Moving forward: The best branding blogs of 2021

Branding

by Casey Schmidt  | 

 
15 min. read

One of the greatest things about the human race is we love to share our expertise with others. It feels good to know that our knowledge is being put to good use by another person.

Branding blogs are helpful, because experts are giving us their secrets in each post, guiding us to success by graciously sharing what they know.

In this article I’ve compiled a list of the best branding blogs that have a distinct way of connecting with readers, and that will likely be offering great advice and insights into the year 2021 and beyond.

Why are branding blogs so crucial?

Branding is a huge part of success, as it has the potential to create loyal followings, improve chances of marketing success and more. Branding blogs give audiences a chance to discover crucial information about what could improve their branding.

Building a successful brand is something that takes a lot of hard work and know-how. Fortunately, a vast sea of branding blogs put this know-how at your fingertips, regularly producing new content that keeps up with the times.

Another important aspect to consider about reading branding blogs is they can act as a reference point for creating your own blog. Consider their layout, structure, themes and color schemes, then apply these to your own blog when applicable. Chances are there is a lot that you might like that you can borrow from them.

Now that you know how important and helpful a branding blog can be, let’s take a look at some of the most essential blogs to check out for the future.

11 best branding blogs for 2021

I’ve sought out eleven of the most exciting, unique branding blogs that I feel will be around into the year 2021 and beyond.

1. Spartan Branding

What type of content you can expect from this blog: The Spartan Branding blog is filled with helpful topics, such as the foundational ideas of branding, how-tos and other useful ideas that don’t stray too far from the norm.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The visual aspects of this blog are very interesting. It’s pleasant to browse the blog main page, as well as scroll through each article. It uses plenty of white space, which is easy on the eyes and content stands out.
2. Each article is very descriptive and gives a lot of information. This might not suit everyone’s needs, but its lengthiness has a place in the market.
3. The simplicity of topics is a nice change of pace from other blogs too, as Spartan sticks to the basics.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: Spartan Branding’s blog is slow and steady, releasing content at a pace of about two topics per month. Though this isn’t a lot, they focus on making sure it connects with readers, and they are consistent. Because they focus on the basics, their content won’t go out of style.

2. brandchannel

What type of content you can expect from this blog: For the most part, readers of brandchannel come to get insight into specific brands, all while learning new things about the world of branding.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The ‘5 Questions’ posts that help readers learn specific things from industry experts.
2. Their daily ‘Brand Moves’ posts offer a unique way for readers to learn new information about brands and branding while staying informed of current happenings.
3. Each blog post is matter-of-fact and descriptive, full of details that give readers a sense they’re getting all the information possible.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: brandchannel has articles that keep it fresh and relevant in each new year, including things such as blog posts that talk about new and exciting brands. This, on top of their other scheduled content, ensures readers have a reason to keep coming back.

3. Branding Strategy Insider

What type of content you can expect from this blog: Branding Strategy Insider is an old-school brand that brings new ideas to the table in every article they create. Most of their content deals with helping readers understand more niche branding topics, and they back their insights up with data and statistics.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The branding experts it has writing blog posts separates it from other blogs. It’s always interesting to see which insider they will have write their next post.
2. It’s a very professional, business-oriented blog. Expect posts to answer the questions that are relevant for that specific field.
3. The posts are thorough without being too long or boring. This helps readers get through plenty of different posts without feeling sick of reading.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: There are plenty of branding blogs that are written by marketers and those with only minimal branding knowledge. Because Branding Strategy Insider takes the effort to obtain expert writers for their blogs, it’s likely there will continue to be an audience for their blog content in 2021.

4. Motto

What type of content you can expect from this blog: Motto’s content is truly unique. Their articles really push the boundaries of creativity and ensure readers are always learning something brand new and off the beaten path.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. This blog is just different. You’ll notice it the second you hit the blog page. The articles have a unique feel to them, both in topic and in layout. It’s clear that a lot of thought and effort has been put in.
2. There are a lot of pop culture references that help understand the branding world.
3. Once inside each post, it becomes clear that it’s designed to give you the goods without all of the extras that sometimes overwhelm readers in a blog post.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: Motto uses current events as a focal point, helping them relate new ideas and content to their branding ideas. Other blogs can feel as if they’re recycling the same branding topics from other blogs.

