It's Just You and Your Brand Tonight by Phoenix Desertsong, Content Revival At the end of the day, it’s just you and your brand. You and your brand sleep in the same bed at night, whether it’s been a great day, a mediocre one, or a really, really bad one. You gotta take it home with you. In fact, you are your brand.
When you look in the mirror, you should see a reflection of your brand. The brand you create should be a direct extension of you and reflect your values and standards. If these aren't the case then you and your brand need to have a talk. But my brand isn’t me, it’s just what I do, right? Well, what you do is you. If you build a brand, even if it’s not your “personal brand,” it still is personal. But, both brands should be personal to you. They are interconnected, whether you realize it or not. In fact, as you build your business brand, you are also building your personal brand. In our social media-driven world, it's more important than ever for leaders of a brand to build their own personal brands to give a face to the business brands. People today demand more personality and humanity from brands. So, your own self reflects on your business and vice versa, even if you don't want it to. Really, all a brand is at the end of it all is the idea that other people have of you in their minds. It’s what your business represents. So, you should be able to stand behind what you want your brand to be one hundred percent. If you feel that you and your business brand are separate entities, you will find it slip away from you. That's true with your personal brand, too For some people, it's really one in the same, but both are still connected. Even if you're building a business you later plan to sell, you need to stay connected and in tune with both your business and personal brand. Otherwise, one or both are going to get away from you and rebuilding either one the way you want it to be may become out of reach. If it’s a good one, someone will be happy to take it over for you. So, should my brand and I have a sit-down and chat? If you feel that you and your brand are out of sync, then you are out of sync yourself. No matter the reason, you do need to step back and refocus. What are you all about? How can your brand become an extension of what causes and ideas are near and dear to you? By asking yourself these questions, you’ll build a much stronger brand. You'll also become a much better person, by staying true to what you are and letting your brand become a vehicle for those things. While staying true to yourself sounds cliche, people don’t really follow that advice. It’s even more rare that a brand is truly used as a vehicle of self-expression and to further ideas and causes. Yes, it happens. A lot of those brands are wildly successful, because they are authentic. People like authenticity, and people love when you take that authenticity far as you can possibly take it. Those who are willing to make major sacrifices for their brands are the true Brand Heroes. Doubters will eat their words when they see your success if you never stop moving and taking your brand with you. Your brands, no matter how many you have, are like your vehicle. Built, driven, and maintained correctly, they can reliably put you on cruise control to whatever your destination might be Remember, you are your brand. Have that conversation with yourself. Know that you and your brand are one in the same. Never give up on your brand and never give up on yourself. Only then will you and your brand truly be in tune and become a force for good and whatever change you want to make in the world. ~ Phoenix <3 Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Contact the branding experts at Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how!
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by Phoenix Desertsong, Small Business Consultant It's always a good idea to try new things. But, as many successful people have found over the years, what you stop doing can be just as important as what you are doing. Wasting time and effort on things that don't better you or give you any benefit is something successful people have learned not to do. One of the main lessons of an excellent book I read called “Good to Great” made this point very well: knowing what you need to stop doing is just as important as what you’re doing or should be doing. When good companies rose to be great companies, they often decided to stop doing things they’d been doing. Sometimes these things were actually a major part of their business, and some were even still profitable. But, wait, why would you stop doing something profitable? That’s because the leaders of these companies identified an area where they could be the BEST, not just third-best or second-best. Just because it’s technically productive, you could be doing MORE. You know how they say, work smarter, not harder. This is exactly what these great companies did. For example, Walgreens once had a food service division, a fairly profitable one at that. But when Cork Walgreen took over the business, he eliminated it, deciding instead to focus entirely on making their pharmacies the best “corner drug stores” in the world. Of course, this worked out well. While CVS is now the number one in the US, Walgreens along with Boots Alliance in Europe has done just fine. Another company that did very well even by eliminating a major part of their business was the steel company NUCOR. For years they went head to head with Bethlehem Steel, but finally, the decision was made to scrap (no pun intended) their more conventional mill model. Instead, they decided to go to the mini-mill concept, to reduce costs while still creating high-quality products. That model worked for them quite well, and they are very much still around. Focus On What Your Brand Does BEST! I’ve written before about how the greatest companies often have a “hedgehog concept” - meaning you focus on what you’re best at while ignoring