Chicken or the Egg

Content or Marketing? This is the question that usually stumped me whenever I thought of marketing my blog. I always had this feeling that I will start marketing my blog once I write very well and have a great layout.  

Although the thought had its own merits, the problem that I faced was the 'ideal layout or content' on my blog never happened. It was usually one good or may be an ordinary post followed by a hiatus. I happened to show my old blog to someone who was interviewing me for a social media role and he was like WTF! 

The interviewer thought that it was random ramblings of a bored soul which I agree it is :). But what screwed me was the fact that I did not any social gadgets on my page not even a counter on my page. And yeah I was waiting for the perfect blog site with the perfect layout to happen.

It's a chicken or egg problem because I wanted a good number people to read my blog and then perhaps I thought I would start marketing it. But then people don't come to know about your blog unless you market it.  So then I started putting my blog links on facebook and gtalk since about a year.

I also realized the fact that I do need more interaction on blogosphere and I can keep improving the blog and its layout.  So yeah this interaction bid made me join Indiblogger and yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting so many bloggers in the Bangalore Indiblogger meet. 

I totally loved it and felt at my one day trip to Bangalore from Hyderabad was more than worth it.

As a part of my marketing my blog, I made a card for my blog and distributed it to around 50-60 bloggers. Here you go

 

I know I know ! It is a pain to type the silly URL  from a physical copy. But then you get know the other person a lot better through a  face to face interaction. Once that is done, the social networking can always be done later. What say?

Now moving on to the card. Movie reviews? Design? Typography? Well well..I don't do all of these. 

For example, I wrote quite a few Telugu movie reviews on the ibnlive site. I haven't written anything since I was tired of writing cliched reviews criticizing the movies in the same way every time.  The Telugu directors were never bored but then I was.  May be with 4 movies releasing this Sankranti, I just might get back to it.

And yeah I do have immediate plans of starting Bollywood reviews on my blog.

Comics! Yeah, I have done a few of them.

Blogging? Yeah yeah I do  it :)

Marketing? Advertising? That's my job ya !

Photography? I use a regular digital camera and my photos very very ordinary. Any photos which appear otherwise are courtesy the ladies in the pic or the location.

Design? Yeah, seems to be one of those many things that interests me!

Typography? My latest crush :D

Ogling at a font on any kind of text on the hoardings, buses, bikes and figuring out if it is a Serif or a Sans Serif font is what I have been doing of late!

So all these are things that I have on my card interest me and I believe they are the touch points for me to connect with the talented ones in each of those fields.

I have always had this fear that a marketing/promotional effort should not create high expectations that the product cannot match. But then this one for me I thought  is the way to inspire me to create a better blog and a better experience. 

So then if you are one of those whom I met yesterday and is reading this,  STAY with me( The follower tab I say :P) and I'll make things better :)