First and foremost, BibleDude.net is intentionally a .NET. We strive to provide a place of Christian fellowship and community (a network) where people can express themselves in three ways:
(1) To be REAL. Our interactions and discussions aim to be honest and authentic in nature. This is a place where people can express what they really feel about living out their faith.
(2) To be RELEVANT. What we do should be focused on real-life application of the Word of God to our families, job, ministries, or any other aspect of our lives.
(3) To be FAITH-centered. God is at the center of everything that we do and discuss. Without Him, what we do would be meaningless.
What do you think? Is this something that you would want to be a part of? Does it sum up your experience with BibleDude.net? Is there anything that I should change about this statement?
As the Social Media Editor for HighCallingBlogs.com, I’m taking the lead in a partnership with Christian Web Trends at OurChurch.com in a project called ’31 Days to Build a Better Blog’. I’m pretty excited about this project, because I think that it’ll give me the opportunity to take BibleDude.net to the next level.
I’m also hoping that we’ll be able to apply some of what we learn to the HighCallingBlogs.com site, and I think that many of our member bloggers will benefit a great deal from the discussions.
Day 1 of the project focuses on ‘The Elevator Pitch‘. Wikipedia defines the elevator pitch this way…
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).
For quite some time now I’ve used the tagline of ‘real. relevant. faith.’ for this site. I use it because I believe that it sums up what the site is all about. The 116-word elevator pitch that I started this post with provides the deeper definition of what that three-word tagline means to me.
I’d love to hear what you think about my elevator pitch. If you’ve been visiting here for a while, does this fit your experience? If not, then what is missing?
If you’re new here, does this sound like something that you’d want to be a part of? Why or why not?
Please feel free to be honest, and not worry about hurting my feelings. I’m really trying to grow through this process, and want to know what you really think (that’s the REAL part of my elevator pitch).
So let me have it! Ready, set, go…
i love the fact that you have put your elevator pitch into 3 points; easier to digest and easier to remember. I'll need to spend more time here to be able to offer any ideas on the elevator pitch. So I guess I'll be hanging around for a while 🙂
Dan, I like it. I like the fact that it expands on your tag line of “real. relevant. faith.”
I'm curious… what are you going to do with your elevator pitch? Are you thinking about putting it on your “about” page?
Dan,
I've been working my way through the 31DBBB too and have found it helpful. Keep up the good work. You've got a great blog and I think your pitch is right on from my perspective. Thanks for setting a good example of what a blog in this niche is supposed to be like.
It'll be great to see you around here more often! I definitely plan on spending more time over at your site too. Thanks for the feedback on the elevator pitch. Building off of my tagline for the site, I thought that it would b easy to clearly state my purpose here by simply defining those three things…
Thanks Paul! I'm planning on redesigning my 'about' page structure so that I can make this a little more central to the overall structure of the site. I can definitely tell already that I'm going to enjoy this project!
Thanks for stopping by Paul!
Thanks for the great feedback and encouragement Eric! I appreciate you dropping in on a couple of conversations recently!
I like Bible Dude content and the 'elevator pitch,' but I find the website visually confusing. There's just so much stuff everywhere and the white background and pale gray separators doesn't help. But that's just me. If you look at thehighcalling.org, the layout is easy to understand and easy on the eyes.
Thanks for the honest feedback Mary! I'm glad that you like the content and the 'elevator pitch'. And I am especially appreciative of your thoughts on the site design.
As I think about how the elevator pitch should not only reflect but also drive the type of content that I deliver, your comments make me think about how this statement should drive the look/feel of the website as well. I'm going to seriously think about how I have this site structured and try to come up with a plan to leverages what I want to do a little better.
Thanks for making me think about this!
Here's the downside that I see: every Christian blogger would agree with you on those three points. Everyone's trying to be real. Everyone's trying to be relevant. Everyone's trying to be faith-centered.
