So, let let’s get right into it shall we? We are getting into a subject today that I find many Christian Bloggers struggle with. The word “Brand” is seen an awful lot in Blog Land but most of the time when we see it we think it doesn’t pertain to us because we aren’t selling a product or service. The truth is Branding has a lot to do with how we will impact an audience and if it will help carry the message we are trying to get across. It helps to keep your blog and message memorable.
What Is Branding?
Your Brand is who you are and what people can expect from your website. This is including but not limited to your Logo, color scheme to your blog, font choices, graphics for your posts, and image choices.
You might be telling yourself that having a brand isn’t really relevant to your blog because your writing speaks for itself. You are right! Your writing is the cornerstone of your Blog. Without it, Branding won’t do any good. Your content is the most important thing because that is how you share the Gospel.
However, branding does help you to become recognizable across various platforms. It gives your blog a cohesive, organized look and it appeals to your reader’s eyes.
When confronted with the option to visit two blogs who are posting similar content, which one will you choose? The well put together one? Or the sloppy one?
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It’s actually easier than you think to create a brand. Make it something that you love to visit yourself. If you love it, your readers are more likely to as well.
What colors do you enjoy looking at? What are some of your favorite places to visit?
When choosing my brand I chose something that I can look at all day, everyday…the beach. I use muted beiges, blues, greens, and whites. I chose what I love so therefore it makes it super easy for me to find images and filters in colors that work well with each other.
God’s glorious work is the best sources of inspiration for a color scheme in my opinion. There is the forest, the jungle, the sunset, prairies, desert…the list is endless.
Once you make your choice, You start implementing this color scheme into your logo, graphics, font colors, and website colors. Once that’s done you’ll want to make sure that all of your future graphics follow suit and whatever you are posting on social media platforms flow with this brand you are creating.
What will happen next is people will start to recognize you from your graphics alone. You will have a brand!
What If You Already Started Blogging Without a Brand?
(The following may contain affiliate links)
The good news is it’s never too late to start a brand and clean things up.
My first question to you is are your social media graphics bringing a good amount of traffic to your blog? Are they grabbing your reader’s attention? If you’ve hardly seen any traffic then you might be ready for some change.
Canva is my absolute favorite resource for creating graphics for my Blog. It is super easy to navigate and they have plenty of pre-made graphics that you can make your own with just a few minor tweaks. It takes some practice at first but once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to create a graphic in 10 minutes or less.
When it comes to stock images for my brand I purchase most of them on Creative Market. Sometimes I’ll use free images from Unsplash if I need something a little outside the box. It is always good to try and use images that you haven’t seen floating around the blogosphere already so that you keep things original.
Do You Need Some More Ideas?
There are plenty of places to draw inspiration from when creating a brand.
Have you ever searched “Mood Boards” or “Branding Boards” in Pinterest? There are countless amounts of ideas to choose from when it comes to selecting a color scheme.
If you feel like going a different route you can ask yourself this question. What are my hobbies?
You could give your blog a crafty theme, a nautical theme, or a sporty one.
I’d say the most important thing is that you choose a brand that compliments your blogging niche and name of your website. What I mean by that is if you post about marriage than you may want to stick with soothing whites. If you blog about raising children then vibrant colors would work well, and so on and so on.
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The Steps to Create Your Brand
- Choose a color scheme – Choose 3-5 colors that will be represented in your brand. Write down their code in a place you won’t forget (more on this in a bit). That way anytime you want to use this color in a font or graphic you have a reference of the same exact color to use in different editing programs. Implement these colors into your blog elements, such as fonts, images, backgrounds, and/or your header.
- Choose your fonts – Select 3-5 fonts that you will use on your blog, logo, and graphics.
- Create a Logo – Create or buy an image that represents your site/company/blog. This will be what is in your header and should include the colors and fonts that you have chosen for your brand. Don’t freak out about this because you can have a temporary logo until you find one you love. For instance, I’m not super crazy about my logo yet so I’m just using the one I have now until until I either create or purchase another one.
- Create cohesive graphics – Ideally, your graphics should be recognized across several social media platforms as belonging to you. They should be similar in appearance and should contain your colors, fonts, and logo (or blog url).
- Use images that flow with your brand – From here on out you should be using photos that don’t clash with your brand, but compliment it. Choose images that have your colors in them. Hint – What is awesome is there are plenty of filters you can add to images to help create the color you want, paid or free depending on which photo editor you use.
