Wordpress Themes

According to Technorati, 175,000 new blogs pop up every day. That’s around 121 new blogs every single minute! With that many new blogs every day, and with the tons and tons of already established blogs, it can be hard for a new blogger to get any traction in the blogosphere.

Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire way to make your blog popular, and certainly content is still king, but finding a good theme (assuming you’re using a blogging platform such as WordPress) is one of the most important steps in the process of building and growing your blog’s audience.

1. Unique themes remove prejudice from big name bloggers

Most of the big whig bloggers out there are familiar with the likes of Chris Pearson and his Cutline theme, and although it is a solid theme, if a big name blogger in your niche comes across your blog using the default Cutline, there’s a possibility he may initially think of your blog as cheap, or worse, he may think of you as lazy. Big whigs are the ones you WANT to look at your blog. You WANT them to link to you, but if you don’t do something to immediately grab his or her attention (like having a unique theme), you may not win them over.

2. Unique themes help with branding

I remember a few years back, Dodge Ram Trucks had a very distinct body style. People liked that, and before long, other truck companies (Ford, Chevy, etc.) started copying that body style. When this happened, it cheapened the look of the Dodge. When you take a popular theme and slap it up on your blog, there’s a good chance your blog (with the exception of the title and tagline and maybe some widgets) will look exactly like hundreds or even thousands of other blogs out there. By association, this cheapens your blog, and thus puts you at a disadvantage when trying to make a name for yourself in the blogosphere.

3. Unique voices rarely have a generic look

Like it or not, we are judged by how we look. Lincoln’s top-hat, Einsteins crazy hair, there are countless examples of influential people, unique not only in they way they thought, but in how they looked. Unfair as it may be, you will be remembered not only for what you say, but for how you look when saying it.

4. Unique doesn’t mean perfect

Even though the Cutline theme is probably one of the best themes available, that doesn’t mean that it’s the best choice for you. It actually may be better to have a theme that is less pretty, or less flexible, for the sake of being unique.

5. Unique blogs take a lot of work

…and I don’t just mean the content. It may mean hiring a designer to make a generic theme look unique. It may mean popping the hood of your theme and getting your hands dirty. But the payoff will be worth it.

If you don’t have a unique theme, there’s a good chance you’re not going to make it in the blogosphere. Do whatever you have to do to make sure your blog screams “you”. There’s no easier or more effective way to do this by having a brandable, unique theme.