4 Steps To Define Your Brand Voice
Do you have a certain name for your followers, such as “posse,” “magic makers,” or “Insiders?” Do you love shortening the word “business” to the ever-so punchier “biz?” How about insisting your checkout page says “add to bag” over “add to cart?” If you’ve answered yes to any of these, you already have the makings of a verbal identity—aka brand voice. But if that's not you and you're looking to define your brand voice, don't fret!
So what is a brand voice and why does it matter?
A brand voice is how your personality is shown through language. It encompasses everything from your words to your tone, to even your grammar. Everyone has a personality online, and most entrepreneurs have a sound that’s based on their voice. But whether that’s a clear, conscious personality is a different story.
Developing brand recognition requires consistency and repetition to establish trust. So if your personality or messaging changes often, it’ll be difficult for your audience to know what you stand for.
At the end of the day, your customers want to connect with you on an emotional level—85 percent of people buy from companies they have a strong emotional connection with—so having a strong sense of self in your brand helps attract the right people to you, and plays an important role in cutting through all the noise out there. Whether you’re looking to create a memorable brand from scratch or gearing up to finally scale your content, here are four simple steps to flesh out a brand voice your audience will love, and one that feels authentic to you.
1. Use the W.I.L.D framework
This is the exact framework I use when documenting a client’s brand voice for them. Use it as a lens through which you’ll review your writing.
W - Words: The lingo, vocabulary, and terminology for everything, from your regional slang to how to call out your most coveted product.
I - -isms: Your quirks, traits, and all the little things that make you, such as your fav emoji, your favorite phrase, how much you mention your dog, and more.
L - Length: The rhythm of the sentences, such as a long, languid flow or choppy and to-the-point writing (or something in-between).
D - Delivery: The tone of your writing, as in excitable and filled with exclamation points, curious and always asking questions, or even rebellious and breaking all the grammar rules for emphasis.
2. Survey your audience
When you’re a one-person show, it can be tough to take a good, hard look at your style. In that case, turn to your audience. Simply send them a survey or post on your Stories to ask the following:
In one word, how would you describe our brand?
If our company were a person, who would it be?
In addition to or in place of their direct input, try auditing your high-performing content. Whether it’s an email to your list or even a podcast episode, your popular and successful pieces can provide insights into the messages and voice your audience likes best.
3. Look at competitors
If you’re brand new with no data to help you, or you’re feeling stuck and dont know where to start, ask yourself: “What don’t we want our brand voice to be?” Looking at others in your field, was there something that sparked you to start your own business? Is everyone saying the same things, and you know you were born to stand out? Use that fuel to determine how you will write your messages.
4. Document it all
Now that you’ve got the research and brainstorming section done, it’s time to distill that information into your brand voice DNA.
Besides price, voice is typically the number-one reason entrepreneurs don’t, or feel like they can't, hire a copywriter to handle their writing. So have an in-depth, well-defined brand voice and style guide to ensure whoever you hire gets your voice just right. That'll give you time to focus on what you do best. Here's some of the details you should include:
A personality type
This can provide an overarching sense of how you show up online. Are you the momma bear who’s fiercely protective of her tribe? Or are you the Monica Gellar of your industry striving for perfection? Have fun with it!
3–5 voice pillars
According to the adjectives your audience used to describe you, as well as the insights you’ve conducted, simply look for the common threads. Are you bold, savvy, witty, sophisticated, elegant, authentic, flirty, etc? Choose three to five that best describe you.
Changes per channel
As for tone, think: Does your authoritative self come out on Linkedin? Does your brand discuss sensitive or politically-charged topics that you’d want to be more sensitive about on social—but bolder on your email list? List out the channels where you are present, and how the tone may change.
Grammar
If you cringe at a missing serial comma or you’re a mega fan of the interrobang (‽), get it all down on paper. This not only makes your writing consistent and full of personality, but ensures you can cut down on editing time next time you want to hire a writer.
About the author: Kaleena Stroud is a conversion copywriter and brand voice strategist from California. She creates personality packed verbal identities for DTC brands that want to stand out and personal brands that need help defining their brand voice magic. Check out her website for more voice and writing tips or contact her to find out which of the nine voice archetypes YOU are.
