Don't you...forget about me...(Do you have a unique badge?)

Dropping words like bombs.

I covered a lot of bases on my last post and there's some very important points there that deserve its own dedicated post. So today I'll be chatting a bit about why choosing a topic is detrimental to not only your site but also keeping your own sanity.

So let's flip this around. Say you're wasting time surfing the web, cruising the Twitter highway. A Tweet buddy puts up a link and you click on it. It takes you to the destination page - a landing page. You quickly give it a once over, scanning it like most people do. After a few seconds you realize you have absolutely no idea what kind of site it is you're looking at. If you're a patient kind of person you'd probably look around for some kind of clue as to what the site is about but most people would probably exit the site, never to return again.

Why choosing a "unique badge" will help people remember you and keep your brain from exploding.

Choosing a topic or a focus for your blog doesn't mean that's all you'll ever talk about. But your audience needs to be able to identify what your site is about without having them hunt down for it.

Areas you can place your unique badge
Banner.
For example -
 - Author of YA zombie novels
 - The funny chef: cooking and telling jokes since 1995
 - The beer brigade: We drink beer. Then we review it.

If you can't decide what your "thing" is just yet or if you can't peg it down to one, you can whittle it down to a select few  Kinda like what I did.

Sidebar.
In your about me or Welcome section. Just a few words to describe your site. Don't be vague, be as specific as you can.
For example -
 - Welcome to my blog. This is where I write about what I'm doing to get back in shape. I'll be sharing my recipes, work-out regimen and daily progress.
 - Hello and welcome. This site will chronicle my life as I build an urban homestead.

Title tags.
Keep his short and to the point. Try to use keywords that will help you be found. These are things that get you indexed in search engines. Don't just put your URL either. And you shouldn't leave it blank at all.

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Benefits from selecting your unique badge:
It helps people identify and associate you with it. Retention improves with repetition.

You want them to say "Hey, you're that guy who blogs about cupcakes." or "You're the B-movie blogger", or "You run that site about being an urban minimalist." You get the point.

It helps you keep your focus on the content.

If you're like me you get to be scatterbrained and want to blog about everything under the sun that strikes your fancy. Brain explosion!!! But trying to be everything all at once will make you an expert at nothing. Concentrate on a few things you're really excited about and build on your strengths.

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Questions to ask when you're trying to decide what your blog focus should be about.
 - What is the one thing you want this site to be known for?
 - Who are you trying to reach?
 - How do you plan on getting people to notice?
 - What topics get you excited enough that you can talk about the subject and keep the level of intensity up?

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Be an action figure. Do something. (Comments are closed for now instead you can do the following)
1. If you like this post, please share/recommend with others - email, Twitter, FB, Stumble, Digg, link from your site.
2. Or you can give me the warm and fuzzies by joining The Hooligans and subscribing to RSS.
3. Send me a quickie e-mail to say hello - let me know what your unique badge is for your site. Would love to check it out.

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