everything else. When it comes to starting a great business, you need to find what market you serve the very best and focus entirely on that. Of course, you also need to be adaptable and identify what ways you need to change your strategy as the market changes and shifts. Of course, identifying the processes you do that don’t serve you well and eliminating them first is a good thing to do too. Are you spending too much time on one or more social platforms that don’t provide you any positive value? Are you promoting products and services that never sell? That seems easy enough to do, but sometimes, out of habit, we keep doing certain things that no longer help us or are no longer worth our return on investments. The hard part is letting go of things that make us money, but not enough to be worth our investment of time and resources. That time and those resources could be better served by focusing on a more narrow focus. Yes, sometimes drastically shifting your business model is hard to do. It doesn’t always work. But, if you’re in a position where your business isn’t growing or growing too slowly to be sustainable, sometimes it’s worth taking the chances. Your time is the most valuable resource, and you can’t be wasting it on things that don’t have an appreciable, sustainable positive effect for your brand. If You’re Already Successful, Why Not Just Keep Doing It? If your brand is already doing well, does this advice even apply? Yes, it does. You’d be surprised how even the most SUCCESSFUL companies are constantly finding better and more efficient ways to do things. That doesn't mean drastic cost cutting measures or payroll cuts. In fact, the BEST thing to do is simply look at how shifting your business model could help you keep jobs. After all, reassinging talent within the same company is a lot better for company morale. Plus, it’s much cheaper in time and resources to retrain existing employees than on-boarding brand new ones; obviously, some won’t work out,. In cases where great companies drastically shifted their business models, they've tried to get as many of their existing people on-board, as possible. On that note, you need to be sure that anyone you work with, whether they be suppliers, your existing client, or your own employees are on board with what you’re doing. If you need to do something to make your company better, and you have people not on board, it may be time to part ways. The good of your company and brand depend on being adaptable. “Good to Great” called it making sure the right people are on the bus. That’s a good analogy. Every great business and brand starts with one, but it’s the team that wins out in the end. Having the right people and the right branding strategy is what will turn your business from a good one to a great one. So, find the things that you need to stop doing, and find the one thing that you’re best at. Then, find a way to do it that’s both measurable and profitable. You’ll find you suddenly have a lot more time at doing what you do best. Looking for a partner in growing your brand and taking it to the next level? Check out our Brand Healing branding consultation packages.
by Phoenix Desertsong, Personal Branding Expert When most people start a company these days, they know branding is one of the keys of success. But, a brand goes far deeper than your logo, how your website looks, and how you present your product or service. What separates the brand zeroes from the Brand Heroes in the end is passion and the ability to connect on an emotional (and even spiritual level) with their intended audiences.
So, how do you become a Brand Hero? Here’s the number one tip... It’s Not All About the Money! Too often, it seems like money is the end goal when someone creates a brand. No matter what the stated objective in a business plan may be, the end result is what’s my cut in all of this? But, building your brand shouldn’t ever be just about your bottom line. Still, it seems to be the hope of many budding entrepreneurs out there to build a fairly successful business, then sell their growing company to someone with a pile of money, and move onto new ventures. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with building a company and selling it. But, what’s the true motivation behind it? And, should you really sell your brand to someone else just for money? That’s the million - or even billion - dollar question isn’t it? The number one reason 90 percent - or more - of startups fail isn’t what you think. It isn’t lack of business knowledge or a lack of a proper business plan. Yes, that knowledge is helpful. But most successes aren’t as planned as the “experts” would have you believe. The reason that many fail is actually much more basic. A lot of those people that build brands are just trying to become rich and/or famous. Guess what? Everybody tries that. Yeah, some succeed. But the reason those people succeed is because they weren’t in it for the money. Sure, money may have changed their motivations later on. Sure, someone may offer life-changing money in exchange for their product or business. But still, the initial success is because there was a purpose, a passion, behind creating the brand. Well, passion isn’t enough some say. But you’d be surprised at how little of a plan some aspiring entrepreneurs have. They either enter the market at the right time, are doing something completely different from everyone else, or do something that others are failing miserably at. Let’s look at how these Brand Heroes figure out how and when to jump on their opportunities. How Do I Get in the Market at the Right Time? There isn’t a magical answer to this question. It really is partly luck. You can do some research and see if a particular niche is trending. Yes, you can jump on the bandwagon and just try to get int there and do it better than everyone else. Sometimes, this works. But the thing is, when you jump on a bandwagon, you’re competing with a whole bunch