Facebook Pixel
Join our Facebook Community

Write an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog [Day 1 -31DBBB]

Elevator WomanWelcome to Day #1 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. As on each day of this project today I’d like to present you with two things:

  1. Some Teaching/Theory
  2. A Task to go away and Do

Teaching

Today’s task (outlined in full below) is to develop an Elevator Pitch for your Blog. Let me explain why.

What is an Elevator Pitch?

“An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words).”Wikipedia

Many business and self improvement type courses teach students to develop an elevator pitch for their business (and even for themselves). The idea is to have something short and sharp that you can say about yourself when the opportunity arises instead of bumbling your way through explaining what you or your business does (and miss an opportunity).

The goal is both to communicate what you do and to get the person you’re communicating it to to want to know more.

Elevator Pitches for Bloggers

While the idea of an elevator pitch is usually something that start up entrepreneurs are encouraged to do when looking for investors – developing an elevator pitch for your blog is also a smart move also.

One of the most important reasons to do this exercise is that to develop an elevator pitch YOU as a blogger to have thought through and crystallised in your mind what your blog is about.

If you’re fuzzy on what your blog is about it’s unlikely than anyone else will have much of an idea either.

Knowing what your blog is about helps you in developing every aspect of it including:

  • Writing Content
  • Promotion and Finding Readers
  • Search Engine Optimisation
  • Networking with other Bloggers
  • Branding
  • Design…. the list can go on.

In fact almost every task that we’ll be doing in this next 31 days should flow from this task.

Other Reasons for Developing an Elevator Pitch

Of course coming up with an elevator pitch is not just for your own benefit. Once you’ve got one it is brilliant for communicating what your blog is about to readers (both the ones you already have and potential ones), other bloggers, potential partners, media/journalists, advertisers and even to friends and family members who might not get what you’re doing.

Once you’ve got your blogs elevator pitch there’s no limit to the places and situations that you can use it (either part of it or in its entirety). Here are a few that come to mind:

  • Your blogs tag line – having a short, sharp and descriptive ‘tag line’ for your blog can be a powerful technique for quickly communicating to new readers to your blog what it is all about. Readers who don’t get a sense for what your blog is about are in danger of leaving quickly – so a tagline that is displayed prominently on your blog can be a great way to hook them in.
  • Your about page – the about page of a blog (if you have one) is one of the most read pages of a blog by first time visitors. It is an ideal place to communicate what you’re about and to ‘sell’ to potential readers why they should subscribe and come back.
  • Real Life Conversation – whether it be at a conference, in business interactions or just in everyday conversation, the topic of your blog is likely to come up from time to time and these interactions can be an ideal moment to pull out the elevator pitch to describe what your blog is about.
  • Business Cards – I get a lot of business cards given to me at conferences and to be honest at the end of the day I can’t remember who gave me most of them. Adding an elevator pitch to a card can help trigger who you are and what you do in the mind of those you chat with at these busy types of events.
  • Pitching to Media – One of the things I’ve noticed about many journalists is that they’re very busy people who are constantly being pitched with ideas for stories. Having a thought through and effective ‘pitch’ can help you get noticed and give a journalist a reason to listen to what you’ve got to say.
  • Pitching to Other Bloggers – Similarly, I find that if I’m being ‘pitched’ to as a blogger that I take more notice if the person pitching to me gives me a brief insight into who they are and what they do.
  • Email Signature – many people have links to their blogs in their emails, but a link can be somewhat meaningless on its own. Why not add your elevator pitch? Similarly signatures in forums can be a good place to have a short description of what you do to motivate people to check you out further.
  • Social Media Profiles – the same thing goes for all those social media profiles that you have. Why not use them to not only point people to your blog but to give them a reason to go there!

Where else would you use an elevator pitch? I’m sure there are so many more times to pull them out! Feel free to share other places you’ll be using yours.

Your Task for Today

Take some time out today to develop an elevator pitch for your blog. If you’ve already got one take a few minutes to review and refine it.

How to Write an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog

I’m sure there has been much written on the topic online but here’s some starting points that I use when doing this type of thing.

