Branding Your Blog – Part 2: Branding Tips

If you’re launching a new business or blog, changing direction, or simply ready to take things to the next level, then the Branding Your Blog series is for you!

In Part 1 of Branding Your Blog, we talked about what branding is + why it’s so important. Today in Part 2, I’m sharing my best branding tips so you can better brand your blog.

Many individual bloggers build their website and create content without considering the ‘image’ they want to present. It’s important to take some time to think through your brand and its significance for your content moving forward.

To help you, here are nine of my best branding tips to get your blog brand on the right track!

1. Come up with the perfect blog name. Your blog name sets the tone for your blog. So picking the perfect blog name (and domain name, tip #2) that attracts potential visitors/clients, is memorable and projects the message you want to convey, can be one of the biggest challenges when starting or rebranding your blog.  Questions to ask yourself: Is your blog’s name related to you, your audience or product brand? Will you use your personal name? Will you include search-friendly terms in the name? Is it easy to spell? Is it memorable? You can read how to come up with the perfect blog name in 3 steps here.
2. Choose a memorable domain name. I highly recommend you start using your own domain name and a self-hosted wordpress site. You can learn How To Start A Blog in 3 easy steps (with self-hosting here).  So in addition to selecting the perfect name, it’s critical to get the URL that matches it!
3. Give your blog a tagline. A tagline adds understanding into your blog’s personality and content. Note: if your name explains what your blog is about, you can forgo this tip. For example: the Your Marketing BFF name explains what the blog is about, but I could also add a tagline of marketing, branding, design blog + shop to clearly state my blog’s content.
4. Keep it clean. You know I’m the gal that likes to keep things simple… and simple does not mean boring! Using lots of white space and having a place for your eyes to focus on is very important. Keeping your sidebars clean and design elements minimal will keep your site looking professional (and not overwhelming).  Take a peek at a few of the sites featured in the 2016 Blogging Trends to see what I mean.
5. Color is important. Your blog’s color palette is an important element of branding. Think about the statement you want to make about your blog. Is it serene/peaceful? Bold? Romantic? It’s best to limit your palette to two or three colors that evoke the right emotions. You can read more about color meanings here.
6. Keep things consistent. Place your logo in your blog header. Stay within the same color palette and main typefaces. Don’t change it up often – if you do, it looks like you’re indecisive! Note: It’s okay to remove things that you don’t need or feel like they are no longer working.
7. Create a voice and personality for your blog. Think about how your posts will be written and sound to the reader. Think about how you want your blog to engage and be perceived by the reader. I write as if I’m talking to one person, a best friend, and we’re having a nice one-on-one conversation.
8. Determine the topics and main keywords your blog will cover. I believe you should make your subject narrow in focus, so that you’re perceived to dominate a specific niche. Even if you’re a lifestyle blogger, try to narrow your topics and/or categories to say 5 subjects. Don’t forget, keywords influence your post subjects, titles and categories.  And for SEO (search engine optimization) they’re very important to the growth of your blog.
9. Set a consistent publishing schedule. From a branding perspective, you’re going to want to set a consistent live post schedule. Determine the days and frequency based on your audience and subject matter. For example, my current schedule, is once a week, Tuesday morning at 6:00am.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my best branding tips so you can better brand your blog – and keep it on the right track!

Next week we’ll finish up our Branding Your Blog series with Part 3: Real Life Examples.

Ciao.

Main Image: Photo by Emmy Lowe. Cover Design by Your Marketing BFF