Your Brand Experience Can Make or Break Your Blog: Here’s How to Fix It

This post is by Nadia Chaudhry of NadiaChaudhry.com.

“Stop! Don’t move!”

The videographer held the camera right in front of the groom’s family. She held them there, in the middle of their progression to the stage, for a sold three minutes. My jaw dropped, eyes squinting, bewildered. And so commenced the world’s most awkwardly recorded night…

If I ever had a videographer like that for my wedding, I think I might have attacked her for taking the “special” out of my special day. It was definitely a potential bridezilla moment.

Your brand’s experience is everything

The experience you bring to the table is the most important thing about your blogging business. The power of the experience determines whether you’ll be praised or moaned about.

So, what exactly is a blogging business experience? It’s the unique personality and vibe of your blog. It includes the feelings, desires, and passions your blog invokes in the observer or reader. It’s the personality of your blog. It’s what makes it human. It’s what makes it relatable. It’s also what makes it unforgettable.

When someone says, “I just want to work with her because I really want that experience,” what comes to your head? That’s what you should focus your blog’s experience on.

Everything you say or do is a reflection of your blogging business. As a photographer, you should let your clients enjoy the special occasion they’ve hired you for. They should forget that you’re even there. But of course, you need to remind them of the pictures they need to post for. Make sure you strike a good balance. Give them space, but delicately guide them in for the shoots they’ll adore when you show ’em off.

Let’s examine two imaginary cases. In case one, we have Melody Pond, the photographer known as sensational snap-snatcher because she captures one-in-a-million moments. She’s fun, flamboyant, and she lets laughter rule her work and life!

Then, there’s Beatrice Louis. She can take some great pictures like Melody, but she doesn’t have the same exuberant personality as her. In fact, Beatrice is dull city, doesn’t talk too much, doesn’t get your humor, and all she does is hover and snap photos.

Who would you choose as a photographer? Obviously, the one who makes you feel like you’ve been best friends all your life.

If the experience around your blogging business is shabby, you’re shabby! It’s really as simple as that. People care about the type of people they work with. People aren’t just looking for good results. They’re also looking for a good experience. Does your blog give that to them?

Your experience should be obvious and infectious

As any type of blogger, the experience you offer should be so blatantly obvious it’s practically smacking people on their noggin. It should be seen and felt everywhere on your site and in the way you work. Its presence should be in your blog title, tag line, footer, about page, your blog posts, and even the page titles themselves.

This also includes behind-the-scenes and in-person business/blog interactions. The experience you bring should be obvious in the way you behave with your clients, when you correspond with individual people about it, and even in the emails you write.

Most importantly, the experience should be infectious and felt in the hearts of your community. They should fall in love with you, and as we all know, true love forms through great experiences and great moments.

Create a persona to help build your brands experience

It’s hard to present that perfect experience. You want it to be fun, engaging, and have a lasting effect. The best way to do this is by creating a persona—literally creating a character. I got this juicy idea from Erika Lyremark of The Daily Whip and Ashley Ambirge of The Middle Finger Project, and it’s shared by countless others.

1. Build your character

If your blog was a person, what type of person would they be? Take a piece of paper and pen and answer these questions:

• What is your persona’s name?
• How do they look?
• What are they wearing?
• What makes him or her so powerful?
• What is her personality like?
• Is she flamboyant or reserved?
• Is she wild or heroic?
• What does she do for fun?
• Is she outgoing?
• How do other people feel around her?

Give your persona the ability to inspire those emotions!

2. Write a bio for your character

Now, pretend you are describing your persona to someone. Write their name down (even turn it into a clever name like I did in my example below) and write a detailed description of her.

Keep this description close to you. Read it whenever you need to be recharged.

3. Become your newly created persona

Once that character is created, embody that character through your blog.

Play pretend and be him or her. Put her on like a pair of perfect jeans and strut. Be her, and mold her into yourself. Do what she would do. React as she would react. Say what she would say. Write blog posts she would write. Show her off in every part of your blogging business.

And bam! You have a bold, unique experience to offer your community.

Beyoncé does this with Sasha Fierce. Lady Gaga does this, well with Lady Gaga.

Do I do this with NadiaChaudhry.com?

Yes, I absolutely use this technique for my blog. I actually use a couple of personas to help me with different parts of my blogging business. The experience I bring with my business is one of spunk, and it emphasizes embracing the weird aspects of ourselves, with a tang of epic adventure.

Blog personas in action

Here’s a specific example of one of the personas I use, to help you to develop yours:

Wild and whimsical Wafa
Wafa is one with nature and the wild. She is lets laughter reign and is a sweetheart to everyone who knows her. She likes to wear long maxi dresses and wooden beaded necklaces, but she’s not too shy to bust out sequins, either. She likes to have a good time and makes sure everyone with her is having a good time too. She is definitely a soul sister. She finds happiness where others cannot, and always stays positive. She turns life into one spontaneous ball of fun and adventure! Her nickname is Waffles!

Whenever I want to write something that’s really fun and whimsical, I read this description (repeatedly if necessary) and let it infect me. When I do this, I feel like I am adding her to myself and she becomes a part of me. Try checking out NadiaChaudhry.com and see if you pick up her vibe.

If you want to be remembered, then you need to be, act, and do things worth remembering with the help of your persona. Take a look at yourself and blog. Are you a version of that loud, obnoxious videographer?

What emotions do you want your clients to feel when they hear about you or work with you? What’s your brand experience? Does this match with what you’re currently showing? If not, it’s time to create your new persona.

Nadia Chaudhry is a clever and mischievous freelance writer and entrepreneur dedicated to female solopreneurs. She holds secret powers to amping up a business’ personality through storytelling. She also re- kindles love between people and their long-forgotten or hidden dreams turning them into an inspiring and bold business. Click here to subscribe. Oh and she loves a game of dare or DARE, check it out.