  • Solve a Problem or Need – I’m a big believer in developing blogs that fulfil real needs and solve problems that people have. The problem need not be a big one (like World Peace) but you should be attempting to create something that people need on some level. Communicate this in your elevator pitch.
  • Define Your Audience – who is your blog for? Who are you attempting to attract? IF your blog is targeting a certain demographic or type of person (and it may or may not) – include this in your pitch. If your blog is for teens, don’t develop a pitch for grandparents – target the reader you want.
  • Be Clear – don’t leave people second guessing what you mean or interpreting jargon – make your elevator pitch crystal clear.
  • Keep it Short – People have limited attention spans and capacity to absorb lots of information. Get to the point, eliminate unnecessary words and make it punchy!
  • Stand Out – be willing to use humour or powerful imagery to grab the attention of those that hear your elevator pitch.
  • Be Intriguing – your elevator pitch is unlikely to ‘convert’ people to read your blog all on its own – but it should entice them to learn more. You don’t need to say everything in it – but attempt to write something that is still in the mind of those who hear it long afterwards.
  • Be Energetic but not Hyped – you convey more than just dry information when describing your blog – but you also convey what YOU feel about it. This is important – if you ‘pitch’ someone with language and a voice that is dry and uninspired you’re unlikely to convert anyone into a reader. Show people that you love what you’re doing, that you’re passionate and that you care about your topic. But don’t go too far and hype it up beyond what it is!
  • Consider Using a Question – people are wired to answer and engage with questions. Ask them, even just rhetorical ones, in your pitch and you’ll hook people in.
  • Be Ready to Expand Upon Your Pitch – at a recent conference I had someone come up and give me what seemed like an elevator pitch about their blog. It worked really well, they got me interested – so interested that I asked them to tell me more. The problem was that they didn’t really have much else to say about their blog. See an elevator pitch as a conversation opener – something designed to lead into further interaction with people. You don’t have to say it all in your initial pitch – but you should be ready to say more if people are interested.

These are just the thoughts that come to my mind on elevator pitches (what would you add?). Not everyone will be able to incorporate all of the above points but I hope that some of it will help you to develop yours.

My Elevator Pitch
I have a couple of elevator pitches my blog here at ProBlogger. One’s short (just 6 words) and one’s a little longer (a minute or so). I use one or the other of them depending upon the circumstances and opportunity to share.

My short one is very simple – ‘ProBlogger helps Bloggers Build Exceptional Blogs’. I’ve used others over the life of this blog (and continue to evolve it) but have settled on this one for the time being because it is so simple, to the point and clear.

The longer version expands upon this and shares some of the ways that the blog helps bloggers improve their blogs by talking through a few of the main topics I cover.

Write Your Elevator Pitch

Once you’ve got an elevator pitch for your blog write or print it out and put it somewhere near your computer so that as you blog you can be reminded of it. You might also like to start to incorporate it into your blog as a tagline or in your about page – or even to write a post about it on your blog to communicate to your readers what you’re on about (the appropriateness of writing it as a post will of course vary from blog to blog).

Once you’ve done that – feel free to share what you’ve come up with in comments below. I’m looking forward to reading yours.

Tomorrow on the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge – tomorrows task is a writing task that will have you writing a particular type of blog post to use on your blog in the next few days.

Sign up for 31DBBB

If you’re not already signed up for the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge you can find more information on what it entails here.

Update! Get feedback on your results, and see what others are doing over at the forum: Day 1 – Create an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog

Want More?

This task is a sample of one of the tasks in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook – a downloadable resource designed to reinvigorate and revitalize blogs.

Join over 14,000 other bloggers and Get your Copy Today.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. Hi,
    I am new too to this 31 DBBB way. I want to give my suggestion to your question.
    since you do several others things, maybe you group those similar events in several different blog so that you can focus on your short and long elevated pitch by topic. In this case, you reader know exactly what they are getting when they open your blog.
    In my case. My short elevated pitch is
    ” Perform SWOT Analysis” and
    my long elevated pitch is
    ” How to perform SWOT analysis for Profitability”

    And my blog http://perform-swot-analysis.blogspot.com is all about swot analysis and I placed other TQM articles in this blog http://tqmcasestudies.com/blog

    Cheers

  2. Darren, Thanks so much for putting this all together so others can learn how to have a better blog.

    This is the elevator pitch I’ve come up with:

    “Do you feel as though you’re the only one struggling through a situation? Are there times you get frustrated? Do you have something to celebrate but don’t know who to tell? You are not alone and you are welcome here.

    I hope that by reading what I am going through, what I am thinking, and what I am feeling others will not feel alone in their struggles. I write about whatever is on my mind – my thoughts, my feelings, my frustrations, my successes, my failures, my struggles.”

  3. I agree with Andy Roberts:

    Clearly it’s going to be that much harder to this for a multiple niche or eclectic personal blog.

    I write for several blogs, but coming up with something for my personal “whatever I feel like writing about” blog is no easy feat. Then again, I could just use “whatever I feel like writing about.” (; I mean, the only real purpose to my personal blog is to share my thoughts and what’s going on in my life with friends and some family. Most people are not going to be interested in that, unless they already know me or come to my blog and decide I’m interesting enough to visit often.

