Establishing the Brand

Well, America has spoken. Or - at least - some of the people who read my blog have shared their feelings. Overwhelmingly, there has been "two thumbs up" for the new format. The changes will go like this:

• I have decided to move my primary blog to WordPress
• My primary blog is now "The Life-Charged Life".
• I'll still post at "Derek Maul" at Blogger, but it's essentially going to be the same content, cut and pasted from here.
• "The Preacher's Husband", for the time being, will remain at its current Blogger home.
• My emphasis will shift from "A Life Examined" to "The Life-Charged Life."

About that. While my stats have become increasingly strong (thanks for reading, and thanks for passing my posts on to your friends), I'm looking to involve more people in this conversation.

My publisher, and other experts, tell me that the narrower the door, the more people come through. Or, you catch higher numbers with a smaller net. Or, if I want more readers interested in my writing, I should talk about less...!

Okay, I know the above paragraph sounds contradictory, but what we're talking about here is the difference between limiting my audience to people who already know me and are interested in my life... and associating a clear sense of direction and content with my name and this blog title, The Life-Charged Life.

Branding

What we're talking about here is - in a sense - branding. Branding - the way I'm imagining it in this space - involves the following elements.

1. First, it requires a consistent association between the brand and what the brand stands for. If "Derek Maul" is the brand, then it needs be clear what kind of reading experience should be expected.
2. Branding needs predictability. Not in the boring sense but in the sense that there is "consumer confidence" that the brand really does deliver on the promise. No predictability = no brand.
3. Distinctiveness. There should be no confusion as to what makes a visit to this blog a unique experience. My blog needs to be qualitatively different from others.

Put all this together and what I'd love to see happen is this. I want people to begin to associate "Derek Maul" with the idea of "The Life-Charged Life". Also, and especially in light of the kind of events I tend to be invited to speak at, I want people to associate the name "Derek Maul" with "The Life-Charged Life for Men".

This coming week I'll be talking, specifically, about what I mean by "The Life-Charged Life." I hope you will read along (either here or at WordPress), and that you will introduce some of your friends to what I believe promises to be an exciting new resource.

With enthusiasm - DEREK!