Brand Champion of the Day- The Daily Blonde

Over the course of the past several months many of my friends kept informing me that I needed to follow The Daily Blonde on twitter. A few weeks ago I finally decided to do so. When I first visited her twitter site I read that she calls herself a left-handed Polish chick and commentator on bull crap. That got my attention. As it was designed to do. Since my first visit to twitter I have discovered that The Daily Blonde is a tireless writer (over 44,000 tweets) and has a tremendous following. Her blog is very witty and cuts right to the chase. For me her brand attributes include driven, engaging, intelligent, maverick and others. Today she takes time out of her demanding schedule and raising five kids to share with us what she thinks it means to be a brand champion. 

"When I started my blog two years ago it was specifically an outlet for my often tilted views on daily life. I had no agenda but I knew that I wanted to name it something that had meaning to me.

"I grew up loving the newspaper and always read the front page, no matter how bad the news was. I also read the back of every cereal box, as many books as I could and constantly wrote stories about my day. Not much has changed, although the Special K box does not make for interesting reading these days.

"The Daily Blonde was the first idea that popped into my mind for the name of my blog. 'Daily' because I love reading the paper daily and that meant I would have to be consistent with my blogging. 'Blonde' because I knew there were two ways to spell blonde and I have two hair colors: naturally brunette and bottled blonde. I also thought "blonde" looked catchier in a header than "blond" which was bland.

"Over the course of the first year, I realized that I had to narrow my content. I am a Mom but felt that my blog wasn't about motherhood, it was about my opinions on everything. I also had to decide on a look for my blog that was consistent. It was the one thing that bothered me most when I read other blogs: they weren't consistent. Constant header changes and ever-changing icons meant I wouldn't recognize the blog the next time I visited. As a person who is very bad with remembering names, visuals are very important to me.

"Finally, The Daily Blonde had an icon. A likeness of me when I don't eat too much ice cream. As the blog continued to evolve I made sure that two things stayed the same: the 'newsy' feel and my "blondie" icon. Within days of creating the icon, my traffic increased by leaps and bounds. I deleted all of the affiliate links and started aggressively selling ads to small businesses. All of my ad space sold right away because my brand was consistent everywhere I posted: bookmarking sites, Twitter,Facebook, my business card and any place I frequented on the Internet. I also commented on other blogs with The Daily Blonde, not my real name.

"To me, a brand champion is someone who has passion for their brand. They believe in it  and stand behind it. Not just the product, but the concept. I love writing and I believe my brand has succeeded because I don't make drastic changes. In addition, I ask for feedback from my readers. What's working, what's not. Branding myself has been an interesting journey. The Daily Blonde has such a diverse audience that the branding part had to be something slightly quirky (like me) yet simple enough that people would remember it."

Daily Blonde thank you so much for sharing with us your bio and what you think it means to be a brand champion. You certainly have been successful in recruiting champions for your brand. I know I am one now and I anticipate many more today.

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Comments

[Cheryl]

Thanks, Rex. I didn't start out writing for an audience -- I always write what I am thinking -- but it's amazing what a little branding can do for any business, blog or venture.

Thanks for having me here!

Cheers.
Cheryl

[Rex Whisman]

Cheryl,
All of the thanks goes out to you. A personal brand strategy is so important and you clearly understand who you are and what you stand for. Most people and most organizations are still struggling with that. You are an amazing woman with an amazing story.

Thanks!
Rex

[Krista]

Great interview. We love our Daily Blonde! :)

[Rex Whisman]

Krista thanks for weighing in. I completely understand why you love your Daily Blonde!

[David Sandusky]

A classic example of how staying true to yourself and being diligent in putting that true self out there pays off. Nice work , Daily Blonde, with that consistent value that is easy to identify.

[Rex Whisman]

David, thanks for sharing your perspective. You are so right!

Rex