Linda Dessau's Six Easy Steps
Before you start these six steps, according to Dessau, you need to have a plan. You can't just create a blog and hope that it works out for the best. You have to know where you're going. Here's a personally-made, clever comparison for you: you are like Dora the Explorer. Dora needs the Map to go exploring. Otherwise, she would just wander around aimlessly while Swiper steals everything and wreaks havoc on Dora's magical world. The same goes for you. You CANNOT blog without a plan, or your blog will fail and the competition will win.
The first step after you have an idea of what you're going to do, according to Dessau, is to look at other companies' blogs. This will give you an idea of what design to use, how to post, and how to successfully implement your ideas into a blog. One example that Dessau uses is of Coca-Cola, which we will look into more later.
The second step is to "create a mission statement" (Dessau). Like I said before, Dora needs the Map to go exploring, and so do YOU. A mission statement provides an overall goal for your blog and something to look back on if you forget what that goal entails. It will also help you with future decisions when it comes to your blogging ventures.
The third step is to meet the goals that you have for blogging with your business. You need to create goals that can be measured in order to see how effective your marketing tactics are. For example, one of your goals could be gaining a bigger audience. That can be easily measured by traffic on your blog.
The fourth step is to pick "categories" for your blog (Dessau). Dessau recommends about "7-10 categories" so that readers can easily find and know what they're looking for. This will also help you to know where your blog is going with its topics.
The fifth step (don't worry, were almost there) is to lay out a plan for when to blog and what to blog about. Time-wise, you need to blog the amount that best meets your company's goals. Content-wise, you need to post what captivates your readers and meets your goals that you've already set.
The sixth and final step is to check out the results of your blogging ventures. Did you meet your goals? By how much? This is where you evaluate how much and if you have met the goals that you have set for your blog and company.
Overall, this article, in my opinion, provides great insight into starting a blog. It's very easy to read, and it doesn't take too long to do so. To read the article in Dessau's exact words, click here.
Spotlight
If you're looking for a great "blog role model", as Dessau puts it, Coca-Cola has an AMAZING blog to explore. The design is so simple and easy to access that anyone can explore their site with ease! On their blog, Coca-Cola shares stories of the amazing things that they are doing with their products and their company in general. They also share about events going on around the world. This blog is a great way that Coca-Cola has personalized their company, and it is definitely something that every blogger should strive be like with their own blogs. For a direct link to their "Unbottled" site, click here. Good luck on starting your own blog!
Pictures found on Google Images. I do not own these pictures, nor the Dora the Explorer trademark. This is being used for educational purposes.
I really liked your post, especially Coca Coca example since that is my favorite soda. Your whole blog has really cool design! Good job.
ReplyDeleteThanks Zorana!
DeleteGood work, Melody! I liked how you really showed your personality and used your voice in writing this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jordan!
Delete