Ryan Renfrew

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Written by Ryan Renfrew | Follow on twitter / facebook.

What uuuup?

Okay guys its been 3 months since I decided to start blogging. I was gonna give you the background of how and why I got into blogging, but then I thought, would you care? Would you give a shit? So I decided against it. If you really want to know then you can click here.

I began my blogging debut like I would approach any other project. By creating a plan. Now, I know by experience that the best way to create a plan is not to start from scratch, but to look for a plan that has already been established and is working for someone else and adopt that– after all there is no pint in reinventing the wheel, right?

Luckily for me I came across a chap named Gary Vaynerchuck. Gary is such a passionate and enthusiastic guy – just watch some of his video blog entries and you will see what I mean. I felt an immediate connection with Gary and knew he was onto something big so I read his most excellent book “Crush It” and was not disappointed. Not only was I not disappointed but I also found the plan I had been eagerly searching for. The very second I opened the book I knew it! Theres my plan all layed out for me in 21 easy to follow steps. Thanks Gary.

So here it is, this is Ryan Renfrews take so far on Gray Vaynerchucks 21 steps to build a Personal Brand.

1 Identify Your Passion

If you had to work at something for the rest of your life what would it be? And did I mention that you wouldn’t be getting paid? That is your passion!

Well for me that’s people. I love meeting new people, I love interacting with people. What I love most about human interaction is our ability to help one another. To learn and to teach – and I strongly believe that we all should be both learning and teaching as often as possible. Running alongside my passion for people is my passion for personal development, I want to share this with as many people as humaly, or superhumaly, possible. I want to help people waken up and live their full potential, to live their life with passion, with purpose and to most importantly bLAZE a tRAIL.

Perfect, I can combine the two with blogging.

2 Come Up With 50 Awesome Blog Topics.

To get the ball rolling think of 50 awesome blog topics. This will exercise the ole brain, get your creative juices flowing and will ensure you have enough ammo for your blog. And when I say AWESOME topics I mean A-W-E-S-O-M-E topics. There is so much information out there on the internet that we really are spoilt for choice. As there is an overwhelming abundance of where you can get your information from you better make sure that yours is the best, that it stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

3 Am I Sure My Passion Is What I Think It Is?

If you can’t think of 50 awesome blog posts then its time to move on and find another topic, one that you are truly passionate about.

4 Name Your Personal Brand.

What name is gonna represent you? What word or combination of words is gonna best describe your movement, product service or what you stand for?

For me that’s Ryan Renfrew, my name. My blog is my legacy, my digital self. I am my brand so there is no better name than my own.

5 Acquire Your Usernames.

This is like digital property. I secured RyanRenfrew.com from godaddy – about ten bucks a pop. Try and get a .com if possible. I also registered RyanRenfrew on twitter. I could not get the facebook vanity url for Ryan Renfrew so I had to make do with RenfrewRyan instead. It may be worthwhile if you have small children to secure there names too.… This will prove to be a valuable asset in years to come.

6. Chose Your Medium.

Whether it be video audio or written word.

As you can see I use the written word. I like writing, its therapeutic and it helps me to develop my creative side. But I am becoming more aware of video blogging and it is something that you will be seeing in the not so distant future.

7. Open Up A Blog Account.

You can use wordpress, tumblr, blogger, typepad etc. I use wordpress because it is easy to manage and the plugins make customising very easy. It wasn’t always this way, if you have been following me from the start you will know that I started off on googles blogspot.

8. Hire A Designer.

Okay this is one thing I have yet to do. But is something I will be looking into soon. Currently I use the greyzed theme and customise the widgets my self. This is far from ideal and I am not overly happy with the layout and the way things look. If you are a designer please get in touch.

9. Connect Links.

These are call to action buttons. I use a facebook like box and a few share buttons at the top and bottom of my posts allowing readers to easily share my posts.

10. Facebook Fan Page And Twitter Account

These sites are so hot right now and are a great way of promoting your blog. They are also great outposts to listen to what your community is saying and also to find people and build a community.

11. Post Content

Create a posting schedule. Mine is two times a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I did post a third for the first time on Sunday and might keep this as a regular feature. It goes without saying that your posts should be 100% knock your socks off awesome. Content is king. I don’t care how many times you have heard it before or will hear again. As far as I’m concerned its gospel.

12. Create A Community.

Create a community by commenting on other people blogs and forums and be sure to comment back when they comment on your blog. This is my major objective right now. And a strategy I am currently using is the 100 blog comment challenge, which is open to you and running now, click here to find out more. I strongly urge you to get involved . The 100 blog comment is a fast and effective way to build your community. There is a list of all the current challengers here. Take advantage of this already established community actively engaging and waiting for you to jump on in.

13. Search Twitter Topics.

Use twitter search or search twitter to find as many people as possible who are talking about your topic and communicate with them.

14 Search For Blogs Similar To Yours.

When I visit an A-list blog or any blog for that matter , within my niche, I visit all of that blogs of commentators and leave a comment on their blog, hopefully they will return the favour and comment on mine. I have started many  great relationships this way.

15 Join As Many Facebook Fanpages And Groups As Possible Within Your Niche.

16 Repeat 11-15.

17 Again.

18 Again.

19 Again.

20 Stickyness Reached.

Monetise! Once you are happy with the amount of daily traffic, comments and social shares you can begin to monetise your blog. I will try and avoid advertising and instead focus on adding value by promoting great affiliate products. If you have any products that you would like me to promote please feel free to send me a copy so I can check it out.

21 Enjoy

I would love to know how this plan compares to your plan?

What are the similarities and differences?

What stage are you at?

If you would like to join our community here then leave a comment below and/or join the 100 Blog Comment Challenge. I look forward to hearing from you.

~ Ryan

bLAZE yOUR tRAIL