Something is Missing From Your Brand and I Know What It Is

If you're reading this blog post, I’m guessing you already understand the importance of branding. You may have DIY-ed the current brand design for your business and while it was okay for awhile, you know something is missing. You're wondering if it could be better—more polished, more professional, more YOU.

As a brand strategist and designer, I know that branding is more than what your business looks like or feels like. Your brand is about how your business WORKS.

I want to explain my beliefs about branding and how YOU can create a brand that deeply resonates with you and your dream clients. Let's go!

What Is Your Brand?

At its core, your brand is an energetic signature from you to everyone you interact with. (I know that might sound crazy, but bear with me, I promise this will make sense!)

There is a specific energy associated with your brand. That energy comes from your beliefs, your past experiences, your vision, your purpose for creating a business, and the value you provide. All of that becomes the energetic signature of your brand, and is communicated to your Instagram followers, your customers, and even future employees. Your brand’s energy can and should resonate with the exact audience you want to target.

Your brand design (meaning your logo, color palette, etc) isn't really your BRAND, it's just the visual manifestation of your brand. Think of it as the illustration of the energy you want your brand to exemplify. Still with me?

What's Wrong With Your Brand?

If you feel lost—like your brand is all over the place, the issue isn't that you're not using the right fonts or colors, it's the fact that your brand AESTHETIC doesn't match your brand ENERGY.

I know this because I've been there myself. When I first started my business I felt like my brand was confusing and non-specific, but I had no idea how to fix it. What I've learned is that if you feel like your brand isn't resonating with people, it's because there's nothing to resonate with. You need to do the work to figure out what your brand is about before you figure out how it will look. 

That synergy is what I call, "An Embodied Brand."

So, without further ado, here is my unofficially-official list of non-negotiables when it comes to an Embodied Brand:

1. Energetics First, Aesthetics Second

Look you guys, I get it. I looooooove design. I buy fonts like some people buy cappuccinos in the morning. But please, please, PLEASE trust me when I say that you need to start by organizing the energy of your brand. You need to know deep down in your bones what you're all about. Sometimes this is called, "doing the work." It doesn't matter what you want to call it, the principle is the same: Slow down, look within, figure out who you are and what you want to accomplish, and THEN you can start playing with colors and fonts and logos. So start here: Who are you? What do you want to bring to the table? What energy do you want to give off to your clients?

2. Be True to YOU

You will never have an Embodied Brand if you're constantly trying to copy everyone else. You've got to own who you are. I know that this is so much easier said than done. But this is the work you have to do. If you don't know where to start, I would recommend the book, You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. It's not really a book about branding or business, but it will help you understand what's going on in your brain and love yourself for who you are instead of wishing you were somebody or something else. Figure out who you are and then trust that your success will come by staying true to that. You want to be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate copy of someone else.

3. Make it Beautiful

This is where aesthetics come into play. You have the energy and the strategy of your brand nailed down. You know who you are and you're ready to own it. But how do you communicate that energetic signature to your audience? You need the right brand design. I've created a lot of resources for designing your brand so I won't go into specific details here, but I really want to stress the importance of creating a BEAUTIFUL brand. When you make something beautiful, you make it more meaningful, memorable, and valuable. Think about when you get ready for a job interview. You brush your hair, put on something snazzy (do people still say that?), and walk into the room with your head held high. Your brand design is the same idea. You sell yourself short if you throw your ideas out without packaging them in an aesthetically pleasing way that draws your customers to you.

Now What?

Are you feeling inspired to redo your whole brand? I'm excited for you! Be sure to look at what’s working and what isn’t working for your current brand. You don’t want to throw everything away, just the parts that don’t feel like YOU.

Before you go, let me tell you one last thing: There are a lot of business owners who think they don't need to worry about aesthetics if the energetics are clear. Similarly, some business owners try to skip the inner work phase and go right to designing a pretty logo. Don't fall into this trap. You need both energetics AND aesthetics. They're equally valuable, and there's no shortcut to creating either one. You simply have to take the time to figure out your brand, so that your ideal clients and customers don't have to.

If you find yourself wanting to avoid either part, ask yourself, "What am I afraid of discovering by doing this work?" Your answer will reveal exactly what you need to address (and probably the THING that will make your brand thrive). What are you waiting for? Go!

Good luck!

Need Some Help with Your Brand?

I offer 1x1 brand strategy + design services for online business owners, and now I've packaged my entire process into a self-guided online course to help you connect your offer with what your customers are desperate to buy

Branded will help you look legit and become the coolest brand on Instagram. CHECK IT OUT HERE!

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