When is it worth the money to pay for a new blog design instead of sticking with your shared one? The following reasons are a couple reasons that have helped to guide my thought process:

- First, it’s really hard for someone to differentiate their blog from all the other blogs in the world if they use a free template that thousands of other people have. Think about it, if you share the same look as thousands of other blogs have than how does that help to draw readers in and create a brand for yourself?

- Second, the way I look at many things in life is that if you’re going to buy something eventually than why not just do it now? I know it’s a funny outlook, but I don’t understand why many successful bloggers used a free default template before moving to a custom one later on down the road after they saw success. To save money perhaps? Why stick with a free default template when you can buy a custom template now and reap the added benefits of further building your brand and looking different than other blogs?

- Lastly (and this pertains to those forum admins out there that read my blog), if you already spend around $500 for a custom forum skin to create that completely different look for your fourm(s) now, than why don’t you do the same thing for your blog?

With these reasons in mind, I think I’ve decided to look into getting a custom blog template for my blog. When do you think it is worth the money to pay for a new blog design?