BRANDING: wat doe je met al die kant-en-klare stappenplannen?

Log in to Facebook or Instagram and the ads for ebooks (webinars, salesfunnels, etc) will deafen you. Nothing new. And with online academies becoming the current trend, we can all become masters at cupcake designs, salesfunnels, email marketing, making money-money-money-must-be-funny, crocheting stuffed animals, spirituality-for-millenials, and what not.

Am I bored. No, not at all. I pretty much do the same thing ;-).

It’s all F.A.B. (fucking awesome, bitch!). It allows us to learn what we want from wherever we want to learn that. The freebees give us a taste of the goods, the academies allow us to get to the real core of the skill. And yes, hopefully the experts know their sh*t well enough to give you the right tools.

But… if everyone follows these ebooks, templates, step-by-step guides and proven methods, we’ll basically be doing it all exactly the same.

The result? Nobody stands out. All but the inventor of the method.

So what to do about that? You work on your branding.

The difference between Plain Jane and Audacious Audrey is this: branding. 

With branding I mean all conscious promotional activities as well as subconscious actions that make your brand remarkable. Design, language, photography, interior, clothing, makeup, in-store communication, packaging, the way you pick up your phone, the way you serve your customers, fuck… even the friendly face the delivery guys gives Mister Smith.

A solid brand understands that it’s not merely a business. An institute. It understands that – even when there’s tons of staff working in the organization – each and every customer wants to feel like the brand is a person. A human being. A perso-fuckin’-nality.

It does not matter whether you’re by yourself or with a big team: you all build the brand, you all participate in branding. And you’d better ALL know what that personality should be, look, sound, smell, feel, taste like.

My message to you is: whatever DIY, templates, guidelines or step-by-step plans you get, make sure you jam it up with your yummie flavors, so that your home-cooked meal is not merely the result of following a recipe, but a one-of-a-kind, delicious dish people will never get anywhere else.

SPICE, it’s all about adding your spice to it.

This is how you add color to all those standardized plans:

1. Always use your brand’s colors: yes, even the tiniest detail is an opportunity to influence. You can get Powerpoint templates, Word templates, Canva templates… but if you don’t adjust them to your brand, you’ll disappear in the sea of sameness.
2. Find your own language: the wording is CRUCIAL in branding. And so often overlooked… People read, my dear. They read and want to be entertained, moved, inspired, informed, transformed. Your words contain incredibly value. Find the words that set you apart from the rest, claim certain words as YOURS and use them over and over: that’s branding, baby.

You’re not just a pretty face, darling. You’ve got something to say as well.

1. Manage your energy levels: in whatever you do, make sure you radiate the right energy. Is your brand the uplifting type? Calm, empowering, bold, soothing, juicy, peaceful, wise, funny or sexy? Show that energy. In video, photography, salespages, funnels, emails, and so on. Energy is KEY. People feel more than you think…

Yes, I have created steps to do this as well. A method, templates and guidelines included. And you know what? The more you use them, the better you get at them. You can slowly make them your own. Give yourself the time for that.

Hope you’ll show MORE of your personality so keep discerning yourself! 

Good luck 🙂

 

xx