What should you put on your blog if you want to use it for marketing, to attract clients?
Content is king, but if your design stinks, visitors won't get past the banner. They won't stay, they won't get to know you and they won't subscribe to your blog.
Worse, you could be spending a lot of your valuable time blogging for nothing. Bad blog design = bad marketing = no new business. Stinks, doesn't it?
If you care about attracting the right people, get a professional blog design or theme installed. You can do it yourself on Typepad, but you'll need a graphic designer to supply the banner with a tag line built in.
There are plenty of good freelancers available, but you'll need to know what to tell them. Here are my tips for good blog design and set up.
Design for Branding, Trust, Personality
Everything on your blog should reflect your branding theme, personality, and the problems you solve for your readers. Your banner should clarify what the blog is going to give readers.
These are branding issues that need careful thought. You may even need professional help if you want to get it right.
Joan Stewart is a good example of this. Her blog, at PublicityHound.net, features tips for people seeking PR and media attention. You know this immediately after arriving on the blog.
[15 second commercial break: Joan and I are teaching Time-SavingTips for Smart Blogging in two days, Wednesday Jan. 20, 2010. Sign up here…]
Personality Counts
