If you were to analyze any great brand, you will find that there are four things supercharging their business:
Brand recognition
Faithful brand ambassadors
Many opportunities
Extraordinary productivity
I will break down these four things and explain how they correlate to the growth potential and success of your brand; however, I want to share a pitiful tale first.
My Dismal Brand Bust and Comeback
When I first became serious about making my lifelong dream of self-employment a reality, I had a lot of drive and a hearty appetite for hustle. But I knew very little about building a brand, other than from my textbooks. Even after two years of very long days, I ended up with a blog no one was reading, an online course two people purchased, a very small email list, in a niche that fit me about as well as that famous black glove fit OJ Simpson.
By the time I came to my "I am a Total Failure" moment, I was sure that my only entrepreneurial superpower was my ability to fail at everything I tried. Needless to say, I practically spiraled. Fortunately, I met a business coach who changed my life forever with the most mind blowing introduction to branding. She challenged my debilitating fears, helped me develop an achievable goals plan, and taught me how to build a brand--not just a business. She showed me exactly how to find the clarity I had been missing and leverage it to build a business that actually reflected my vision and goals. My miserable desperation quickly turned to optimism and hope. Branding took the business I had and helped me organize it into something that was as much artistic as it was functional.
Within the first year after launching, I had:
Built an email list of 9,000+, with open rates of 35 to 40 percent
Padded my bank account with over $46,000
And I did all of that without a single course, sales page, and very little knowledge of sales, list building, or marketing. I don't tell you this to brag. I am telling you this because I want you to pause your skepticism and realize just how transformational branding can be. I want you to understand that branding will arm you with unwavering clarity.
Now to explain four requirements to supercharge your business:
1. Brand Recognition
Given that 90 percent of the information our brains process is visual, it is not surprising that solo success these days boils down to a pause. You need to be that 'moment' that catches someone's attention. They have to be interrupted long enough to take notice. And there's no better trigger for that pause than brand recognition.
Think about your own habits. You swipe and scroll a mile a minute through your social feeds and then suddenly, you pause. What is it that made you stop? More than likely you probably recognized something from one of your favorite brands or bloggers. Assuming, it's not a cute animal video or funny meme, of course.
Brand recognition boils down to a person's ability to recognize your brand strictly by its characteristics, without having to see or hear you or even your brand name. It’s about creating a unique calling card (including your voice, brand identity, product/service menu, etc.) that people will recognize anywhere they run into your content and offers online and offline. If your brand is instantly recognizable, you won't need to create any of that tragic 'Look at me!' noise on social media. You won't end up stifling your exposure or reach by leaving your visibility up to chance. And you won't have to worry about implementing any Jedi mind tricks to build trust and loyalty with your readers and customers.
Brand recognition is the most lucrative brand currency there is.
2. Faithful Brand Ambassadors
Do you want sporadic one-time buyers/readers or loyal fans that keep coming back for more? That is a no brainer, right? One is going to reward you with a single fleeting victory, while the other is going to grant you endless opportunities. While I know how thrilling a single win can be, can you imagine if those wins were always steadily flowing in?
Faithful brand ambassadors are those who talk you up, share your work and invest in you for no other reason than they genuinely believe in you and your brand. They are the most organic revenue generating asset you have in your business. They are the ones who will blow out the social loud speakers and rain down on you with gobs of love and support. They will vouch for you in a way you could never do for yourself. . BUT, like any relationship you have to earn this unwavering appreciation.
How can you earn faithful brand ambassadors? Through consistently showing up and giving more than you take. See, consistency breeds familiarity, familiarity paired with generosity breeds trust, and trust breeds loyalty. Faithful brand ambassadors are the only authentic advertising that doesn't cost you a penny. And the returns you'll reap from that advertising will position you smack dab at the intersection of opportunity and exposure.
3. Opportunity and Exposure
You know how you, at the most inopportune times, catch yourself daydreaming about how you wish {insert your ultimate business crush} would be your business bestie? Or how you would go absolutely cuckoo for cocoa puffs if {insert your all-time favorite brand} would give you access to their peeps for just a single hour? You know, all those 'that'll never happen' dreams that you're too afraid to hope for because they just seem impossible? These are not dreams. These are simply opportunities you need to create. And those opportunities are part of the riches that come with branding.
How so? There is a clear distinction between a hobbyist and an entrepreneur. The most paramount being their investment in branding. The fact is, if you want the influencers and rock stars in your niche to take you seriously, you have to have a brand.
Tough love: You can bitch and moan about the exclusivity that’s involved in being in the proverbial 'cool kids' circle but the truth is, it’s about being taken seriously. Take your own business for example. Do you want to hang with those at the same level as or better than you? Or ones that have 'amateur' written all over them? I doubt a clothing designer wants to hang out with the local beginners craft circle. I doubt an avid skier wants to spend the day sunning on the bunny slopes. I doubt a sommelier wants to join a box wine club.
Look, it’s not about kissing butt or yelling the loudest when it comes to garnering attention. It’s about human nature. We all want to surround ourselves with equals. Those that take our craft as seriously as we do. There is a reason that those that are kicking butt and taking names in your niche have highly visible and recognizable brands. It’s because they’re serious enough to invest in building a brand {not just a website and/or social media profile}, and fiercely committed enough to show up with their 'A' game. They know the drive, ambition, and commitment it takes to build a brand so it’s the easiest qualifier on which to make assessments with.
If you want to create the opportunities that will serve as the catalyst to making your dreams a reality you firsthave to commit to investing your time and money into building a brand. Branding will reward you with an abundance of opportunities. Opportunities which will never be possible unless you buckle down and commit to building a brand that oozes clarity, consistency, and authenticity.
4. Extraordinary Productivity
I don't know about you but I became so used to spinning wheels I built a pretty intense hatred for the words 'productivity' AND 'time management'. In fact, they were buzzwords and nothing more to me. If someone would have told me that branding would increase my productivity by 10X, I would have fallen out of my chair hysterically laughing. So don't feel bad, just get up and get your butt back in the chair :)
Alright, so how does branding have anything to do with how much you can get done? Well, let me show you the ways my little grasshopper. You will no longer have to:
Struggle to find your voice, purpose, mission or message, because you'll already be armed with steadfast clarity on all aspects of who you are and what your brand is all about.
Waste time haphazardly searching for visual elements like colors, fonts, or decorative elements, because you'll be armed with a style guide {that has each of those elements already defined}, which will allow you to create new visual content in a snap, crackle, POP.
Spend time figuring out what to post, sell, create or write about, because your loyal posse of ambassadors are going to tell you exactly what they want from you.
Wonder what to focus your attention on because the opportunities you are creating will dictate the specific tasks you need to focus your efforts on.
GREAT BRANDS AREN'T BUILT IN A DAY!
They take work, commitment, investment, and know how. Stick with me and I'll show you how to make sure your brand treasure chest is oozing with the riches you need to propel your solo success.
