Turn Your Blog into a Brand

Most bloggers aim high when starting to blog and the ultimate goal for many is to be able to monetise and blog full time. To do this you’ll need to attract the attention of both readers, and brands by standing out and creating a niche for yourself. In other words, you need to create your own brand.

You need to create a recognisable and memorable impact on each visitor to your site- they need to know what to expect from you and be confident in your content. Confident enough to come back again and again. In order to achieve this there are various details you need to consider and refine, in order to turn your blog into a recognisable and trusted brand.

The Aesthetics

Think seriously about how you want your blog to look and how you can achieve that. Although you don’t want every post to look identical, it is good to settle on a theme.

Colours- Start off by thinking about the colours you want running through your blog. Perhaps a combination of 3 pastel colours for a beauty blog, or simple black and white can work well. Stick with your chosen colours throughout, in posts, logos and social.

Font- Pick a font that suits your style. If you’re blog is quite stylistic pick a header font that suits your style. If you like to keep things minimalist than make sure your font feeds into that too. Fonts can actually make a huge difference to the way your blog looks, so play around with a few before you settle.

Photography style- Develop a style and stick with it. Do you like a highly polished and edited style? Then take the time to stick with this and edit EVERY image accordingly. Remember this is about creating a brand, continuity is key.

The Tone

Work on your writing style. Do you like to keep things as light-hearted as possible, or is your style fairly analytical and in depth? Once you’ve worked this out, try and stick with this tome throughout. People will be thrown off if they come to you expecting an in-depth review, and instead are met with an overly jokey piece.

Do a little research, and work out why people come to you. Once you have a better understanding of your readership you’ll be far better equipped to cater for them.

Your Logo

This isn’t for every blogger, but a great logo can help create an identity for your blog. You could either consider asking a designer for help, or if you don’t have a budget try creating one yourself! If you’ve settled on a colour theme it’s best to stick with this. A logo used on social media channels and your blog can give a great sense of uniform.

Your Target Audience

Who reads your blog? Is your audience fairly young, or do you cater to a professional readership? Once you have worked this out you’ll be able to figure most of the rest out pretty easily. For example, if you have a young, female audience this will give you an idea of the type of brands you should be aiming to work with, as well as the kind of vibe your blog should have. The same goes if you have a very family orientated readership- you’ll know to tweak your tone accordingly.

Are you building your own brand? Give us tips in the comments below!

NB: We first posted this at the end of 2013, and have now edited  it.