5. Canny

What type of content you can expect from this blog: Canny offers posts about branding, web design, marketing and business. Inside each of these sections are numerous posts that are vastly different, both because of the wide array of authors and the ability to really change up their ideas to stay fresh.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The blog design has a comforting feel to those who browse it, thanks to the balance it offers between stunning visuals and navigation.
2. The thoroughness of the posts is something to consider, because often other blogs don’t put a lot of content into each article.
3. They constantly update older topics and pieces, making sure the content you read is current.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: One of the reasons Canny will be worth checking out in2021 is the amount of people they have working on the blog. Different authors keep the blog fresh and make sure it doesn’t fall behind in putting out new content.

6. Glorious Creative

What type of content you can expect from this blog: Glorious Creative has unique posts about things like marketing, design and branding. On top of this, they have original ideas that make them worth checking out, such as a ‘book of the month’ section that guides readers to new books from the branding world.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The Glorious Creative blog does some interesting things that set it apart from other branding blogs. Their brand personality archetypes series, which is a 12-part descriptive series, is especially noteworthy.
2. This blog is impressively organized, so you’ll enjoy less clutter and easier navigation than you might expect from a blog.
3. Some of the posts are a little more laid back and give readers some insight into the people writing the branding posts they are reading.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: Glorious Creative hasn’t slowed down during the pandemic, so it’s a safe bet they’ll keep pumping out posts in 2021 too – no matter what happens.

7. The Cult Branding Company

What type of content you can expect from this blog: The Cult Branding blog relays the ideas required for brands to reach a cult status, offering unique insight into things like culture and building loyalty. It typically puts out articles that focus on performance and better understanding customer relations. Though this limits its topic range, the posts they do cover are very in-depth.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The Cult Branding blog is one of the few branding blogs that focuses on only a couple topics. Other blogs try to cover a wide range.
2. It’s a very strategy-based blog, that focuses on helping their audience excel in branding efforts.
3. The blog is well-written, and has enough statistics and data to balance the strategies and insight provided.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021:

The Cult Branding Company fits a niche need.It’s unlikely that the fundamental principles it offers to its readers will disappear from the world of branding and marketing, especially not by 2021.

8. The Logo Smith

What type of content you can expect from this blog: The Logo Smith covers the design aspects of the branding world, giving readers a place to learn new things about their craft. It also provides information about the business side of design, which is often underlooked for those working with visual elements.

Any brands that are thinking of changing their logo or other visual elements could learn a lot from reading The Logo Smith.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The most obvious thing that separates the Logo Smith from other branding blogs is that it is very specific to the visual elements side of branding.
2. Appropriately, this blog provides a visually pleasing experience.
3. Unlike other branding blogs, the images in this blog are the main attraction, where the text is just helping explain the pictures.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: Just as marketers need advice for advertising, and writers need SEO advice, designers need design tips, especially related to branding. For this reason, it appears that The Logo Smith will serve a purpose in 2021 and beyond.

9. Duct Tape Marketing

What type of content you can expect from this blog: Duct Tape Marketing’s blog is geared towards helping small business branding efforts. Though Duct Taper focuses on small business branding, it covers a wide range of topics, from marketing to SEO strategies. There is even a weekly update that ensures readers are given a brief rundown of fresh tools and strategies that might be helpful.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. One feature that I haven’t really seen in other branding blogs is the ‘weekend favs’ section,a brief summary of new findings each week.
2. The blog itself is straightforward, both in content and layout. This is a blog that caters to a wide audience, with posts in over twenty different categories.
3. The helpful content is the final thing that stands out about Duct Tape. It’s always assumed that a branding blog will have helpful content, but that really always isn’t the case. With this blog, you’ll find plenty of pieces that explain things in detail.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: This blog helps readers strategize and understand new tools and ideas. Duct Tape Marketing’s blog probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, because it gives information about all the new tools we might uncover in the future.

