Try making it stand out with the content alone. That is the true key to a long lasting and popular blog. However, we are all human, and as humans we tend to judge a book by its cover. This is a shame, but we learn from an early age that the book cover is often correct.

So, the most important thing is that you make sure your blog does not look cheap. It cannot look as if it was quickly created on a content management system, and it cannot look as if it was designed by a school child. If you make sure that your blog does not look cheap, then you have won the first battle. Here are a few tips to help you make your blog stand out.

1 - Have an image at the top of each post

This is a nice idea that is not seen often enough. Putting a picture at the top of each post first before the actual title is a nice way of creating intrigue about your blog post. Just make sure that your picture is interesting and related to the title of the blog.

2 - Put your title in the image at the top

If you are a little worried that your image at the top of each post is going to make things a little bit vague for your readers, then add the title into the image. However, for SEO reasons, you are also going to have to write the title in text underneath the image, as the Google crawlers cannot read text that is on an image.

3 - Use CSS3 to create animated menus

This is a fun little trick and there is currently a lot of CSS3 code kicking around the Internet for animated menus, so you are going to find it easy to do. Plus, if you make it animated by professional looking, then your blog may even look a little futuristic too.

4 - Try having an image as your whole background

This is a design idea that is usually reserved for the home page of a website, but there is nothing stopping you from trying it on your blog. Such a bold move is bound to make your blog stand out against all of the blogs that are too timid or conservative to try it.

5 - Don’t have any affiliate advertising

This is really going to make your blog stand out because almost every blog has affiliate advertising. Plus, consider the fact that affiliate advertising is eye-catching so it competes with your blog, and it often messes up your blog design because it is not supposed to be there.

6 - Bold colors in just two places

People think that bold colors make their blog stand out, but this is not the case. It is the use of bold colors that is the key to making your blog stand out. So, try using them in just two small places on your blog. Have the rest of your colors pale or passive, and the two bold spots will really draw the eye.

7 - Have buttons for links

This is fun and it makes your blog stand out because it makes it look a little more like a mobile website. It is also easier for people to navigate as it is hard to miss your links.

8 - Create a border that only covers the corners

This is a nice way of making the text of your blog stand out. Many times it is the design and the border of the blog that stands out the most. But, by just adding design to the corners of your blog, you are forcing people to look at the text.

9 - Have a tabbed keywords cloud

They look good and they have exactly the same positive effect on your SEO as any sort of tabbed keyword list, so you may as well have one and make your blog look a little better.

10 - Add a video to each blog post

This is something that few people are willing to do because they think that they have to make the video themselves. But, you can just stream a video from YouTube. Pick a video that is relevant to your blog post, and try to pick one that makes the same point as you. Your choice of video is a lot easier if your blog post reviews a game, product, song, outfit or movie.