You’re probably looking at that title and thinking: Eh? Okay, what the heck does she mean by that? 🤨
“Of course, I’m building a business. I’m a photographer, so I’ve gotta take great pictures.” Or “I’m an event planner, so of course my party designs and logistics management have got to be on point.” Or “I’m a choreographer, so teaching dance moves is what I do.”
But that’s exactly what I mean. Of course, I’m not asking you to stop working on all that stuff. It’s important!
But when your main goal is financial success, or entrepreneurial independence, or making a positive impact in as many people’s lives as possible, that’s not what you want to lead with.
Why?
Well….if you’re a photographer, how many other photographers out there ALSO take great pictures? How many event planners deal with event design and logistics? How many choreographers out there teach dance moves? (Psst. The answer is pretty much everyone lol.)
You’re not the only one out there doing your business.
So what does that mean for the potential clients you want to look your way?
They’re looking for services just like yours. But there is a sea of similar options out there.
So how do you stand out?
Answer: Your BRAND!
Your brand is more than just your services (Which are phenomenal, by the way!)
Your brand is your business’s unique personality. Your unique spin on what you do.
Sure, maybe you snap amazing photos, but would you rather be 1 of 23948793 photographers in your area? Or would you rather be the one and only family photographer who melts away a mom’s self-conscious doubts and captures her son’s wonderfully chaotic energy to make beautifully authentic family portraits the way YOU do?
The obvious answer is that 2nd option! That’s what I mean when I say you should be building a brand, not a business.
Let me show you how you can build your brand in a couple of ways:
Identifying Your Dream Client
What kind of people are you DYING to work with? Because the answer is definitely not “EVERYONE.” If you’ve ever caught yourself saying that, you definitely need to head back to the drawing board.
Maybe you’re looking for people who have always wanted nice pictures of themselves and their family to hang up around the house, but they always felt too self-conscious about taking pictures. Selfies were just never their forte. And they always seem to make awkward derp faces in every other shot.
If you’re a photographer and you absolutely love breaking nervous people out of their shells and making them feel comfortable enough to open up like a flower as you capture shot after shot of their authentic selves on camera, then maybe Ms. Anti-Selfie is the perfect client for you.
And you know what that means?
Your brand doesn’t necessarily connect with the girl who’s always snapping pictures of herself on her phone. The girl who always knows the right pose. The girl who would’ve aced those wacky photo challenges on America’s Next Top Model.
So stop talking to her!
Aim your brand at the Ms. Anti-Selfies of the world, because your specific skill set and the part of your job that makes your heart sing are built JUST. FOR. HER.
Your dream client wants to feel understood. Like you were made specifically for her. Like no one else on the planet gets her quite like you do.
And this goes for any industry, whether you’re a photographer, event planner, choreographer, social media manager, copywriter, business consultant – whatever!
Once you identify your dream client, you’re able to sell your BRAND – not just your business. That means marketing your special values that are unique to you, versus just marketing your services…which everyone else in your industry already has.
Crafting Your Brand Identity
If your business had a mouth and could talk, what would she sound like?
(Because if you can’t quite picture it, you have a major problem there.)
Is she sweet and helpful?
Dynamic and wild?
Bougie and intelligent?
Nerdy and hilarious?
Your brand identity is how your business interacts with the world. What’s her personality?
And a lot of that brand identity is expressed through visuals and words.
That means you should be asking questions like: How would my business write this email? How would she design this Instagram post?
Here at Moonbeam Creative, I love to talk about how I make gorgeous, anti-boring brand & website designs for extraordinary female-owned small businesses. But I’m not just blowing hot air when I talk about my design aesthetics!
Every beautiful pixel is strategically chosen to paint a full and detailed picture of your brand’s identity.
❌ I didn’t pick blue because it’s your favorite color.
✅ I picked blue because it matches the chill and relaxed tone your dream clients are looking for.
❌ I didn’t pick that font because it’s pretty.
✅ I picked that font because it gives your brand a chic and modern vibe.
❌ I didn’t design your logo a certain way because it’s cute and trendy.
✅ I strategically crafted that logo to create a powerful and memorable emotional connection for your target audience.
As you can see, every pixel is carefully curated to build a brand that feels alive and bursts with a personality your dream client would love. And the same goes for the text you write!
The words you use when you’re promoting yourself online, sending out newsletters, or even sending out an invoice to clients should all reflect your brand identity. You wouldn’t expect a business with a corporate aesthetic to hit you with an email like “Heeeyy girlies!!!!” The whiplash is too strong LOL. 😵💫
Your visual brand identity and your brand voice work together to create one fully fleshed out experience.
Which brings me to my next point:
Consistency
Once you craft your brand identity, STICK WITH IT!
That means if your yoga studio has identified a calm and organic brand identity with cool blues and earthy greens on your website, don’t slap a loud pink, glittery logo on all your IG posts. Don’t start your next newsletter with “It’S TiMe fOr SoMe HiGh OcTaNe YOOOOOOGAAAAA!!!” And don’t, don’t, don’t keep changing your font colors every other day because you just feel like it.
It’s so important to stay within the guidelines of your brand!
How else is a potential client supposed to build recognition for your business if your vibe changes every other day?
Think about it like this: You might change your clothes every day, but you’re still YOU.
So don’t think of your brand identity as the clothing your business wears. Think of it as your business’s personality.
So whatever brand aesthetic, voice, and identity you’ve chosen for your business, stay consistent! That means your website, social media, emails, client portal – EVERYTHING your audience touches should look and feel the same.
One way to help you stay consistent in your brand across all touch points is to have a Brand Guideline. This is a handy little guide I give to all my custom Website in a Week clients. It’s there as a quick reminder of all your brand elements.
So if you forgot what font you’re supposed to use for all your headings – check the brand guidelines! Need to remember what tone you need to write in before you send an email to a client – check the brand guidelines! Want to know if your next social media post fits your brand – check the brand guidelines!
Your brand guidelines serve as the home base for your branding so you never stray off course into the land of brand chaos and confusion.
Conclusion
After you’ve read all that, do you still want to keep building a business, or do you want to start building up your brand?
If you’ve decided to enter your brand-building era, you’re in exactly the right place! Check out my website templates and custom Website in a Week service to join the world of a magnetic, client-attracting female entrepreneur.
