If you are creating a blog, have you taken the time to think about your message? Do you know exactly what you want to offer your reader and how to communicate that message in every aspect of your blog? This is the single most important blogging decision you will make, as it drives everything else about your blog.

One of the things I did correctly from the very beginning, when I launched Zen Habits, was branding.

Branding is more important than most people know, and even those who do know how important it is, don’t understand all that’s involved.

Take a second to think about your favorite news websites. What about the TV channels you turn to for news? These are examples of branding — in your mind, these are the go-to websites and TV channels for news.

Now, if you thought about places for celebrity news, you’d think of different brands. What about for financial news? Tech news? Gossip?

For every category of products that you can name, your brain already has a number of products that you automatically think of, because usually, millions of dollars are spent on branding. When you think of ‘cola’, you probably think of Coke or Pepsi. When you think of fast food hamburgers, you probably think of McDonald’s (or Burger King or Wendy’s).

Branding is important, because when a reader wants something, she’ll think of what’s already in that spot in her head. And if your blog is branded in that spot, you’ve got a huge advantage.

But I Can’t Compete with the Big Brands

What does that mean for the new and small blogger? Does that mean you’re hopelessly out of luck?

Well, first, it means you should realize you’re not going to compete head-to-head against the huge, established brands. If you want to be a news blog, you’re not going to compete against CNN.com or Time.com or NYTimes.com. Not even with the big blogs that have been established for a few years. They’re too established as brands for you to overtake their positions in readers’ minds.

Instead, you need to create your own position in their minds. That’s not easy, but it can be done. I did it with Zen Habits — I couldn’t compete against huge blogs like Lifehacker or 43 Folders, but I didn’t want to. I made my own brand, my own position.

The good news is, even if this is hard work, you can use the tactics of the big boys in your favor. Here are some of the key things they do that you can learn from.

Branding is Consistency

Every part of your blog, from its title to its content to its visual design, communicates a message. That message is your brand — what your blog communicates to the reader’s mind.

If every element of your blog is consistent with the message you’re trying to send, you’ll be more effective. But often messages are mixed, and the real message that readers get is one of confusion or hypocrisy.

Imagine if a blog about Zen Buddhism, which tried to convey a tone of peace and content about mindfulness, had a loud, screaming design. Or if the Zen blogger screamed at disagreeing readers in the comments. “Not very Zen,” you’d hear some of the readers say.

It’s hard to try to keep all these elements in mind, and if you do, you’ll be overwhelmed. But the key is to know what your message is – from the beginning – and then just make sure every action you take after that is consistent with that message.

By every action, I mean every post you write (from the title to the information presented to the tone of the writing), every comment you add, every picture you choose, every design element you cultivate, every email and Tweet you send out. All of these, and more, must be consistent with your message.

What’s Your Message?

What message do you want to send to your readers? I suggest you give this some thought. Most bloggers don’t, but you’ll be ahead of the game if you do.

Some things to consider:

* Topics. With Zen Habits, I first thought about all the things I wanted to write about — things I was passionate about. That included simplifying, mindfulness, productivity, creating habits and routines, a happy family life, exercise, eating healthily, frugality, and more.

* Philosophy. Then I thought about all the things I’ve learned about each of those topics, the lessons I wanted to share with readers, and the philosophy that tied all of it together. This was the hard part.

* Image. Finally, I thought about what kind of image I wanted readers to have  — not only of me (basically, I wanted them to know the real me), but of my blog. What mental image would my blog conjure up in their mind? It should be related to the first two items above.

Tying all of this together — topics, philosophy, image — you start to create a message. The message could be “Creating simple habits for a better life”, or “Mindful habits create peacefulness and happiness” or whatever.

Try to write out a message. You can continue to craft it as you go along with creating your blog, but write a draft message before you do anything else with your blog. Seriously, you must do this first, or the rest of your efforts on your blog will be a waste.

Creating Your Brand

Ok, you’ve started to identify your message (which I highly recommend you think about right away) … now what? Just thinking of the message doesn’t actually create the brand.

Just a note here: People confuse the terms ‘brand’ and ‘logo’ … they’re not the same thing. They’re closely linked, but ‘logo’ is simply a physical image that is part of the ‘brand’. The term ‘brand’ encompasses the message you’re trying to send, and the mental image (not just the logo) that the reader or customer has in his head. For example, Pepsi has a logo, but its brand also includes the reader’s image of refreshing cola, an ice cold drink, of energy and youthfulness.

Once you’ve identified the message, you’ll also need to develop the brand:

1. Stay consistent. As mentioned above, every part of your blog and everything you do and say online contributes to your brand, so it’s very important that you stay consistent. Take Zen Habits as an example … the title, the content, and the design all reflect the cleanness and simplicity of the brand. It wouldn’t make much sense for a blog about simplicity to be cluttered up with buttons and badges and ads, would it?
2. Stay in character. Remember, everything you do and say online contributes to your brand. That means you always have to be aware of the consequences of your actions. If you write a blog about finding peace, you better not lose your temper while responding to comments. Fitness guru Jack LaLanne once said, “I can’t afford to die; it would ruin my image.”
3. Get your brand out there. You need to get your brand into the minds of potential readers. That means going to where they are — their favorite blogs and forums and social media. I suggest doing guest posts to find your way into the eyes of the readers you want.
4. Repeat, repeat. Having a reader see your brand once is not enough. Think of how Apple, Coke, McDonald’s, and all the big names have branded themselves: through repeated advertising, until the brand is drilled into your head. You need to do the same thing, but for free — get your brand out there as often as possible, through repeated exposure on other blogs and sites.
5. Create fans. The best way to create fans is by engaging people. Talk to them. Help them out. Answer their questions. Go out of your way to be in the conversation. People will notice, and they’ll help spread your brand for you.

Branding is the foundation upon which your blog rests. Without it, your blog will flail around like a ship without an anchor. If you pay attention to this first critical step in preparing your blog, the rest of the journey will be smooth sailing!

Author: Leo Babauta