark liquid. One or two cups a day just won’t do, thinking if less is good then more must be better!

While most people enjoy looking into their own coffee cup and are completely satisfied with the one time visual experience, there are some, who spend a lot of time looking at pictures of other people having coffee. The worst of these people actually develop habits, such as peeping in on others enjoying their cups of java be that in coffee shops or even in the privacy of their own homes.

I discovered my passion for coffee when I was around five. Sneaking into the coffee room, looking on while the adults were enjoying themselves. After they had finished their moment of coffee, I snuck in and had a taste, and have been hooked ever since!

I like having coffee by myself or in company. A nice cup of java in the morning, several times during the day and before I go to sleep. At work there are those of us, who enjoy our coffee in a group setting. It is most enjoyable especially during those days, when you need to work late. After all, you can never go wrong with a coffee party!

My taste in coffee varies. Sometimes I like to add a little vanilla to keep the taste soft and sweet. But other times, a more stronger blend is needed to satisfy the thirst. Then again, there is no such thing as bad coffee, or even an undrinkable kind. Cold, tea like or tar, it’s all fine as long as it spells c-o-f-f-e-e!

During my travels, I try to choose cities to visit, which have special shops and even dedicated streets for coffee lovers, like Paris or Amsterdam. There you can have your coffee pretty much in any way, form or position you like. I have also heard of places, where coffee is banned for what ever reason and you dare not even speak the name out loud. Personally, not my first choice to visit, I cannot stand too long a dry spell, not the mention the withdrawal!

Mostly you can drink coffee for free, especially if you are not too picky on the company and enjoy any type of coffee you can get. But, unfortunately not all coffee is free. Sometimes you have to pay for your coffee! Then again, paid coffee can taste as good as free coffee, it’s just a matter of adjusting your way of thinking.

OK, so I admit I have and addiction to coffee, but I generally like to blame my Finnish heritage of it. Since most of us are born with an the newly discovered gene, the coffee bean. That’s right, it is in our DNA to love coffee!

In summary, my advice to you is, enjoy your coffee while you can, when ever and where ever you can, you are never too young or old for it!

Related posts in Rantings:
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee and some more Coffee
Four Options For Coffee
Coffee, a Bliss and a Blessing
Not without my Coffee

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