The Blog on Branding

How to Create Credibility for Your Blog

At the turn of the 20th century, newspapers were commonplace for public discourse among community members and were looked to as the authority on societal issues. The lobby of a local newspaper’s office would usually be filled with readers voicing their opinions – creating a forum of open discussion.

In the 21st century, blogs have replaced newspapers as a medium for public discourse. Interactions between writers and readers allow for dialogue about a range of topics—politics, finance, music, fishing – you name it, there’s a blog about it.

“Blog topics range from finance to music to fishing.”





Although the precise number of blogs on the Internet is debatable, there are literally millions and millions of blogs flooding the Web—with over 40,000 created each day! These numbers can be a little intimidating for first-time bloggers, especially if their blogs feature a particular brand or product. Since anyone with access to the internet can create a blog, it can be an even bigger challenge to find a reliable source among the millions of pages out there.

Let’s look at 5 ways to gain credibility for your blog:

• Brand your blog
• Build effective landing pages
• Post frequently
• Offer subscriptions
• Use subheads and lists

Branding Your Blog

Readers are more likely to return or subscribe to a blog that is branded, the same way they respond to name-brand products. Think “Nike, just do it” or “Bounty, the quicker-picker-upper”. Branding makes your site more memorable to readers, thus they are more likely to return.

Taking the time and initiative to brand your blog also shows your readers the passion and expertise you have for a given topic. When branding your blog, it’s important to let the reader know the purpose and focus of the blog, as well as the type of information you can provide. These things need to be reflected in your brand!

Refer to How to Create a Popular Brand Name for more tips on how to brand your blog.

“Think ‘the quicker-picker-upper’…”

Build Effective Landing Pages

A landing page is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt a certain action or result. The design of a landing page is to get readers to take a desired action.

The most effective landing pages are in a one-column format because there are no distractions for the reader. Even a simple column of navigational links gives the reader a reason to look away from your content. This design will also tell readers that there is more information down the page.

Landing pages are also search engine-friendly, bringing more traffic to your page. With one link, you can prompt readers to make a purchase, subscribe, or take another desired action.

An effective landing page can build authority by directing readers to the most relevant content in your blog or prompting them to subscribe—which we’ll talk about in a little bit.

For more information on how to build a successful landing page, visit http://www.copyblogger.com/landing-pages.

Post Frequently

You should try to update your blog as frequently as possible. Readers begin to trust that you can provide valuable information on a specific topic on a regular basis.

• You will inevitably lose readers if you betray this trust.
• Pick a posting schedule, and try to stick to it as much as possible.

Your blog posts should also be consistent. In order to keep readers coming back, you must stick to the topic that initially attracted them to your site.

It also reinforces your exposure to and expertise in the given topic. Say your blog is about the six-time Super Bowl Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers (I’m from Pittsburgh, what can I say?), and you suddenly switch to blogging about environmental issues. . . readers are going to second guess your credibility.

“If your blog is about the Super Bowl Champs, stick to the topic.”

Offer Subscriptions

The number of subscriptions a page has is a big indicator of authority for readers. When a blog has a high number of subscriptions, it persuades new people to subscribe. It’s social proof that your blog has credibility and can be looked to as a resource.

• Ask new readers to subscribe to your posts and make sure the RSS feed is easy to find on the page.

Jason Preston, of Eat, Sleep, Publish, applied this method to his personal blog and claimed his subscriptions consistently rose from 19% to 40% each week.

“Adding an RSS feed can consistently raise your subscriptions.”

Use Subheads and Lists

Writing for the web follows a different approach from writing for print.

• For the most part, people scan text when reading online.
  • A successful blog entry is broken down using subheads and short paragraphs.
  • Lists are also an effective way to provide valuable information that can be scanned easily.

Laying out information this way helps readers gain valuable information, making them more likely to return to your site – more readers, more authority.

Bernadette Smith Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.