Website Name on Photos – WordPress

One of the issues that I encounter a lot when it comes to branding and marketing is clients who expect to see their logo everywhere on the site, even when it’s not necessary. It happens all the time. I’ll get a message from a potential client or manager and they’ll say something like:

“Can you put my company’s name and logo on my blog/website/social media channels?”

And my automatic response is:

“Of course, it’s free. Just send me your logo and I’ll put it on your website along with your company’s name.”

But they want me to pay for this service. So I have to ask, “Why would you put your company name and logo on a free blog/website/social media channel? You won’t get any results for doing this.”

“Because I want to be the best in my industry. And to do that, I need to be seen as someone who is highly capable and familiar with the latest trends and technologies. I want to set myself apart from the competition. So I need to be seen as an expert in my industry. And to be seen as an expert, I need to have people recognize me and my company when they’re visiting my website or social media accounts.”

And this is when I realize that there’s a huge disconnect between what they think will solve their business problems and what will actually solve their business problems.

So instead of giving them a free website, I’d rather spend time educating them on what is and isn’t important to a business and what will and won’t make them successful.

Now, I did say that I’d rather spend time educating them. But, in all honesty, a lot of the time it’s just a waste of my time. Because, at the end of the day, they don’t want to change anything about how they operate. So, after I’ve spent hours trying to convince them that a healthy blog/website/social media account can and will make their business successful, I eventually give up and tell them that they have to decide whether or not they want to pursue this campaign.

This is often followed by a torrent of angry emails. In which they explain to me, in great detail, how my suggestion is actually going to make their business more successful.

So it’s a lose-lose situation. And I have to walk away. Which is, unfortunately, something that I do a lot.

But you know what? In all honesty, I feel like I’ve done them a favor. Because they didn’t understand that being ‘pretty’ or having a pretty website doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to become’successful’. The truth is, there are a lot of ‘pretty’ sites out there that aren’t doing very well. Because, at the end of the day, they didn’t understand what was important to them as a business and what wasn’t. And for the sites that are doing well, it’s usually because they’ve invested heavily in content and engaging visitors through interesting, unique and well-executed content.

It’s not that everyone wants to be’successful’ or own a booming business. It’s that they want to find a happy medium between the two. Where they can enjoy life and have enough money to support themselves and their family.

So, to that end, here are a few things that you might want to consider putting on your website or blog, once you’ve decided that it’s time to do so.

Curate A Blog Around A Single Theme

If you’re new to blogging, you might want to consider starting out with a single theme, such as thirty-three or thirty-six, to save you the effort of looking for a theme that suits your blog. Once you’ve found it, it’ll be a lot easier to keep things consistent across your blog’s various pages and posts.

The benefit of this is that you can always go back and edit any part of your blog simply by modifying the template. And that means you don’t have to worry about messing up anything, knowing that you can always go back and fix it. Which is, generally, not the case when you’re working with a free blog/website platform.

Find A Single Most Effective Way To Market Your Blog

Now that you have a single-themed blog, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to market it.

You want to find the one most effective way to market your blog. Generally, this means:

• Finding your target audience and engaging them through content that is relevant to them.
• Using an automated email list to keep in touch with your audience and make them aware of new content.
• Increasing the amount of traffic that you have to your blog.
• Using tools, such as Google Analytics, to track the success of your blog.

This might mean creating different content for different platforms, such as a video for YouTube and a different kind of content for LinkedIn, for example. Or, it could mean creating several blogs (e.g., economics, marketing, etc.), where each one focuses on a particular niche.

The goal of this step is to figure out the most ideal way to reach your target audience and to make sure that you do this through content that they find valuable. It’s also important to note here that you don’t necessarily need to have a separate blog for each niche, economic or otherwise. You can simply create one general-purpose blog, where you insert articles, from time to time, that will focus on a specific topic, such as SEO, or paid ads, for example.

Create Killer Content That Is Relevant To Your Niche

Now that you know how to reach your target audience, it’s time to find content that is relevant to them, as well as unique and, hopefully, entertaining. To do this, you need to put yourself in their shoes and think like them.

What do I mean by ‘killer content’?

I mean content that is so good, that it draws in the reader and keeps them engaged. And, as a result, interested enough in your content to click on a link, or to make a purchase, or to sign up for your email list.

This is different from ‘normal’ content, which is just good enough to keep a reader interested. If you can put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer and understand what they want, but haven’t found yet, you can create content that will be much more valuable to them. This is what makes a content ‘killer’.

Curate A Directory Of Useful Links

The next step is to develop a directory, which is basically a list of resources, such as websites, blogs, email lists, and social media accounts. That you can use to find the information you need, as you establish yourself as an expert in your industry.

This is an important step in any online brand development effort, because it allows you to find the information you need, quickly and easily. When you have a directory that is well-curated, you can simply click on the link and be directly connected to the page, that you need. And this is a much quicker and simpler process than having to find the info yourself, via a search engine, or visiting separate websites to piece together the information you need.

While it’s not always necessary to have a directory of useful links, it is always a good idea. So, don’t forget to put this step first, when you’re deciding what kind of content you want to create. Now, you don’t have to have a complete directory, with every link that you can find. Simply start off with the basics, such as your website, and then add other websites, that you think are relevant to your niche, or that have relevant content. Once you’ve got a few, add a few more, until you’ve got a nice, even number. Then, add a little bit more, until you’ve got a comprehensive list.

Create Some Buzz

Now, if you’re the owner of an e-commerce store, you might want to consider creating some buzz about your site, through social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter.

You can use these platforms to find and engage with potential customers. And if you have a decent following, you can use this to your advantage. By simply replying to any questions that your followers might have about your product or service, you can establish yourself as a go-to source, someone people can turn to when they need information or assistance.