of other wannabes. So, the trick is to get into the market before everyone else has figured it out. Being Completely Different Obviously, being completely different at something is a bit difficult to do. But if you are doing something no one else is doing, and it’s something that people actually look for, then you have a chance of creating your own niche. Creating your own market is always better than trying to do what everyone else is trying to do. But inventing something new is hard. Still, it can be rewarding, especially if you get people who buy into your vision and stick with it until you’re successful. Do Something Others Fail Miserably At... Speaking of trying, there are plenty of things out there that are being done, but not necessarily well. If you’re experiencing a certain service or product that’s out there but that people aren’t happy with, then innovate! Turns out that most successful people took something existing and innovated on it, but it’s the innovation that’s remembered and becomes the real big success. So, yeah, you don’t even have to invent something to be successful. You just have to not suck at it. That’s probably the hardest thing to do of all, but it’s also how you can find an existing market that is hungry for something better. And, innovation is sometimes just as good as inventing something. So, if you want ot build a company for the sole purpose of selling it later, well… that’s not how I’d recommend doing it. But you can! If you build something awesome that people want to buy, I suggest giving them a cut, but never, ever give up your baby’s ownership rights. Sure, someone may be able to run it better than you, or so you think. Staying in control of what you create and putting your heart and soul into it is what makes a true Brand Hero. Do you have what it takes to be a Brand Hero? You’ll never know unless you put your best foot forward, chase your dreams, and never give up no matter what anyone else does or says. My best advice is to never lose control of your brand. It should be as much a part of you as your arm and leg. While I know plenty of people will disagree with me, this is what I believe. I’m going to always stick to it. After all, if someone wants to buy my company for millions of dollars, who knows what I could built it into myself? Share your success with others, sure. Let others buy in, sure. But never lose hold of the reins to your chariot. It may be just a rickety cart right now, but you just never know how you’ll build it up to become an impressive vehicle for your hopes and dreams. Be a Brand Hero, stand out, and build something awesome! Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Hire the Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how! What Does the Earth Kitten (Page of Pentacles) Tarot Card Mean For Your Business and Brand?9/1/2018 by Phoenix Desertsong, Tarot Reader & Branding Consultant If you’re familiar with Tarot, you may be wondering what the heck the Earth Kitten is? The Earth Kitten is the analog for the traditional Page of Pentacles in the Mystical Cats Tarot Deck. Drawing this card for a business reading is certainly a good thing. Learn what pulling the Earth Kitten Tarot Card - or the Page of Pentacles in a traditional Tarot deck - means for your business and brand. What is the Earth Kitten Card Telling Me? If you’re just starting out in business, this is a great card to see! In the case of the Earth Kitten, the kitten is touching noses with a hedgehog in a forest. As the “Tales of the Mystical Cats” advises, this card advises you that you are slowly but surely building practical skills and refining your knowledge of the way the world works. The card also advises you to seek beauty in unexplored places and take pleasure in the realm of the senses. The “Tales” guidebook also suggests that study and other quiet pastimes are especially beneficial now to you now. Like a human individual, your business (and your brand) is a spiritual entity. In drawing this card for a business reading, it means that your business and brand are off a good start. But, it’s still a kitten and needs nurturing. It means that you should continue to focus on building the fundamentals of your business and the practical benefits it can have for potential clients or customers. Drawing this card would also suggest that building your business’ brand would benefit from using pictures or videos that would stimulate the senses to attract new leads. Your business can also benefit from studying your niche more closely and finding how your brand can serve your audience even better. It’s also important to take time away from your business, perhaps on the weekend, even if it’s not for the whole day, for you to recharge. It’s OK for your business to take a nap. Am I On the Right Track with My Business and Brand? The Earth Kitten, or Page of Pentacles, means that you’re on the right track with building your new business. If your business isn’t new, then it means that you’re on the verge of giving it new life. It’s always good to see a Kitten (or Page) Tarot card, as it signifies new beginnings. Whether your brand is new or taking on a new direction, you’re doing something right. Take the advice that the card gives you to heart and watch your brand and business grow! Where are you at with building your brand and business? What guidance do you feel you still need? The Brand Shamans can help! Let us know in the comments or contact us! ~ Phoenix <3 >>> Get a FREE Business Tarot or Oracle Reading with any Brand Shamans Custom Brand Healing Package, starting with a Brand Analysis! <<<
>>> HEALING CARD READINGS AT INTENT-SIVE NATURE <<< by R.A. Rowell; Personal Branding Professional Naming your brand is like naming a child. That brand name is how people will refer to what you do and sell. As your brand grows up, you want it to be a name to be proud of. You want to pick a brand name that will be linked with success, profitability, or hopefully both.
