Branding is essential to building a popular blog and your reputation online. Not only will you appeal to thousands of people who could potentially subscribe, but, if you choose to take this route, you will have more chances at attracting advertisers who are willing to pay more to place their ads on your blog.
So how does a blogger go about developing a strong brand? Here are a few pointers:
Associate keywords, phrases and ideas with your brand.
What do you want people to be talking about when they mention your blog? What ideas do you want to be associated with? When a visitor first looks at (or hears about) your blog, they should immediately know what it is about. It is often best to include a fair amount of keywords to get the idea across (and help with SEO), but not enough to where it becomes spammy. Write for your readers, not the search engines (but still keep them in mind).
What do you have to offer to your readers? Present them with quality content on a regular basis. Be predictable in your post schedule and general writing style, but new and exciting when presenting ideas. By giving your readers something to look forward to at a regular rate, you are shaping your brand by enticing readers to return.
What about your title? What does it say about your blog (or you)? Choose your blog titles and domain names wisely. First impressions are important, and oftentimes, a reader will begin to judge a blog starting with its title, even before visiting the blog for the first time. Try to choose a name that is catchy and easy to remember. Also, including your most important keyword in your blog title and domain name will help it to rank better in search engines.
Does the overall image you project to the world make you stand out from the rest? It's important to be original with your content, template, logo(s), name, and even the way you advertise. Everything you do online (that is blog-related) shapes the way people think of your blog (and you) as a resource. Are you an authority in your niche? If not, what can you do to change that?
Expand your reach by networking.
Are people talking about you or your blog? One of the best ways to build your brand is through word of mouth. If a blogger recommends another website to his or her readers, many of them will read and remember what that person has to say about it, and then visit the site to see for themselves. In other words, they are advertising your blog.
What are you doing to expose yourself to new audiences? If you want people to recommend you to their friends and fans, you need to network. Join communities and build relationships with other bloggers in your niche; or even outside your niche- many blogs (like IGTB) are followed by people who write about a wide variety of topics, and have more exposure to people from all niches. Offer lots of support and free information to other bloggers. Also, using a little creativity when targeting new audiences can go a long way.
Listen to what others have to say.
How do people describe your blog when they talk about it? Is that what you want, or isn't it? Remember which posts and advertising techniques work; and for those that don't fair so well, try to figure out why. Don't be thrown off by harsh criticism. Use your feedback as a way to help you improve your current routine, and grow your brand to match the way you want others to think of it.
When building your brand, it's important to remember that it takes time for it to grow to its true potential. Don't rush your efforts- make sure you are presenting the best you have to offer. The quality of your brand is important, and will affect more than just your on-site activities, so keep your standards high and allow yourself enough time to form your game plan and carry out the job the way that is right for you.
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Thanks for the resourceful post, Raivyn.
Being open to any kind of feedback from your readers is the best thing you can do to improve your blog and helps a great deal in bettering up your blog's branding.
This is so obvious as what you are offering is for your readers and not for yourself. You may find it hard to do ... but try to keep your self-imposing tendencies aside. You can market yourself, your blog and your content only when you understand what your readership wants.
*****
Note to Raivyn: The blog is loading up fine for me now. But the comment form is already filled up with "IN;" in every field. Kindly check if there is anything wrong with the coding of the comments form so that users don't have to edit it every time they leave a comment :)
-www.inspiritblog.com
Posted by: Abhinav Sood | March 15, 2008 at 01:02 PM
Hi Abhi, and thank you so much! I'm not sure why it's doing this, or if there's an option to change it for that matter, but I'll definitely give it a look and see if there's anything I can do. If not, I'll be contacting support. How frustrating! Again, thank you. :)
Posted by: Raivyn | March 15, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Good post, Raivyn. Quite a bit to think about here - even for one like me, who generally witters for his own amusement. Thanks.
Posted by: Steve Ellwood | March 15, 2008 at 07:28 PM
Another great article, Raivyn! The initial ideas usually come easy for people, but most do not hold up under further scrutiny. Matching a good domain name to a concept or idea is increasingly difficult as more and more domains are taken. Frustratingly, most seem to be unused, parked or for sale at some ridiculous price.
Branding is so important, and more difficult to get right than most people imagine.
Posted by: Will | March 16, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Excellent post! I do much of this...but it's always good to be re-enforced and encouraged!
Posted by: Alexander | March 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM