Business: How to Build Your Creative Brand This Month (without the heavy lifting).
When you a freelance creative, it’s easy to let the brand building tasks fall to the bottom of the list - client work takes over and life gets busy. But your brand is working (or not working) while you are busy doing other things and is influencing your audience - when someone lands on your website, stumbles across your instagram or gets your newsletter (or indeed, doesn’t), they’re forming an impression of you and whether they should invest in what you offer. For freelance creatives especially, a brand isn’t separate from your business - it IS your business - because you’re not a faceless company and people hire you or buy from you because of you and your unique way of doing things.
A strong personal brand means you stop starting from scratch every time you need more work or do another market - through a clear brand you have already warmed people up, build trust and demonstrated you are someone worth parting money for.
April is a brilliant time to do some brand tweaks - the final push through winter is done and projects for the year are starting to take shape, budgets are refreshed and people are spending again. So even some small changes can make a huge difference right now.
So where to begin? We’ve all heard the advice that if you want to build a habit with exercise start small and it’s the same with working on your creative brand - the blocks we build every month equate to a consistent and cohesive brand so without telling them your clients/customers know exactly what it is you do and can see your business with clarity. And don’t we all want to be taken seriously as a business? Because we deserve to be.
Get clear on what you offer and why.
This may sound basic off the bat but regularly reminding yourself of this is so important - having a clear sense of what drives us, what we offer and to who can be so clarifying and sparks so much thought about social and newsletter content. Take 10 mins to just write 2 pages about your business and just see what comes from it. Be clear about who you are trying to be attractive to and have a think about what their pain points are - maybe they are low on time and how do you help with that? Or they don’t feel ready - how would you answer that question if in the room with them?
Create some social posts.
Using what came out of the above, draft up 4 social media posts to make it clear what the experience of working with you is like, what you offer or what problem you solve. I’ve learned that an audience is really wanting our point of view - you want these posts to serve as a way to educate people on your craft or what you do so if they were talking about you and your business to someone over a dinner table they would be able to say exactly what it is you do.
Send, start or revive your newsletter.
How many newsletters have you received from a company with an offer of 10% off that you instantly unsubscribed from? I do it all the time - I don’t want to feel spammed or sent a token discount that in reality only equates to a fiver off. I want to know WHY I should buy the product but also want to feel like I know something about the value of the product or service. I am so invested in Riverford vegetable boxes because with every box they send me a little bit of info and I also get recipes sent via email on delivery of my box. And recently, I received a gifted set from Kloris, a CBD oil brand and I have stayed on their mailing list because they send me some really interesting insights on stress management and other bonuses like playlists. How can you add value without burning yourself out? You’ll be surprised at how you can provide something nurturing in a very simple way - it can just be using a template with a few sections that you update each time. Pssst… Flodesk makes this super easy.
Show up on stories.
It’s often said that stories is where you keep your current audience. With that in mind, this is the place you get to share all the bits that light you up or insights into what you do without worrying about how it looks. The messier the better - no need for ring lights or edited video - just clips of your life that help people know, like and trust you.
Audit your website homepage.
Go to your website right now and ask yourself: does this communicate exactly what I do? Does it give someone a sense of me? And is there a photo that sums up my personality and work? If not, make those tweaks right now or add it to the do list as a priority. You could well be losing PR and customers every day that goes by.
Book a brand shoot.
While I know you’re thinking I’m biased I have seen time and time again the value a brand shoot can bring - professional, well lit and atmospheric images are THE best way to communicate your brand easily and instantly. But while the return on investment is a no brainer, the process of planning a brand shoot with an experienced photographer who knows creative businesses inside and out will give you clarity and breathe confidence in you to be seen, charge your worth and reach for those PR opportunities. And you’ll have a whole bank of incredible photos to reach for for newsletters, flyers, event pages, interviews, your social posts, website banners and so much more which save you time and energy.