    My other blogs, however, could really use an elevator pitch that I can use wherever to describe them. I think the About page is possibly your most important page, and it should pack a punch. I usually have a hard time writing the content for my About pages, but this should definitely help! I’ll comment again when I’ve got something.

    Looking forward to more articles!

  4. Thank you so much for this great post. I am so happy already that I signed up for your tips. I am off now to write an elevator pitch for my blog.

  5. OK, I’m brand new to blogging…so here we go.

    I think I may have something. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and this feels right. At least for now. LOL

    Teaching women to love their life….

  6. Took me long enough but here it is.

    Elevator Pitch Short Version:

    To chronicle my experiences and challenges becoming a full-time freelance writer.

    Long Version:

    In order to help develop a daily writing routine, I am chronicling my efforts about the challenges I encounter and the insights I gain while I work toward freelancing full time. It is a place that I will gather and share resources that I believe will be helpful for writers looking to leave the 9 to 5 world. I am not an expert but a writer who believes that sharing information with peers leads to a better understanding of the language we love and provides a sense of community to a group of people that practice the solitary creation of writing.

  7. Here’s what i got…

    Everyday Blog for Life and Love…

    is that alright for a start?

  8. Inspired by other people doing a similar thing I’ve created a personal blog to share my experiences of studying part time for a degree with the Open University. As it’s personal to me the subject of the content will vary from my study, through to web design / photography / Linux /etc.

    My short elevator pitch is “Part time Open University, full time geek” which I use as the blog’s description. Hopefully this makes it clear what the main focus of the blog is but also give me a bit of freedom to write about other topics.

    I’m just working on an extended elevator pitch which will be incorporated into the blog’s About page.

  9. My site is “The Mommy Journey”

    I used to describe my site as “Journey of a Stay At Home mom” since I post articles about my journey as a parent and a stay at home mom. is that okay already?

    Anyway, I want to add more spice to my blog, And I think I will add more tips and articles aside from my personal experiences. I want to add articles that focuses on physical, emotional and spiritual aspects.

    Maybe my pitch should be “The Mommy Journey helps mommies everywhere become better mothers.” ? or is that too general?

  10. johnonfood.com is a site about food and drink, for people who really care what they put in their mouth.

    I can’t find a single food reference in print or on the web that gives me all of the information I want, and has a real persons opinions instead of just dry history and facts, and copied recipes.

    johnonfood.com is my way to change that, facts and recipes but with a human opinion behind them from someone who really cares what they put in their mouth.

    It was either open a restaurant, or a food shop, or create this website, and here the site is.

  11. *PLEASE POST THIS COMMENT INSTEAD OF THE LAST ONE – THANKS.

    This has been most helpful. Here are the elevator pitches for the two blogs I run:

    http://www.guruzaz.com
    “Life Success and Spiritual Freedom”

    Helping spiritual seekers find true enlightenment
    Guruzaz offers a system of spiritual knowledge that is comprehensive yet very easy to apply.
    The teachings on Guruzaz draw on many rich spiritual traditions.
    They are presented in a way that can be understood by the modern day entrepreneur and spiritual seeker alike.
    GuruZaz is also like a spiritual version of Yahoo Answers where people ask any question on a personal development or spiritual topic.

    http://www.entrepreneurmonk.com
    “Have No Regrets, Look Forward”

    PITCH: Helping people bring together their business and spiritual life.
    A unique and intelligent look at what anyone must do in order to succeed spiritually and financially.
    A place to learn how to refine your character so you can become an instrument of change rather than be a puppet subject to someone else pulling your strings.

  12. Helping Moms and Step-Moms learn to UnTangle a little Eutopia in a world of husbands, hormones, kids, and chaos.
    http://www.tangledeutopia.com

  13. Cheers for this Darren. I’m trying to put something together now. It is tricky because my blog is meant to comedy, but sometimes it loses its way a bit and starts to deviate. Anyway, i’m trying to keep it on track.

    My eleveator pitch for the about page i’ll be creating is :

    FunnyNotts watches life and captures like a photograph those funny quirky gems that make you want to cry with laughter.

    I’m really looking forward to the rest of this.!!!
    AT

  14. The WyBlog – Greetings from the Peoples Republic of New Jersey!

    Politics is my game, and sarcasm is my weapon. I’m here to skewer the sacred cows of liberalism and point out the deficiencies of thought they embody. I offer a common sense counterpoint to the left-wing indoctrination machine. I’d like to think that if Ronald Reagan were still alive he would approve of my blog.

