Ode to the blogger newbie.

Back in February of 2008, the President of Playnormous, Jerald, approached me and said we were going to have a blog on the Playnormous site. And I was going to write it. I must admit, I was skeptical. All the blogs I’d ever read were basically girls ranting about guys. Not professional in my mind. But then the real conversation started.

Me: So, I’m in charge of the blog. What should I write about?

Jerald: What do you want to write about? [sits back in chair in anticipation of a long conversation]

Me: I was thinking something like…the latest nutrition research.

Jerald: Will that appeal to our audience?

Me: Well, who’s our target audience?

Jerald: Who do you want your target audience to be? [gives the Jerald-half-smile ...patent still pending]

Me: It’s a website for kids so probably kids. Well, I don’t know. Wouldn’t kids just want to play the games? I’m thinking parents. Yeah, parents probably. But kids might look at it too I guess.

Jerald: You’ll need to develop a voice that appeals to a lot of people then.

Me: What do you mean? You mean the topics I write about? What kind of voice should it be?

Jerald: Whatever you want. What kind of voice do you want it to be?

Me: Well, ok. Voice I can play around with. How about the look and feel? Do I add pictures or just text or what?

Jerald: What do you want it to look like? This is your thing, Melanie. Make it what you want it to be. [does the Jerald shrug] Just tell Ramsey what you want and he’ll do it for you.

Me: Ok…but I don’t even know what to call the blog.

Jerald: What do you want to call it? [does the Jerald half-smile/chuckle combo ...patent also pending]

Me: Ummm…I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it…. I really don’t know what I’m doing. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I make a mistake? What if I need to correct a mistake?

Jerald: I think you’re making too big of a deal out of this Melanie. It’s just a blog.

Finding bloggers that blog about blogging.

A bit exaggerated, but I was given so much freedom that I felt completely lost!  So, in true researcher form, I made myself feel better by researching blogging. I created three bookmark folders in Safari: (1) Blog Content–sites that discussed topics I wanted to write about; (2) Example Blogs–blogs that had a good look/feel, good voice, used humor well, were informative, etc; (3) Blog Tips–blogs about…blogging!

The third bookmark folder contained the most helpful information. These were the folks that taught me how to blog, and how to do it well. (1) Problogger, (2) Copyblogger, (3) Pro Blog Design, (4) Lip-Sticking, and (5) Diva Marketing Blog. Needless to say, without these individuals, Monster’s Blog probably would have never grown past a sprout.

We’ve made the list!

This month, Toby Bloomberg, author of the Diva Marketing Blog, has been running a series on blogger relations. Toby wanted to know how people really felt–bloggers, agencies, and brands–about this new form of networking / marketing called social media and blogging. Toby asked several questions, including which companies and consultants are doing it right. What companies have developed successful marketing relations via blogging and social networking?

Guess who made the list…yup, you guessed it, PLAYNORMOUS!! Considering Playnormous was listed amongst blogging experts like Darran Rouse (that’s Problogger) and Brian Clark (that’s Copyblogger) as well as hot shot companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Nokia, needless to say, I couldn’t be more thrilled. THRILLED!

Check out Diva Marketing Blog’s post “Blogger Relations Series: A Successful Blogger Relations Strategy to see Playnormous up in lights. Well, not in lights. In a very pretty pink box.