Seven Most Important Blog Lessons Series – Lesson Four: Be Predictable

No, this isn’t the same as the last lesson. And when I say predictable, I don’t mean you should be boring. You definitely want to pull out surprises and write fresh, original content for your blog. However, your readers visit – and return to – your blog for a specific reason. Whether they like your writing style, the topics you cover or just the design, your dedicated readers are dedicated for a reason. If you switch things up too much you run the risk of alienating your loyal visitors.

Welcome to the fourth article in my 2nd Anniversary Series: Seven Most Important Blog Lessons Series. If you missed the first three installments, please use the links below to catch up:

• Seven Most Important Blog Lessons Series – Lesson One: Consider Your Audience
• Seven Most Important Blog Lessons Series – Lesson Two: Building a Business Takes Time
• Seven Most Important Blog Lessons Series – Lesson Three: Consistency is Essential

There is a fine line between getting stuck in a rut and being dependable. What it really comes down to is branding. If you have a clear view of your brand and vision, you already know what needs you want to meet for your readers.

With Pajama Professional I write about how to make money online. If I suddenly posted a series about the basics of Catholicism my readers would be confused and they might even leave. On the other side of the coin, if I wrote every day about search engine optimization – constantly repeating myself – readers aren’t likely to stick around either. In order to establish and retain a strong reader base, you have to learn the happy medium between switching things up and staying with your brand.

Branding seems to be the buzzword of the day when it comes to internet marketing. The problem is that when most people think of branding, they think of just the physical aspect of it. But your brand isn’t just about an icon or a logo or a certain set of colors. Yes, it’s important to have those things, but the most important piece of the puzzle is the feelings that the your branding creates.

My mother was always brand loyal. I knew that my clothes would always smell like Tide, my french fries would always be paired with Heinz and Dove soap would always be available in the bathrooms. That’s just the way she was. And the truth is that a lot of people are that way. Once they find something they like, they feel connected to that brand and are not comfortable using something different. Have you ever talked to a smoker about changing brands?

Choosing your colors and designing a logo are the easy part of branding; of being predictable. The hard part is establishing the feelings you want your brand to portray. Do you want to be cutting edge or traditional? Are you going to focus specifically on just affiliate marketing or the entire gamut of internet marketing tactics? You need to be clear on your brand so you can clearly express it to others.

Being predictable isn’t about boring folks with the same thing all the time. It’s about letting people know that they can count on you to deliver a certain type of content in a specific way. And it doesn’t hurt to pull a few punches along the way as long as you stick with your mission and vision.