I’m participating in a challenge: 31 Days To Build A Better Blog which is being offered by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger via a series of Podcasts – one per day for 31 days!
The timing couldn’t be better because I’m deep in reviewing and planning mode at the moment, having a good think about the way forward for my blog. I spoke a little about this in this post.
So, our first challenge was to Create an elevator pitch for your blog.
You might be wondering what an elevator pitch is? Well – imagine that you get into a modern-day zippy elevator (we call it a lift here in Australia) and you are going from the ground floor to the 30th floor when someone asks you what you do. You have from the time the elevator leaves the ground floor till it gets to the 30th floor to tell them what you do. So you need to provide a succinct but clear and concise description that will leave them intrigued and wanting to know more.
Here are 9 tips we were told to consider when creating our elevator pitch:
- Identify a problem or need that your blog addresses or solves.
- Think of your audience. Who are you trying to reach?
- How are you going to communicate what it is that you do in a clear and concise way? There must be clarity!
- Keep it short. 1-2 sentences.
- Make it stand out!
- Make it a bit intriguing, so that it leaves people hanging a little and so that they want to know more about who you are.
- Be energetic! Be confident about what you’re doing or the problem you are solving. Be bold, but don’t be too hyped or make promises that you can’t fulfill.
- Consider using a question in your elevator pitch.
- Be ready to follow-up on your elevator pitch, and expand on it. Be prepared to back up your elevator pitch statements with more information.
Well, you know what, this turned out to be a very good exercise to help me gain some clarity about what it is I’m trying to do here on my blog. However, it was actually a lot harder than I had anticipated!
This is what I came up with – my first bash at it:
At Write of the Middle we give you permission to prioritize yourself to benefit the well-being and happiness of not only yourself but also those you love. We show you the what’s, why’s & how’s via a variety of snaps, crackles & zen!
I’m not sure why I’ve said ‘we’ when there is only ‘me’ but anyway – let’s see if I’ve addressed the 9 tips. The problem I’d like to address: too many people these days are unhealthy, stressed and not looking after themselves. It’s hard to get the balance right – work, life, mind, spirit, body! Who is my audience: all adults, but particularly women and even more so the middle-aged. I’ve kept my elevator pitch short at just two sentences. It’s stands out (maybe) and has a little intrigue (the snaps, crackles & zen). There’s no question in my elevator pitch but it is not essential to have that. I hope it sounds energetic and confident without being too hyped and OTT (over-the-top)!
While I might cover many things here at Write of the Middle (including my love of photography), at the very heart of it all is a desire to get the message out that ‘you matter too’ and that taking the time to understand yourself, and applying self-care as needed, is not a luxury but essential for good health and well-being. I want us all to look after ourselves better! 😉
I’m not sure if I’ve nailed it with my first attempt but it’s a good start I think. What do you think? Would that get you interested if we were in a lift together? Have you got an elevator pitch? Care to share yours?
Ciao for now,
[The image used for this post is not one of my own. It has been hyperlinked to it’s source.]
Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT
POST SCRIPT: It’s now 16 July 2015 and I’ve reviewed my original first attempt at my elevator pitch and have made some changes. I’ve decided that I don’t like the inclusion of the word ‘permission’ in the pitch. It has a negative feel to it which is not something I want at all. I have reworded the pitch as follows (but it will always be open for review and if I change it again, I’ll update this post again with a further postscript.
At Write of the Middle we encourage you to prioritise yourself so that you can reap the benefits of optimised wellbeing for you & those you love. You are important too! We show you the what’s, why’s & how’s via a variety of Snaps, Crackles & Zen!
For your information, I have included my ‘elevator pitch’ as an introduction on Write of the Middle’s new Self Investment page.
18 Comments
Great work Min. I like the snap, crackles and zen!
Thanks Michelle! 🙂
Great elevator pitch. I haven’t got one yet but I suspect it will be a lot harder to compose than it looks.
Thanks Ingrid – it’s a good start. I’ll give it a bit more thought and possibly a tweak or two when I get a spare moment! You’re right – it’s much harder to put together than you’d think. It basically forces you to put into a couple sentences the whole purpose and intent of your blog!
Really insightful and practical steps that you have shared. Many thanks!
My pleasure – though the insightfulness comes from Darren really! lol
Sounds great Min… I’ve done DR 31 day plan ( actually never finished it but need to) and what is did I got heaps out of it
Darren refers to his previous DR 31 day plan in these podcasts and the fact there’s a workbook that went with it that can be used for this challenge also. I’m actually running way behind with this now as the weekend got in the way and I’ve had things on yesterday and today. Major catch up needed! 😉
You’ve done better than me Min. I still don’t have an elevator pitch or even a tagline for my blog {after 3yrs!}.
Thanks Toni! I wouldn’t feel bad if I were you. You have a little bubba! Also, I don’t think every blogger needs a tagline and/or an elevator pitch. I suppose it depends on what your plan for your blog is. I’m keeping my options open until I know for sure which way I’m going … !
Ooh, I like that Min! I need to develop mine too. I would love to participate in Darren’s challenge but the timing is off at the moment. Good luck with it x
Thanks so much Kirsty and yes the timing is way off for you right now. Big hugs xoxo
Oh this is perfect timing – I have been listening to Darren’s blog posts too and am still tying to nut out my elevator pitch. I’m really struggling with the first point though – my blog is utterly useless. LOL!
My elevator pitch still needs some nutting out too and your blog is not useless at all – OMG – witty and hilarious it is! I’d love to hear your elevator pitch once you’ve got it! 🙂
Yes, elevator pitches take a lot of playtime! I love your variety of snaps, crackles and zen Min… for me, in the message prior to this I want to remove the double-up of ‘yourself’. I had a little play with your words… is this the message you wish to get across?
“At Write of the Middle you have permission to prioritise your wellbeing and fully benefit health and happiness for you and yours”
I say ‘you have permission’ because you can’t give me permission, if this makes sense.
You’re doing great. Blessings xxs
Very clever Leanda – yes I do like how you’ve reworded this! It never even occurred to me that the way I worded it was implying that I was ‘giving my permission’ etc. I can’t see how I worded it from here in the backend of my blog but not surprised I doubled up on ‘yourself’. I knew it needed more tweaking! Thanks for the helping hand – much appreciated. I’ll have another look at this when I’ve got a bit more time. On my way to serve up dinner now. Many thanks! 🙂
Min, I really like what you say in the paragraph under your elevator pitch. I think if you said something like “these days people are over-stressed etc. it’s hard to get the balance right. Here at Write of the Middle we aim to help you prioritise your own health. Hope that helps. Bron x
Thanks so much for taking the time to provide some feedback to me Bron! Good points!! I’ll take your suggestions on board when I review my pitch – first I’ve got to update my About page! 🙂 x