Have you come across blogs that seem unclear?
You know; bloggers running 30 topic, cluttered, confusing blogs. Some bloggers have no vision. Publish anything, on any niche, any level of quality, plus the design on said blogs leaves much to be desired. Although I am not the clearest blogger on earth I do have an inkling of a branding secret few bloggers grasp.
What is the secret to effective blog branding?
Clarity.
The Difference Maker
Pay one visit to a branded blog. Can you see why top bloggers focus on branding? Branded blogs clearly emit a core, specific message. Emphasis on “clearly”; top bloggers maintain immense clarity in sending a loud, clear message. Maintaining clarity means doing all things blogging-wise with a single brand message in mind. I base all I do on retiring to a life of island hopping through smart blogging. From my brand logo, to travel pictures, to my blog sidebar, to my posts, pages, eBooks, audio books, courses and paperbacks, everything aligns with how to retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging.
I am fairly clear on my brand message, meaning I had to establish clarity in speaking a singular message.
But most bloggers lack clarity in speaking a single brand message. The masses never get clear and instead, emit a message of fear, lacking clarity. Some days, unclear bloggers blog about blogging tips. Other days, personal development becomes their topic of choice. Look at their blog sidebar; did you see an advertisement for traveling the world? Why? How about the widget showing off the IP address of readers? Why use valuable sidebar space showing off IP addresses? How does a user IP address build your brand?
Most bloggers do not run branded, clear blogs, but rather, dumping grounds for cluttered ideas and even more cluttered content and income streams. I observe multi niche bloggers promoting all things under the sun. How can you expect to prosper if you change niches more than you change your mind? Even worse, your brand message changes with the winds. Why? You lack clarity.
Get Clear
Get clear on your core brand message. Create a brand slogan. Keep that brand slogan in front of your mind in everything you do with your blog. I help bloggers travel through blogging. Would I post an ad for employees who seek 9-5 temp work? Of course not; my target audience wants to move on from the 9-5 gig, not move deeper into the world of employment.
Getting clear on your brand message reduces any unclear, silly branding and blogging mistakes, like the error mentioned in the prior paragraph. I even wrote a blog branding eBook to give you clarity during your blog branding journey because the blogging ride feels confusing sometimes. Getting clear feels uncomfortable because you need to face, embrace and release fears to release a lack of clarity and to move in a clear, focused direction.
Most bloggers prefer to feel comfortable covering way too many niches versus making the uncomfortable, clear, smart branding decision of covering a single niche. Such is your success tax. Branded blogs run by unclear bloggers often need some serious trimming before being branded gold.
Be clear.
Branded blogs create eye-popping results but you need to clear fears and develop a laser-like focus to trim the fat and build a clear, properly branded blog.