This story has been updated.
'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Jera Foster-Fell, Founder, The Social Media Saloon
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Jera Foster-Fell, Founder, The Social Media Saloon
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
There are three things that I love about having my own business: First, I love being my own boss. This means I craft my own schedule, play by my rules, and work towards my own goals. 2. I get to build what I am passionate and excited about. 3. I have the ability to choose who I want to work with and have a direct positive impact on their life, which is incredibly fulfilling!
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Let me rewind back to April 2015 to first give you some context. I was a graphic designer, which is what my degree was in, working at various startups and doing a bit of freelance work. Truth my told, I was absolutely miserable. I was working so hard, yet severely under-appreciated and underpaid, to the point where I developed a bald patch on my head due to extreme stress and exhaustion. I had also recently found out I was struggling with social anxiety. I had no friends and zero social life. It was definitely a dark time for me.
It was then also in April of 2015 I made a decision which had a profound impact on my life: I decided to download a 12 week PDF workout guide I had discovered through Instagram. On that same day, I decided to create an Instagram account to hold myself accountable throughout the process, because that’s what I saw so many other women doing.
This was the beginning of my social media career in regards to content creation! I absolutely fell in love with instagram. Through this platform I found community and creativity, which was so very needed at the time.
From 2016 to 2018, in addition to working on my instagram, I was also a SoulCycle instructor, but in 2018, I left to pursue being a full time content creator. By mid 2019, I knew it was time to think even bigger. I was a successful influencer on Instagram, but I wanted to figure out what more I could do from a passion standpoint, as well as what more I could do to develop an additional stream of revenue.
Towards the end of 2019, I began developing my social media strategy business, and in the beginning of 2020, I ran my first ever Social Media Saloon program, which is my three month social media group coaching course where I teach business owners and content creators how to master instagram. Fast forward to current day: I’ve taught over 100 students and I am about to launch the fourth round of The Saloon!
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
The absolute biggest challenge hands down was imposter syndrome. I have taken so many pivots over the years from graphic designer, to fitness instructor, to content creator, to now social media coach, and each time a new path is begun, it’s so easy to let fears of inadequacies or voices that say “who are YOU to be doing this?!” creep into your mind.
What I’ve come to learn is though is that imposter syndrome is something we all feel, and at the end of the day, no one has it all figured out. No one knows exactly what they are doing. We are all figuring out as we go.
The biggest thing is to continue to take action and to continue to show up despite feelings of self doubt, because that is when people usually quit. Instead of saying “why me?!” I’ve learned to replace that with “why NOT me?!”.
“Vistaprint...has been a one stop shop for all things printing and promotional, so I can easily log on, select what I need, upload my designs, and voila! ”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Anytime it comes to making decisions for my business whether it be for marketing, development, or finances, I try to be efficient as possible. Vistaprint has absolutely fulfilled that need for me as it has been a one stop shop for all things printing and promotional, so I can easily log on, select what I need, upload my designs, and voila!
One of the most important parts of my program, The Social Media Saloon, is the community aspect. Over the course of the three months, the students really bond and develop a camaraderie which is beautiful to see. I want to add to that collective energy however I can, so I decided to develop some merch for my students: sweatshirts, hats, notebooks, pens, and post-it notes. Sending off these packages of Social Media Saloon items has been a wonderful element of surprise and delight for the students when they embark upon their social media journey!
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
I would say that the bulk of the visual elements that make up my business currently are the ways in which I present my brand via social media, so think photography, videography, graphics, etc. Coming from a creative background, these visual elements are an important representation of what I do, and in a more laid back sense, they’re an expression of myself as well. I absolutely love taking creative photos, trying new photos, or incorporating props. I also really enjoy creating short form videos, whether they be for TikTok or for Reels. The rise of different things like trends and transitions has really unlocked a new way of creating for me and has pushed me to think of new ways to show up in social media in a visual sense.