10. Sticky Branding

What type of content you can expect from this blog: The content that Sticky Branding offers is free of excessive nonsense, popups or clickbait. It’s also highly topical and remains committed to a particular style. The content is specifically designed to help readers strengthen their own branding processes. It covers things like brand strategies and messaging in great detail.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. The general layout and structure of the blog is one thing that is hard to ignore, since it’s so easy to navigate and helpful. If you want a certain topic, you can use a dropdown menu to filter the types of articles you need. Compared to other branding blogs, Sticky Branding is definitely winning in the visual layout department.
2. The posts are written by a handful of regular contributors. This can be seen as a positive or negative, but for most this is a positive since it lets you familiarize with a few specific voices.
3. There is simplicity in this blog, not in the complexity of the topics, but with how easy it is to find and read a new post.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: No roadblocks seem large enough to slow down Sticky Branding from putting out new content. In fact, when it seems things are trending in a way that makes it hard for blogs to continue making posts, Sticky Branding seems to increase their efforts and get content released. As such, it’s only natural to believe Sticky will be there in 2021 doing the exact same thing.

11. Brand Struck

What type of content you can expect from this blog: Brand Struck gives audiences a chance to locate different types of content using a searchable database. The blog makes sure to inform readers about new ideas in branding and trends in the community. It also gives helpful branding strategies that are unique.

3 things about the blog that stand out:

1. Brand Struck is a step ahead of its peers when it comes to illustrating the role of data in branding.
2. The tone of each article is consistent, but each piece is fresh and original.
3. Each article tells a story with intriguing voice, all while filling the page with helpful statistics that other branding blogs often lack.

Why this blog will be relevant in 2021: While it’s impossible to tell which trends will continue in 2021, we can be fairly sure data-focused branding is here to stay. The data-heavy articles in Brand Struck’s blog make it an easy choice for 2021 and beyond.

These examples will offer you a healthy selection of branding blogs to read in 2021. However, it’s possible that you get ‘blogged out’ and wish to try a different medium. Here are a few alternatives to blogs that you can try.

Alternatives to branding blogs

There is a lot of good information available on branding blogs, particularly the ones I’ve listed above. Of course, we all consume information differently, and reading a blog might not be the best way for you personally to learn. When that’s the case, look for some alternate ways to find branding information. I’ll discuss two notable methods here.

Branding podcasts

The first alternate to reading branding blogs is to listen to branding podcasts. Many blogs also release content in podcast form. If audio is your preferred method of learning, podcasts are the way to go.

Don’t forget to check out my list of the best branding podcasts as well.

Advantages of podcasts over traditional branding blogs

The first thing to consider with podcasts is the convenience factor. In many ways, a podcast can be more convenient than a written blog because it allows the audience to consume it in a variety of different ways, including on the go. It’s not really possible to read a blog while driving a vehicle, after all.

Podcasts also offer audiences a chance to be entertained and learn in an entirely different way, which can often help the information stick in long term memory more effectively. That’s not to say a traditional blog can’t entertain, but podcasts offer a different experience.

Finally, the biggest advantage to consider is that some of the best branding minds might not have a traditional blog, and the only way to consume their content is in podcast form.

Podcast disadvantages

With a podcast, listeners can’t explore the new content as quickly or conveniently as they could if they were reading a traditional blog. For example, let’s say the podcast host briefly describes a new topic to help make a point about their main topic. In a blog, there might be a hyperlink you could immediately click to get more information about this subtopic. If there wasn’t, you could search for the topic before continuing reading. There are no hyperlinks in podcasts.

Finally, podcasts are restricted by limitations of hardware and opportunity. It’s a lot easier for someone to put their ideas in words than it is to do so in a podcast, because podcasts require extensive equipment, especially if the sound quality is to be optimal.

Webinars and videos

The fact of the matter is that not everyone with something to teach us about branding has a blog. Because of this, it’s also worth seeking out recorded webinars and videos online important. Luckily, these are readily available on YouTube and other platforms which are either free or easy to access.

One popular way to consume video content about branding is to watch TED talks. This can be done directly on the TED website, or on their YouTube channel. The best thing about webinars and videos are they’re usually pretty accessible, as the brands behind them don’t try to restrict them from the public. Check them out if you want a different way to learn about branding.

Closing thoughts

Branding blogs are more important in 2021 than ever, since the landscape of the medium has grown in both quality and quantity. The fact that you’re able to read the words of some of the greatest minds in the industry for free is a blessing that you can’t afford to miss out on.

Take the time to visit the suggestions above and see which blogs pique your interest. Chances are, you’ll find useful information and insightful takes on whatever important branding moments arise in 2021. Good luck!

For more information about branding, check out our comprehensive branding guide.