Marketing Tip: How to Use Blog Comments as a Personal or Blog Branding Strategy
I was reading Ben Yoskovitz’s Instigator Blog just yesterday when I came across a link to Dawud Miracle’s post on self-branding and marketing. In his post, Dawud basically examines the issue of branding oneself or one’s website/company whenever leaving comments on other blogs.
Much of the discussion was focused on creating an easily recognizable brand that represents your presence online. Here’s an excerpt from the article.
First I wanted to be identified as a person so I used my name instead of my business name. Second, I wanted to distinguish myself from other commenters so I decided to use my first AND last name…Third, I wanted to ‘brand myself’ as Dawud Miracle so that as I was more visible around the blogosphere, the recognition of my name would carry more and more weight
Dawud suggests that if your first name is not unique (i.e. Mike, John, Daniel).. it is better to include your last name to distinguish your comment from others. This of course depends on what you prefer to market as a brand. Will it be your blog/company or will it be yourself?
Why I Prefer Branding an Entity (Dosh Dosh) instead of a Persona (Maki)
I prefer to promote Dosh Dosh because of several reasons. Firstly, because the domain is short and easy to remember. Secondly, because I want this blog to grow beyond myself in the future.
Why? Because Maki is not only a person who is hell bent on making money online. Maki has other interests and might not apply the principles of monetization or marketing to all events, people and topics.
Dosh Dosh, on the other hand is dedicated only to one goal: Helping other people make money online while exploring specific topics related to blogging, new media and monetization. Dosh Dosh has a consistent and stable identity.
Maki doesn’t. Maki changes with time, evolves beyond static categorization into an eventual mass of contradictions and retractions (God I’m pessimistic). Dosh Dosh doesn’t evolve beyond its category and niche into other fields. It won’t change into a health and fitness blog overnight.
Entities are Inclusive. Personas are Not.
Dosh Dosh is bigger than Maki. Dosh Dosh eventually becomes internet marketing and monetization, just as TechCrunch is virtually equivalent to Web 2.0. Problogger has come to symbolize making money from blogs. Engadget is all tech and gadgets. Boing Boing is all pop culture and wierd coolness.
On the other hand, a persona like Seth Godin is unique, exclusive and imposing. His aura and opinions overpower readers when they visit his blog. Guest writers can’t replace Seth Godin, no matter what they write.
An entity like Boing Boing is a collective. It assimilate personas and projects its own identity. Each individual is not Boing Boing because Boing Boing has developed its own persona.
Some might know that Boing Boing consists of people like Cory Doctorow, Mark Frauenfelder and Xeni Jardin. Most however, see Boing Boing as a stand-alone brand.
Branding Options when leaving comments
Here are the options you can choose when leaving a comment. Let’s use Xeni Jardin from Boing Boing as an example:
- First name + Last name = Xeni Jardin
- First name + Last name + Brand = Xeni Jardin :: Boing Boing
- First name + Brand = Xeni :: Boing Boing or Xeni @ Boing Boing
- Brand = Boing Boing
- First name = Xeni
My personal favorite if you want to focus on branding the entity, is option 2 or 3.
Here’s why:
- First name is included. Comments are personalized and easy to reference.
- Brand is mentioned. Distinguishes you from other first-namers. Promotes brand awareness and encourages brand retention
How will you brand yourself?
When your write a comment, you’re leaving a
Robit Bargava shares some thoughts on creating a MicroBrand:
Have an identity and be consistent. So much of branding is consistency. Using your brand in the same way everywhere and signing every piece of communications and dialogue with the same tag. Microbrands are the same way, and consistency can help to build awareness and recognition.
Leaving comments is the easiest way to get noticed around the internet and I’m sure you’ve already heard about the benefits of commenting. Here’s what you need to do to get started on your branding campaign:
Determine today what you want to promote (Persona/Entity), use consistent branding and start actively engage others through interactive commenting.
So, how will you brand yourself when leaving comments?
It’s a good job you wrote that Maki! Branding is one of the many things I need to remember for my new site.
