Over the past few months, work has been so insanely busy that my personal blog has been neglected. I blog for work at www.marketingcube.com.au and when you ad that to my schedule with customers as a Customer Success director, my time is limited.
You just have to make time
A good friend of mine who also works in the digital marketing industry, is much better at blogging that I am. I can’t give you a link to her site because she’s a competitor, it makes for fun and robust discussions at social events. 🙂
She has a routine, she sets aside time and churns through blog posts like there’s no tomorrow. Her approach is to take a range of topics and then break them down into several posts. Each post targets a specific point, they’re short and sharp and to the point. I still wonder how she finds the time as a mother of three and a CEO. But she’s a rockstar, so I suppose that’s how she does it.
My approach is more “experience” based
By that I mean I generally post based on specific experiences I have with customers. I like to review my week and then capture several points in a post that relate to lessons learnt in the context of the past week. Now, because I blog for work, work often wins for the content I produce.
From a personal branding point of view, those posts are mine, they’re just sitting on my work blog instead of my personal blog. Over the past 12 months I’ve been approached by 10+ recruiters asking me to meet with them about various roles they have available. I think this is largely to do with my blogging and also my LinkedIn profile, I’m sure.
I’m not looking to move on at the moment, but it’s good to know that my “brand” is out there and being noticed.
Have a purpose and a style
The purpose of my blog posts is to generally share what I’ve learnt. That’s why I started my blog ten plus years ago. My style, is to be casual, almost conversational.
I try to avoid a more formal style, I hope that my blog posts are easy to read on the way home from work e.g. on the train or bus. I try, where possible to summarise my thoughts in the proverbial “Top 5 Tips” at the end of the post.
Some limitations
I met a sassy and very bright young lady a few months back. Her blog posts were fantastic. Her cousin works in advertising and is a gifted animator. My friend would story board her blog posts, her cousin would animate then and then she’d do a voice over. These were her “vblogs” – fantastic.
The problem was, she spot about the product her employer produces and was told by corporate marketing she had to stop. She wasn’t “authorised” to speak on behalf of the company 🙄 Seriously, he posts were great and were a plus for anyone learning more about the produst she sells.
Any of her prospects would clearly see she “gets” the space she’s in and would become a trusted advisor to anyone that may look to purchase from her. I suggested she create a pen name for herself and continue her blogging, but that really negates the point when it’s her personal brand she’s trying to build.
TIP: If you’re working for a large brand, be aware of the limitations that may be imposed on you as an employee.
