9 Crazy Tips For Branding Your Blog (+3 Inspiration Sites)
You know how to write great blog posts.
You also know the basic SEO and all.
But: That isn’t enough.
Besides all this stuff, what you need is a perfect branding strategy for your blog.
Whether you are a new blogger or doing it for a while, you may have some queries regarding the perfect way to launch a blog through branding in a record time.
Either you want to brand your blog to grow your business, or you may want to do it for personal branding or any other reason.
Or maybe you want to learn some advances in a minimalistic branding approach.
No matter in which position you are right now, this blog post on branding your blog will cover all the essential details to brand your blog the right way.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
Why do you want to brand your blog?
Before taking a step forward in blog branding, you should ask yourself the reason for branding your blog.
You might be stepping up either due to:
- Fame
- Money
- Building Connections
- Personal Branding
Or any other reason.
Asking this question and answering it instantly will make it clear in your head about what you want to achieve. You will be one step closer to your brand blogging success.
This leads us to why branding your blog is important.
Benefits of blog branding
Without any doubt, building a brand in blogging has all the wins. It helps you expand your blog’s reach by various mediums such as:
- Brand mentions in authority sites.
- Social media mentions.
- Invitation to the various conferences & podcasts.
- Improvement in communication & leadership skills.
- Quality Backlinks (In automation).
- Increment in revenue.
And lots of other advantages.
In short, if you are blogging as a business, you are building authority & you are blogging the right way. Besides this, Brand blogging also gives you extra exposure in improving your digital marketing skills.
It will help you change your blogging mindset by building your path towards an authority blogger.
With that out of the way, let’s discuss some proven tips to brand your blog the right way.
9 Tips to Carve a Perfect Brand Out of Your Blog
1. Stick to a specific content writing strategy –
This is important yet most of us don’t dig deeper into it.
I know many of us to like to write on various topics assuming that writing on a single niche will help you run out of ideas easily.
This is untrue.
Writing on a single niche/category has larger benefits. While writing on different topics may lead you to trouble.
Why?
If you are blogging for a while, you may have read at least some of the guidelines by Google. One of them suggests bloggers craft their blog on a single niche.
Doing this not only helps in welcoming more & more targeted customers but also improves your blog post rankings through internal linking.
Inter-linking posts is a ranking factor by Google & it is only possible if you focus on writing relevant posts.
That’s the main reason why your blog needs a niche-specific content marketing strategy. However, many famous bloggers dive into different categories after finish writing on the prior one.
You can do the same once you become a celebrated blogger. But for now, maintain relations with a single niche.
This leads us to the next tip…
2. Choose a suitable domain name & tagline –
A domain name & the blog tagline play an important role in placing your blog before your audience.
But what makes them so important?
A domain name is a name given to your blog/website.
For Example, My domain name is www.scaleblogging.com. It helps users identify my blog topics.
By looking at my domain name, they make sure that I am a blogging guy & will not provide any irrelevant information related to health or fitness.
Similarly, you can come up with a great domain name that is relevant to your niche, easy to remember & binding with the policies.
Try to avoid hyphenated domains. A few months back, I bought a domain name with a hyphen.
As it involved a hyphen in it, I had to stop using it. The hyphen doesn’t harm
your blog directly but has a negative indirect SEO impact.
Back in the days, when I used to tell my friends about my previous blog, they often omitted the “Hyphen” sign which would land them on some other sites.
That’s the main reason why even the sites like Moz discourage the use of hyphenated domains.
Book your favorite domain name with Bluehost at a reasonable cost.
On the other hand, your blog tagline is another important part to observe. If you are using WordPress, you can customize your tagline from the CUSTOMIZE section in the admin panel.
Tagline helps your users understand your mission & vision statement & what you stand strong for.
For example, ScaleBlogging tagline follows – Blogging Tactics for Proven Results
This helps my audience understand my blog better.
In short, “A Relevant Unique Random Tagline” is better than “Just Another WordPress Site”.
3. Use a unique brand logo –
Your logo needs to look better. You can be creative or even use a simple yet appealing logo. You can even write your blog name as a logo in a minimalistic font just like Scale Blogging.
