Does Fancy Really Work?

If you are a freelance writer then it is safe to assume that you have a web site. It’s also a safe bet that your site has a blogging component. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, having the blog on your freelance writing website is about marketing your services as much as anything. There are as many ways of setting up a blog as there are people out there doing it. In other words, your site is unique to you and it is up to you how you want to run things.

Blogs on a web site run the gamut from Plain-Jane to OMG over the top and everything in between. I’ve kept a blog for nearly three years on my writing website. The site and the blog have been through many transitions, some large, some small. I don’t think I’ve hit on what works best yet, and that is what keeps me trying new things. Right now I am in the “simple works best” mode.

I tend to get sucked in by techno-geek fluff. Over the past three years, I’ve set up my blog posts to podcast, convert text to speech and a few other gee-whiz thingamajigs. (Sidenote: Open Office has “thingamajigs” in the dictionary – no squiggly line!) I’ve meddled in video newsletters and a few other techie things as well. I’ve been enamored by these things and then gradually let them fall to the side.

So why did I let these fancy things go away? I guess the best answer would be that they really didn’t make a difference in terms of traffic or marketing. The true answer: I’m lazy. Yeah, that’s it. It got to the point where I just did not have an extra hour for each blog post to spend setting up the podcast or getting my questionable mug on a vid. Ultimately, I’m blingless. Simple kind of works for me and it is who I am. I’m okay with that in person, so why wouldn’t I be okay with it in my blog?

Some would argue that I am missing out on some great marketing potential and I would have to admit that to a certain extent, they are right. There can be some compelling reasons to make your blog blingy. Those extra doo-dads tell potential clients that visit your blog that you are a bit tech savvy. You’re a player. You are in the game. Depending on the type of clients you are trying to attract it may be crucial to have the latest techie things as part of your blog.

My blog and my writing tend to be kinda straightforward, what-you-see-is-what-you-get. I feel like anything else would make me a bit of a poser. I’m not saying one way is better than the other, I just think it is important to consider who you are, the clients you want to attract and what kind of blog style is going to work for you.

What say you, readership? Bling or no bling?