Are you ready to launch your brand and business?
Whether you’re building your brand from scratch, looking spruce up your existing website, you’re incorporating a new service or growing your business, you don’t want to get caught in the headlights. I’ve put together a list of 10 things to do beforehand to ensure your brand success.
- Know your purpose.
Take time to understand or review your bigger why beyond making money. What makes you tick? What makes you angry? What change do you want to bring to the world through your business? - Get grounded.
Now that you’ve dreamt big, it’s time to drill down a bit to your business goals for the year. Get down to the nitty gritty of the financial goals. Getting this on the page and out of your head will get you thinking practically about what’s important for building your brand and business right now. - Embrace your origin story.
What brought you this far in your journey? This is the most powerful tool in your arsenal that sets you apart from everyone else. Burt’s Bees’ founder story of swapping hectic city life for a simpler one, for example, follows a classic storytelling arc of how he and his partner wanted to help people give back to nature what they took. Tap into the power of your story to fuel your authentic brand. - Define your brand’s core values.
Your personal values are pillars for how you run your business, who you work with and your priorities in life. When you align your purpose-led mission with your brand’s values and can connect deeply with the values of your clients, you can build a tribe of loyal ambassadors. - Get to know who you want to serve.
Picture the one person, their needs and problems, fears, frustrations, where they hang out and speak out. Do some research to find out what they’re saying about their problems, and what they’re searching for. This may sound exclusive, but when you target your message to the one person you can cut through a noisy marketplace. - Refine your offering.
The integrity of your personal brand lies in your ability to follow through on what you promise. This is true whether you’re a content creator, coach, consultant, course creator or you sell products. Take a test-and-learn approach to developing your offering. Start with your skills, gifts and the problem you want to solve. Then do your research to find your niche. - Embody your brand’s voice.
This is a fundamental that most people starting out miss: how to voice your brand. Think of your brand emotion not so much as emotional manipulation, but as the main emotion that you want people to come away with when they encounter your brand. How well you engage your would-be clients will show through in your grasp your brand voice and personality. This is not one to leave to AI or industry speak. - Get your visuals finalized.
Take a moment to note how far down the list creating visual brand comes. This is because the visuals – logos, favicons, sub-logos, icons, colours, images, typeface – come out of the foundational work of steps 1 – 7. Make sure you don’t skip them or you’ll have a website or logo that’s all fur coat and no knickers. If you’re using a designer, they will want this information anyway. Collect these in one place so you can refer to them in future. - Prep your platforms.
Here’s where your research of your potential clients comes into its own! After you’ve identified where they hang out online, choose 2 primary platforms. If you prefer writing to speaking, then YouTube might not be for you, especially if your clients don’t use it that much. Draft your statements and introductory copy using your brand’s voice and personality. You can easily create branded banner templates for different platforms using Canva. - Map out your online presence.
Now that you’ve done all the groundwork, you’re ready to take the next step of crafting your online presence. If you’re starting out, you don’t have to build a 4-page website – especially if you want to test out your new offering. A good place to start is with a 1-page site or landing page that showcases who you are and what you do and invites people to take the next step with you. If you’re doing a brand refresh you might want to bring in a website designer, and someone to help you with your messaging.
Are you prepped to launch your authentic stand-out brand?
I know, it seems like a lot! But investing the time now in the foundations of a brand that looks and feels like you will give you the confidence to own your brand. And, it will save you precious time in the long run! If you want help with setting these in place, or with articulating the value you bring and your brand’s voice and personality, I help purpose-led business owners to turn their message into a movement for change. through content, copy and coaching. Get in touch to discuss your needs.