Your brand name is more important than any other part of branding. It's even more important than your actual products and services. A brand name is how the public recognizes you or your business. It’s what sets you apart from anyone else. What’s in a Brand Name? By having a catchy name, people will immediately recognize your brand. Picking a good brand name allows customers or clients to be able to connect with your business on an emotional level. How you choose your name is actually fairly open. Some might say that your brand name should have something directly to do with your product or service. But you can also choose a name based on how it makes people feel or how memorable it is. Whatever name you pick, you want it to be unique. You don’t want a name that’s too similar to another well-known brand. That may confuse people. Confusing people is definitely not a good way to do business. What you want to do is have a brand name people remember and that people instantly recognize. This is extremely important in advertising. It’s also important to building brand loyalty. If you have too generic a name, say “Bob’s Hobby Shop,” that won't get people very excited. It might work in a small town, perhaps. But, in today’s global economy, if you’re looking to expand your business beyond your local downtown, you need a brand name that's a lot catchier. How Does a Good Brand Name Build Loyalty? A good brand name will stick in consumers’ minds as an entity. You want your brand to be thought of as a real, tangible thing with its own spirit, values, and purpose. People can become extremely loyal to a brand. Just look at Coke. They are probably the best out there at brand building. The Coke brand is so well-known and easily recognized that they can cross-brand and put their name on just about anything. If you choose a highly marketable name and build your brand well enough, you can put your brand name on just about anything, too. Brand recognition also creates more loyal customers, as they come to think of your brand as they would a friend. More loyal customers mean higher revenues, and more importantly, more repeat business. For any business, repeat customers means your brand is doing well. It’s been found that it takes five times as much money (or more in some industries) to gain a new customer than retaining an existing customer. That’s why brand loyalty is so important; you don’t have to work as hard to keep the cash flowing. Choose the right brand name and you'll succeed. Even rebrand and pick a new brand name if you have to. Getting the brand name right is the most important thing you will ever do in your business. Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Hire the Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how! by R.A. Rowell; Branding Professional Personal branding has become more important than ever. It matters in job hunting, freelancing, and building any sort of business – even a side-hustle! On the flip side, business brands are becoming more and more like people all the time. The social media accounts of brands you love – and brands you love to hate – have become their own personalities.
Sure, you still have celebrity endorsements. But, more and more, people want to connect with people who are directly connected to a brand. Giving faces and voices to the people that build the brand from within real people who are completely invested in what your brand stands for, makes your business more human than ever.. The power of interviews has long been known for building personal brands. Yet, many business brands – and even some people with successful personal brands – don't realize realize the true brand building value of doing an interview. Not only is it essentially free exposure, but you put a face to your brand, which is invaluable in our socially super-charged world. If you're trying to build your personal brand, building your reputation, and marketing your skills, doing an interview with a venue that has a decent audience can be invaluable. There are many kinds of interviews. They can be done on audio podcasts, in YouTube Videos or Facebook Live chats, or in text form on blogs. Whichever type works best for you is fine. They all are effective in their respective ways. What an interview does is to bring new dimensions to your brand, both your own personal brand (as an author or designer, for example) and your business brand. Obviously, you want to find an interviewer that asks the right questions. But, even interviews with more general questions are fine, as long as you have good and engaging answers to give. You may not think you're great at giving an interview, but you're probably better than you think. After all, the whole point of an interview is to put you on the spot. You're going to get some unexpected questions and how you answer them can go a long way towards giving people a good impression. So, the best thing about doing an interview? You don't really have to do the research. That's all on the interviewer to do. You just have to answer some questions. Being prepared is good, knowing the interviewer and all that. But your main job is to just be you