Blogroll | Chris Abraham

When you work in marketing, business development or public relations, chances are you will come in contact with the “reply-all conundrum.”

Hopefully its as an observer and not as a participant but in the off-chance you make the mistake of parlaying information to parties not involved, I have to say you deserve what’s coming to you.

I’m so glad that President Chris Abraham passed along one of The Bloggess’ latest posts detailing one such catastrophe. Luckily it had as happy of an ending as it could have, and it just goes to show the support that you can rally in the World Wide Web.

In a nutshell, the lovely Jenny Lawson opened a poorly written pitch. It happens more frequently than it should and Jenny wasn’t having it. Well…a witty reply was not received fondly by the PR company responsible for the pitch and sparks flew. A n00b at Brandlink Communications decided to refer to Ms. Lawson as “f***ing b***h” in a reply-all clearly not meant for her eyes. You would think that when called out on this action, “Jose” would grovel at her feet but instead Brand Link continued to demonstrate behavior not fitting for the Public Relations industry.

In order for PR pros to be taken seriously by the business world, we need to embody the reputation we wish to be known by. Lesson one, learn your reply-all rules. Not too difficult. Check who’s on the receiving end of an email chain and maybe just try and stay away from expletives in content in general. Lesson two, invest in a thick skin and a sense of humor. You’ll have to check out The Bloggess’ post for an excellent response to a poor pitch. Brand Link should have realized its pitch was mis-tailored and targeted and accepted Ms. Lawson’s pithy reply. Lesson three, tailor and target your pitches properly. At Abraham Harrison we employ a team of talented individuals whose sole responsibility is researching bloggers that will actually be interested in what we’re pitching and preaching. It’s how we maintain our credibility. We also have created a extensive protocol on thick skins and senses of humor, so if you’re lacking in any of these departments, do feel free to let me know.

And Ms. Lawson, my hats off to you. I thought your email was funny.

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Some may seem more apparent than others, but bloggers continue to make a plethora of blunders as blogs become essential for both personal and professional use. Alana Brooks of Likeable recently wrote an article about basic blogging mistakes to avoid. She notes that “In addition to having truly stellar blog content, bloggers need to consider the look and feel of their blog.” This is exceptionally important because many bloggers rely solely on intelligent subject matter disregarding marketing techniques to draw in more viewers and followers.

Adding a soundtrack, overly colorful backgrounds and unreadable fonts are all to be avoided. A soundtrack is inappropriate especially if a site is being accessed in an office or professional environment. Additionally Brooks points out that viewers are most likely already listening to their own music, and yours will only interrupt them.

Backgrounds that are overly bright or dark can be daunting. Your subject matter should speak for itself and be supported by a flattering background. Keep your font scheme in mind, you should not have to wear sunglasses to read a blog post. Ensure that your font choice is easily identifying from at least a foot back. If your readers have to squint to understand your content, they most likely won’t want to download your RSS feed or regularly check back.

Brooks targets centered paragraphs as inferior to other text structures. I agree that they’re not as professional, but they’re not a code red mistake. Justified text is easier to read and more optimal for photo placement, but depending on your content, centered paragraphs may be justified by your brand.

Brooks and I are on the same page though when it comes to clutter. It’s the first way to check a blog off as immature or unprofessional. Sparkles, flash ads and an overload of buttons are a huge turn-off to visitors. A simple solution is to create a drop down menu or even move them to a separate page.

These are design aspects that it’s important to properly research. They don’t hide technical flaws or a lower quality of writing. They take blogs to the next level and make them easier to market but remember that content is the most important aspect of a blog, no matter what its mission.

Why You Should Document Your Blogging Journey (bloggingot.com)
4 Biggest Blogging Myths That Lead to Bloggers Giving Up (tjantunen.com)
4 Biggest Blogging Myths That Lead to Bloggers Giving Up (dailyblogtips.com)

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