Three Word Blogs

June 4, 2011 - Last Modified: June 4, 2011 by Michael Alexis

Five years ago, Guy Kawasaki wrote about three word mantras. It’s a good post, you should read it. Why am I rehashing this antiquated article? Because communicating more with less is becoming ever more important for bloggers. With only 140 characters to spend, every word needs to be worth its buck – and the right combination of words may just be your goldmine.

My goal with this post is to get you thinking about a mantra for your blog and convince you why you need one. With an effective mantra in place, visitors and readers will better understand the value your blog offers, and it becomes easy for them to share your work with friends.

Guy suggests a good mantra for Wendy’s would be “healthy fast food” – pretty clear, right? Perhaps more importantly, with a mantra you will always have a guide for your writing.

Having trouble starting a post? Read your mantra and it will inspire you. Write something that doesn’t really fit your theme? Read your mantra and consider sending it off to Draft purgatory. By having a go-to mantra that guides your theme and your work, you will be better able to get and stay on track.

So how do you go about generating your blog’s mantra?

Imagining three-word catch lines for these well known blogs might help:

PerezHilton | spread more gossip
Lifehacker | do it yourself
I Will Teach You to be Rich | earn more money
Problogger | make money blogging
Mixergy | inspire more entrepreneurs
Famous Bloggers | build better blogs
I Can Has Cheezburger | post about cats
The Blog of Tim Ferris | experiment your life
Seth’s Blog | make something happen
SEOmoz | white hat works

Are these the perfect three word mantras for these blogs?

Maybe not – but I bet the writers who live and breathe through their work could do better. At WriterViews (the web show I produce) our mantra is “Help More Writers”, because that is exactly what we want to do. What’s your mantra?

About Michael Alexis

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{ 54 Responses }

Bizz says:

Hey, it works, and it was relatively simple to come up with not one, but two 3-word mantras that'll help keep me on track as I move ever onward and upward. I think I was getting away from the core of my blog, but IM will have that effect. By taking an occasional step back, I can now keep things a bit more 'dialed in' as it were... Good stuff!
Samantha says:

I agree quality content with less words than possible is the best attack at writing a blog or article. After all if someone wants to read a book they will go buy one.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Not blog posts three words long... but a three word theme or idea that helps motivate you. -- M
Kate says:

Very nice stuff Really man its very informative and helpful for my blogs. Thanks to share Thumbs up :)
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks Kate - what's your mantra? -- Michael
Sonali Joshi says:

Ya, i also beleive in three-word catch lines for any blog....
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks Sonali - what's yours?
Argie Monroy says:

Even though they might just be three word blogs, they do a lot well. These blogs above are great blogs to start with. Perhaps making yours a three-word blog really works LOL
Jean Paul says:

Nice article even though I disagree with you. I think Guy invented this concept because too many people get caught up in the "mission statement" mindset. He wanted to teach people to simplify things. At the end of the day, spending time on a mantra is low on the list of a profit oriented business owner's priority. Sure, it makes you feel good but does it really put food on the table? Now, the point here is not to say that mantras are not valuable. However, market research and finding out what people are willing to pay for is a much better use of time. I am bringing this up because there is so much attention given to abstract concepts whilst the concrete staff is left out of discussion.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks, John Paul. A lot of bloggers / business owners aren't ready to monetize yet. A lot of bloggers / business owners will never be ready to monetize because they quit too soon. A mantra is one way to keep yourself motivated and on track. -- Michael
  - Michael Alexis says:
    
    P.S: Nice interviews.
gustie says:

I never give a think about it before, i really get inspiration. next time, i will try to practice it. good luck to everyone!!!
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks. What's your mantra?
Dheeraj says:

My blog mantra is " More u Surf, More u Gain" and I really like blog mantra of SEOmoz | white hat works. because I agree with the blog mantra. White hat really works.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks Dheeraj! Love the manta - good luck with your blog.
Isha Singh says:

My mantra is "Learn better ways to blog", more than 3 words but motivates me whenever needed.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Love it. Thanks for sharing your motivation!
Karan says:

Well, I never gave this point a serious thought. I guess you've got a pretty strong point there. Wow! a great observation.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks - did you read the post?
Fran Aslam the Onlinewriter says:

Hi Michael: I did read your blog post. So the three words are "Build Better Blog" or "how to build blog" one of these are, great Mantra I suppose, and I have a feeling everyone tries to follow these too. Thanks for the post. Fran A
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks for the feedback Fran!
Latief says:

Hi Michael, My blog is Simple Blogging Tips and I never realize that there are such mantra, lol! Please check if the mantra is work for me, with simple blogging tips my blog is at #1 Google ;) Thanks for sharing interesting and very useful article Mike.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  I like it!
Toni says:

