This is Day 1 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, a group project 50+ other bloggers are doing together in an effort to help each other become better bloggers. You can read more about it and still sign-up to participate here.
Welcome fellow 31 Days to Build a Better Blog bloggers!
And if you’re not officially signed up & participating in this group blog project, welcome to you too. Even though you won’t benefit as much as you would if you had signed up, bought the 31DBBB e-book, and fully committed to this project, everyone who reads & discusses any of the 31 posts in this series should be able to glean some insight to help them become a better blogger.
Day 1’s lesson and assignment is all about writing an “elevator pitch” for your blog. It’s a great place to start this series because it forces each of us to give our blog an identity.
What is an Elevator Pitch?
“An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100–150 words).” —Wikipedia
Find Your Focus
One of the most common reasons blogs fail is due to lack of focus.
General speaking, people read blogs for one of 3 reasons: to learn, to be inspired, or to be entertained.
This may sound harsh, but if you blog “about life” or “whatever’s on your mind,” unless you’re a celebrity nobody outside your family and close friends is going to read it. The focus of your blog should not be on you, but on how you can help your readers.
Writing your elevator pitch forces you to answer some essential questions:
- Why are you blogging?
- Who are you blogging for?
- What are you blogging about?
My Elevator Pitches
I am not only facilitating this project, but I’m actually going to do all 31 days both for this blog, Christian Web Trends and for my personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org. So, here are my elevator pitches…
Christian Web Trends discusses news & trends in technology to help Christians communicate more effectively.
At LiveIntentionally.org we encourage, challenge, and discuss how to create the life we want for ourselves rather than allowing circumstances and other people to dictate who we are, how we feel, and what we do. We do this by discussing books, inspirational stories, and life lessons.
What do you think?
Discussion
Since this is the first post in this series, go ahead and take a moment to introduce yourself in a comment. Tell us
- your name
- the name of your blog
- the URL of your blog
- the elevator pitch for your blog
- any thoughts or questions about elevator pitches
The Extra Mile
A few other things you can do to take your blog, other bloggers, and this project even further.
- Reply & give other bloggers feedback on their elevator pitches
- Tweet, share, & bookmark this post. (You could win a $25 gift card!)
- Write about your elevator pitch and/or about elevator pitches on your blog.
- Ask & answer questions about blogging but unrelated to elevator pitches in the forums.
288 Comments
The reason for that is that the Home address should end with.com.
That is a very good idea to keep track of all the 31DBBBs. I wish I would come up with sharp ideas like that!
My blog is called "Is There An App For That?" The subtitle/elevator tag line is "Tech's role in Christian formation. The blog advocates for IT's role in fostering Christian formation. http://jerryfultz.wordpress.com/
1. Dan King, Social Media Editor, HighCallingBlogs.com
2. BibleDude.net
3.http://bibledude.net
4. My elevator pitch posted at: http://bibledude.net/2010/05/the-elevator-pitch-b…
…and for convenience…
First and foremost, BibleDude.net is intentionally a .NET. We strive to provide a place of Christian fellowship and community (a network) where people can express themselves in three ways:
(1) To be REAL. Our interactions and discussions aim to be honest and authentic in nature. This is a place where people can express what they really feel about living out their faith.
(2) To be RELEVANT. What we do should be focused on real-life application of the Word of God to our families, job, ministries, or any other aspect of our lives.
(3) To be FAITH-centered. God is at the center of everything that we do and discuss. Without Him, what we do would be meaningless.
5. I think that it is a great idea to have a sense of purpose and vision clearly identified. Proverbs tells us that, 'where there is no vision, the people perish.' So it is important to have one, and to be able to clearly state it at a moment's notice. I know that writing mine out has helped me to reconsider what it is that I do with my blog.
I like this … clear and not too concise as to loose the point of what you want to get over.
It seems to me one of the big drawbacks on several blogs is that the RSS feed is not easily seen. In my opinion that is a big drawback for any blog. I tend never to go back to those blogs since I use Google Reader to keep up to date with different blogs.
Hi Phillip,
I was reading your EP and wondering about it. I don't know if others would agree, but the word "peeps" is very much a Twitter word and hence there are a whole bunch of people out there that may look at that with their heads cocked to one side.
Just a thought…
I couldn't get through to your training crucible site either? I used to be a runner back in the 90's. I trained for the Comrades Marathon that is run every year between Durban and Pietermaritzburg here in South Africa. It is roughly 90Km long.
I suppose any time is good to start learning French?
Sounds great for a subject! However, I've just left you a comment on your blog and found it a bit complicated. Maybe a bit too much work to leave a comment. My 2-cents.
Thanks Nathalie, Blogger doesn't allow many comment options. I have changed it however. Thank you for the great information. Not something I would have picked up on myself!
it should behttp://www.trainingcrucible.blogspot.com. Sorry about that.