In the second video installment in my Going Pro series, I talk (from y favorite reading chair!) about the difficulties in treating a blog as a business, I offer a killer book recommendation for budding wine bloggers, explain that you probably suck at marketing and need to get better, and share what aspects of wine blogging I will be focusing my time on as I continue to “go pro.”
Cheers!
{ You must invite me! ;-) } – Jan 30, 9:05 AM
{ What a gorgeous place! You must come visit us in the Loire Valley one day! } – Jan 30, 8:45 AM { Tim - indeed, branding and storytelling are important. But as for the study finding that the wine blogs were about wine, I'd counter that sometimes... } – Jan 29, 9:13 PM
{ I had a look at the article and agree that there aren't a whole lot of points that go beyond the obvious. For each of... } – Jan 29, 9:09 PM { Congrats, Gabe - looking forward to trying them! } – Jan 28, 7:39 PM
{ Howdy Joe! Life is good. I've finally gotten the call-up as the head winemaker at a new winery. I'm excited to send you some of... } – Jan 28, 7:03 PM
Comments
RandyHall
AAAAH BACKLIT!!!
Please, please move the comfy chair or get some lights for your face! As a video guy, I beg you.
1WineDude
:) C'mon man, I can't win them all!
1WineDude
Also, isn't it far better that you see as little of my ugly mug as possible? :)
1WineDude
Randy – is it ok if I stand directly between the sun and the camera for the next installment?
;-)
1WineDude
Hey Joe – the answer is "maybe"… there are tons of other blogging resources out there that already explain it better than I could ever hope to do… but what I could talk about is how I approached it in terms of what to accept/deny and roughly how to charge.
Joeshico
That would be great. Look forward to that and more.
1WineDude
Cool, Joe – I was going for a different topic for the next installment but will switch gears to advertising if I can!
Lesley
Hi Joe – Another great episode, thanks! Like the commenter above, I would also be really interested in an episode on advertising. I have also been getting requests and, not being a pro blogger, am not sure how to approach it.
1WineDude
Thanks, Lesley.
Fine – you all win! Advertising is next! :)
Garrett
#Random but I was thinking of getting a nook or kindle…how do you like yours?
1WineDude
Garrett – LOVE the nook; if you read a lot of paperbacks, then it's worth it. For me the e-ink display is great, I can read that thing for hours with no fatigue as I get working at a PC or laptop. It's a little funky about sideloading content and handles the BN content much better, but overall a big thumb's up from me.
Charlie Olken
Joe
When you figure out marketing, let me know. I have been a cottage industry writer for three decades and have never figured out marketing. My only answer is to do what I did. Create a message and hope that word of mouth and a bit of advertising will lead people your way.
My guess is that the blogosphere will work the same way. In my case, of course, having started in print to begin with, there were no freebies per se, thus there was always a revenue stream. The Internet so far has been less willing to help good writers find a revenue base so that their work, their business succeeds financially as well as artistically.
Good luck in opening that door.
1WineDude
Dad – I don't think there is an ultimate "figuring it out" but the fact that you kept it in mind without compromising your art is, I'm willing to bet, what put you ahead of the curve.
Most people are writing their blogs with no thought whatsoever to marketing in terms of whether or not they're fitting a need, whether or not someone else is also fitting that need, or even defining who they should reach. I was actually gonna talk about that next week, but it now needs to wait two weeks because everyone wants to hear me talk about how their advertising setup is probably all wrong (like mine was for a couple of years :).
Cheers!
Betty Kaufman
Great post. I was at a networking event today where a blog expert was talking about the value of adding video to your blog. The main benefit I see is speed. It's much quicker and easier to talk than it is to write. You don't need to be quite as perfect. Tonight, I'm planning to buy a Flip video camera. Do you have a specific recommendation? Is that what you're using?
1WineDude
Hi Betty – yeah, speed is part of it but I think what it really does is that it's good to connect in a more face-to-face way (well, more f2f than writing/reading anyway) and lends a bit more of a personalized touch. I suppose it is more forgiving than writing, but at the same time I find it's harder to make it engaging. My advice is keep them under 10 mins. no matter what!
You know, I use a flip that was part of a promo (so it's another "donation" to 1WD! :-) and it's super-easy to use and operate. Downside for my model is that it's not HD – which is ok for these kinds of vids, but if you're touring wine country and want to show off some of the beauty I'd go HD. Actually, I think I'd just go HD no matter what because everything is trending that way! :)
The other option is that most digital cameras can do vid now, though their mic setup might not be as "tuned" as the flip's for capturing video. So if you have an SLR or half-decent digital camera, you may want to try using that first.
Cheers!