Hey, guys! Amanda here! Not to worry, Jamie will be back soon ;). Thanks so much for stopping by. I am here to talk to you about the importance of branding your blog and how graphic design plays a pretty big part in the process.
If you aren’t familiar with me, my name is Amanda Strong and I am the author of the fashion and lifestyle blog, Poised Avenue, and graphic designer and brand developer over at Mandy Lee Designs. Ever since starting Poised Avenue, I have fallen in love with the art of brand development and logo design. Early on, I discovered the importance of being consistent as a blogger to build a cohesive and recognizable brand. I spent hours researching everything about branding a blog, what to do and how to do it. I then found I have a knack for logo design and frequently changed my logo for Poised Avenue (I know, I know… big no no in the branding world). I now use my passion and drive to design logos for other bloggers and help them along during their branding process.
So, you may be thinking, what makes hiring a person like me so important to the growth of your blog? Well, like I mentioned before, having a logo and logo variations makes marking anything with your brand super easy and consistent. Why do you want to be consistent? Just think of your favorite brand. It’s logo, colors, fonts, etc., always will catch your eye, right? You want your loyal readers to do the same when it comes to your blog. You want your brand to catch their eye as they are scrolling through their emails or their social medias. Your logo should represent both your blog and your readers. It should resonate with your readers and attract them to your brand as well as represent your blog’s content and overall feel. A logo is like the face of your brand that makes all of the first impressions for you, so you want it to be well-done! Another reason you want to invest in a logo and other brand design aspects is because it makes your life easier. The hardest part of putting together your website can definitely be the design aspects. Without them, your website is boring. But, creating them can be a challenge if you’re not inclined to learn how to use design applications like Illustrator. Hiring a brand designer makes your life so much easier! They do all of the hard work for you while you just ultimately copy and paste it all to your site! Finally, having a well-done, cohesive brand for your blog makes you appear more professional and therefore more reputable with your readers. Having a good reputation with your reader’s and proving you take blogging seriously creates trust within your relationship with them and will give them more reason to continue supporting you and your blog. Think about it, if you walked into a mall and saw two stores, one with a cardboard sign with it’s name written across it and mismatched branding throughout and another with a well done, easy to read logo and a cohesive appearance, which would you choose to enter? Where would you want to spend your money? Even though your blog isn’t brick and mortar, it’s appearance is still just as important.
With all of that said, hiring a graphic designer can be an intimidating process. With blogging and online business becoming more rapidly popular, graphic designers specifically working with these types of business are also becoming rapidly more popular. Just do one search on Pinterest and you’ll see what I mean; endless amounts of work of graphic designers for bloggers will pop up effortlessly! Working with a graphic designer can also become very expensive. We’re talking upwards of $600-$1,000 depending on the type of work. This was one of the reasons I began venturing into learning the skills of graphic design for my own website. My goal as a designer is to offer designs and help with branding at a fair, affordable price. I understand that starting a brand can be tedious and cost you a lot out of pocket. I get that because I was in the exact same spot that you are! I also know how much hard work goes into creating a logo and brand as a designer. Having both perspectives allows me to create a price that is fair for both parties.
If you’re interested in working together or even just discussing possible projects, please don’t be shy! Reach out to me by visiting my contact page here or email me directly at contact@mandyleedesigns.com. If you’re interested in reading more about all of the services I offer please click here. I look forward to hearing from you and can’t wait to meet all of the lovely faces behind the soon-to-be absolutely beautifully branded blogs!
Here is a quick overview of my pricing and what I offer as a designer and brand developer:
I look forward to hearing from you and can’t wait to meet all of the lovely faces behind the soon-to-be absolutely beautifully branded blogs!
