There are more than 30 million bloggers in the U.S. right now–and that number is growing by leaps and bounds every day!
So if you’re thinking about starting a blog, blog branding is something that should be on your radar. It doesn’t matter if you’re jumpstarting a blog about baking, cars, cooking, or something else. Branding is going to be of the utmost importance if you want your blog to take off.
So, how can you brand your blog effectively? It all starts with choosing the right name for your blog and the right URL. You want something people will remember the next time they want to visit your blog.
But picking out a blog name and URL is just the beginning. There is so much more that goes into blog branding.
Here is a complete guide to helping you make a name for yourself.
Figure Out What Your Niche Is Going to Be
The first thing you want to do when you begin blogging is figure out what your specific niche is going to be. What is it about your blog that is going to make you unique?
It’s good to get as specific as you possibly can when it comes to determining your niche. It’s what will set you apart from other blogs just like yours.
Rather than starting a blog about, say, baking that attempts to cover the entire baking industry, whittle it down and get more specific. Start a baking blog that covers the different techniques and recipes you can use to bake things for kids, people with allergies, or even picky eaters.
By taking this approach, you’ll find that your blog will appeal to a certain group of people. You’ll be better off doing blog branding this way as opposed to trying to appeal to everyone at once.
Take a Look at What Your Competition Is Doing
Know what you’re up against before you start blogging on a regular basis. Check out blogs that are a little bit like yours and see what they’re doing and what’s working for them.
You obviously don’t want to copy their formula for success. But you can get a better idea of what you’re up against and, more importantly, find more ways you can differentiate your blog.
By taking a closer look at several competing blogs, you might come up with a great idea to do something no one else is doing right now. That’ll make it easy to brand your blog.
Decide Which Topics You’re Going to Cover on Your Blog
As you discover your niche and scope out your competition, you should start to get a good idea of the types of topics you want to cover on your blog.
Generate a long list of topics that you think would be good for your blog. Generally speaking, you’re going to be in great shape if you can come up with between 25 and 50 blog topics off the top.
That will give you a great starting point and allow you to hit the ground running.
Think About How You’re Going to Present Your Content
Now that you have a bunch of topics ready to go, think about how you’re going to take those topics and turn them into content. Are you going to:
- Write 1,000-word blog posts for each of them?
- Create funny top-10 lists related to all of them?
- Shoot video blogs that incorporate them?
- Some combination of all of these things?
Your goal as a blogger should be to create content that is interesting and informative while also being highly shareable. You want people to read your blog and say, “I need to send this to my mom/friend/brother/roommate/neighbor right now!”
That will help spread the word about your blog organically.
Come Up With a Unique Voice for Your Blog
One of the other things that are going to set your blog apart from the pack is the voice that you use on it.
Your voice can be serious, silly, sarcastic, or whatever else you want it to be. But just make sure it’s your voice and that it reflects what you want your blog to sound like.
No matter how you choose to present your content to the world, it’s ultimately your voice that is either going to attract people to you or send them looking for a different blog.
Incorporate the Right Keywords Into Your Blog
Regardless of what niche you choose to cover, there are going to be certain keywords you should incorporate into your blogs whenever possible. These keywords will help bring in traffic from those searching for them on search engines.
In the beginning, you might not want to worry too, too much about incorporating keywords into your content and boosting your site’s search engine optimization. It’s better to focus on finding your voice and presenting your content in interesting ways.
But over time, you should research which keywords you can use to make it easier for people to find your blog on their own.
Schedule Blogs to Go Up at Specific Times of the Day and Week
If you make blog branding a priority from the start, you should begin to build up a loyal following with your blog. People will come to your site regularly to check out what you have to say about whatever topic you specialize in writing about.
Develop a posting schedule so that there’s always fresh content for people to check out. Nothing will bring your blog down quicker than if you randomly decide to stop posting on it for a month.
It’ll chase people away and undo all of the blog branding you already did.
Utilize Social Media to Take Your Blog to New Heights
Social media has made it even simpler for bloggers to get the word about their blogs out there into the world. One great tweet or amazing Facebook post could potentially put your blog on the map if it happens to go viral.
Sign up for social media accounts for your site and post a combination of links to blogs and your thoughts on your niche on Facebook, Twitter, and more. It’ll make your presence felt beyond just your blog.
Hire a Branding Agency to Help
Initially, you should be able to handle everything that goes into blog branding. But as your blog grows and you have more and more responsibilities to take care of, you might need a hand.
There are branding agencies that can step in and take over the branding aspect of things. They can also handle marketing, social media posting, and other things. Learn more about how a branding agency might be able to assist you as your blog moves up the ranks.
Use Blog Branding to Establish Yourself as a Serious Blogger
Don’t let the fact that there are 30 million bloggers in the U.S. scare you. You can still start a blog and turn it into a major success with hard work.
Just make sure you keep blog branding in the back of your mind at all times. By branding your blog, you’ll increase the chances of it being successful and give yourself the opportunity to share your views with more people.
Read our blog for more tips on launching a blog.