Aussie Bloggers

If asked, how quickly and concisely could you describe your blog, and its purpose?

Have you ever been at a Meetup, a networking event, or out at dinner with people you’ve met for the first time, and upon being asked what your blog is about, found yourself saying something like “um, well, yeah, my blog is sort of about stuff, you know.”

That’s not exactly descriptive, good for pulling in traffic, nor the best for business either, particularly if your blog has commercial objectives. So if you’re currently blogging about “like, stuff”, then it’s time you thought about devising an elevator statement.

First up, what is an “elevator statement”? Wikipedia offers the following definition:

In business jargon an elevator statement (or elevator pitch) is a short concise and compelling statement about a business or a business situation that can be delivered in the time it takes for an imaginary elevator ride. The elevator statement would be rehearsed and honed to give maximum impact. Someone wishing to lobby an idea or case might prepare an elevator statement to present it in the best possible light in the shortest possible time whenever an opportunity arose.

In essence an elevator statement is all about making the best use of limited time, such as the time it takes to travel from one floor to another in a lift. And while they are usually the domain of sales and marketing reps, promotion conscious bloggers can put them to good use also.

Be warned though, composing a good elevator statement takes time. It needs to be something you are comfortable conveying, something that makes sense immediately to a listener, enticing, and can be said and done in ten seconds or less. (Some elevators move very quickly remember.)

Despite this, they are not really too difficult to write. It’s just a matter of taking an objective look at your blog and summarising its core objectives. Here are a few simple examples of what you could say:

If you’re a food lover who writes restaurant reviews, you could say “I’m a food lover and I write reviews of restaurants and cafes in Melbourne at my blog ‘Food Lovers Are Us dot com’.”

If you’re an amateur photographer who is interested in outback photography: “I’ve had a life long interest in outdoor photography and am keen to profile the work of rural and outback photographers working in Australia.”

If you’re interested in design, technology, life, the universe, and everything, and telling the world about it: “I love reading design, arts, technology, trends, and current affairs related websites, and sharing my reading discoveries at ‘Geeks like tech dot net’.”

Remember the idea is to be as descriptive and direct as possible in the least amount of time. Once you have caught someone’s interest you can expand more on your blogging efforts, but the idea of an elevator statement is to have something short and snappy up your sleeve to attract attention in the first place.

Your first drafting attempts may be rather bloated affairs, but keep honing, editing, and most importantly reading it aloud, until you have something polished and definitive that you’re happy with.

So get writing those elevator statements. I look forward to hearing them, as I’ll be conducting spot checks at the next bloggers’ shindig…