Do you have a blog for your business? I'm frequently surprised by the number of people I meet who do not yet have a business blog, even though it's one of the most powerful online marketing tools you can use. Even Gary Vaynerchuk says so in his book Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion. [aff link]
Ok, I admit I'm a little late to this party. I only just recently read Gary's book. Having heard and seen Gary speak, I definitely wanted to get his take on how to make a living doing what you love. While much of the book is devoted to passion and DNA and success mindset, it's the "how to" that caught my attention.
Gary Vee (as he's known online) is a loud proponent of using the web to build your personal brand and monetize your passion. Through out he pounds it in to the reader (and I swear I could hear his voice as I was reading) that all you need once you've identified your passion, is a domain name, a blog, a Facebook fan page, a twitter account, an inexpensive video camera (I recommend the Flip [aff link]) and be willing to create a ton of content.
I can't argue with that. But why do you need a blog? Why not a website? As Gary says,
Think of it this way: your website is for communicating logistics and facilitating sales; your blog is for communicating the essence of your brand.
I like that..."communicating the essence of your brand." And the vehicle for communicating your essence is through text, video (Gary's medium of choice - check out his wildly popular wine blog, Wine Library.tv) and audio. You need a home base for your content and your blog is it. A blog also increases your findability factor exponentially over a static website (search engines love the fresh content blogs provide) and they're easier and cheaper to set up and maintain.
Gary gives you a simple, inexpensive starting point. Once you get comfortable with the tools, you can begin to leverage your blog and myriad opportunities for building your personal brand on the web and boosting your online visibility beyond Facebook and twitter.
If you're looking for a blast of motivation and quick steps to get started, you'll enjoy Gary's passion and enthusiasm for business, the Web and playing big.
Related:
Start here if you're new to blogging...
What a great reminder that a blog allows us to more actively connect with the community we're building and display our "brand in action". Point and shoot sales, from static websites, have fallen for a reason. Visitors today demand a feeling of connection to what they purchase. Such a great quote by Gary.
Posted by: Kimberly Castleberry | Saturday, January 09, 2010 at 12:17 PM