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Branding IS a Big Deal
We have a responsibility to get our message out for the world to see. That message is about Jesus, and for that reason alone, shouldn’t we be giving it our all? The Lord has created us as visual people who have the capacity to be creative. Branding creates an interest and invites our audience to experience the message beyond the beauty. The message of our Lord.
If you need some encouragement and support while on your blogging journey then please join me over at Salt and Light Linkup Facebook Group. We will be discussing all facets of blogging while giving each other prayer and Godly counsel along the way. It really is something that I’m excited to be a part of. Be sure to check it out!
I recently wrote a post about the steps that I took to grow my blog over the past four years that you should check out if you need a little more insight.
If you are looking for help in getting started with your Christian blog than I highly recommend Carmen Brown’s eBook “By His Grace We Blog”.
I really hope these tips have inspired you to create a brand for your blog. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!
Many blessings to you!
Awesome post Natalie! This is great info. Thank you for sharing. I’m always blessed when I stop in at Milk and Honey Faith! Blessings!
I’m always blessed when you stop in Shi! I’m glad this post was helpful to you : )
very well said.thank you
Thank you for stopping in Mavis! Happy to meet you.
I appreciate your wisdom in this so much, Natalie. I need to work on having a consistent branding color scheme on my pins. I notice those on Pinterest and I need to really work on this part of my brand.
By the way- I LOVE your beach theme and colors. I’m always so comforted and peaceful when I come here. <3
Thank you so much Christine for your kind words. I actually chose those colors because they are soothing to me as well. Branding with colors that you love and compliment each other truly make the difference. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I’m here if you need help!
Natalie, these are such great tips and looking at your site, you are the right person to teach this! Your blog is lovely and your brand stands out. You’ve created a beautiful and inviting space that I want to come back to again and again. Just because of that, I’ve been inspired to sign up to hear (and see) more from you.
Wishing you blessings!
Amen Marva! Your words bless me so much because I just happen to think that you have branding down to a science. I LOVE your brand! Your blog and message is recognizable across various platforms and your logo is the epitome of what a logo should be. It’s a fantastic representation of yourself and your message!
Great post. There is so much helpful information here. I love your branding colors.
Glory be to God Laura! I can’t take the credit because I just used what He gave me. I’m so glad I could be of service though : )
Great tips!! My brand still needs some work but I will get there!
Sabrina, it’s very lovely to meet you! I’d be happy to help with any questions you may have. I’m still learning myself and it looks like I will continue to as long as I’m on this venture. It blesses me to share the knowledge : )
Great article! Thank you!!
Thank you for blessing me with a comment and for stopping in Melanie : )
Color scheme is very important. I cannot take people seriously when there are pop ups or busy pages.
Hi there Mihaela!
I know what you mean…sometimes it’s hard to find an actual post to read because there is so much going on. That is why I felt led to write this post because there are many good writers that don’t know any better. My mission is to help them with what I’m learning myself. That way we can all grow together.
Excellent advice! Some I need to be putting into practice!
Hi there Emily,
I’m here if you ever need help! It’s something I actually love doing : )
Great post, Natalie. You gave me a some new tips and ideas I hadn’t thought of before!
I’m so glad that you found it helpful Tiffany. I’m super excited about this subject and can’t wait to share the other things I’m learning as well. God bless!
Love this! Packed with so much information that any blogger can use to revamp or start a blog with. Your site is just so breathtaking beautiful!
Thank you so much sweet Carmen! Your words mean so much to me. My prayer is that these tips help God’s girls get His message out in an even more impactful way.
Great tips, Natalie! I have worked hard on our site’s branding, but still feel like it is falling short. Your site is beautiful and your images are gorgeous as always. 🙂
Hiya Krystal,
I think your blog is absolutely lovely, but I know that sometimes we envision something more for ourselves. Let me know if you have any questions or need any help. I’m really developing a passion for branding and would love to help in any way I can. Many blessings to you!
A lot of great info and a lot for me to think about. I have this problem of liking too many fonts or colors so I find myself floating from there to here. But I need to find some I love, which is super hard for me. I think it is time to narrow it down though and find my real brand feel. Thanks for this Natalie!
You are so very welcome Rhiannon. I’m so glad that this article was of some use. I know that I can be pretty indecisive when it comes to fonts as well (there are so many terrific ones out there). I had to narrow it down for the sake of my readers.
This was the post I came across on Pinterest. It helped me take a different look at my blog’s presence. I appreciate your help with this. Hopefully, my blog brand will come together eventually. I’m not very techie so it’s all a bit challenging for me. I love your theme and how user-friendly it is.
That blesses me so much Lorin! My prayer is that all of my posts help someone in need and I’m so glad you got something out of this post. God bless!