and answer questions as honestly as you can – within reason, of course. The smarter your answers, the better you and your brand will look, of course. Think of an interview as a conversation about your brand. Try not to stress about what questions are going to be asked. The whole idea is to come out from behind your brand and put yourself out there. That can be very difficult to do. But the rewards are well worth it. Not only do you get yourself and your brand out in front of new people, but you also bring personality to your brand and give it a face. People like to relate to people, and the more your brand becomes like a person, the more people will want to interact with it. So, if you have a chance to do an interview, don't delay. The sooner you do it, the sooner you give you personal brand - and the brands of your related businesses - a new chance to grow! Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Hire the Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how! by R.A. Rowell; Content Creator Coach "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra
Oh, Yogi, of course, you can observe a lot just by watching! The great Yogi Berra was an amazing baseball player and later a very good team manager and coach. He's also famous for saying a lot of things. Many of them, often known as "Yogi-isms" seem odd at face value, and many of which seem obvious. However, sometimes if you really think about these "Yogi-isms" you realize that there's more to it. Observing Means Paying Attention to the Right Things What Yogi Berra meant is that you can learn a lot from observations if you pay attention to the right things. In baseball, as well as football and other sports, there are little things to watch for to give you a competitive advantage. You may have heard of "stealing signs." Indeed, cracking the code to your opponent's coaching signals certainly helps. It's a big deal in American football, too. Just by watching the social media pages, blogs, and other public channels of companies who are in a related field as you, or even your direct competition, you can learn a lot. Seeing how people engage with other brands can tell you what they might be doing right. In fact, you can also see what's not working, too, which is just as important. This is called competitor research. You can then adapt some of these things that are working for them to attract the same sort of brand engagement. Beyond just taking cues from your competition, you can learn a lot by observing your own brand engagement, as well. You can glean valuable insights into what you may or may not be doing correctly just by how people interact with you (or don't). If people aren't interacting, you may want to consider how to increase brand engagement. The best question to ask yourself is "how can I offer more value?" Watching Your Own Brand Engagement Closely Can Give You Clues About What to Do Next Watching how people interact with your brand should give you an idea if something should work or not work. Obviously, if something you post on your blog or website is getting more views than usual or more likes on social media, then you're doing something right. Also, it also doesn't hurt to hint at things that you're trying. It's a sort of passive market research. Social media, in particular, is a great place to test out ideas before you commit to them. But, what if your brand is consistently getting no real engagement? What is there to watch, then? You just have to watch the right things. If your website and/or blog is getting page views, that's something. If people are liking your page, that's something. Engagement isn't always super obvious. But, it's watching the less obvious things that can give you the most important information. For example, say you have a blog post that consistently gets views when you share it on social media. You may also have a post that gets a lot of search traffic on its own. Obviously, people are attracted to that post. Creating social media content around that post, taking quotes from it, and making attractive images out of them, is one strategy. Sometimes, you can just reshare popular content that doesn't compete with your brand, but complements your brand's values. Use a variety of strategies to attract engagement to your website and social media. Then, focus on the ones that bring the most engagement, and of course, any that bring you sales and new customers. The knowledge and insights you need to take your brand in the right direction are likely there already for you to see. You just have to take a step back and observe. Sometimes, it's what's not being done by others, or done as well as you could do it, that you end up seeing. The key to increase your brand engagement and jump-start your business may even already be right in front of you! Need help with creating engaging content or doing competitor research? Hire the social media, content marketing, and branding specialists at Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how! by R.A. Rowell, Branding Professional Remember the time that Harley Davidson tried their hand at making bike soap? Yeah, that didn't go over so well.