“Don’t wait until things seem perfect or when you feel totally ready. Take messy action. We learn from doing, creating, and making mistakes.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s 57. Everyone started somewhere, and just because someone is “further along” than you doesn’t mean you can’t throw your hat into the ring.
Don’t wait until things seem perfect or when you feel totally ready. Take messy action. We learn from doing, creating, and making mistakes.
Invest in yourself. Sometimes it’s necessary to spend money in order to get to the next level. Investing in a business coach a year ago was one of the smartest decisions I’ve made for myself. It was the most money I’ve ever shelled out before, but it was a pivotal decision in me taking action to create my business.
You’re not here to please everyone. The quote from Dita Von Teese has always resonated with me: “ You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Remember to find the humor in the everyday and to laugh at yourself along the way.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
Here’s what I would like to see for the next generation of female entrepreneurs:
To inherently believe in their worth
To fully step into their confidence and voice
To always push boundaries and stereotypes
And lastly, a society that encourages and supports more female entrepreneurs
Jera Foster-Fell went from drowning in a soul-sucking job with no defined purpose while suffering from social anxiety, to dominating the lifestyle sector of social media and owning a multiple six-figure social media coaching business. She has crowned herself the queen of pivoting: from graphic design, to SoulCycle instructor, to content creator, to social media coach. She has built her community to more than 170k on Instagram and 1 million on TikTok (in less than a year!) and now Jera's current passion is teaching all that she's learned to others with her signature course The Social Media Saloon and with her one-on-one clients. Jera coaches on the ins and outs of creating your own personal brand online, the secrets to building a loyal and engaged community, and all the steps that it takes to use social media as a power + positive tool for your business.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Cass Dimicco, Co-Founder, Aureum Collective
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Cass Dimicco, Co-Founder, Aureum Collective
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
I love that everyday is a new challenge. Our team is very small so I’m constantly developing new skills in every area of the business. One day I’m tapping into my creative side designing new pieces or coming up with our next campaign, the next day I’m strategizing business development or coming up with a marketing plan.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
I’ve always been someone who isn’t afraid to think differently and take some risks. When I decided to launch Aureum I believed in myself and what I was capable of. I think it’s important to take it one step at a time and trust in your abilities to learn as you go. Sometimes the greatest lessons can only be learned through firsthand experience, so I was not intimidated by not having a formal business background.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
Right now, our biggest challenge is expanding our team and scaling. Finding the right people is key to growing your business but it’s not always easy to find people with the same level of passion. I’ve been asking my peers who have experience building a team for advice – never be afraid to ask for help.
“Aureum has always relied heavily on visuals to tell the story of our brand. We love being able to utilize the Vistaprint postcards to add campaign imagery and a note from the founders. ”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product options have enabled me to personalize my product experience and made the customer unboxing experience Instagram-able, which has helped my business grow organically. We include a postcard made with Vistaprint in every one of our orders. It’s the little touches that make a customer want to come back and purchase from you again.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
Aureum has always relied heavily on visuals to tell the story of our brand. We love being able to utilize the Vistaprint postcards to showcase our latest campaign imagery and include a note from the founders. Exciting visuals encourage customers to share their purchase on social media which has been vital to reach new potential customers. We pride ourselves on having strong campaign imagery and it is one of the most exciting parts of running the business and building our brand. Vistaprint helps make it all possible.
“Don’t always follow the playbook of how things are supposed to be done. Sometimes having no experience is the best way to be innovative and think from the customer’s perspective instead of a business owner.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Don’t always follow the playbook of how things are supposed to be done. Sometimes having no experience is the best way to be innovative and think from the customer’s perspective instead of a business owner.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I haven’t gone through the process of raising money for Aureum but when I hear how low the percentage of VC funding goes to female entrepreneurs it’s really disappointing. I hope for the next generation I see more opportunity for women to raise capital to fund their businesses.
Cass Dimicco is an entrepreneur and digital talent. In September 2019, Cass founded jewelry brand Aureum Collective alongside her fiancé, Matthew. Aureum is a jewelry brand of statement pieces designed to elevate the everyday. The brand has quickly grown into a 7-figure business and has been seen on countless top influencers and celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and Hailey Bieber. The pieces range from plated to demi-fine and are made in the US and designed by Cass DiMicco herself.