Natalie thank you such for this amazing information. As a new blogger I have so much to learn and this is critical. I’m learning there is so much more to blogging than words on paper. Thanks again!
Hi there Mari,
It blesses me so much to learn that this post was helpful for you. I plan on writing a lot more about branding and how fundamental it is for Bloggers. I’m so glad you stopped in and I hope to see more of you!
Love this! Great tips 🙂
Thank you Courtney! God bless you!
Natalie,
My blog hasn’t launched yet. The colors I went with for my logo are red, white, blue and cream. My 5th color would probably be grey. My logo is a vintage looking flag with the original 13 stars. I found a font that’s works very well and has a vintage feel about it. While it’s great on the logo when large, it can quickly become illegible smaller.
I have the logo on the top header each page that’s just over half of the left side. It shrinks when you scroll down. The name is God, Grub and Glory.
I have been trying to find a Word Press theme or plug-in that would be “me friendly.” I, a life long Geek, am apparently not Geek enough for WordPress and we have gone round and round. Well, today, I signed up with a premium theme and plugin system. Still working my way through the paces, but things are beginning to develop how I would like them to look and it’s a much easier tool! I am happy to tell you what theme and plug-in it is, but I am not sure if that is kosher or not.
The photos I am using are from copywright free sites, but mainly my own from around town, food, travel and my life.
For the blog section headers I have created icons out of my logo which corresponds with the landing page and submenu blog post.
I plan to use GG&G or GGAG as how I refer to the site.
Do you have any ideas? I am going for a clean white spaces look. Or would something more humble and old fashioned look better. Like the inside of a comfy cabin room?
Please advise,
Donna Robb
Hello Dear Friend,
I’d be happy to assist you, I’m emailing you now : )
Hello Natalie,
Excellent post! Good information. I have a quick question about creating a logo. I kind of know what I want but it’s in my head. What suggestion do you have for creating my logo? I noticed that you said yours was a work in progress, What steps are you taking to make your logo your dream logo?
Thank You,
Na’omi
(Writer of future blog: Royalty by Grace)
Hi there Na’omi! I actually recommend that if you create a logo yourself that you use Canva. They have quite a few templates you can use to get yourself started. My logo has actually started growing on me and if it does change it will probably be similar in nature : )
Thank you so much, Natalie, for your generosity! The information in this article is very helpful. I will implement all your suggestions. Blessings to you!!
I’m so glad this was helpful Lycia! Visit again soon so I know how everything works out for you : )
Hi there Natalie,
I just started my new blog. I’m at a crossroad at the moment. I know what colours I would like on my website (nude and neutral colours), but I’m not to sure what graphics to use. I would like to use something feminine.
Any advice?
Hi there Lizanne!
May I just take a moment to congratulate you for stepping out in faith and starting a blog! I’m always overjoyed at the notion of one more person spreading the Gospel. I’d be happy to give you some pointers and will email you so we can discuss it in more detail. God bless you!
Great Post Natalie! I have been up and down with my branding but I finally found a look and brand that I love and represent me. Thank you for the information.
I absolutely love your branding!! One of my favorites!
wow natalie, you write very well, I loved the way you treat the subjects, I’m following the blog with affection
Thank you friend, I appreciate your kind words!
This is so encouraging! Thank you for sharing I recently just started a blog and it can be so overwhelming especially when you have no one to reach out to. I am hoping to do a few things you mentioned.
Blessings.
Please always feel free to contact me if you need help or have any questions. I’m happy to be of assistance!
This is a great post! Thanks, Natalie for sharing your helpful insights. I am in the beginning stages of moving my website to another level. I too am a member of By His Grace Bloggers. It is such a helpful group. I am working on getting more active. I really want to serve God in the area of writing, but have a lot to learn. I am so thankful for God’s grace! Blessings!
Amen Tricia! I’m so truly grateful that this post has blessed you. I’m hoping we can get to know each other better within the group. God bless you!
Thank you for this helpful post. Your page is eye catching and calming. Beautiful!
I truly appreciate your kind words Kristy. I try to keep things simple and streamlined for my readers.
This was very helpful!! Thank you!!!
I’m so happy to help!
I love the way you broke this down. I thought I had a “branding” but it’s not catching much attention. Of course, I’m trying to follow others. I need to find what fits me best. And that’s good ol’ vintage-inspired fonts and colors. Thank you so much for this. I’ve been praying for new ideas and this is one of them!
Praise the Lord! How awesome it is when we gain clarity for our blog. God is good!