Branding on the Web

For web-preneurs, building a brand boils right down to building a relationship with the viewer or reader. How will your readers recognize you, remember you, and ultimately return to you? Finding the answer to that question lies in your ability to strengthen the bond between you and your reader.

In the real world, you’re literally pummeled by brands without being aware of it. A simple walk down the block can yank your mind in half a dozen different directions, as you visually and mentally associate the different brands you encounter. A green and white coffee cup is how you identify a Starbucks lover… a team logo on a baseball cap can remind you that the Yankees are playing tonight.

But large corporations aren’t the only ones who have figured out that building that recognizability and loyalty is so important… do you know who else understands it? Small business owners on the internet. In this day and age, anyone can have a web site (and they sure do, too. Look at me!) When there are so many web site owners these days, how do you know which sites are worth visiting, worth bookmarking, worth returning to? Ultimately, the sites that you go back to are the ones that you trust. They’re the ones where the brand name tells you that the visit will be worth your time, over and over again. It’s a promise of the value that you’ll receive.

In his book “Guerilla Marketing”, Jay Conrad Levinson talks about the number of impressions it takes to move from complete apathy to complete acceptance… up to twenty! Your prospects or readers will inevitably take a while to warm up to you. The first time they encounter your site, they’ll think, “I’ve never heard of that.” The fourth time, they’ll think, “I vaguely remember seeing them before.” The tenth time, they’ll recognize that you’ve been around for a while. The fourteenth time, they’ll start to identify your value. When they’ve finally encountered you for the twentieth time, they’re likely to subscribe or join.

In my article, 10 techniques to make your brand memorable, I identified ways to shorten the path from apathy to acceptance. I believe that consistency and value are the pillars of building a relationship with your readers. Producing content as a writer is important. Producing valuable content takes much more than writing… it takes studying, reading, and skill as a communicator.

Before I publish anything on this website, I ask myself, “Will someone benefit from reading this?” It’s important to me that I publish valuable content, consistently, because that’s how this website will achieve growth. How do your readers benefit from your website?