Synicate Me

28 March 2009

Ten simple rules for positioning your blog

Now that you already know how to write for the internet and how to build traffic to your blog, I'd like to focus more on positioning your blog. Positioning is a marketing term which refers to finding a position for your product in the market.

Promoting your blog is a question of marketing


You can view your blog as a product that is competing for a position in the blog market. Besides focusing on creating great content and finding a unique selling point for your blog, you definitely need to market your blog to ensure that it finds a position in the blog market. It's not just a case of creating awareness for your blog, but also a case of finding your blog's own little kingdom in the blogosphere. This process is known as positioning in the business world.

How do I market my blog with positioning?


In the book The 10-Day MBA by Steven Silbiger, the author refers to ten simple rules used for positioning. Al Ries and Jack Trout are responsible for writing these rules. If followed, they could make your blog stand out from the competition.

Ten simple rules to position your blog


  1. Own a word or phrase in the mind of your readers. The idea is to find a catchphrase that your readers would identify with your blog.

    How do you choose this word or phrase? Try to highlight a positive aspect of your blog, the benefits of reading your blog or your unique selling point. Find your own word or phrase and stick to it!

  2. Begin with your blog's name. Your blog's name should already give your readers an idea of what your blog has to offer. My main blog, The Necro Files, is heavy metal and horror review site. Metalheads and goremeisters get the idea immediately.

  3. If you have an unique blog post idea, create a new blog. In hindsight, this is where I went wrong with my blog. I should've created three separate blogs: a ranting blog, a music review blog and a film review blog.

  4. The easiest way to own a phrase is to be the leader. You are not going to wrestle a word or phrase from someone else, because it has already been associated with another blog in the minds of blog readers. Be unique. Be first. Very few people are impressed with Gonzo journalism by anyone other than Hunter S Thompson, right?

  5. Reinforce your message. Reinforce your original marketing concept. Do it over and over again and do not stray from the original idea.

  6. New competition? Create a new blog. If you find a new blog on the block that seems to compete with your existing blog, but is not exactly the same, create a new separate blog. The reasons are that you don't want to confuse existing readers about the direction of your blog and you don't want to stray from your positioning message.

  7. The first option for followers is to create a new category. There are many John Chow type of blogs, for instance. If you want to do that kind of blog, find a sub-category in that niche that you can dominate.

  8. The second option for followers is to open a position in the reader's mind. A great example of this is Dosh dosh. Dosh dosh is a follower in the blogging about blogging world, but found its own position in the minds of readers thanks to its unique style, its simple layout and great quality posts.

  9. The third option for followers is to reposition the leaders. Undercut the concept of the leaders. The easiest way to do this is to address issues and fears raised by critics of the leaders. Read the comments on their posts and you might learn something.

  10. Stay consistent with your positioning. This is another mistake I'd made with my main blog. I tend to jump between topics. Sometimes I review horror films, sometimes I review heavy metal albums, sometimes I write rants. Those are three different blogs each battling for their own market share!

There you have it. Ten simple rules for positioning your blog!