nextcovery.com

Today, in a post titled “The Choice of Associating Your Name with Your Blog”, Darren Rowse of problogger.net, identified the following 4 categories of blogging.

1. Blog under your personal name and promote it prominently on your blog
2. Blog under your personal name but don’t really promote yourself
3. Blog under an alias and promote that name
4. Blog without any name on your blog at all

Darren also requested readers to comment on what are the pros and cons of the type of blog they have chosen.

This is a compilation of my own views (and some reader comments from Darren’s original Post)

1. Blog under your personal name and promote it prominently on your blog

Pros

• More credible, people know that you really exist!
• Ideal for video posts
• Present information with a personal tone. This is a very important point since blogs were initially created for this purpose (i.e. allowing individuals to quickly share their thoughts and views)
• If you are really good in your subject matter, you will be noticed within your industry, bringing new business or career opportunities
• If you have good qualifications, experience and expertise why not show it off? Because readers look for reliable and credible information
• Good for social networking

Cons

• Hard to sell your website, because you have created a brand around you and without your presence your website is less valuable
• Loss of privacy

2. Blog under your personal name but don’t really promote yourself

Pros

• Better privacy

Cons

• I can not think of any, if you know one please feel free to share.

I am not getting many points for this category. Feel free to help me out here.

3. Blog under an alias and promote that name

Pros

• Your privacy is protected
• Can build a brand around your alias
• Good for controversial topics
• Safer (for example: writing about gang violence in your area!)
• A good choice if your real name is hard to remember

Cons

• May not be suitable for all topics, for example consider a medical blog, your readers first want to know about you and your background

4. Blog without any name on your blog at all

Pros

• Easier to sell your blog
• Better privacy, safety

Cons

• Hard to create a unique voice (with a personal tone) , since your readers have no clue about yourself
• Readers will be less tolerant for any mistakes, because they consider your website as a news source and not as a blog that is driven by a single person

Know more pros and cons for each type? Please feel free to share. As the comments come in I will update my list of pros and cons.

Categories: Blogging
Tags: Blogging