2018 A Time To Blog In Africa – Develop Your Brand

[williamjackson]

2018 A Time To Blog In Africa – Develop Your Brand
by William Jackson #MyQuestToTeach

Bloggers must ask certain questions to help them align their
content to obtain readers. Listed are a few guidelines to help
develop content and keep on track during creation of  content.
1. Why Do You Blog – any blogger must have a reason to do what
they do.
There should be some passion, excitement and commitment when
you put fingers to keyboard. Why is a very important question and
should have a definite answer. During the blogging process it may
change just as the content changes, but every Blogger should have
an answer as to Why Do You Blog.

2. What Is Your Audience – an important element to go along with
Why is What is your audience?  Is there an age group, gender,
nationality, culture or specific group you want to connect with?
People enjoy having a connection with their Bloggers. Any successful
Blogger knows who their audience is and tries to give them what
they need and to keep coming back for more.

3. What Type of Content Do You Share – sharing is very important.
You want your audience to understand that you are sharing a part
of yourself with them. You're not thrusting things down their throat,
but providing something that they need or as you grow in your writing
giving your readers something they think they need.
Create the atmosphere of sharing which helps in receiving feedback
from the reader. Don't make it a give/take relationship, but a sharing
and beneficial one.

4. How Do You Support Your Brand and Content
Do you have a domain name, are you using a free site, is there a
lot of advertising, is there adult content, video, audio, and multimedia?
Supporting your content requires some research on your part to
validate what you are stating. In the educational, political, and
business environments you have to backup what you have stated
with links, quotes,
As I Blog I try as much as possible to obtain valid and trustworthy
resources to backup
my comments/statements. I'm at times competing with traditional
media so I have to go that extra step to help my readers understand
where I'm coming from, how it can help them and where else they
can go for additional help.

5. Do You Use Photos, Video, Graphics – The power of a picture,
video or multimedia can never be under estimated. If there is a
video that can be used or you create your own do it.
This provides an extra element to attract and keep readers to
your content. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) does need
help with text (words), but additional elements that provide
audio (podcasting), video (Youtube) and multimedia to create
an engaged platform.
Never be scared to branch off into new areas to help engage
and excite your readers.

6. Do You Offer A Service – What can you provide your audience?
Do you sell something, what type of services do you have?
The popular Blogs of relationship building, natural hair, nails
(hands and feet) provide a service that can be
seen. There is a service that results can be seen. Think
hard on what service you can provide. Be sure that
you can keep your customers happy.

7. Do You Evolve – One of the important things about Blogging is
keeping your audience. No Blog stays the same, there is an
evolution process that writers go through.
Just as age and maturity happens so should Bloggers content
evolve because their readers evolve. What you wrote 3 years
ago may not be of the same interest for your readers now.
Their lives have evolved (changed)
so as a Blogger your content must evolve also.

8. Do You Have a Brand – Can you Brand yourself to the public?
What are you known for, what does your title of your Blog site
bring thoughts and feelings of? Branding is important because
of the interest it generates in readership.
Creating a Brand allows for Marketability especially if you
are trying to make money with your Blogs. Branding makes
you who you are so the public will make that connection.


9. Can You Be Marketable – to make money is only one
important aspects of Blogging.
Eventually a Blogger considers how can they make money so
must be wise in how they Market their content. Who do they
market too? Basically selling yourself to the world so
they can pay for your content. This may take a team to get
the word out about you and promote what you are doing.
Using Social Media tools is another way, but this must be
strategic and planned.

These nine elements are worth considering and using as a
guide to blogging.

Blogging content, goals, designs, planning and objectives
will change the more you Blog so be ready to make
adjustments and evolve to keep pace and stay important enough
to be read.