With some social media experience under my belt (in addition to freelancing work that has led me to some top social media mavens), the topic of blogging and branding your blog has always held a special interest in my heart. In this guest post, reader Kate talks about the importance of branding your blog and chronicles her journey in re-branding. Enjoy!
What do you do when your blog isn’t such a good fit for you anymore?
I have been wondering about this for a while now. There were many times I would post something and think, “Wow, my blog really has nothing to do with what it’s called.” Usually I would shrug it off and tell myself it didn’t really matter. After all, I didn’t have rockstar-type traffic, but I have loyal readers.
Lesson 1: What your call your blog actually does matter.
Honestly, it didn’t matter until I finished my first book — a book that had nothing to do with the blog. Suddenly the difference between the name of my blog and the content seemed huge. The target audiences for my book and my blog are quite different. My blog — The Domestic Empress — was focused on anything domestic: cooking, baking, crafts, decorating, clothing, etiquette — you name it. My book is young adult fiction (think Twilight meets Gossip Girl). While my family, close friends, and loyal readers are willing to transition between subjects without complaining, I doubt that random internet passers-by would want to take the time to figure out why these two seemingly opposite things are sharing space.
Lesson 2: Consider your audience.
First impressions are everything. So I needed to change things a bit, but I didn’t want to abandon the blog I worked so hard to build. When I bought my domain, I envisioned that it would be an all-encompassing name for anything that might happen in the future. I had fun building The Domestic Empress — my very own lifestyle brand (move over, Martha!). I pictured cookbooks, a line of adorable aprons, and of course, my own magazine.
Lesson 3: How memorable is your blog name?
What happens if you search it? I definitely didn’t picture writing books to be in my future. If my name was going to be on the cover of my books, I needed to put my name on my blog and so Kate Sullivan Blogs was born (Yes, I know it’s dangerous for many reasons to have too much personal information on the internet and I’m very careful about what I share).
Lesson 4: Consistency is crucial.
It is really exciting to have a new blog — a fresh start, so to speak. But now I’m faced with the task of starting almost from scratch — a major downer when you’ve worked really hard to build up your following. I am, however, just obsessively organized enough to love the fact that there’s a place for everything I write and everything is in its place. I still write The Domestic Empress, but that blog is more focused on domesticity now. Even though it’s hard to feel like I’m starting over with the new blog, I’m actually doing my first blog a big favor.
Lesson 5: Do you deliver what you promise?
If you’re a blogger too and you’ve ever wondered why your blog doesn’t have the traffic you want, or if you want to start blogging, these things might be a good place to start. Of course there are a lot of steps to building up a following and I’m not an expert, but there are plenty of experts out there blogging about this very subject (I turn to Chris Garrett most often, but there are others). And I bet there are experts reading this blog right now. What do you think? Are there other aspects you would consider?
About the Author:
I’m Kate, a 25 year old blogger living in the suburbs of DC. I’ve always been passionate about writing and am busy working on my second book, a sequel to my novel Paired which releases on Amazon in October. When I’m not writing, I’m indulging my domestic side by cooking, organizing, decorating, or crafting. For my latest lifestyle projects, decorating ideas, recipes, or craft adventures you can visit TheDomesticEmpress.com You can read all about me, my writing projects, and other random musings at KateSullivanBlog.com.
