Tweet

A Website or Blog is Worth a Thousand Brochures

Guest post by: Catherine Kaputa

Article Overview: The minute you print a brochure, it is out of date. Production is expensive. Distribution is expensive.

A Website or Blog is Worth a Thousand Brochures

The minute you print a brochure, it is out of date. Production is expensive. Distribution is expensive.
A website or blog is a powerful way to create a dynamic brand identity and a community of loyal brand fans. A website is the ultimate branding. It can build a powerful visual and verbal identity quickly and affordably for you and your business. It can reach everyone you want to target and create a brand community. A website allows you to display your own brand personality and always be up-to-date and relevant. It allows you to be accessible to your customers or audience.
You always need to approach the web site design as powerful packaging and advertising for you, your business or your ideas. Here are the first five principles for developing a great website or blog from my new book, U R A BRAND, How Smart People Brand Themselves for Business Success:
1. Get a Great Domain Name. Get the best, most memorable URL you can. It’s got to be easy to remember and spell. Make it as short as possible. Think of domain availability when choosing your business name if you are a new entrepreneur. Even if you’re part of a hosting weblog, choose a url for your blog that imparts your point of view or personality. Originally, the name of my new book was going to be, You Are a Brand, but we switched text messaging because of the availability of www.urabrand.com. You should always buy your own name. (Buy your kid’s names for the future.)
2. Have a Clear Focus. Obvious? Maybe, but maybe not given the challenge many websites present in figuring out what they are selling or promoting. View the top of the home page as the headline on an ad. Make sure you include an identifying phrase or tagline so visitors will know immediately what the site is about. And choose all the possibly relevant meta tags so that your site will turn up on web searches.
3. Have a Distinct Brand Look. You have just seconds to make a first impression, so make sure your site has a great look. Don’t use a template design. You’ll look like everybody else – like a generic not a brand. To get inspiration for your web designer, cruise around the web for sites that appeal to you. Develop a distinct brand look but keep it simple and uncluttered.
4. Have a Different Message. Use short, pithy copy, but say something. Too many website are full of jargon or don’t say anything at all. You website is your chance to sell, so sell your USP – a different idea than what everyone else is saying.
5. Convey a Brand Personality. Use color, design, imagery, graphics and verbal messages to create a brand personality. Bring your personal DNA into the equation by writing in a personal not impersonal style that engages visitors and builds a web community.

Related Articles
  Learning From Failure
  Guest Blogging For Free Website Traffic
  How Do I Market My Bookkeeping Business?
  Ways To Earn Extra Income Online From Home
  Understanding Banner Advertising

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Best Internet Marketing Strategy - Hi David, I agree about the Blogosphere. You have a smaller group that Blog, but do so on the premise that they think they should, but have never really considered the purpose of their Blog. Then I think there are a few SEO or Internet Marketing types that see Blogging as just another link building strategy. But the largest group of Bloggers, tend to be people who enjoy writing and discussing their topics of interest. Blogging is good for link building, but the true Blogger is a breed apart from the rest. They want to dialog, to debate, to have feedback and they are very willing to link to other worthwhile conversations that are relevant to their topic. I agree with you. These group of Bloggers obviously are passionate about their writing and together, they create huge conversation trails interactive and travel from Blog to Blog. But the evidence is clear with this group that loves what they write about. With comments enabled on a Blog and having a Blog tuned to a specific purpose you already have the evidence of original Social Media.
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals - That's great GT! What method did you use to put up the Entrepreneur Blog Network in your Wordpress Blog? We're always looking for the easiest methods to help bloggers who are not techies get involved.
Your Intial Mistakes Business - Hi, When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those learnings have helped me time and again. Some of the mistakes I made were - i. Wrong Time Management ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct iv. Giving too much when it was not required...... I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow. Regards
Re: what position to request? - Hi Michael, Great suggestion from David, or you could try something around a design consultancy, How about Website Design Consultant, Design and Development Manager, Website Support and Development Manager or maybe Internet Business Development Consultant. Ultimately whatever you are comfortable with and good luck for the future, Mal.
EvanCarmichael.com suggestion - Maybe I missed it but I would like to suggest that a Blog be created to support the Forum. The idea is that in the blog you put in snippets of some of the biggest conversations with a 'read more' link to the forum itself. Setting up the Blog and clipping some conversations onto it wouldn't take very long.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Set Sales Goals that Work

The Neglected Art of Receiving

Coaching Tip: Identify Your Core Values

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.