Hopefully you’ve been following along in my “How to Blog” series and stumbled upon this post from one of those posts. I want to talk specifically about your personal brand as a fashion blogger and how to figure that out. It’s going to be a continuous work in progress and something you continue to refine as you start posting and putting yourself out there, but you definitely want to invest a chunk of time upfront to get an idea.

Your personal brand will be very connected to what you’ve decided your niche will be – your branding should be a reflection of your content and align with your voice too! We can get into more specifics later, but I wanted to at least give you a few tips if you were looking to get all this done ASAP. Let me know if you have specific questions regarding branding or anything in the comments and I can dedicate another post later to it.

Back to branding.

While you can definitely do all the logo and branding stuff on your own (I guess?), hiring a designer to help build your site and develop your branding is a much better idea. I know, it sounds expensive. But that’s because it is. But trust me, it will be worth it in the long run. You’ll want to have branding and a specified logo to represent your “look”. Do some research on designers that fit your aesthetic or look up student designers if you’re worried about cost, or even offer some sort of skill swap and call it even.

For me personally, (I’ll be honest) I did it ALL myself. However (!), I would NEVER recommend anyone doing this – especially not now that the competition and rivalry within the blogosphere is so intense. I feel like some cutesy font and a domain name just isn’t gonna cut it anymore – you’ve got to have an actual BRAND. I taught myself photoshop and illustrator and created my “look” and aesthetic but I’ve always been unhappy with it and felt like I lacked a certain professional edge that other bloggers had over me.

I wasn’t planning on announcing this until it went live, but about 7 months ago I decided to finally bite the bullet and get myself a legitimate logo and “brand” session with a qualified graphic designer. I think the final straw for me was when I saw another fashion blogger who had totally replicated my overall look and aesthetic, which is bound to happen if you’re just banking on a particular font to define your overall “look” (like what mine is right now as you’re reading this blog post). But stay tuned my friends, BTD is undergoing a major branding sesh right now and I’m hoping to launch the new look THIS summer if all goes as planned! Don’t worry though, it won’t be anything too crazy or unfamiliar – just what you already know but a little more refined, unique and sophisticated.

Before reaching out to a graphic designer though, I would do some ground work first. You need to flesh out what your brand is IN WORDS before you can do so in a logo or any sort of branding.

Like I said,  you really need to make sure you’ve got a good idea or feel for all the stuff we talked about in the “finding your niche article” but now let’s take it a step further and figure out how to TRANSLATE that into something more concrete – like colors, fonts, styling, and a logo. I would suggest doing the following before taking any steps towards branding::

• Create a Pinterest mood board that exemplifies and embodies your “ideal” personal branding. Or just think of it as like a tangible reference for all the “vibes” you want your brand to encompass. Don’t limit yourself here and think outside the box when it comes to the types of images you’re including. I would suggest looking at big retailers imagery and look books (also magazines, newsletters, inspo photos) to see which “feels” you most resonate with. And put those all on your board. You can always delete later – just try gather as much inspiration as possible and then you can REFINE later.
• Make a list of 5 adjectives that you think describe your brand. Write them down and keep them in mind throughout the entire inspiration process.
• Create a mission statement. Ugh, I know this is hard and it’s difficult to put into words what you’re trying to do but FORCE yourself to do it. I promise, it will help you make decisions and keep a focused mindset throughout this somewhat intangible process.
• Determine your demographic. Figure out which kinds of people you want to connect with. How old are they? What are they interested in? What kind of job do they have? Do they have kids? WHY do you think they’ll connect with you and your content?
• Nail down your “so what” factor. What purpose is your blog going to serve? Why should people come and visit it? Figure out what problem (this could be really general) you want to help them solve or what kind of value you’re going to add to their life. It could be simple like “I want to inspire” or “I want to motivate people who feel stuck” – idk just write it down.
• Lastly, how do you want to be perceived? And what do you want people to feel or think when they come across any of your content or visit your website. Think about it and jot some notes down.

I know that seems like a lot, but these questions will help A LOT when working with a designer and determining your personal aesthetic.

Also, consider freelance websites for hiring a graphic designer if you’ve got a really good idea of what you want it to look like. Here are a few that might be helpful:: Fiverr, Upwork (previously Odesk), Toptal, 99designs, Demand Media, GetaCoder, and iFreelance.

What about you?

Have you figure this out yet or given much thought to it? I think visual branding is SO important in the blogging world in general and especially in the fashion blogging world. Especially if you’re starting out post-2014. With so much competition these days, it’s extra important to define and continue to refine your brand!