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Put Yourself Into Your Brand

As a sole-proprietor, you are actually part of your product/service offering. This is especially true if you offer consulting, counseling, or coaching. When a client hires you, they are really hiring YOU – your knowledge, talents, expertise, and personality. This is why it’s important to feel that your branding reflects the real you – and the way you want your clients to perceive you.

When thinking about your branding in this way, there are two things that need to intersect – what you are, and what your clients are looking for. This can be a delicate balance, so be sure to think carefully about these two things and how they can match up.

The important thing is to appeal to your market, and often appealing to them at a heart level (not just a head level) will be one of the most successful marketing decisions you make. Consider how you can get at their unmet needs. Consider their character traits and how they think about themselves, how they make buying decisions, and how to make them feel good about working with you. What are their biggest problems and concerns? If you can get at these things on an emotional level you will then be able to connect with them more authentically, and more deeply.

Sometimes being quirky and creative in your marketing is a great way to stand out and show your true self to your potential customers. Think about what items you might add to your branding that will convey your personality. This might be your conversational writing style, using colors that you feel really represent you, a whimsical or unexpected logo, or even using a caricature rather than a basic headshot photo. Or maybe you want to include your pet, or your favorite type of animal in your branding. These details can humanize you to your potential clients, and make buying from you more fun.

Whatever you think you would like to include in your branding, however, needs to match the expectations of your market. Make sure your “brand personality” doesn’t conflict with what you are offering, and instead just makes you stand out a bit from the crowd.

Web Action Steps

  • Write a short descriptive paragraph describing you and your special talents related to the services you offer.
  • Make a list of characteristics that relate to you: keywords, mood, favorite colors, images, etc. (example: warm, nurturing, red and orange…)
  • Write a short descriptive paragraph about your ideal client and what they are looking for. Try to be as objective as possible. If you are having a hard time, ask some current ideal clients what their main concerns are around getting a service/product such as yours.
  • Do a brief survey of your competition. Make lists of keywords, mood, colors and images they use on their marketing materials, then analyze what it is supposed to convey (example: if your competition is using a lot of blue in their branding, how are they trying to position their company? Serious and conservative? Modern and “high tech”? Masculine?) If you can’t figure out exactly why they use the colors and images they do, it’s okay. It’s quite possible they didn’t think carefully and just chose something generic and “safe” according to the industry norms. If this is the case, you are already a step ahead of them.
  • Consider how these three images intersect. Look at how what your ideal customers want and how your competition presents itself meshes with your unique self (example: if you are more the warm, red and orange-type, how can you convey “high tech” if that is something your customers are looking for? Perhaps the shades of colors you use, or some iconic image, or the overall layout of your site design.)
  • Don’t be afraid to go against what everyone else is doing – as long as it will appeal to your target customer and honestly present the real you – there is a way to do it.
  • Consider creative options for your branding – using a caricature of yourself rather than a photo, having a whimsical logo or using some off-the-wall fonts and colors can make your brand unique and stand out in the marketplace. Just be sure to consider legibility in whatever less conventional design elements you choose.

Having an authentic brand can really make you feel comfortable presenting yourself to clients, and as long as it’s targeted appropriately, will often make your clients feel that you are the right choice for them as well. If you are having a hard time figuring out appropriate ways to present yourself and your company, take a look at the services I offer. All my packages include branding assistance.