Blog branding basics.

So you started a blog, and now you have to brand it.  Does your blog have a clear brand?  Can someone see something that you created and know that it is yours even if your name or logo are not even on it?

Not only must you have your perfect niche for your blog, but you also need to have a great brand to be really successful.

A clear brand is like a well put together woman.  You know the one, makeup perfect, every hair in place, nails on point, the perfect outfit, with just the right accessories.  The kind of person you know has it going on!

That description about the well put together woman believe it or not is like a well branded blog.  Think of it like this, you are going to a cocktail party and you don’t want your blog to show up in some mismatched clothes.  You want your brand to be cohesive and fit together beautifully.

What is a brand?

A brand, specifically YOUR blog branding is basically your blog or businesses personality.  It’s the name, logo, fonts you use, colors, voice, what you share and so much more.  Your brand is you!

Blog branding is what helps your readers get to know you and to trust you.  Your brand is what makes them fall in love with what you create, what you do.  Your brand is the representation of everything that you do for and with your blog.

In a sea of millions of blogs your brand helps you stand out from the crowd.

There are literally millions of blogs online all clamoring for readers attention.  By giving your readers a great brand experience you will keep them coming back for more.  People like consistency.  There is comfort in consistency.  When things are inconsistent it creates discomfort and mistrust.

Have you ever been to a business that had all kinds of different hours?  You try to go once, twice, maybe three times but they were always closed?  This has happened to me, this inconsistency was annoying and unprofessional so I chose to take my business elsewhere.  Inconsistency is uncomfortable, consistency feels right.

Finding your brand.

Before you can bring your brand to life you need to find it.  You can create your brand to be exactly what you want your representation to be.  Maybe your blog is not exactly where you want it to be, but you need to treat it as if it were.  Your blog may only be in the beginning stages, but that is all the more reason why you need to find your brand now.

Blog branding is fun!  You can craft your brand to be exactly how you want to be perceived.  Do you want to show the world that you are fun and quirky?  Build a fun and quirky brand!

How do you imagine your brand?  Do you imagine your brand to be sleek and sophisticated?  Or maybe you imagine it to be light hearted and whimsical.  What adjectives describe what you want your brand to be?

To be able to create your brand you need to be able to describe your brand.

So go ahead, think of about 10 brand keywords you can use to describe your brand.  What is the overall theme of those words?  Refer to those keywords when building your brand.

A brand is subtle, yet it’s always right in front of your face.

Think about Starbucks, that’s a company that has branding gold.   When you go into a Starbucks you will see the green mermaid logo, beautiful tumblers, delicious fun coffees and contemporary music.  The Starbucks brand is not only the physical things that I mentioned, it’s an experience.  Branding is not only things, it’s a feeling, it’s an experience.

Think about the brands you cherish, what makes you love them so much?  What feeling do they give you?  What can you learn from your favorite brands that you can carry into your own brand?

Your consistent brand should weave through every aspect of your blog.  Blog branding is not simple because it needs to be well thought out, but you can do it!  Brainstorm exactly what message you would like your blog to send and send that message with everything you say, do and create.

Branding your blog clearly and consistently.

Because your brand is so important, it’s also important that your brand is clear.  The best way to have a clear brand is to be consistent.  You don’t want to be inconsistent or your blog will appear to have an identity crisis!  If one day your brand is cute and feminine and the next day it’s dark and brooding that would be confusing.  

Don’t forget about the store from my story that kept changing its hours. I could not trust this brand because it was too inconsistent.  The same thing can happen with your blog.  You may not have actual hours, but if your readers see you have no brand consistency they won’t trust your words or your products! #HarshTruth

Brand inconsistency will cause your readers to be like me with that store, we will give up and go somewhere else and that is exactly what you do not want to happen.

The front line of branding.

Your brand name is your blog or business name.  Choosing a name for your blog should never be an afterthought. Don’t choose a blog name just because the domain is available.  Choose a blog name that represents your brand and makes what you do crystal clear.

Your blog name is the front line of your brand.  Your blog name is the beginning of your brand experience for your readers.  Therefore you don’t want them to feel any negative feelings toward your brand or they won’t return.

A name that is confusing to your readers will cause discomfort.  People always move away from discomfort.

When blog branding, the next important element is your tagline.  Your tagline is the one sentence that sums up your blog perfectly.  Your tagline is what reinforces and clarifies your brand name.  Your tagline should also invoke a positive feeling about your brand.