It is very possible for a brand to do too much. Whether it's a personal brand, a company brand, or any kind of brand, people come to expect a certain image. A brand is meant to encapsulate the ideas, concepts, and values your brand stands for. When you step outside those bounds, your brand can take a serious hit. Which branding mistakes can seriously hurt your brand? Most Branding Mistakes Won't Kill Your Business, But the Worst Branding Mistake is to Fail to Be Consistent With Your Brand While most mistakes will not destroy your brand, you do have to be careful. Whatever you do with your brand, you have to be consistent. If your brand goes and does something out of character, it's going to have a negative impact across your whole brand. Yes, you can recover. Harley Davidson did, after making a lot of their hardcore fan base mad. And the product is still out there, but they no longer focus on it. So, you can backtrack and be fine. However, don't be the brand who did too much. One thing that some brands do is try and take advantage of trends. While it's great if you do it right, plenty of brands make some weird choices. But usually, it's one ad campaign or one bad product launch, and you can go back to your brand's strengths and be fine. But, then, brands take some really huge risks that don't make a lot of sense. Taking Risks with Your Brand Purely to Take a Risk is Not So Bright Take, for example, the "crunchless" Doritos for ladies. I'm not sure where that idea came from. Not only was it strange, but the way that they launched was actually kind of offensive. So what, chips are messy? Frito-Lay made a major branding mistake with that. They actually had an interesting idea, but they launched it very badly, and it came off as sexist. Also, "crunchless" chips is NOT something you would associate with DORITOS. It was just a really bad mistake. But, you know what? They're a huge brand. They took a risk, but they bounced back. Most brands, though, can't bounce back from a PR disaster like that. That sort of mistake can actually ruin a brand. However, sometimes you still have to take risks with your brand, as long as that risk makes sense. Do Everything You Can with Your Brand... Within Reason I'd like to draw on a "brilliant" quote from Ashleigh Brilliant: "Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can " While Ashleigh was not specifically talking about branding in this case, like people, brands can find themselves not doing as much as they can. As long as you are taking your brand in a positive direction, building on your brand's values, it's OK to take risks here and there. But never assume that you can survive taking massive risks that go against what your brand stands for. So what if you don't want to ruin your brand? Create another brand. Yes, it's actually OK to create spin-off brands. Companies do it all the time, and sometimes the spin-offs even surpass the mothership brand. Also, if the brand fails, the backlash is not going to be ANYWHERE near as bad as it could be. Sure, people may know your brand was associated with it. But people tend to forget the missteps by a lesser-established brand. So what's the major take-away here? Make sure that you allow your brand to grow – and occasionally make mistakes – as long as your brand's mission is always clear in view. Advance the concepts, ideas, and values your brand has established. When Should You Create a Spin-Off Brand to Lessen the Damage from Branding Mistakes? If you really want to create a new direction, build a new brand. It's more work, but the worst that can happen is that brand fails badly and goes away. More likely, you'll create a new brand that brings in a completely different dimension to your business. Even though brands can appear completely separate to the general public, many companies own several different brands. Some bigger companies own dozens, or even hundreds, of brands. Why? Because if one brand fails, your business still has all those other brands to fall back on. What if Harley created a new brand for their bike wash products? They could have saved themselves both PR headaches and lost sales. Yeah, Harley-Davidson would have been in the fine print in the commercials and on the bottles. But very few people actually read that. The PR impact may have been completely different. But the decision to use the brand to sell the product did NOT fit and the public responded by backing away from the brand. And if Frito-Lay had introduced the "Ladychip" as a separate brand entirely, yeah, it would have been slammed. But the new Doritos Blaze chips, which are actually quite good, saved them this time. The Ladychip ad campaign could have ruined the Doritos brand entirely had they not introduced that other on-brand product (And Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones, weird as that Super Bowl ad was, didn't hurt.) So Frito-Lay even knew they were taking a huge risk and took off some of the heat by releasing a solid product around the same time. PepsiCo also introduced a new Mountain Dew drink at the same time with a partnering ad with Morgan Freeman. Not sure how well that went over – it's not selling at my local supermarket, but the Blaze chips are! Don't Be the Brand Who Did Too Much The great news is, like Frito-Lay showed, you can bounce back by having a fallback plan whenever you take a risk. Always seek to build your brand, but don't be the brand who did too much. Harley took a hit and Doritos took an even bigger one. Doritos just had a better comeback. Don't make the same mistake. But if you do make a branding mistake, make sure it's a "good" mistake. Make sure it fits your brand's overall plan. Otherwise, you will cause some head-scratching and, potentially, lose valuable business. Not sure if your brand is not doing enough or may even be trying to do too much? Let us know in the comments below! by R.A. Rowell, Copywriting Extraordinaire "Dream big, dream clearly, put it in writing, and watch it happen!" - Lyn Lomasi