The three word mantras are really good idea, focuses the reader's attention and gives them an overview of exactly what it is all about. Almost a "mini" mission statement.
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Exactly - whats your mantra Toni?
Nasrul Hanis says:

Great idea. Tagline should be simple but holistic!
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Thanks - whats your mantra?
  - Nasrul Hanis says:
    
    I would like to use "passion for blogging"! Thank Michael - you inspired me to apply these mantra for my blogs!
    - Michael Alexis says:
      
      Love it. Thanks Nasrul and good luck!
Delena Silverfox says:

Yknow, I've been thinking about reviving an old blog of mine that was my truest passion (not much money in it, but where there's a will...) and I honestly think, after much consideration and meditation, my 3-word mantra would be "life rocks, yo!" My blog never took itself seriously, but it tackled a lot of serious topics and gave it all a spin to help everyone come that much closer to enlightenment. Delena
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  FOLLOW YOUR TRUEST PASSION! life does rock - and if you are able to channel that into value-added posts, then I don't see why your blog couldn't be profitable. May just require creativity...
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  FOLLOW YOUR TRUEST PASSION! life does rock. Channel that into value added posts and you will find a way to make it profitable! -- Michael
Aj Clarke says:

I actually like this post a lot. It's very short and simple, but there is great message here. If you want to be successful you have to not only believe in what you do but also live it and breathe it. I see a lot of people that try blogging about one thing and give up too quickly and start blogging about something else. If you really want to be successful you have to stick to what you know but most importantly what you like and believe in.
Harriet says:

Three word blog's are a brilliant idea! Sometimes just a few words can make the biggest impact! A bit like minimalist music! Even the smallest selection of notes can make a big effect!
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  That is a very poetic way of putting it :- ) What's your mantra Harriet?
doug_eike says:

After reading your article, I am unsure of the applications for the three-word mantra. Are you suggesting replacing the tag line with the mantra? Ideally, perhpas, the blogger should have thought of the mantra before choosing a blog title. I like the idea of three concise words to use in conversation, but is there a relationship between the three-word mantra concept and keywords, etc? Thanks for the tip!
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Not necessarily. As discussed in the some of the other comments it is easy to imagine how some of the examples could also be taglines, ie. "build better blogs", or "earn more money" - but "inspire more entrepreneurs" probably isn't optimal keyword targeting. Maybe another way to think of your mantra is an easy way of expressing your value proposition. This could be a quick reminder to yourself of WHY you blog, or a succinct way of communicating the theme to readers.
Trudy says:

My blog name should be "TV on PC" I love the idea of breaking things back down to simple terms. Everywhere you look people are putting "mud in the water" when all that is needed is a set phrase, genius!
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  TV on PC - I like it!
Alexis says:

Hey Alexis, By the way we share a same first name. I got your idea of mantra for my blog last year. Mine is more than three words but I feel It's very important.Would you recommend me to reduce it to three words and what are your reasons?
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  I'm actually a "Michael" ;- ) What's your mantra? I don't think "three" is a magic number here - but precision and clarity in as few words as possible is ideal.
  - Alexis says:
    
    My mantra is "Applied Knowledge Equals Wealth Creation" visit www.alexiskenne.com to see it.
    - Michael Alexis says:
      
      I like it. The "motivational" mantra here could be something like "share more knowledge".
Ryan Biddulph says:

Hi Michael, A super helpful post which gave me a great idea. Shortness and directness helps you connect to your readership. So much easier to use short and punchy words and phrase, don't you think? Thanks for sharing Michael! Ryan
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Howdy Ryan, Thanks for sharing - have you got a mantra for Cash with a true conscience? The domain really could be a mantra... -- Michael
Dennis Edell says:

Interesting, I think I had one all along and never realized it. I dunno if I should tell you though, it happens to be the one and only long tail keyword I have so far. Come to think of it, is that the point? Should this 3-word mantra be one of the long-tails you're shooting for?
- Michael Alexis says:
  
  Interesting point. In some cases I expect there would be overlap... but for us "Help More Writers" is more like a micro-mission statement that is more for motivation, direction, etc. than marketing. With a few of the examples it is easy to imagine mission and longtail combining though: ie. earn more money, make money blogging, do it yourself
  - Dennis Edell says:
    
    I suddenly realize how silly it was for me to say I shouldn't tel ya...it's right there in my name field. lol
    - Michael Alexis says:
      
      I overlooked it - thanks for the heads up!
Michael Alexis says:

love the picture, thanks for adding it.
- Hesham says:
  
  No problem Michael , thanks for the post! I haven't actually thought about the three words before!
  - Michael Alexis says:
    
    Is "Build Better Blogs" the right mantra for Famous Bloggers, or do you have another one in mind?
    - Hesham says:
      
      It's actually "how to blog", but I like the "build better blogs"!
      - Michael Alexis says:
        
        Nice - I'm looking forward to see how the other readers sum up their blogs in three words.

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