As you may or may not know, I recently rebranded, well… this whole thing.  I switched over the website, the social media handles, the hashtags… all of it!

Changing my hair color to match whatever madness I have brewing inside me was the final shove I needed to admit to myself that it was time for a change. 

I finally put “Amaranthine” to rest, and, in turn, awakened “Blood Spice”.

The rebranding announcement Instagram post from May 4th says,

“It’s a #newhaircolor! And it’s inspired me to change things up a bit around here. Ami Amaranthine is now a distant memory — I’ve gone the way of #BloodSpice. Life changes, and we change with it; there’s no point resisting that. While the Amaranthine vibes treated me wonderfully, I’ve outgrown them. I’ll always remember them fondly, but now it’s all about Blood Spice. 
The website link will remain the same until further notice (link is in my bio), but I’ll be plastered across here, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook as @QueenBloodSpice. 
Thank you again to all of my phenomenal #followers, old and new, for the support. Betting on yourself can be hard, but you guys make it so much easier. Xoxoxo. 💘”

The website is no longer under the www.amaranthine.blog address.  It has now been switched over to www.bloodspice.com.  

The inspiration for “Blood Spice” is kind of funny.  I’d mentioned a few days ago that gingers should proudly own the phrase “Pumpkin Spice” to describe themselves.

Understandably, after taking on a red ombre, I was asked if I, myself, was now “Pumpkin Spice”.  I laughed, considered my rather dark red hair, and responded with, “More like Blood Spice.”

And that was it – the angel choir sung, and, just like that, “Blood Spice” was my new direction (yeah, I’m sure the angels totally approve of it).

“Blood Spice” is more than just a hair color – it’s a description of the type of person I am and, in turn, the type of genuine content I want to create for you guys.

“Amaranthine” felt [almost] right when I came up with it – it expressed a type of faded, grunged out feeling in hues of red.  That’s the person I was for a while there.  But even back then, something in me knew it couldn’t last and, sure enough, I grew out of it.  I’m ever grateful to my “Amaranthine” brand and will always remember it fondly, but I finally had to let her go. 

Lately, that feeling of outgrowing my “clothes” has been gnawing at me with added vigor.  I’ve continuously shrugged it off, convinced that rebranding would be “irresponsible” marketing.

But what’s the point of sticking with a brand that you don’t feel any real connection to anymore?  Like, why bother?  I got to the point where I was just going through the movements, ending each Instagram post with a forced “#Amaranthine”, but I was hardly even convincing myself… let alone you guys.  I read this separation between myself and my brand clear as day in my SEO and in my performance stats.

It wasn’t healthy.

Then came “Blood Spice”.  And I just knew it truly captured my love for the dark, for the gothic, while also embracing my inner fieriness. 

That right there is what I really want to be sharing with you guys.

I stop resisting.  And that, in itself, was truer to my brand than dragging something out that had stopped working months ago.

Why is that?  Well, apparently there’s a little blurb in this website’s “About” section that mentions the actual meaning of my personal brand – it’s not just about all things “Amaranthine”, nor was it ever.

The “About” section snippet says,

“This blog and its corresponding photography are living and breathing organisms which wholly embrace concepts of unpredictability, exploration, shape-shifting, and drastic change… where appropriate.  Still, the primary objectives always remain the same: the pursuits of knowledge and personal growth.”

I wrote that a while back, and I’m so glad I did.  It was the reminder I needed to know that it’s okay for me to grow, and that it’s fine for my brand to adjust accordingly as long as it’s with purpose, necessity, and integrity.

Don’t let anyone tell you that rebranding is “irresponsible”.  Just do it infrequently, swiftly, cleanly, and clearly – make sure your followers know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, and try to wrap up the transition soon after commencing it. 

Once your new and revised brand is made public, everything else you do regarding the shift should follow immediately – this will reduce confusion, maintain follower loyalty, and possibly even increase interest among people previously unaware or uninterested in your brand.

Of course, this doesn’t mean I’m encouraging you to switch things up every single time you have a cool idea.

Rebranding should happen very rarely, and only when truly necessary.  Always try to keep things as solid as you can – there’s no need to go changing your usernames, website links, profile pictures, hashtags, etc. every few weeks just because you’re bored.

Your brand is your foundation, your structure.  When it needs to be adjusted, do it quickly and efficiently… without destroying everything you’ve built on it.  Don’t go in there with the power tools unless you’re truly prepared.

Rebranding doesn’t mean you have to scrap everything – it just means that you have to make your changes and move forward.  It’s tough, but it’s worth it. 

When it comes to marketing and to life, don’t dwell on a sunset when you can prepare for your next sunrise instead. 

You got this. 💘