Sunday, January 24, 2010

Marketing Ideas

After reviewing several of my peers' comments and research findings on marketing; I feel confident that I now have a solid grasp of what I will work towards as I develop my next blog. In fact, I already have the idea of the blog that I would like to create for my students.

In keeping with following good marketing strategy; the first thing I must do is define my goals for my blog and to know my audience.

My goal for this blog will be to allow my students to be a book critic, and to have a place to go to that is easy to find when in search of a good book to read. My goal is that through this blog my students will feel empowered as readers and as authors to publish their reviews in a forum of peers.

In an effort to keep consistency, I will provide my students with a general outline that they will need to follow in terms of book review format/content. This will also allow me with an additional tool to monitor what they are reading and how they are developing as writers.

Secondly, it will be important for this blog to include links to other blogs related to book reviews. I will need to explore this first and plan to include links to blogs that are easy to navigate and that are geared towards student reading.

I have been thinking about what I want to name this blog and this is in keeping with the marketing strategy of having a title to the blog that reads like a Headline! Does anyone have any clever suggestions? (Oh, by the way, by being inviting, and welcoming comments by readers I am also utilizing another marketing strategy.) But seriously, I am truly asking for your input here.

I will definitely put my blog URL on my signature page of my email as being an "online" teacher, much of communication with my students is via email. I could also look into putting the URL onto my business card (if allowed by my employer).

Lastly, it will be important for me to keep learning all that I can about blogging and its' tools so that I can make this blog appealing to my audience. My students range in age from 9-18 so it will be important to be careful with images that are suitable for all ages.

I am excited about the possibility of this blog becoming a reality. I know it will take some time to create, and I don't want to just put it out there quickly as I want it be attractive, user friendly and committed to its content intention from the get go.

3 comments:

  1. I'm ready! I'm ready to read your blog with student critics. But a title! I'm not there yet! Although my first thought what idea do you want to demonstrate? A play on words? Something serious? Something youthful and hip? Some ridiculous or off the cuff? This may have to do with your comfort level!

    Inside the Book
    Under the Covers
    Between the Covers
    Really? That book said that?
    Book Ado
    Much Ado about Books
    Through the Eyes of the In Crowd
    The Read Book Society (pronounced red)

    Brainstorming alone is not as much fun as having a crowd! So what you get is exactly that, single-headed brainstorming.

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  2. It seems like most people are leaving this class with a new thirst for blogging. I think you have a great idea about literary critiques and blogging.

    My title suggestions...

    We Wrote It, You Read It
    To Bury or Praise Caesar
    Searching for the Great American Novel
    Dust Jacket Wisdom

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  3. I think you said it best when you said, "Lastly, it will be important for me to keep learning all that I can about blogging and its' tools". Staying open to learning and having a thirst and curiosity will give you the opportunity to go places with your class or on your own that you might have otherwise not done.

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