In other words, you might differentiate from TechCrunch or The Washington Post or even some ultra-boring, unrelevant Christian blogs, but in general, this description fits most Christian blogs (or at least what most Christian blogs are shooting for).
It's not bad, but not different, which is what an elevator pitch usually tries to show.
My positive suggestion: focus on showing how your unique personality/experience relate to presenting a blog that's real, relevant, and faith-centered. Everyone might talk about the same thing (which is actually a good thing within Christianity), but everyone brings their own personal perspective.
For example, you could show how being a corporate training manager, leading a 20-something ministry, and teaching at a Bible College (<<am I remembering correctly on this?) shapes your perspective on being real, relevant, and faith-centered. You have a respected job in the “real” world, which helps you stay real, anything having to do with 20-somethings probably helps with “relevancy,” and your experience at the Bible college shows you know your stuff.
Of course, you'll probably want to work that into a more succinct and engaging pitch, but that's more the angle I'd suggest. Make it personal.
I hope that helps some. Congratulations on taking on this project. I know it's a great course.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
I have many things happening in May (for one thing, out-of-country company's comin' for 10 days!), so I didn't feel I could commit to anything that required daily attention other than brushing my teeth. But I'm watching these posts throughout the network and on the main site to learn from you all.
The elevator pitch is an interesting challenge for my personal blog; not so hard for NotSoFastBook.com. I'm going to see if I can compose one for that.
Thanks for the inspiration from your own. I like how simple and clear yours is, allowing for much freedom in content.
When people say “Let me have it,” being the human I am, I simply must comment. I tried my hardest to come up with something to tell you, knowing I had a free pass to say whatever I wanted about your blog, but since I've been following you, I can't find anything wrong.
Your 3 points are awesome. If you feel so inclined, you are welcome to come over to my blog and nicely organize it too.. I think I might learn right along with you on this. Thanks!
i would say: real.relevant.everyday life.in faith
i find the everyday applications to be the most valuable part for me.
glad to be doing this project with you and all the others…
Sounds like you to me. 🙂
Hey, about those grapes… ; – )
I am going to be a lurker on this one, Dan. Not feeling in the game here. 🙂 But hoping to learn a lot by experiencing it vicariously and maybe trying some of the stuff.
Hmmm… you make some great points (as usual) Marshall! I definitely get what you are saying, and as I re-read it I agree that it is easy for this statement to sound an aweful lot like so many other Christian sites out there.
Before I post a final version of this on the new ABOUT page, I'll think seriously about differentiators…
No worries on the participating level Ann! Do what you can! I love the list post that you did recently…
Thanks for the feedback on my elevator pitch! I was shooting for some of those things when writing it out.
Shucks Duane! You may have just made me blush a little bit. But I think that if you haven't found anything wrong with it yet, then it probably just means that you haven't been around long enough! LOL!
I appreciate the feedback and encouragement! I'm going to have to spend a little more time over at your blog too… I definitely agree that we can learn a great deal from (or along with) each other!
Ohhh… that's good Claire! I'll have to consider that in the re-write that will end up on my new ABOUT page. And I agree that the everyday applications are important….
Wow… you're right! And that's always been one of my personal goals in blogging… I don't want to portray someone that I am not. I always hope to be transparent with myself.
And, I'm not picky on the grapes… red or green will be fine! 😉
No problem Laura! Feel free to lurk all you want!
Haha… and thanks for spending some time at my blog. I'm not into that “you follow me, I follow you” mindset, so if my blog is boring and makes you want to poke your eyes out, don't follow it.
Anyway, yes, Looking forward to learning along with you.
LOL… you blog DEFINITELY doesn't make me want to poke my eyes out! You crack me up dude!
Yeah, even just a few words to inject who you are personally can go a long way. I'm looking forward to checking out the final draft on your About page. I always learn a lot from what people post about themselves, both about them and about how I could improve what I do too.
-Marshall Jones Jr.