Dream big. Everyone knows what it means to dream big. You want to have a grand vision for your brand, and dream big for your future. Something needs to be worth doing in order to bother investing in building a brand, after all! The bigger your dream, the easier it is to build around, as well. Dream clearly. What does it mean to dream clearly? When you have dreams, you need to not only have a grand idea, but a clear vision of that idea. You need to know exactly what you're trying to accomplish with your brand. If you're just guessing, so will everyone else who interacts with your brand. You need to have a clear idea of the steps it will take to bring your brand's dreams to life. What's the biggest step in helping yourself dream big, dream clearly, and take your brand to the next level? Put it in writing. We all know what a business plan is. But, you have to have a branding plan, as well. A branding plan should exist to keep yourself and anyone else who works for your brand in sync. If you put it in writing, define your brand's goals clearly, and have a specific vision for the future, it helps keep yourself, your brand, and anyone you work with on the same page. A plan also acts as a starting point whenever you're looking to do something dealing with your brand. When building your brand, there needs to be a unified vision. Putting that in writing is a constant reminder of what exactly that is. Also, you want to put in writing key issues surrounding what your brand is trying to accomplish. You also want to have some clear strategies and tactics defined for both yourself and anyone who works for your brand. Watch it happen! No, your dreams won't come true overnight. Your brand and business can take many months and sometimes even years to establish itself. But, if you allow yourself to dream big and put it in writing, you've already made something happen. Yes, words on a page are only a beginning, but they are a strong beginning. Sometimes you'll find that you have ideas that conflict with your vision. That's OK. The idea is to have the plan so that when you stray off course, you know where to come back to when it's time to regroup. While your brand may take time to mature, as long as you stick to a solid plan built around a big and clear vision, you've at the very least set your brand on the right track! Dream big, put it in writing, and watch your brand and business grow! Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Hire the Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how! by R.A. Rowell; Branding Professional Don’t be afraid to take that next step with your business and your brand. Step forward confidently and you will find yourself one step closer to success. If you're looking for how to grow your brand, here's one simple piece of advice. Don’t be afraid to take that next step you’re not sure if you can take. Sometimes, we’re scared of taking that next step in life, because we’re worried it may be the wrong one. This happens all the time when building your brand, too.
It can be too easy to become complacent and simply be "okay" with how things are. Both in life and with your brand, staying put is not the best way to go. You and your brand must grow together to sustain your march toward success and to set up for future growth and success. What is the Next Step You Want to Take? Is there something you could be doing with your brand building, but haven't due to fear of failure? Most steps we could make we simply don't because we feel it isn't worth the risk to do something new. Still, most missteps are only going to cost you a little time and perhaps a little money. More often than that, making mistakes don't cost you anything you will miss in the long term just for having tried. The potential price of failure usually is worth the lessons we learn from what didn’t end up working. Sometimes, we overestimate risks because there are so many unknowns when it comes to possibilities. So, we have to always assume some risks when building a brand or business. But, when you really think about it, that new thing could change both you and your brand for the better. Failure With Your Next Step Often Means Growing From the Experience What if that next step fails? Chances are you'll recover from your venture without much real loss and have learned from the experience. A negative experience with your brand is just like a negative experience in your own life. Often you and your brand are both so interconnected that you'll feel the sting of failure twice. But, you then should work twice as hard to make another new step. Don’t retreat out of fear of the potential of success is worth it. If you do fail, you and your brand should both recover in time having become better for the experience. After all, what is success worth if it's easy when you fail? But, what if your next step succeeds and brings a new dimension to your brand? At the very least, if it doesn't fail, that step could at least give you a sense of accomplishment. Continuing to evolve keeps you and your brand on track. Always Moving Forward is the Key to Creating Success Really, if it won't hurt you and your brand seriously, there is no reason not to try it. Yes, the best laid plans can backfire. But, as long as you understand the real impacts of risk versus potential rewards, you should be able to overcome your fears of making new steps forward. If the next step is a big one that could go seriously wrong, but you are sure it is the way you want to go, then just make that step. The worst thing you can do is stay put. Not doing something can hurt more than anything else. You won't learn anything and you’ll have nothing to gain. Fear should be seen as simply a need to ensure yourself that you know what's best in growing both yourself and your brand. Still, don't let it stop you, even if seems there is so much to lose. As long as that next step is made with growth and prosperity in mind, you should be sure to make it a good one! Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Hire the Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how! The vibes your brand puts out there are important to your company's success and image. Is your brand representing its true purpose? Does what your brand puts out there truly align with what you envisioned for the company? Do you know your brand's true purpose or does it even have one yet?
