3 Things I Learned About Branding – 30 Days to a Better Blog

Soooo, what do you think of the new digs?? I am so thrilled with the design. Go Live HQ did a fantastic job! I finally feel like I have a real brand. Something that reflects me and who I am. If you walked into my home, you would see a lot of the same things reflected – the colors, textures, and of course, the fabulous images.

Now that the blog is all prettied up, I can’t very well let it sit and collect dust. So, I’ve given myself a challenge ~ 30 Days to a Better Blog. The idea is to help motivate me to write and eventually I’m hoping it’ll become a habit. The goal is to write a blog post every single day. Since this is the first day of March, I figured it was the perfect time to start. Let’s get to it!

Since going through the branding process, I’ve learned a lot. If you’ve followed me for a few years, you know I change my mind like I change my underwear. It’s a problem, I know. Needless to say, I’ve changed the look of my blog and my logo often over the years. This time around, I hired a great company and learned 3 very important things about branding.

1. Take your time. In the past, I’ve taken the process for granted. Not because I didn’t care about the results, but because I just didn’t have the time. I wanted someone to figure it all out for me. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. I needed to put in the effort and really figure out what I wanted. I always have such a hard time narrowing things down though because I love so much. I joke with my husband that a quick trip to the store is never just that because I get distracted by all the pretty things I see. The same is true about branding. There are so many beautiful blogs out there! This time I had to stay really focused on what I wanted my brand to represent ~ warm, friendly, fun.

2. Find inspiration at home. When I started the branding process, Meg, from Go Live HQ, contacted me and asked me to create a Pinterest board  and fill it with things I love – fonts, colors, textures. If you read my first tip, you know why this was a challenge for me. Pinterest is a sea of inspiration. How was I supposed to narrow it down? Well, I started by taking a look at my house. I looked for any colors or textures that stood out. The blue you see in my logo and on the site is all over my house. Picture frames, dishes, pillows, blankets, etc. My house is also filled with lots of white. I love the clean, crisp look of it (even if it doesn’t stay that way long with two kids!). I also love weathered wood and that’s reflected in a lot of my furniture. After gathering inspiration from my home, I went back to Pinterest and got started creating my board. It was pretty easy then because I had a clear vision. I just went through all of my other boards and pulled things that were in line with what inspired me at home.

3. Don’t be afraid to make changes. This was a big one for me. Whenever I would purchase a logo or have someone tweak the blog, I was afraid to hurt their feelings if I didn’t like something. I figured I could just change it myself eventually. This time, because I had a better vision of what I actually wanted, it was easy to ask for things. I know that I’ll want to add things in the future too so I’ve made sure to ask my designer how. That’s why Go Live HQ is great because they train you once the site is live.

Now that the site is finished and the brand has come together, I can make it so that it’s cohesive across the board. I’ll be updating my FB timeline image and some of my marketing materials I have so that it all looks the same. I hope these tips are helpful. Over the next 30 days, I am planning lots of fun posts and features. If there’s anything you want me to write about, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to reply. Thanks!