Get Rich Blogging. Zoe Griffin

      Now you have picked your theme, your next task is to think carefully about how you’re going to draw attention to your vlog and make people aware it exists. If you look at the YouTube channels of some of your favourite vloggers, you will notice there is another thing they have in common besides being educative or entertaining: they have all thought carefully about the look and feel of their channel.

      Successful vloggers make themselves into mini media networks by branding their channel in a way their audience likes. Most of them have a name for their channel that’s slightly different to their real name, and all of them have a unique logo that they stamp over their videos, so the audience knows who’s made them. Brand recall is the goal here. The objective behind a catchy name and logo isn’t only to identify a vlogger’s brand, but also to make sure that if someone sees the channel even once, then the name will be memorable. This way, people will know where to go to get more of the same content.

      Successful vloggers’ videos are in no way random: their brand identity runs throughout each one. Often, they use the same backdrop or setting. Sometimes they have quirky catchphrases or sayings. They rarely change their physical appearance, as their image is closely related to their brand. They’ll have thought about the style of clothes they wear and their hairstyle to ensure viewers think they’re cool. Fashion vloggers must be presentable and polished at all times to reflect their content, while comedy vloggers often play on a slightly unkempt, scruffy appearance so they come across as jokers. Remember that viewers have short attention spans. Sometimes they’ll make up their mind about a vlogger’s channel before that vlogger opens their mouth. For that reason, it’s important that you dress with your audience in mind so that you keep the attention of people who have similar interests to you.

      If the concept of brand identity still seems confusing, think about the BBC. If you see those three letters during the opening credits for a TV show, then it may provoke certain thoughts. We assume the BBC produces high-quality programmes. We presume there won’t be any swearing or nudity before 9pm, and we expect the channel’s news coverage to be trustworthy, independent and presented by smartly-dressed newsreaders. Once you’ve enjoyed one news bulletin or drama made by the BBC, the next time you see the BBC logo it will remind you of the show you liked and give you high expectations for the show you’re about to watch. Perhaps the next time you’re channel-surfing, you’ll remember that you’ve previously enjoyed two shows by the BBC, so you pick its channels over Channel 4 or Sky 1.

      Vloggers build up their brand identity and loyalty in much the same way. Their videos consistently contain the same elements so viewers know what to expect, and they are branded with a name and a logo so viewers can find them again.

      It’s important to be clear on your brand identity before you start filming. Building a brand relies on consistency, and if you’re unsure of your identity, it’s impossible to be consistent. The basic components of building a brand include: thinking of a name, designing a logo and graphics, developing a theme tune, deciding on a personal image and picking a location. You may have some other ideas about how you can stamp your personality over your videos based on repeatedly doing something you like or are good at, but let’s start by working on the basics.

      NAME

      A good name has three characteristics: it’s catchy, it means something and it’s short and to the point. Ideally, you want to think of a creative name which has multiple meanings that all relate to the content in some way. This is not easy. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t think of a name that’s remarkably witty and satirical. It’s more important to come up with something that’s unique and meaningful to you than to sit for hours and get depressed because you think another vlogger came up with a better name than you did. Question whether the other vlogger’s name in itself is any good, or whether the name seems good now the vlogger’s established and he or she has used it so much that it appears to fit. For example, look at the food brand Marmite. The name Marmite seems ridiculous when taken out of context but, as we use it so much, we know what it stands for and it seems to work. For this reason, there is no point worrying about a name. If you really can’t think of anything, you could just use the name you were born with – it’s worked for people like Marcus Butler, Joey Graceffa, Jim Chapman and Tanya Burr. Being good at thinking up a name does not mean you’ll be a great vlogger.

      However, I recommend spending a little time on it with a good old-fashioned brainstorming session before you give up. Ask yourself:

      WHAT IS THE MAIN THEME OR SUBJECT OF MY VLOG?

      As Google owns YouTube, there are many advantages to having your vlog’s subject matter in its name. People will be searching for that topic on Google, and if your vlog’s name includes it, there’s more chance of the YouTube link to your vlog coming up in the Google search results. This is a great opportunity for new people to find out about your vlog, especially now that YouTube is such a crowded marketplace.

      Write down terms related to your theme that people are likely to enter in a Google search. I suggest leaving a large gap between each word or term so you can cut up the piece of paper at the end of the exercise and rearrange all the elements to create the ideal name.

      HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER VLOGGERS WHO COVER THE SAME SUBJECT?

      In the last chapter, I suggested that it’s still possible to make an impact in a competitive market like fashion or beauty. The way to get ahead is to use your unique skills to present your videos in a different way and incorporate elements other vloggers are missing. What are the skills and elements that are unique to you? Write them down.

      DO YOU REALLY WANT TO INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME?

      It’s important to think long-term. If you apply all the principles in this book and work hard, your vlog is going to take off and grow. People will forever link your name to the vlog if you name the vlog after yourself. You might often get spotted in the street, and complete strangers will call out your name.

      Consider how it will affect any future career path you want to pursue if everyone automatically thinks about your vlog when they hear your name. It might work pretty well if you can imagine yourself having a career related to the subject you cover in your vlog, as your vlog could help you to establish yourself as an expert. But what if you have a comedy vlog and you see yourself with a future in politics? People won’t take you seriously. This is why many vloggers use either their first name or their surname. For example, Zoe Sugg uses Zoella and her brother Joe Sugg uses ThatcherJoe. Fleur Bell uses Fleur De Force and Phil Lester uses AmazingPhil. Their fans know their real names, but there’s still a degree of anonymity leaving the door open for future ventures. I know it sounds odd, but write down your name on your original piece of paper.

      TIP: GO ONLINE!

      If you feel silly cutting and playing with pieces of paper, then there are some genius online name-generating programmes available. Bust a Name (bustaname.com) enables you to enter the words related to your vlog and it will randomly generate different combinations of those words.

      Once you have a few candidates for the name, think about your target audience. Will they find it amusing and attention-grabbing? At this point, get some feedback from your friends and people who fit into your target audience. Ask them to give you constructive feedback and suggest other ideas if they don’t like your offerings. Is the name too short or too long? Having a long name could hinder you, as long names