I think one of the most important things you can do for your business, especially as a freelancer or a sole proprietorship, is to build your brand through blogging. Whether you are selling a product or a service, giving your brand a back story will make it all the more alluring. As anyone who has read Naomi Klein’s No Logo will tell you, it’s all about the brand experience. While Starbucks and Adidas can create a storefront to set the mood, those of us with only a digital space can easily create an atmosphere with a blog.

By writing your own blog, you want to create a discussion that visitors can become apart of. Encourage comments. Ask for feedback. Don’t worry if you’re not getting a lot of comments. Many readers out there simply “lurk” or will only comment on occasion. Don’t take this as a sign to cut back on how much or how often you post. That’s another important point– you want to post on a regular basis to encourage regular visits. I find that it helps to have weekly segments, like my Photobook Friday and Sketchbook Sunday posts. Though I don’t post for them every single week, it’s a good fallback topic for times of writer’s block. Plus, you can always create a queue of scheduled posts so at busy times, you have new content automatically posted to your blog.

Much of the time, my business clients don’t see what they can do with a blog. Who’s going to write content? What are we going to post about? It’s much more simple than they think. As a business, one of the greatest things you can do is become a gateway. Take for instance the scare many newspapers had when amateur news blogs began popping up. In the end, these blogs garnered a modest readership and many used them merely as a supplement because people depend on a credible source like The New York Times or CNN. If you’re a business with a recognizable name, people will be more likely to go to you for industry news, related recommendations, and customer tips. More specifically, you’ll be posting about what you’re already reading for industry research. Troll blogs and publications’ websites related to your industry and post about them. Find sources of inspiration for you and share them. Check out industry events, promote them and do a write-up about it. By tracking back to other sources and promoting others’ work, others will come to you as a gateway to get their work out there. In turn, you are brand and gaining great PR. Even just a micro-blog created on Twitter can do this for you. Even better, you don’t have to worry about writing long posts so they can be easier for busy employees to update. Inc Magazine sums up nicely why using “social customer relationship management” is a good choice in their article “Traditional CRM vs. Social CRM”:

Social CRM is growing out of a completely different need — the need to attract the attention of those using the Internet to find answers to business challenges they are trying to overcome. And nothing captivates the attention of searchers like relevant, compelling content. Having the right content, and enough of it, will help connect you with those needing your product or service. Creating content in formats that make it easy for your target audience to consume it increases the probability that you will move them to action — starting a conversation with you. Whether it be by developing a blog post, podcast, YouTube video, or Webinar, creating attractive content is a key pillar of social CRM strategy.

Going a step further, you can pull others to your blog by posting comments on others’ blog and discussion forums. My own monthly web traffic nearly doubled once I went from passively reading design blogs to jumping into the discussion myself. Of course, you always have to be sure to fill out your web address so people can find you. It can also be a way to create more content for your blog. Though not every blog post I comment on is something I’ll want to write a post about myself, I am able to allow my readers to read my thoughts by using the service backtype. Backtype collects your comments from other blogs and lists them all on one page. You can get plug-ins for your blog service– I use My Comments Elsewhere for Wordpress– or you can develop your own with an API key.

Another great branding tip is to create your own avatar. The one I have uses the same color palette and font I use here on my website, as well as on my networking business cards (see above photo) and letterhead. Add them to various avatar services like Gravatar, and people will be able to instantly recognize your comments when they see your avatar. Web Designer Depot (WDD) announced a few months back in a blog post that they were launching a website to act as an avatar wall. You can see the WDD commenting community and vote on the best avatars. Yet another promotional opportunity for you and a smart brand experience move on WDD’s part.

You can further promote your blog/brand/you through social networking. On Facebook, you can create a Fan Page for your business or get on Networked Blogs, get people to favorite you on Technorati, and join other blog directories. Use LinkedIn to answer Q&A’s and people who appreciate your help may become devoted readers to your blog. You see, not only does blogging act as a great branding and PR tool, but it’s a great way to network. I’ve had many recruiters and clients contact me because they bookmarked my blog, keeping me fresh in mind. You also get to meet a lot of people in your industry or with whom you simply have things in common. You never know– you may end up collaborating with them in the future.

These are just some basics. Inc Magazine has an article “Drive Traffic to Your Business Blog”, which mentions a few tips I didn’t go over, while Entrepreneur Magazine has an article 5 Branding Myths Debunked you might find interesting if you’re still not convinced of what blogging can do for you. Feel free to comment with some ways that use blogging to promote your brand, as well as how you promote your blog.

I know it’s been ages since I posted any real content, but I’ve got a few posts in the works. Some of the topics coming up are: branding and self-promotion through blogging, the art of the written note, and leadership. I’ve been so busy these past couple of weeks both personally and professionally– many changes going on. I’m looking to schedule some new posts starting next week so check back in soon.

In the meantime, I will leave you with this commercial. Not because I particularly like it, not because I think it is clever or the tagline is any good, but because I just enjoy seeing angry chinchillas waving guns around.

No comment. Just big eyes.

Inspired by the style of Matisse and by some Rococo paintings, I did this little illustration of a girl with a rose in her hair. Everything about Rococo women was so cute and yet so pretty– the flowers and ribbons in their hair, the gowns, the playful, flirting expressions. And the men always look so pleased with themselves. I love them to bits. See Fragonard’s “The Swing” or his “Happy Lovers”.

I really kind of love these?

I just noticed that the very awesome font site Font-a-licious is back up and running. You probably have seen the typographer’s fonts around– I myself used “Pussycat” for my Million Million Monkeys logo. Each font is so unique and fun to use. And each font family has its own page layout and crazy description. Check it out!

Was reading this simple, helpful article on researching and writing Meta Keywords, “From Keyword to Business Idea in 8 Steps” by Allen Moon on Entrepreneur Magazine. Discovered a brand new resource from Google: Google Sets. It’s a more productive way to find related keywords. Check it out if you want to do some basic SEO optimization for your website or blog.