Blog branding is something that to be done well, must be deliberate.  You can’t leave your branding up to chance to be successful in todays blogging market.

Color and branding.

Blog branding with color is one of the easiest and most consistent tools you have.  You can easily use the same group of colors for everything you do.  Your blog, your products, your business cards, your logo, your Pinterest pins, anything that is tied to your brand can have your branding palette colors.

Choosing your brand colors can take some time and effort, but it is a fun part of the branding puzzle.  Use colors to reinforce your positive branding experience.  If you are having difficulty understanding the design principles and what colors complement each other take a cue from the paint companies.

You can go to your local hardware store and use all the color tools provided by the different paint companies.  They have spent millions of dollars on coordinating colors, different shades of colors and anything color you can imagine . You can use their expertise for free!

Color psychology is also something to consider…

Different colors create different feelings. “Researchers found that up to 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone, depending on the product.”

• Red – Passion
• Orange – Creative
• Yellow – Happiness
• Green – Safety
• Blue – Trustworthy
• Purple – Royalty
• Black – Elegance
• White – Purity

There are so many colors and variations of colors that you can use in your blog branding.  Your branding palette of colors should pair well and complement each other as well as invoke a positive feeling and brand experience.  

Blog branding with typography (a fancy way to say fonts).

Blog branding by using two to three different fonts consistently will keep your branding strong.  By using the same fonts for everything that you do, your readers will see your fonts and colors and begin to recognize you before they even see your name.

Elna Cain from Twins Mommy is fabulous at branding her Pinterest pins.  Whenever I see her pins on Pinterest I know exactly who’s pins they are without even seeing her name because her fonts, images and cheerful colors give her pins away every time.

Branding a blog with a logo.

When you are blog branding, having an identifiable logo will really help your blog get noticed.  Having a professional logo can set you apart from the competition.  Your logo is a great way to create brand recognition without saying a word.  A logo doesn’t have to be complicated.

Some of my favorite logos are Pinterest, Firefox, Macintosh and  YouTube.  These brands incorporate their colors into the logo and they are quite clever!  Macintosh has to be one of the best logo’s of all time.  It’s so simple and tempting, it really makes you want what they are selling!  YouTube’s logo is also pretty brilliant, one little play symbol says exactly what YouTube is.

Branding a blog with images.

Even the images you use on your blog help your readers identify with your brand.  I don’t get to do a lot of the photos myself for my blog posts which is something that I would like to change.

There are some beautiful stock photos out there that you can use to stay on brand, however, they may never be 100% completely on brand unless you learn to take those photos yourself because no one knows your brand like you do.

Images are a visual representation of your brand.  You will not only need to have beautiful images but images that are on brand with the color palette.  There can be different variations of color but if you have a blog with a masculine theme baby powder pink might stick out like a sore thumb.

How to stay on brand.

Stay on brand with a branding board.  A branding board is a board that you keep in front of you each time you do anything with your blog.  This board houses your name, tagline, brand colors, logo and typography.  Whatever information you need to have that pertains to your brand when you are creating for your blog is what should be on your branding board.

A branding board keeps you focused.  You cannot create a consistent brand if you are not all over the place.

A branding board is great because if you have anyone do any work for you they too can refer to your branding board and easily stay on brand.

What should you brand?

You should brand anything and everything that has to do with your business!  The Kardashians, love them or hate them are branding gurus.  They managed to brand the entire “Kardashian Klan” with all of their K’s, glamour, booties and money.  They built an entire empire on their brand.  You don’t need a big bootie to be successful but you can learn from their branding genius.

Let’s recap the blog branding basics:

1. A brand is your blog’s identity.  It’s a feeling and an experience people get when they read your blog.
2. A good brand sets you apart from the competition.
3. Find your brand with branding keywords.
4. Look at other brands and how they create a brand experience to help you understand branding.
5. Be consistent with your brand.
6. Your blog name is your brand name it is the front line of your brand so keep that in mind when choosing your brand name.
7. A tagline reinforces and clarifies your brand name.
8. The branding color palette and the psychology behind the colors help create a positive brand experience.
9. Use consistent fonts for brand clarity.
10. Your logo is part of your brand, therefore keep it simple yet clever for best results!
11. Images should stay consistent with your brand.
12. Stay on brand with a branding board.
13. What should you brand?  Everything you say, do and create with your blog.

So there you have it, blog branding is something you can do with some time and effort.  What are some of your favorite brands?  So how have you branded your blog?  Let me know in the comments because I would love to hear about it!