It’s been said that the sweetest sound in a man’s ears is the sound of his own name. I know I certainly like to hear mine.
This weekend, Keller Hawthorne pointed out a few SEO tips for my website in her reply to a comment I left on her blog. She noticed that I did not have any of my keywords in my title meta tag. To quote Homer Simpson, “DOH!” I’m not an SEO expert, but I should have caught that.
I added my tag line,”The Christian Entrepreneur,” to my title meta tag, and I jumped 3 to 5 pages on several keywords – literally overnight. That revelation started me thinking about why I was using my name as the title of my website.
It’s Not About Me
Honestly, I was using my name as my blog title because the URLs I wanted had been purchased and parked for a few years now. Since the URL was my name, I just plugged my name into the blog title and forgot about it.
There was probably a little vanity involved as well. Over the past month, I’ve added more tags and categories than I originally intended, but I kept telling myself that those topics were just a reflection of my interests. After all, the website has my name on it!
While fixing my SEO issues this weekend, the opening line from Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life flooded my mind, “It’s not about you!”
The Purpose Driven Blog
The purpose of this blog is not to write about whatever interests me. It is to help small business entrepreneurs grow their businesses using proven, practical, and Biblical financial principles.
It’s also to remind, or teach, us that being a Christian entrepreneur is about a lot more than just being an entrepreneur who is a Christian. It’s a calling from God.
When properly realized, it showers those around us with blessings shining God’s glory and converting our temporal wealth into eternal riches.
I Don’t Care About This Christianity Thing
The funny thing about God’s laws and principles is that they work whether you believe in Him or not. I promise that at no time will I try to convert you, preach to you, or try to convince you that God even exists.
Many of my posts will not mention God, the Bible, or Christianity at all. This does not mean that they are not grounded in all of these; it’s just that there is no need to over-spiritualize everything.
I don’t need to quote chapter and verse to instruct you on how to make a cake. The same is true about many small business principles.
If there is going to be a heavy dose of Christianity in a post, then it will be filed under The Christian Entrepreneur category. The title of the post should usually give you a hint too.
A Blog By Any Other Name
Other than the new name, and a renewed focus, the blog is still the same. The new name better reflects the purpose of this blog.
UPDATE 08/10/10: All posts in The Christian Entrepreneur category, or related to bringing your faith into the workplace, have been moved to Marketplace Christianity.
No related posts.
Don't Miss a Single Post!
Kissie (10)
Sourav (8)
MikeHolmes (6)
dana (5)
Paula (5)
Alison Moore Smith (4)
Bradley J. Moore (4)
@RodKirby (3)
kiahltan (3)
Matt Edmundson (3)
Brad,
I think it is a good name change.
“it’s just that there is no need to spiritualize everything.” I agree there is no need to spiritualize everything. But here's a thought: are there spiritual things and non-spiritual things, is there a separation? As we're trying to tie spirituality/faith and business I think it involves every single thing/activity. I agree there's no sense in being a walking Bible-verse-squirt, but maybe making a cake can be very spiritual?
Leon
Leon,
You are absolutely correct. Everything is spiritual in some sense, isn't it? I edited the post to add “over-” before spiritualize. It's in over-spiritualizing things that the danger lies. Thank you for catching that.
Okay, I must say that I can't stop laughing at the “walking Bible-verse-squirt.” I wonder if that is one of those things that get lost in translation? Your point is well illustrated with it, but I have never heard that term before.
Brad
Now, every readers directly know what is this blog about.
lol, yes sir. More of the same with a new name.
Neither did I, just coined it
Brad, I like the name. And I like your approach. I think we sometimes increase our impact when we allow our faith and our “business” to interact naturally rather than forcing it. You do a great job!
Thanks Brandon. Perhaps falling off the high pedestal I put myself on long ago helped me to see things a little clearer? I don't fully agree with “preach the gospel – use words if you have to,” but I do think it should be primarily through our actions and our love that the Gospel should speak the loudest.
Hi Brad,
What a great post for defining the goals of your site. It's great to know why we are doing something but this is often missed if we are not clear about that with our readers.
I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Karl
Thanks Karl. I agree. I think it also helps us, as bloggers, to stay on track. I hope to see you around more on the blog.