Last Friday we had the pleasure of speaking about Branding for Bloggers at the very first Go Blog Social Conference in Kansas City!! It was a great turnout and we were so thrilled to get to meet some new blogger-friends, and of course catch up with some KC blogger besties!
Just in case you wanted to attend and didn’t get the chance, we wanted to share a few thoughts from our presentation. Clearly we won’t type out an hour long talk for you on this post, but here are a few highlights for those of you interested in branding your blog or taking it to a new level.
What is a Brand?
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. —Seth Godin
Why do you need a Brand?
Your blog branding is another way to describe the whole experience for someone coming to your site, not just your blog’s content. And whether your blog is a part of a business or not, you’re still trying to win the interest of readers (even if your mom is your only reader). This includes a logo, colors, typefaces, and content in each post.
Brand YOU
The idea of branding your blog can seem a little overwhelming until you realize that YOU are your brand. And you KNOW you. The key is to be true to yourself. No one else can tell your unique story and that alone sets your blog apart from any other. Figure out what makes you different, be authentic, and then work it to connect with people on a deeper level. Create original content and readers will keep returning.
Brand Statement
This is a phrase that’s quick and memorable. You can refer back to this to make sure you are staying true to your vision. When we get hired to design visual identities for other companies, this is the first step we take with them to help define what their brand is all about in order to create the perfect logo, business cards and other collateral that will accurately portray what they do. Once you’ve distilled things down to this statement, it is much easier to keep things consistent which really is the key to creating a strong bran.
Make it Pretty
Once you’ve thought about what makes you unique and what your slant will be, it’s time to think about how you will translate that voice to the visual part of your blog. The layout and look of your blog is as important as your content (in our opinion). Create a blog that’s well-designed and people will be much more inclined to read it.
You have to Start Somewhere
There are lots of resources out there whether it’s hiring a full service web designer to online tutorials. Start taking steps towards refining your blog brand. If you don’t look back at where you started and feel a little embarrassed, then you haven’t grown!
A quick pause to give a little shout out to these two ladies! Our biggest thanks to Sarah & Kat, the founders of Go Blog Social, for putting together such a great conference! It was great to meet you both, and we’re thankful you asked us to be a part of GBS2013! We can’t wait to see what you do next! (PS – how cute is Carrie’s baby belly?!!)
Lastly, we shared one of our favorite quotes with the attendees and we want to share it with all of you! This quote by Ira Glass is something that has inspired us over and over again and we hope it does the same for you!
