Blogging for Bloggers: Branding on a Budget

Branding: The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products - Entrepreneur.com

Alright, ladies! (I say ladies because I'm almost sure that at least 98% of you reading this are of the female gender, so if I offend, I apologize). Let's be honest with ourselves. How many times have you gone to a blog, looked at it and just closed it without reading the content because the design was so obnoxious? I wish I could say I don't do it, but honestly, when your colors clash and I feel like I'm going to have a seizure just from reading your content for five minutes, it's not a good thing! Granted, this is a very rare occurrence, but we should all be aware that aesthetics are an important part of our world.

So what does this mean for you as a blogger? Well, it would be nice to say that it didn't matter what others thought of our little corner of the interwebz and that we only blog for ourselves, but you know you count GFC followers... yea, admit it, you know you do! If your design isn't aesthetically appealing, you can lose readers right there. Also, you have to find a way to set yourself apart from other blogs. I have, on many occasions, found myself forgetting a blog name but instantly remembering it when I actually went to the blog and saw the design. Designs have a powerful impact on how we view the content of a blog and a blogger's image.

The fact that your design and your content is linked is called branding. There are many aspects to branding, but I feel that one of the strongest is your blog design because it's the first thing we see. Anyone who has ever been to my blog will see my header and know immediately that it's me. My jewelry design business has the same exact header, so people know that their linked. My business cards have the same look and feel to them. All of these together lead to a cohesive look that people now associate with me.

This has helped me to maintain my name. So here's where the budget part comes in. I've seen a ton of designers that charge upwards of $500 dollars for BLOG designs. HELLOOOOOO, most of us are not professional bloggers. If you are or you bank account won't want to commit suicide if you spend $500 on a design, then cool, go for it! But there's so many other options for designing your blog that aren't going to break the bank. I'll start with the cheapest and work my way up:

DIY Blog Design: This is by far your cheapest option. No, you don't need fancy photoshop programs that cost hundreds of dollars. What I see most bloggers using is a website called PicMonkey. It's free unless you want to use the premium features and it not only features things like the ability to add text, but also has the ability to make collages. This is a great option if you've never used any sort of image editor before. It's super user friendly! The other free option that I much prefer due to it's ability to do large amounts of complex graphics fun is GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). 

via
How can you not love the GIMP logo?

GIMP is not for the faint of heart. It's definitely no where near as user friendly and, if you're new to image editing, get ready for some serious hair pulling. When I first started using it, I found myself getting utterly upset by it until I said, "wait, cmd+Z....gooooooooooooosefraba." The good news? The GIMP community is an open source community and there are SO many places that you can find tutorials online. It's also very similar to Adobe Photoshop, so most Photoshop tutorials can be adapted pretty easily to GIMP. (On a side note, would you guys like GIMP tutorials? If so, leave a comment or something telling me what you want to know!)

Aside from the technical ability to use an image editing program, you'll need a vision for the design of your blog and an ability to bring an appropriate aesthetic to life. Not everyone has this, and that's okay. In addition, you'll need a pretty decent grasp of HTML coding. Blogger doesn't make it super easy to customize your templates past the background, width and banner. There are a ton of tutorials online, but if you're not comfortable with either coding or trial and error, I would look for someone to help you out with your branding.

Premade Blog Design: Okay, so I scared you and you don't want to touch graphic design with a 39.5' pole? Well, 'nough said. Let's start talking about how you can employ others to help you out. I get by with a little help from my friends... No, but really, I do. One of my fave bloggie buddies, Chelsea, does some phenomenal bloggie designs. We'll discuss her other design services later, but one of the cheapest ways to get a great look without spending a ton of money is to buy a pre-made design. Now, Chelsea's not the only one who offers them, but hers kinda rock! Below is one of my favorites and it's only $30!!

I love the feathers!! I'm obsessed.

Pre-made templates are a great way to go if you want a custom look but you're not sure what you want and/or don't have a vision for your design yet. That being said, you want to make sure that it's not a pre-made template that will end up all over the blogosphere. If that's the case, you won't be able to make your mark because people will be too busy trying to differentiate you from the 18 other bloggers with your template. Another hang up with pre-mades is that they usually do not come with installation included. This means you still need some HTML help to get it up on to your blog or you will have to pay someone to do it for you.

Is this not enough of a signature for you? Well then you have two more options....

Ala Carte Blog Design: If you only want one or two custom pieces made for your blog, it can be significantly cheaper than having a full blog design done. Maybe you decide that you can do the sidebar labels yourself but you want something special done for you header... You can totally buy a header from a designer that fits with what you've already designed but has a bit more pizazz! Maybe you just want to hand it off to someone else entirely though... Then this next one is for you!

Custom Blog Design: Okay, I can't have a blogging branding post without bringing up the custom blog design. Everybody's seen them and, yes, this is the BEST way to brand your business (unless you have the design and technical ability to DIY it). These can, however, get expensive! So why am I including these in branding on a budget? Because I'm gonna introduce you to two blog designers who will do full designs for under $100. Now, $100 isn't something I like to just throw away, but if this is something you'll want to be doing for a while, $100 is a great investment in your brand. Plus, both of these ladies have galleries on their design pages, so you might get some added traffic just by letting them use your blog for their portfolio.

The first one, who I have already mentioned is Chelsea from Yours Truly. Her designs start at $100 with install, which is totally do-able!

One of Chelsea's many beautiful custom designs

The second is Emily of Designs by Emily F. Emily's designs start at $75 with install on the Blogger platform.

One of Emily's lovely designs

Both ladies are super nice to work with and you won't be disappointed with your custom design. There are many other affordable custom designers out there as well! Whichever route you choose to go with your blog design, make sure it's a reflection of you!

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