A logo is your first impression. I have seen many people judging sites based on their logo. I know it is not an ideal way to audit a site but people do it.
So you & I need to design a logo according to their needs.
Even if you are not a special graphic designer like me, Canva can help you in making things super easy while creating any type of logo.
Using a proper logo can help increase the trust among your audience which in turn can lead to more clients & even more sales.
Give time in designing your logo. As usual, it will only get better with the trial, modifications & errors.
4. Nail the About page –
Initially, I used to give less importance to the about us page.
I used to think, “Who would care to read about who I am & what I do”. But over time, I learned the importance of creating a perfect about us page.
That’s the main reason why I have built a legit & appealing about us page for Scale Blogging.
After reading your blog post, if a user likes your content, the first thing that he/she will do is to jump on your about section to read about who you are.
To benefit the most out of your about page, you should include the following stuff in it:
- A perfect bio about yourself & your blog.
- Your mission, vision statement & pain points of your audience.
- Your success/failure story.
- A hook/CTA (e.g. an email opt-in form).
- Your social account links.
- Social proofs (achievements).
By including the above elements, your part of developing a superb about page is over. This will also help in receiving paid sponsorships & from brands/companies.
You can also have a look at a Scale Blogging about page for inspiration. (I keep modifying it over time).
For more details, have a look at this video by Pat Flynn:
5. A minimalistic design is appreciated –
Minimalism is the key to success in any field. The same goes for blogging.
But what exactly does it mean?
Minimalism is the process to make a certain thing attractive & jaw-dropping by using as few elements as possible. The minimalistic approach is mostly adopted by graphic designers who are given the tasks to design complex graphics more simply.
Learn more about the significance of minimalism from here.
To understand minimalism better, do check out popular company sites like Apple, Nike, OnePlus. Almost many of them use minimalism to keep things simple yet effective.
Luckily, if you are using WordPress, then you do not need to worry about designing a minimalistic site.
This is because there are a variety of plugins & themes that can assists you in doing so.
For example, while creating a design for the homepage, archive page, posts, or any other page, you can use Elementor Pro. It fulfills each & every purpose of designing the best of all.
Besides this, Elementor is the leading WordPress page builder with easy drag & drop features that are beginner-friendly.
On the other hand, using a good theme is also important for your blog.
Themes like Generate Press premium does a great job to make sure that each & every page loads super-fast. It is one of the best & lightweight themes with various features out there.
At one time, you can compromise with other aspects but your blog design should be up to date. It is one thing that fits your audience’s mind and creates a huge impact.
That’s why colors play a huge role in building long-term relationships with your audience.
After all, minimalism is all about using fewer things as possible. If we talk about colors, try to use at most 2-4 colors for your sites.
In this way, users can create a psychological image of your blog.
For example, The main brand color of Scale Blogging is Cinnabar which is a part of the red family.
Similarly, you can use a free site like Coolors to find the perfect color palettes.
Therefore, don’t go for perfection, try minimalism 🙂
6. Connect with other bloggers –
If you need to grow & expand, you need to walk together.
Let’s face it:
No single person can achieve everything without the aid of a group/team of people. That’s why you need to connect with other bloggers, build some genuine connections & learn from them.
If not today or tomorrow, a few yet genuine connections can help you in achieving your goals in the future.
To connect with other authority bloggers, you can use the following medium:
- Social media (Mainly LinkedIn or Twitter)
- A greeting email.
- Contact page from their blogs.
- The comment section below their posts.
Etc.
Building a connection with high authority sites is one of the main reasons why Adam Enfroy established himself as an authority blogger within 2 years.
Publishing more blog posts quickly can be another reason for his quick success in blogging.
Building blog connections will increase your brand identity.
Start doing it from today.
7. Set a specific time to publish blog posts –
This is optional but it helps.
Publishing your blog content on a specific date & time has multiple benefits.
For example: Suppose you are publishing new blog posts on weekends.
In this case, you should try to maintain the same ratio throughout your blogging life.
