I’m celebrating the first anniversary of my blog today, an important milestone for me. I’ve learned so much and benefitted greatly from blogging, so I wanted to share what it does for me.
I began blogging a year ago as a guest blogger and was instantly hooked and fired up. Within a month I launched the Executive Resume Branding Blog.
The day before I started blogging, I was a complete novice. I knew almost nothing about blogging and had barely even read any blogs.
It took me about a month to understand the basic inner workings and how to leverage blogging to build my online brand identity and visibility.
It took another month or so to feel comfortable writing in my own voice, gently infusing posts with a feel for who I am.
Because I’m accustomed to the structure of crafting precision executive resumes and other career marketing documents, I immediately took to the kind of unstructured writing freedom blogging gives me. I can (and do) write on any topic I choose, even things not related to c-level executive branding, job search, and career management.
Don’t get me wrong – I also love the writing I do for my clients. There’s something so satisfying about coming up with a tight turn of phrase and the economy of words required to write a standout executive branded resume, career bio, LinkedIn profile, VisualCV, etc.
Here are the top 10 reasons I love blogging:
1. Sharing my job search and online brand management expertise.
The more I blog, the more I realize how much accumulated knowledge I have to offer, tapping into 20 years experience in the careers industry. I offer all my insider secrets and tips. If you noodle around, you’ll probably find most everything you need to navigate a successful career search and manage your online brand.
Blogging builds visibility around my niche expertise and value proposition to potential clients.
2. Researching to expand my knowledge base and build credibility as a subject matter expert.
To keep my content compelling and come up with ideas for posts, I do a lot of online research and reading. There’s so much to learn to stay current with the latest trends to give my clients the best advice and lead them in the best direction. I frequently stumble upon new ways of thinking and navigating job search that I’m eager to share with my readers.
Researching also leads me to other avenues for online publishing and spreading my brand value.
3. Network-building and connecting with new communities.
Blogging brings me in contact with some exciting forward-thinking subject matter experts – people I never would have known otherwise. It’s a great way to become known and to come to know a whole new community of people to network with.
4. Writing about what I want . . . whenever I want . . . unedited.
Some of my favorite blog posts are those that have nothing to do with job search or the services I offer, although I’ll try to connect each post in some way to personal branding or executive job search.
If an off-topic post I’m considering writing makes me ask myself, “Can I really write about that?”, I know it’s probably something worth writing about. I write about some things just because they tickle me, and hopefully they’ll brighten your day, too.
5. Showcasing subject matter experts by linking to their posts.
Part of offering value to my readers, while building evangelism for my brand, comes from spotlighting what others are blogging about. I learn from their ideas and advice, so I know my readers will, too.
6. Improving my writing skill.
No surprise – the more you write, the better writer you become. Frequent blogging flexes and sharpens my writing muscles. My blog writing is enhanced, as is my writing for my clients.
7. Playing around with the actual mechanics of posting.
Beyond writing, I love the touch and feel of assembling and posting something new. Finding images or using my own photos. Formatting the post for best impact and readability. Linking to other bloggers. Finding my own related posts to add at the bottom. Tracking the metrics to see what my readers respond to and what content expands readership, then adjusting my SEO efforts. Who knew I had such a geeky side!
8. Building my online personal brand footprint with each post.
I’ve blogged many times about the fact that Google loves blogs because the content is ever-expanding and relevant to its niche. There’s no question that potential clients find me online because of my extensive blogging activity.
9. Following a routine frequency for posting.
I’m extremely organized and find great comfort in routines. When I began blogging, I was determined to post 5 times a week, or each weekday. After a few months, that became unrealistic, but all those efforts did build up a lot of content quickly and a solid foundation for my blog. Now I’ve settled into posting 3 times a week, which is very manageable. I usually have 2 weeks of posts at the ready.
10. Guest blogging and commenting on relevant blogs.
My personal brand marketing plan also includes targeted participation on other blogs. The online brand-building benefits are obvious, but the network-building benefits are immeasurable. Bloggers love to get good content from guest bloggers and greatly appreciate comments on posts they’ve written that contribute to and drive the conversation.
I guest blog at Brand-Yourself.com and the Career Management Alliance Blog, and, with its launch later this month, the VisualCV Blog.
I’ll be the first guest-blogger on this new blog. I also follow a regular routine of commenting on my favorite blogs.
Your takeaway:
The majority of recruiters and hiring decision makers routinely search online to qualify leads and find new talent. Potential customers or clients Google peoples’ names and company names when deciding who to do business with.
If you’re not blogging in some way, you’re missing out on terrific opportunities to exponentially build your online brand visibility and be found by the very people looking for talent like you.
If maintaining your own blog isn’t realistic, dip your toes in almost effortlessly by commenting on relevant blogs with good link weight. Watch what it does to search results when you Google “your name” (be sure to use quotes). You may feel compelled to add guest blogging to your career marketing routine.
Do you already blog either on your own blog, guest blogging, or commenting on blogs? What do you love about it?
Related posts:
A CEO Entrepreneur Turns to Guest Blogging to Build Google Results and Her Personal Brand Online
Executive Job Search: Blogging Attracts Recruiters to Your eBrand
LinkedIn and Blogging, Cohorts in Personal Branding and Executive Job Search
Good advice. Thanks for commenting.
-Meg
Setting yourself manageable job search targets on a daily or weekly basis, and even scoring yourself to make sure that you stay on track, helps to make you feel in control of an area of life which might otherwise begin to feel totally unmanageable.