Welcome to the HiP blog challenge! This is the first part in a four part series – with a new post every Saturday in April. I want to thank ETSYmarketing.org for cross-posting this series – and give a special welcome to any of you joining the challenge from there!
While this blog may be geared towards Pennsylvania crafters and handmade lovers, this challenge is open to anyone interested in improving the effectiveness of their blog!
blogging your brand
and branding your blog
Knowing your brand is central to the way others perceive your work. Strong branding can make good work look great – and make a potential customer much more likely to return to your shop to make a purchase.
Too often, I see blogs that are quite disconnected from the shops they are designed to promote. On the most basic level, your blog should share the same color scheme, banner, & general feel (modern, traditional, deco, abstract, etc…) as your shop. But on a more organic level, your blog should allow you to express your brand through what you write & choose to share with readers.
A mission statement can help you strengthen your brand.
an example
For instance, take a look at Lion Brand Yarn – its main page and its blog.
Lion Brand has created excellent…well…branding between sites. The colors are soft & neutral so that they don’t clash with the vibrant projects that they highlight. The blog header includes both the logo & an image of yarn to remind you what site you’re on.
When you dig deeper, Lion Brand describes their mission, “With this blog, the Lion Brand Notebook, we’re hoping to connect with you in another way, bringing you regular updates on what’s happening inside Lion Brand, taking you with us when we travel, and sharing our discoveries about what’s happening in the yarn world with you.”
If you read through the content of the Lion Brand blog, you’ll see that, of course, many of the entries are about their products, other facets of their online media, and events that they have participated in. But their blog also highlights things of interest to fiber lovers in general. This builds their brand by promoting fiber arts as a craft, not just Lion Brand Yarn. While blogging, Lion Brand is fulfilling it’s mission as a company.
what’s your mission?
Identifying your brand and its mission is key to formulating a blog that is both worth reading & great marketing for your business. In this case, your mission statement is a public statement of what fuels your passion for craft and what you hope others will gain by consuming your brand.
HiP’s mission is this, “Handmade in PA seeks to be the premiere site for bringing Pennsylvania artisans & shoppers together. We feature interviews, host giveaways, publish tutorials, and offer business & shopping advice – all in the name of supporting the handmade movement in Pennsylvania.” Does HiP fulfill it’s mission?
homework
Your homework for this part of the HiP blog challenge is to write or revise a mission statement in order to strengthen your brand. Remember that a good mission statement describes your motivation for your craft & what you hope others will gain by consuming your product – specifically. Don’t settle for “beautiful hand-crafted goods” or “great customer service.” Identify the work you do, the style you work in, the benefits of owning your work, etc…
Then, going forward, each post you make on your blog should go towards furthering this mission. That’s not to say that you can’t post on a variety of topics but they should all, somehow, point back to your mission.
So where do you put this mission statement? On your “about” page! You don’t have an “about” page? Then you have two pieces of homework. Your “about” page should include your mission statement, some biographical information, your shop links, your contact information, and any other background information that you’d like to include.
In WordPress, this is very easy – just add a page. In Blogger, it’s a bit tricky – but not hard. This post will show you how it’s done.
So…this week, you’ll write or revise a mission statement for your blog and post it on your “about” page – also, if you don’t mind sharing, post your mission statement as a comment on this post. You’ll also carefully consider your posts this week to make sure that they are furthering your mission and strengthening your brand. Good luck!
You may also enjoy: blog, blogging, blogged: @weeklyblogpost & a challenge! | Exciting Times for HiP! | PA Proud: Introducing the HiP Etsy Street Team! |
[...] the rest here: HiP blog challenge – episode 1 | handmade in PA Tags: bit-tricky, blendedent-vegan, host-giveaways, lavender, listing, ounce-bar, pennsylvania, [...]
[...] of PA arts & crafts on the web! Don’t miss a thing – subscribe to ourRSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Episode One – Crafting a Mission Statement to Guide Your Blog Episode Two – Creating a Community Around Your Blog Episode Three – SEO Can Help You Write Better [...]
[...] got a blog, you’re written a mission statement, you know how to build a community, and now you’ve started making it easier for search [...]