In this way, your readers will know when to expect fresh content. Also, search crawlers will crawl & index your posts quickly once they come to know that you have set a specific blog posting procedure.
Consistency & velocity in posting quality content will always help you in either way.
8. Approach for Guest Posting –
Be it a beginner blogger or one who is doing it for years, this method has always been of great help.
Approaching for guest posting on other sites will help you to:
- Increase your site’s authority (DA & PA).
- A new audience will find & follow you.
- Passive traffic & leads to your site.
- Increment in social media followers.
- Boost in brand identity.
And lots more.
When you are just starting, try to find sites of medium authority. After all, you will not get a chance to publish for Forber or Entrepreneur when you don’t have any prior achievements.
Keep posting on as many sites as possible to create a bucket of social proof that can later help you in contributing to your dream blog.
9. Write in simple yet effective language –
You don’t need to be a great writer or an author to achieve success in blogging.
All you need is a handful of storytelling skills that can be interpreted in a simple & clear manner. You don’t want to chase away your readers by using complex words.
The simpler you write; the more time your users will spend on your site.
Though writing in a simple language pays off, you need to make sure that your writing is free of typos & grammatical errors.
Grammarly does a great job of solving this problem. With their free chrome extension, you will be able to make your writing clear & concise.
On the other hand, your fonts also affect your brand.
This means that you should try to use one or at most two fonts for your blog.
Also, keep in mind the font size that suits best for desktop & mobile devices.
Simple is better.
Write in your own style. It doesn’t need to be perfect. You will get better over time & through experience.
These were the best 9 best tips to improve your blog branding. Now, let’s have a practical look at some of my favorite sites that you can use as inspiration while branding your blog.
Example sites with perfect blog branding
1. Backlinko by Brian Dean –
If you are learning SEO & want to be good at it, he is one of the best guys out there to follow. With his unique blog design & engaging storytelling skills, Brian has made it to the top by being an SEO expert in such a competitive niche.
If you are reading his blog posts, you may know how detailed & concise they are.
Besides that, the media that he uses is even more appealing. In some of his blog posts & podcast interviews, he revealed that a site’s design is a critical factor in branding your blog.
With his minimalistic approach, his CTA’s & squeeze pages tend to convert better than most out there. He also proved that hard work beats the competition.
You should look into it too.
2. Shout Me Loud by Harsh Agrawal –
One of the top Indian bloggers i.e. Harsh Agrawal from Shoutmeloud is also a great example of the perfect branded blogger.
From the logo to his about page, everything serves its purpose. Starting blogging in 2008, he never looked back.
Consistency & creating content in a specific niche (mainly blogging & WordPress) is some of the main things that allowed him to enjoy a celebrated life & invitations to blogging events throughout the world.
3. Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn –
If you are addicted to blogging podcasts, you may have heard his name somewhere or the other.
Pat Flynn is one of the top internet marketers who started as a blogger in 2008. In fact, building his brand through blog content & podcast interviews helped him grow his brand faster.
Building a connection with big boys in internet marketing guided him to become another one.
By using smart branding techniques, Pat was able to publish a book named “Will it Fly?” on Amazon which later becomes a best seller. After that, he never looked back & is currently one of the valuable affiliate marketers.
Besides them, there are numerous other examples of successful bloggers who turned their blog from a part-time hustle to a full-time business through branding.
If you apply for these strategies & work on them daily, you can be the next one in a stipulated time.
Conclusion
This was the definitive guide on branding your blog with some real-life examples of bloggers who were crushing it. I hope this will help you to be a better blogger & establish your brand in a noisy market.
Are you ready in branding your blog?
Always remember, branding is not a one-day, month, or even a year’s process, branding is a lifetime process. Therefore, you should look into it seriously.
Now, it’s up to you.
Was this article on blog branding helpful?
If yes, then which technique out of the 9 are you going to try first?
Also, which blog is your centric inspiration?
Either way. Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.
Yes, This article is super helpful. Just keep improving on your blogging skills and you will get success one day.
Thanks, buddy
Please am interested how do I started working