    That isn’t to say I’m all work and no play. I enjoy talking about my beautiful daughter and sharing stories of her antics, successes, and adventures. I’m a die-hard and long suffering NY Jets fan who longs for a winning season.

    I’ll repeat something I wrote in my very first blog posting:

    I can promise that you won’t always agree with me. I hope though, that you’ll try to understand where I’m coming from.

    Life in the Peoples Republic of New Jersey is never boring, and I hope neither am I.

  15. This is an amazing first excercise. The “about us” page needed only a little tweaking, but our tag line was just not doing it’s job…

    I’ve got a few different alternatives, and am not 100% set on this, but for now our tag line has been changed to “The Upside of Career Transition.”

    Our About Us page is now: We are a group of former colleagues who have all been impacted voluntarily or involuntarily by reorganizations and layoffs, sometimes multiple times. We are all in the process of reinventing ourselves, some seeking employment back in the corporate world, some spending more time with family, some working towards creating multiple streams of revenue. One thing we all hold in common is that we all choose to have a positive attitude about this transformation in our lives. We want to help other people in transition by sharing job search techniques, and by helping them see that this can be a fun time in your life to meet new people and explore your hidden talents.

    Thank you to all the previous comments — you really helped me think through this!

  16. Well it looks like I came late to the party to these tips but i am going to give them a shot anyway because they look to be really great ideas.

    My elevator pitch for Task One is “This is my blog about life, language, learning and living in Korea.”

    Thanks for this fantastic course.

  17. Just giving a elevator pitch of mine: “LogicClub – Need Logic To Move”

  18. Awesome stuff!!!

    Too often we forget the simple things like defining who we are, who we are marketing to, and what we represent.

    It is always good to start with the baby steps before a full sprint. Although, I rather prepare for a marathon. That is, create an online presence that will last the distance rather than create an initial impact then peter off.

    I’m looking forward to the rest of this program.

    Dr. Dave Hale
    The Internet Marketing Professor
    http://www.drdavehaleonline.com

  19. My one is in Polish (as well as the blog) so I’ll translate it for you… I included it in my “about me” page :)
    The short one is just what the blog is about: “animation, media art, independent cinematography”.

    This is the “long one”:
    “I write about animation, media art, independent cinematography.
    These are three dynamic and full of “fresh blood” areas of modern art. I write to learn more about them.
    I’m presenting here authors and artworks, which deserve it in my opinion.”

    The last sentence looks better in Polish – less big-headed ;)

  20. Short version:

    Art, the act of making it, and other problems of life.

    Long version:

    Most people, no matter their occupation, can relate to problems with motivation, procrastination, self-esteem, fear and the ever elusive “goal.” These problems are intensified during the act of creation. Art mimics life, or life mimics art?

    This artist’s blog targets artists and art lovers with specific solutions to specific problems and it relates those problems to life as a whole. Art is life intensified.

  21. “The BIC Blog documents our journey as we attempt to reach our goal of becoming a catalyst for economic and social change in Indigenous Australia.”

    Any comments/suggestions?

  22. I really enjoyed your blog. I really do need to sit down and write an elevator pitch for my blog. I haven’t written much in it because I didn’t come up with a good game plan from the very beginning.

  23. Here’s my attempt:

    Short Pitch

    In September 2012, I’ll be cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats. In May 2009, I was 22 stone (308 pounds) with a slipped disc and no bike. This is the story of my transformation…

    Long Pitch

    In September 2012, me and some friends will be cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats. They’re all fairly fit, and keen cyclists. On the day I commited myself to the ride, I weighed 22 stone (308 pounds), had a slipped disc and didn’t own a bike. lollujo.com is the story of my transformation from fat, unfit and injured, to someone capable of cycling over 1000 miles in 2 weeks. I’ll be telling you exactly how I do it, and remember, if I can do this, anyone can…

    I think my short pitch is too long, and my long pitch is too short. I’ll keep working at it!

    Kevin

  24. thanks for this tip. i will try to improve my ABOUT page.

  25. Well here is my long elevator pitch. I put it as my About page on my blog.
    http://francetales.com/about/

    My short pitch is supposed to be my tagline but I am not getting it to show.

    It is: Connecting expats, wit, and advice direct from France, we play well with others.

  26. Clearly I am very late to this party, but I’ll play along. :)

    Childwild: embracing the wild heart of childhood.

    Childwild embraces the wild heart of childhood with daring, wit and wisdom. Daily articles share a unique, open approach to parenting, education and sustainable family living. Childwild combines memoir with news commentary, parenting advice and how-to articles to create a valuable resource for parents raising wild children in today’s world.