I think ill go with:
Matt Jones @ Affiliate Programs
Thanks for ‘picking on me,’ Maki. No really. I think your points are valid. It seem effective branding is done by first clearly identifying who you and your business are. Branding, then, becomes about being clearly recoginized in your niche. And to brand yourself/your business, you need to be consistent.
I don’t think it’s true for all bloggers or business owners that either are larger than the individuals. For me, Dawud Miracle is my brand. It’s true as a blogger. It’s true as a business owner. People hire me, they work with me, they pay to get access to me and what I know. So, for me, Healthy WebDesign, for instance, is not bigger than Dawud Miracle.
I’m certainly not suggesting that’s true for everyone. I just want to offer another perspective. And, as with everything, I’m open to discussion.
I always try to be careful about putting too much personal information on my blog, so I don’t put my full name on there, but instead, I use webduck. In order to promote some of my genealogy though, I have had to mention my own maiden name, and my married name. Most of the time, I use my Pentimento name if I am posting an article. I am more concerned about my personal safety than my name I guess.
This was a very interesting article, and something I will certainly bear in mind as my blog continues to grow. You have won another subscruber
Nickola McCoy
Arteccentrix Art Blog
I go along with you broadly on this one Maki. If I’m just leaving a throwaway comment on personal blog, I’ll just use my first name, or (as in this case) if I’m already known to the blogger.
If I’m trying to attract attention with a slightly meatier comment, I’ll use the blog name, and/or if the blog is using Top Commentators - If I can get on the list with my blog name, I feel that’s worth having.
What am I to read into you using ‘Maki’ on my blog?
On the subject of names, why is your feed titled ‘Make Money Online’? I can understand why you (along with John Chow!) would like to be associated with that term for search, but does that apply for feeds? I keep skipping over you in my feed reader, ‘cos I’m looking for ‘Dosh-Dosh’. In fact, I’m considering choosing an ‘a’ name and domain for my next blog, so that I’m near the top of peoples lists in Google Reader
Thats why i had been using my FN and LN in every blog.And more over i have defined way of commenting too.You can easily get to know whether it was me or nor.I like my full name to make a impact rather than just Ashish
@Chris
Thanks for pointing out the feed title.. I’ve changed it back to Dosh Dosh.. must have forgot to do it when I tweaked my blog title.
I guess I’m still using “Maki” sometimes but that’s only because I’m too lazy to type the full title.
@Dawud
Thanks for your thoughts.. I do agree that when one is providing a service (consultation/webdesign etc.), you can easily use your name as a brand.
I guess I prefer branding an entity because it steers away from the problems that come with personality malfunctions. Writers for blogs like Engadget might come and go but the brand itself is largely unaffected. If well promoted, the brand attracts talents and refuels itself without loss.
For example, Ivy league universities like Harvard or Princeton are magnets for the brightest minds largely because of their reputation, which are partially due to great personalities, no doubt.
And there are instances where persona and entity seems to be fused in one giant branding strategy. Richard Branson and Virgin Media comes to mind when I try to think of an example.
Very nice write up. I appreciate all the great information you provide. Your RSS feed is soundly in my Google Reader.
Interesting article I normally just use my first and last names and write comments that people find interesting. I wouldn’t really call it a branding strategy but it is definitely a good way to get people over to your blog.
Branding strategies have more to do with visualization and emotion, so if you could leave your logo as a part of your comment and contribute some tips relating to the said post that would be a better way to brand yourself
I use both FN and LN (can u spell it?!) wherever I comment. Its unique and pays off well. Using your domain name as OpenID works well wherever its enabled.
Great point, Maki. It takes clarity, fore-thought and planning to proceed in a way that’s sustainable - both for business and for blogging. No one way can fit everyone’s needs or intentions. And that’s the beauty of being a small business owner.
I’ve learned something interesting today, and I’ll use this technique for some time.
I guess you can see how I brand my comments. I use mona@sitename because I want the readers to remember my site name. I also do this with my other site so sometimes I am Mona@HorseApproved. I am not sure it helps people remember me but I don’t think it could hurt.
this is so awesome, ready? here it comes…
Sarah :: Somewhere Over the Debt.com
Saaweeet!