Today, every successful blog thrives on the brand image online. Many bloggers have the perception that only blogs with good money to spend on amazing designs and featured authors can create a brand image. It is completely untrue. The best things about a blog is that helps a person become a one-man army – depending on how well he/she expresses their opinions on a topic or issue. Creating a brand image is all about influencing your reader in such a way that it leaves a lasting impression on their minds about your blog.
And considering the sea of blogs on the internet today, having a brand around your blog is the only way to survive the competition by bagging advertisers and comments. So the question arises,
How to create a Great Brand Image for your Blog
Creating a brand image for your blog is all about presentation. About how well you bring for the same subject that perhaps thousands of other blogs are trying show to the readers. And the beautiful thing about branding is that it helps you create a unique identity in the blogosphere. And there is another valuable advantage of building your brand image, even if blogs lose popularity and people start getting less interested in the idea of blogging – a blog with a brand will always stand a chance to make money.
Maintain a specific niche
This is the fundamental tip which you all need to follow before we go full fledged into building a brand. All brands are made when they are recognized to be good at one particular topic and not jack of all trades, master of none. For example, Pete Cashmore's Mashable talks about Social media, Darren Rowse's Twitip is all about Twitter tips, Dharesh Shah's OnStartup is all about startups etc. I can go on and on about well branded blogs which have focused on a specific niche. Similarly, you should also follow this practice otherwise your blog readers will be unable to associate your blog with a particular niche in their minds.
Create a Kick a$$ About page to portray your brand image
The About page is a brand managers heaven. It is the one place in the blog where you can speak all about your blog. You can include all sorts of recognition or accomplishments you have made. No doubt, it is not the most visited web page in most websites, but it is a page which is indispensable. An about page is the first place a visitor goes if they get curious about a blog.
Many bloggers underestimate the power of a good about page to deliver a strong message a develop an awesome brand identity. The about page can have the details of the founder of the website and if you work in a group, you can write about your team. Moreover, I have noticed that including a small history about the story behind the starting of a blog is always interesting for readers. Add a picture of yourself and little bit of personal details such as work experience, education, your location etc.
Use a consistent color scheme
While you may be using a free or premium theme when using WordPress platform, another important branding tactic is to have a consistent color scheme for your blog. Aesthetics are quite important to building your brand as well. Your blog can be blue, green or pink color for that matter. Just make sure that it is consistent throughout your home page, other pages and posts. It should not feel like the visitor has landed on a different website when they click on your Contact page.
It has often happened to me, and it has always put me off. This sort of carelessness just creates a bad impression in my mind and I am sure that as a reader you would feel the same. So use a color scheme which matches the theme of your blog and keep it consistent.
Create a Unique Writing style
According to me, the number one reason why most blogs lack flavor is that their author does not have a sense of style when it comes to writing. The articles are so impersonal and make the reader feeling cold with no sense of connection with any of what the author just said. I am sorry, if you signed up to be a blogger, you just have to be a good writer – if not an amazing one.
Look at any of the top bloggers, they have a strong brand image because of their style of writing. Darren Rowse writes in a very personal manner, as if he is talking to you, Guy Kawasaki will write in a more nutty fashion with wise cracks, similarly, Tim Ferris from Fourhourworkweek has his own style too. To create a strong brand image, come up and maintain your personal writing style that readers would enjoy.
I hope you guys found this post useful. I am looking forward to a good discussion on this below, I would be happy to answer you all!