  27. This is very helpful thank you – our short pitch has become “Preparing and Photographing the Beautiful Bride” which is definitely what we do.

  28. An elevator pich interesting. Personally I find it very difficult to plan for a blog it doesn’t matter how much I prep in my head when I begin the blog it always ends up transforming. Anyway I think that I will begin a blog and go over the 31 steps I am glad I found this thanks for the post:)

  29. I’m excited about the 31 day challenge. I often assist my clients with creating an elevator pitch. But more importantly, I walk them through bringing it to life. Because you must be able to communicate it anytime, anywhere.

    However, I never really considered creating one for my blog. So, in response Day 1 here is my short pitch:

    Have You Read A Good Book Lately…Nia Virtual Book Tours is a virtual book tour featuring African-American literature.

    I used our tagline. And I am doctoring up my pitch to develop the content for my About Us page.

    We’re off to a good start, I can’t wait!

  30. My blog is positivewayoflife.com and my elevator pitch is showing people how to live a more positive way of life

  31. I love this piece honestly you hit the nail on the head, getting the right strategies for blogging is reallly the ball in the pen, my elevator pitch is Teaching people how to make money online, though i have quite a number of websites, with a niche that is very competitive, i guess I’ll do better with so much experience from your hands

  32. I got into this a bit late, but here it goes for my Sports PR Blog:

    Tagline – A look at the sports industry from a PR point of view

    Longer Pitch – A blog for professionals working in the sports PR industry and for those trying to break into the industry.

  33. After working through this task for the second month — I’ve completely revamped my site. My new elevator speech/tagline is
    Helping my readers to earn the love and respect of those closest to them by developing the traits of effective family leadership.

  34. I am just now beginning the 31-day challenge, but here goes with my elevator pitch(es):

    Inspirations from Salutations . . . inspiring a passion for paper

    Inspirations from Salutations . . . inspiring those who are passionate about all things related to paper ~ stationery, wedding and event invitations, typography, design, printing, etiquette and correspondence.

    This task was very useful in helping me to focus and get clarity. Thanks!

  35. Here we go! WWe are developing a blog for our bussines.. and for sure the 31 days process will help us big time. We have visited your blog many times, and it has always been a great experiencie.

    Our new “elevator pitch is ready”!

  36. Hey Darren! too bad i didn’t fin out about this before.. here we go! Great theorty introduction… Can’t wait for day 2!

  37. I often wondered how to promote old blog posts and never even thought about implementing this ideaa. Thanks once again!

  38. Darren,

    I would like to see links to blogs as examples of how to do a good elevator pitch. I even looked at your site to see how you did yours and I couldn’t find your elevator pitch, “ProBlogger helps Bloggers Build Exceptional Blogs.”

  39. Liana says: 06/15/2017 at 2:13 am

    Hi I know I am one day late with the pitch. But I would love some feedback.
    Here is one that is short “Learning and living a healthier life with Benefits of Cryotherapy” and a longer version is “Body and Mind recovery blog is about helping people educate and live the healthier life with Benefits of Cryotherapy”

    Thank you

  40. Cheryl Siverly Hodaba says: 07/11/2017 at 12:14 am

    Elevator Pitch

    A Teacher’s Journey highlights the challenges of teaching in America today. Written by a veteran teacher, the blog provides a place for educator reflection while offering insights for the American public.

    Joining A Teacher’s Journey also offers rumination on retirement through memoir as Cheryl Siverly Hodaba deals with the painful decision to leave education. As she rambles through memory, responds to current events, or is sparked to write in response to a newly read book, song, poem, or blog, you become drawn into the many triumphs and tragedies facing educators.

    While this is not a blog designed for improving teaching craft or parenting skills, enjoy this additional bonus as you are welcomed into one teacher’s heart, mind, and soul.

  41. John Pie says: 07/28/2017 at 12:47 am

    I am late getting started, but hope to knock out several days at a time. My pitch:

    UNDERSTANDING THREATS (LIKE EXTENDED CARE) TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WHILE IN RETIREMENT.

    IDENTIFYING THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES TO HELP.

  42. Ana v elementu says: 02/07/2018 at 4:45 am

    This blog was created by a career woman for career women.

    It is about taking advantage of fashion trends instead of them taking advantage of you,
    what is good to know about wardrobe organization,
    how to shop,
    and tips for creating an inviting personal appearance.

A Practical Podcast… to Help You Build a Better Blog

The ProBlogger Podcast

A Practical Podcast…

Close
Open