Branding Yourself As A Blogger (From Black Enterprise)

Two years ago when I first started blogging a guy asked me who I was marketing the blog to. He was someone was liked me, but he wasn't interested in the topics I was writing about. At the time I thought it was obvious. It was and still is for the young urban woman who is trying to adapt herself into this crazy world. It's focuses on lifestyle issues, movies, television, and music (specifically hip hop). Of course I invite men to read the blog too. Either they like it or they don't. I wasn't trying to force him to be interested, because honestly I wasn't that interested in him.

While his question seemed innocent at the time, branding is a very important part of blogging. My brand (this urban look and my urban topics) wasn't done on purpose. My earliest posts spotlight a young black woman struggling to succeed in college. However, the brand has stretched out to include the latest in television, movies, music, etc. However, continuing this blog hasn't been the easiest and outside issues have made taking the time out to write pretty hard. Actually lately I've been looking for some direction in my career and a sign that I'm going in the right direction. Recently Black Enterprise gave me a sign by spotlighting bloggers.

Below are a list of bloggers and how they used branding as an advantage:

Necole Bitchie Kane (necolebitchie.com)
 I wanted to create my own opportunities… [Initially] I had wanted to work in the music industry and doors kept slamming in my face. Every time I would send out resumes or get interviewed I would never get hired and it came to a point in 2007 where I said I’d never send out another resume and I haven’t.

Kitty Bradshaw of (kittybradshaw.com)
When you build something in front of everyone, people respect that. When you come out of nowhere trying to be a millionaire within 30 seconds of launching your brand… No one takes you seriously. Some of my readers have been with me over 10 years—long before I was a dot com. They respect me because they have seen where I started out, and are rooting for me to accomplish my goals. My readers are very loyal. They’ve seen my growth, and feel a part of what I’m trying to accomplish.

Natasha Eubanks (theybf.com)
It’s coming from a personal standpoint as opposed to a random staff or person writing. People feel like, 'I know Natasha is writing this so I can relate.' Most sites, if you’re talking celeb gossip, we’re all talking about similar things, it’s just all about how you put your spin on it. Whether you’re the cool one, the funny one… I provide personal touch from Natasha’s point of view.


Dene Millner (mybrownbaby.com)

I’ve spent two years just exposing myself. A big part of a successful blog is making people feel connected and I think that connection is there. Readers know that when they come there, they’re going to get some sort of perspective put out there that they just can’t get in mainstream magazines, newspapers, radio shows, television shows or other websites.


This is very important because at my current job I'm the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Content Blogger/Writer of the staff (the only one). Again at one point I was looking for a sign to let me know that I was doing the right thing. One of the highly paid bloggers that Black Enterprise mentioned talked about how long she's been blogging and how she's looking into SEO to make her blog better. While this is is not my ultimate goal, it is a start and I'm taking it very seriously.

The one thing that all of the above bloggers have in common is they used their personalities to build their brand. You don't have to be a blogger or a writer to brand yourself. What is your personality like and what are you passionate about? How are you using that to your advantage?