Blog Tipz

Blogs reflect the people that started them, they are a showcase of what you are capable of creating. When you don’t start a blog out on the right foot it is a reflection of the blog owner. As someone who likes to start multiple projects, I find myself doing this all the time – not focusing on branding from the onslaught of each new startup.

This is a huge problem, and there are only a few ways to combat this, especially if you want to see your blog headed to new places, to new heights and ultimately, help you get something more out of your time.

Each new blog you create should be treated as a clean slate, a new start. Lay down a crisp sheet of paper, and imagine how you want to present it to the world.

All Blogs Shouldn’t be “Default”

Some blogs are able to get by with a default template. More than anything else, you shouldn’t leave it as is. Having no previous experience coding a theme, it can be extremely difficult to get started. This is why you need to have a starting place. Install a default template, but make it your own, expand it over time.

Visitors value great content more than your theme, and if you have dull content, you likely have a well-designed theme at least if you have reached some level of popularity.

There is a fine line to draw between having a “great” theme and one that allows you to get by. Choose the great option, but you’ll still have to follow it up with good content.

Logo and Branding Identity

Stop for a second and take a closer look at the best logo designs. Although many are now set in Helvetica font and are only drawn forward with subliminal messages, they are still how the company chose to brand itself. Blogs are no different.

Starting out with the clean slate, you can either choose to have an expressive logo that says a million things about your brand and company, or you can choose one that is simple, solid, defined, and lays squarely on the top of a framework of great, new ideas that you have built up.

Even the most recognizable brands go through phases where people can’t distinguish them from the next company selling a competing project. With millions of new blogs created each year, the only way to truly separate yourself from the herd of ambitious people is to define your brand early and stick with it.

The Most Effective Path

They say that we have two paths to travel down – the popular one and the one less traveled. Decide for yourself which one you want to travel down, but stick with it. Even if you want to forge your own path, go for it. It could end up leading you a more successful position than the other paths, which don’t really help separate you from the vicious circle of other people.

Most new bloggers avoid the fact that they won’t get anywhere unless they are able to determine what works best for them in terms of branding. Connecting with other people and building out your brand from there is  a great place to start, but not the last criteria for developing a successful strategy.

There are companies that have been able to stick with a single strategy over the course of their life, while others have had to change it multiple times, struggling to grasp what is required to attract new customers – readers, in the case of your blog.

Brainstorm

All blogs can’t fit into a cookie-cutter mold of sorts. Some won’t fill it, while others will be too large to even make a difference. Your goals will ultimately help you decide upon where you want to take your blog, and this fits in with your branding approach. Play and experiment with new ideas that could help you make an impact in the niche that you have entered.

The average person isn’t able to progress and move forward without having background, new ideas, and a formula for attaining at least a portion of their dreams.

Just because your blog was started on a whim doesn’t mean that it has to continue (or end) that way.

Start Ahead

Brandable domains are harder to come by today than ever before. Unless you can snatch up a domain that was already heavily marketed, you might have to settle for words that don’t make a lot of sense until you apply them to your domain. Using your name is one option, but only if you use your blog to market yourself in a way that is ultimately selling your services (conferences, products, etc.).

A good domain is both recognizable, easy to type, and is able to stick with your website for a longer period of time than some of its content. Even though you might trade ownership or discontinue daily posting on your blog, people will still remember that it did once exist, and this is the biggest benefit to branding properly.

Appeal to Your Audience

Above all else, your audience needs to benefit from what you are delivering. First you have to appeal to your audience, in some ways getting inside their heads, discovering what they are looking for.

Appear to know more than them, but don’t expose it in a way that makes your visitors think that it is impossible to learn what you know. After all, should you be unable to continue your tradition, you’ll need a set of followers who can continue on the trade, even if it may be dying (blogging isn’t, as of now).

Engage your visitors and readers in interactive and community-based features, all of which help improve your image, especially when blogs are sometimes put down for not being the most reliable source of information – the barrier to entry is extremely low.

Lastly, Be Consistent from the Start

The last point that I want to make is that you need to remain consistent without being negative. In other words, don’t be consistent in delivering sponsored content to your most loyal readers. You want to be consistent in delivering well-crafted and though out content that can be absorbed for years to come.

Sponsored content and ads that you deliver to your readers really isn’t your content, you are simply helping promote the brands of others. When people see this on your site, they may think that you are just a subsidiary of that main company, and this often dissuades some from returning.