- In 2008, I finished my first term
as AIGA National President.
I loved serving,
but my job was to represent the entire profession,
not my personal opinions.
I decided to start a blog as a way to set
free all the personal opinions I'd kept
under wraps for three years.
I started my blog, "Burning Settlers Cabin" then,
and it's evolved into a strong brand
and it's regularly listed as one of the
top ten design blogs.
Now, I did this as a way to talk about
anything I wanted.
But I stumbled onto the reality that a blog
is a great way to maintain your public
voice and presence.
It gives your audience new content regularly,
let's them learn your personal voice,
and creates a connection.
People want to work with other people,
not impersonal companies.
A blog is a great way to increase SEO.
Search engines like new content
and if you add to your blog regularly,
this happens naturally.
This is a better option than waiting until you
finish your project to update your website,
which may happen less frequently.
Depending on what you are posting,
this also broadens your range.
I talk about a variety of subjects:
design, film, photography.
Even geeky things about places I visit.
These tags show up when someone searches
something like, Mary Blair, Grand Canyon Concourse,
from a visit to Walt Disney World.
Like building a website, you can use a template system
such as Squarespace or WordPress
to create your blog.
My blog is another page on my larger site.
The blog's content should be about your
brand message, not your work.
It's fine to post something once in a while
about a project.
But people quickly grow tired of self-promotion.
Talk about things that interest you.
Don't sweat it out and worry about it
being too perfect.
It's a blog, not the Great American Novel.
Use your own voice.
This is a chance for people to get to know you.
Originally, I posted something every day.
You want new content so people
check back often.
But after a few years of finding subjects every day,
you might find yourself posting about your laundry.
Post a couple of times a week.
If you're busy and don't have the time,
now worries.
You'll post again when you do.
If it stops being enjoyable and is just
another job, it won't work.
So to recap: start a blog, post often,
use your own voice, add interesting images,
back off the obvious self-promotion,
and stay on brand.
If your brand is about optimism,
posting about the death of your pet rabbit
and how depressed you are might be a bad choice.