Branding is a complicated word. When it comes to blogging, it encompasses, but by no means is limited to:
- Your logo
- Your colours
- Your fonts
- Your voice
- Your face
- Your message
- Your blog’s feel
Sometimes it is easy and natural to create your brand as an extension of who you are and what you are about.
Some bloggers are able to translate their real personalities to their blogs seamlessly. For some, it takes work to bridge the gap and create an online persona that is identifiable and relatable.
It can be difficult. Especially if you aren’t clear from the beginning who you want to reach and who you want to help.
A lot of bloggers struggle with defining their niche and audience. And that is key to growing your blog and ultimately, making money.
Why I Hate The Term Re-Branding
Blogging takes a lot of time. And while a few bloggers do it as a hobby or an online journal, most want to make money. So they devour any posts or bits of information they can find about how to make money blogging.
That is why it pisses me off when I read posts, specifically income reports, using the term “re-branding”. In essence, what these now money making bloggers have really done is changed their blogs from some other niche to online marketing or blogging about blogging.
Well how the heck does that income report help a blogger that doesn’t want to do that?
Those income reports give the impression that you can’t make money from blogging unless you target other bloggers and that simply is not true.
I make thousands of dollars a month with my other blog and I do not talk about blogging AT ALL.
Define your niche. Know your ideal reader. Let your voice and personality guide your branding and your blog will grow and prosper.
And if you have changed your blog to blogging about blogging, be honest.
Don’t use the term re-branding when you really mean re-niched.
6 comments
I appreciate your honesty! Thank you!
Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.
Such an interesting post Elena. So many blogs now appear to be about the process of blogging which are obviously useful to some people but the rebranding issue can make them misleading. I think I’m following a travel blogger and then they morph into a technical advice-type blogger.
You are so right. It’s amazing right now how many blogs that I see “re-niching” themselves to blog about blogging and then call it rebranding. Mostly it’s bloggers with less than a year under their belts who starting posting affiliate links about how to set up blogs. If I go to Pinterest, I’m sure I could easily click on 5 different Pins from 5 different “bloggers” and read pretty much the same post from start to finish.
Love this, Elena, as I love everything you write. You speak the truth, which is bloody refreshing, let me tell you!