Building A Powerhouse Media Brand, One Click At A Time
We continuously fall in love with the forces that make the pr and communications industry what it is today–bloggers. Bloggers have this sense of laissez-faire; freedom from commercial restrictions, bias corporate structures, and policy driven atmospheres. All of which makes them the ideal go-to ambassadors for brands that we work with. In fact, our clients and projects have benefited from the power of bloggers. The unknown terrains and untapped foundations of the African Fashion Industry have been developed and expanded because of bloggers hitting the online pavement.
For this, we are extremely excited to spread the power. Therefore, we want to help those who are interested in building the next home of news, culture, art, and/or entertainment. Starting with your own blog. Keep in mind, there are many ways to build a media brand (mind you there are many forms of media). But for now, we will begin with blogging. Here are (5) immediate steps for creating a blog:
1. Define What The “F” You Want (Yeah, we said it)
- Free: It is always possible to begin your blogging business for free, just understand that when you go such a route you may sacrifice quality, time, and other resources just to get your blog up and running. It’s the reality. However, don’t fret. Finding mentors and tapping into connections may allow you to bypass some of the hardships that come along with getting things done at no cost.
- Financed: Yes it’s a process, but it is ALWAYS easier to have a budget. For beginners, try to budget anywhere from $500 – $1,000 USD to begin your blog. Work with creative agencies, photographers, and creativepreneurs to gather resources for the items that you need. Your budget will help you keep track of what you spent from the beginning. When your platform is developed, you can incorporate promotional ads, posts, and etc..
2. Pick Your Voice (And your love)
- Are you the geeky intellectual?
- Are you the trendy fashionista?
- Are you the satirical songstress or singer?
- Are you the Einstein of facts and objectivity?
3. Define Your Mission (What your blog is about)
- Are we peeking into your diary, a memoir of your daily life?
- Are we enjoying the snippets of your style board?
- Are we inspired by your motivational lessons and features of those who trigger inspiration?
- Are you providing tips?
4. Take Your Business of Blogging and Brand It (Who Do You think YOU Are)
- Come up with your name: We love what Style Pantry has done. The name, we identify with and truly understand. Take words that are easy to grasp, and create a blog for yourself that will resonate with people globally.
- Design your logo: Make sure it’s clean, classy, and clever.
- Find a domain: Host providers such as Go Daddy and so many others will assist you
- Not sure what to think of? Request a meeting with our team and we can help you define your blog objectives.
5. Look and Feel (Tech it to the Net Baby)
- Find a template: Does your budget allow you to build a site from scratch? Or perhaps you may want to download a free blog template from the web. Someone in your network or a close friend may provide you an avenue to replicate their running template for your own blog?
- Find a platform: Which ever platform that you use, keep in mind that once traffic is boosted or fans increase, you will want to monetize on views. Select a platform that allows you to track views, followers, and etc. You will need these numbers to present in the future.
- Quality Photos: Based on your template, your site will have certain image and size requirements. Find out what those are, and ensure that your photos are high resolution and edited to fit those size requirements. Also ensure that you have the RIGHTS to photos. Getty images, and owners of images, will and have the right to sue you and request a fee for use of photos. Don’t let this be you.
Examples of blogs that we love (in no particular order):
- http://ijinleafrica.com/
- http://faraitoday.com/
- http://stylepantry.com/
- http://whootafrica.com/
- http://thebudgetnista.com/
—- We will stop here for now… just let this information sink in with you a bit. Until we meet again. Need help in starting your media brand? Contact us!