Developing Your Blogging Identity

As a blogger one of the most important things you will need to do is develop your own unique personality. In most cases this is something that will develop over time as you learn and continue to build an audience. Subscribers will read because they can connect with you. Depending on the topic of your blog, readers may be able to get similar information from any number of bloggers, but they choose you because of the identity that you have developed.

Having a distinct identity will enable you to stand out even in a crowded and saturated market. Visitors will remember you because you are different from all of the other bloggers out there. Essentially, developing your blogging identity involves branding yourself to your readers and visitors.

The benefits of your blogging identity are:

• Loyal readers. They will get to know you better and relate to you.
• Separation from other bloggers. Your identity is what will make you unique.
• Allows you to cover common topics in an uncommon way. Not every post you write has to be on an original subject when you have your own approach. Even on topics that are widely covered you will be able to present information in a different way.
• Brand yourself. Your identity will allow you to brand yourself so that your readers will immediately associate certain characteristics with you and your blog.
• People will actually read your posts. Most people tend to scan when they’re reading online, but people will want to read what you have to say.

So, now that we’ve looked at some of the benefits of developing your blogging identity, you may be wondering how you can find your own identity. Here are a few tips:

• Be patient. If you are new to blogging your identity will probably not be developed over night. You’ll need to learn what works for you and what draws the response that you desire.
• Think about what makes you different. Especially if you are in a saturated market, you will need to stand out somehow. You may already have some experience or characteristic that makes you different. If you do, work to develop it and make it clear to your readers.
• What do others say about you? You may already have an identity without even realizing it. Read what other bloggers have to say about you and see if there is a common theme. Sometimes it’s hard to look at yourself objectively, so use the words of others to help you out.
• What advantages do you have? You may have some type of advantage over other bloggers in your niche that you can use to create your identity. Do you have superior writing skills, design experience that will help you to create a great looking blog, a strong network of contacts?
• How can you emphasize these advantages and differences? Your advantages are great, but to create an effective identity you’ll need to make readers aware of what sets you apart. John Chow is a great example of this. He has extensive experience making money online, and he makes that clear to visitors as soon as they arrive at his blog. Now they’ll know that John is the go-to guy for information about making money online.
• How will your target market respond to a certain identity? It’s possible that you could create an identity that wouldn’t work very well with your target market. Think about your audience (or you future audience) and try to anticipate how they would respond to a particular identity.
• Remember your goals. Make sure it fits. Don’t create an identity that will hinder your long-term goals. What is it that you want from your blog? Your identity should help you achieve those goals, not prevent you from achieving them.

If you’re stuck, take a look at some of your favorite blogs (preferably single-author blogs). What is it about the blogger that makes you keep coming back? Is it something about their writing style, their approach to covering the topic, the way they connect with their readers? Don’t attempt to copy from another blogger, but rather use your observations as ideas to help you find your own identity.

Here are 3 examples of bloggers that I find to have unique identities:

Tad Chef of SEO 2.0 - Visit his blog and you’ll never forget him. It starts with a nice, big sombrero, but Tad also writes with a style and personality that is all his own. He covers topics like SEO and social media with more enthusiasm and less boredom than most other bloggers. Tad is a frequent user of StumbleUpon and he has also helped to develop his identity by using the picture from his blog as his SU avatar.

Adnan of Blogtrepreneur - Blogtrepreneur is the blog of a teenage entrepreneur. Adnan provides information on a variety of topics related to entrepreneurship, which is a fairly common topic online. What’s not so common is to find someone who is still a teenager and actually qualified to write on the subject. Adnan doesn’t make a huge issue of his age, but most of his readers are well aware of it, and it certainly helps him to stand out.

Maki of DoshDosh - Maki writes in the highly competitive field of making money online. He is able to stand out by providing very unique and in-depth articles that provide true quality to readers. Maki uses his knowledge, experience, and writing ability to create articles that others simply can’t match. His readers see him as a trustworthy source of invaluable information. He also helps to set himself apart from others by using anime in every blog post.

Where are you in the process of developing your identity? What has helped you along the way and how have you been able to shape your readers’ opinions and impressions of you?