Every Brand Needs A Purpose Does your brand have a purpose? It should! Each brand's purpose is what helps people connect. If there's nothing behind it except a product, people will have a hard time understanding why they want or need it. Does your brand help people in some way? Does it have a unique meaning behind it? Make sure there is a purpose for doing whatever it is your brand or product does. Your Brand's Purpose Needs To Be Obvious Not only does your brand need a purpose, but it needs to be very obvious. For instance, if your brand's purpose is to spread the word about a specific cause, that should be evident in everything you do. Logos, blog posts, social media posts, ads, product labels, shipping packages, and anything else put out there by your brand needs to reflect that purpose. For instance, our store, Intent-sive Nature shows even within the name that we are very intensive about the intent we put out there and we LOVE Mama Nature! Our products are very intent and nature oriented, from healing jewelry to branding with a spiritual twist. Everything we do is about our main intention to help people find their true selves (in both business and personal ways) and help them heal themselves and their businesses through the power of true self aka nature. What Vibes Is Your Brand Representing? Are you sending out mixed messages or vibes? Does your brand truly represent what you want it to? Listen to your audience. Watch their reactions to what you do. Does it really reflect that purpose? If your brand is about healing, like ours, do all things put out by your brand reflect healing? Make sure that nothing puts out vibes that are the opposite of what you intended. If you've mistakenly done this, no worries! You can still fix it! That's what the Brand Shamans are for! We help heal brands. If your brand needs help discovering its inner spirituality or purpose, let us know! We can help! LAST UPDATED 7/23/2022 by Lyn Lomasi Many brands, communities, and other entities often forget about the connection that needs to happen with their audience and members. This connection is what keeps them interested and also is what keeps your brand or community authentic and focused on what it's all about. We call this brand or community spirituality. If you think about it, your brand or community is an entity that you and your audience or members are dedicated to. There is a spiritual bond. If not, there should be! We help you bring everything into focus surrounding the spirituality (or inner connection) of your brand or community. Once this happens, the rest falls into place quickly.
We Study Your Business And Help You Heal It From The Inside Out! We'd love to know more about you, your business, and your goals. Drop us an email via the contact form (below) to give us an idea of who you are and what you need and we'll get back to you. If you don't have time to give us a life story, a few lines is fine. We'd love to explore your website for the rest! As a complementary test run, we'll even interview you for FREE to introduce you to our audience and publish the results on one of our popular channels (also FREE). This is one of the very first steps in helping heal your business, brand, or community and it's FREE, so you have nothing to lose. Is This A Religious Service? It's whatever you want or need it to be. We base our services on what you would like your brand to be and represent. Brand spirituality refers to your brand as an entity with its own spirit and in itself is not a faith-based service. This is a journey of discovery! You may be familiar with self-discovery. This is the same thing, but for your brand. Though, if you would like a certain faith implemented into your brand, we can help you with that, too! We are spiritual in nature with the owner being a shamanistic healer, though our services are not based on any religions, faiths, or spiritual practices (unless requested). We are open to helping you implement any beliefs or non-beliefs if that is your business' destiny. Analysis Of Your Brand Helps Discover Its Inner Spirit Is your brand really doing all it can for you? Is it representing the values and ideals you want it to? What message is it sending? Is it one you agree with? Are you connected with your audience and staff? For a small fee, we can analyze your brand (this includes your website, social media accounts, and more). Brand refers to your product, book, you (if you are an artist, author, actor, etc), or anything else that needs branding. The analysis will be personalized based on your brand's needs. Your Brand Needs A Customized All-Inclusive Community Building & Engagement Plan Once one of our Brand Healing Specialists (aka Brand Shamans) has done an analysis, we can outline what we feel will work best for you based on that research. This step is FREE and is where you will gain your FREE insight that is needed in order for us to take action. Actions may include things like email discussions on what your brand means to you, interactions via social media and/or your online community, content marketing that matches your brand, and more! This custom brand healing plan can help you find your brand's inner spirit and begin the healing process on your company's life path. Why You Need To Take Action! Once you have your analysis, it's in your hands to take action by having us kick your brand or community's spirituality (voice) into high gear. If there's not enough interaction going on around your community or brand, it's not connected properly. Let the Brand Shamans work together as a team with you and your audience to find your brand's inner spirit and strengths. Watch Your Brand Or Community's Spirituality & Positive Interactions Improve! When the connection has been found, watch how your brand or community's spirituality and positive interactions improve! Many companies and communities forget the connection part when it comes to engaging with their audience and members. We help you bring everything and everyone together to find a common ground and purpose surrounding your community or brand. Once this happens, the rest falls into place quickly. Take Action Now! Get A Head Start On Your Brand's Healing Process Today! |
Brand Healing Journal
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