Baby Gifts Blog

Posts Tagged ‘blog’

I started blogging because the seo guy told me to. He also told me to use my keywords as much as I could. And so, I embarked on my blogging task strictly following the guidelines. At some point, I stopped counting keywords and  my blog developped a personality… or more correctly,  the corporate personality began to shine through.

Our business has always been about fun and not taking ourselves too seriously. We now export our products to more than 16 countries worldwide, and as a result, we can be serious when it counts!

As a result of the “let’s get serious” arm of our business, we consulted some experts earlier this year. Firstly, we had a “brand review” where we paid a marketing guru good money to pick holes in our website, packaging, products - the whole enchilada. We emerged from the experience emotionally unscathed, with a focussed “corporate personality” that apparently included nice adjectives such as “upbeat, humorous, approachable and honest”.

We also got a “SEO guy”. You probably have one too. Ours had long hair, reminded my of Neil from the Young Ones and was passionate about keywords. Under his instruction (and with the task unanimously delegated to me by the entire staff) I became the corporate blogger. My instructions… just blog about baby gifts (our product!)

At first I was very conscientious. I blogged all about baby gifts and used as many of my designated keywords as possible. But you reach a point where you feel embarrassed about your self-servedness (is that a word?) I became concerned that blog readers out there might think that I and my business were boring… yep, my ego kicked in.

I decided to blog about things that reflected our “corporate personality” now that we had found one. And it made me a much happier blogger.

Our blog has some weird stuff on it. Cupcake cars, a haiku poem gift message generator, a plush uterus toy, harsh critiques of ridiculous celebrity baby names… I blog every day about interesting but crazy things that would make entertaining conversation at a dinner party you’d be sorry to miss.

And occasionally, I appease the SEO guy with a hyperlink to baby gifts.

(the above article was originally written by Kathy to submit to an article website. She got tired of making the editorial amendments they required… and so decided to post it here instead! )

I love a good wedding.

Time to paint your toenails, blow dry your hair, try on a few outfits the night before… and then there is the wedding itself… you cannot beat a good cry,  I wrap a mean wedding gift (Hey - I have a lot to live up to. My friends expect the perfect gift-giving experience!) and I certainly appreciate a great canape.

So there I was in all my finery. Heels digging into the grass. Post maritimus? I was introduced to two guys by a mutual friend. She had been dying to introduce us, apparently they were just my cup of tea… the bride thought so too, my husband and I had been seated with them at the reception.  Great Guys  (hello Davod and Phil!), lots of fun, hilarious stories… but they knew all about me! They had done their pre-wedding research.

Hi Kathy said Phil upon introduction.  I know you. You were a lawyer and joined forces with your best friend in 2003 to start Babycupcakes. These must be your three children… Huh?

Writing my daily blog has become somewhat of a cathartic experience for me. I love doing the research, I love developing my “angle” for the day, I like writing in a chatty “dinner-party” sort of way. But I forget that people read it. Phil and Davod (not his real name, privacy issues!) had read my blog. All of it. They had also scoured the website and twitter. Davod proudly advised me that he had printed off some of my “vital statistics” should there be a lull in the conversation at the reception. He was obviously a boy scout - extraordinarily prepared!

They liked my online tenor. They thought I was entertaining (whew, what a relief!) They tried to gestimate babycupcakes annual turnover for the entire wedding reception based on all of their online research. My husband put a price on the info @ $25,000. Phil & Davod declined to pay.

It made me think about how “networking” has changed over the years. These guys felt that they knew me based on the information they had obtained online … and they did, quite accurately (minus a few personal details!) know an awful lot.

Blogging is a funny thing. Each post stands alone. But when you read a blog in it’s entirety, you get a picture of the author. I am glad that my personality shines though my blog. I am also happy to have met Phil and Davod. I remind blog readers to do their pre-wedding research. It saves time in the wedding conversation pre-amble, and leaves more time for canapes!