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‘Real Stories’ From Vistaprint Alum: Mary Orton, Entrepreneur, Investor and Influencer
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Mary Orton, Founder, Owning the Interview and Memorandum
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
Between my husband and I, we run several businesses and find entrepreneurship to be both incredibly challenging and hugely rewarding. Controlling your own schedule and having the independence to build a business you’re passionate about makes the grueling hours entirely worthwhile. I’m also an unusual mix of right and left brain, so I love that entrepreneurship often provides opportunities to use both business analytical skills as well as creative skills. As someone who started her career on Wall Street, I know that I would not be personally fulfilled by a job that only allows me to utilize one side of my brain!
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?Yes, I’ve definitely always had the entrepreneurial bug. In addition to Owning The Interview, Memorandum, and our other businesses, my husband and I are angel investors and are constantly talking about new, disruptive businesses and industries. Even when we were fresh out of college and both working for large investment banks, we were constantly discussing business ideas.
In many cases, I think the best businesses arise from a challenge you’ve experienced firsthand. Our most recent endeavor which is our digital interview course, Owning The Interview, was born out of our personal experience on both sides of the interview table and our realization that there was a huge hole in the market. We’ve seen repeatedly that even the most qualified candidates are often overcome by nerves, stumbling over the smallest details in the interview process. Yet, no one was providing people with comprehensive interview training that went beyond the superficial “sit up straight and make eye contact” and really dug into the strategies and psychology that make a candidate stand out. We decided to take our combined 30 years of experience on both sides of the interview table, along with insights from dozens of executives and hiring managers from Fortune 500 companies, startups and everything in between to create a comprehensive, universal interview course that provides the real insider tips to approach any interview with complete confidence.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
I think one of my biggest professional faults is the tendency to be a perfectionist. I’ve learned over the years that when you’re starting a new business, the desire to work on something until it’s “perfect” is often counterproductive. It’s more important to get your product (or service) out in the market, solidify product-market fit, and get customer feedback.
For example, we began working on Owning The Interview almost two years ago and in early March of 2020 we were solidifying a production studio in NYC to help us film all of the course videos and content. Days later, Covid hit and we have spent the entire pandemic at our home in Wisconsin. While it was far from ideal, we had to adjust our plans for the perfect studio setup and professional film crew and create a makeshift studio at home during quarantine, filming everything ourselves. In the end, it worked out beautifully. Maybe our set design isn’t as perfect as it could have been had we filmed in a professional studio in NYC, but our course sales and feedback speak for itself, surpassing our wildest hopes. People have found immense value in the content and the rest just didn’t really matter. Ideally, style and substance go hand-in-hand, but when it comes down to it and you’re pressed against a wall in a pandemic, substance over style wins everytime!
“Vistaprint has long been our go-to for marketing materials, branded merch for our team or personalized items to send to business partners.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint has long been our go-to for marketing materials, branded merch for our team or personalized items to send to business partners. Whether it’s business cards, t-shirts or even fun items like mugs and water bottles, we know we can always rely on the quality of Vistaprint products.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
A strong visual brand is hugely important for any business. It engenders trust in the company, makes your business memorable, facilitates referrals and so much more. Especially in the digital age, visual branding that is weak or inconsistent can significantly undermine your credibility, no matter how spectacular your product or service. Strong visual elements, executed consistently wherever your business is represented, can be one of the best ways to communicate with current and prospective customers.
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
You have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and tackle anything that comes your way. No task is too small and no job is beneath you. For example, when I was starting out, I knew nothing about how to create a website and didn’t have the budget to hire a web developer. There also weren’t nearly the same resources online for creating inexpensive, visually-appealing websites as there are today. Instead, I had to spend many late nights researching HTML coding and figuring out how to take a basic wordpress template and make it my own. Would I have preferred to focus all of my energy on the big-picture tasks in building the business? Of course. But especially when starting out, you have to be creative and as the saying goes, there’s no substitute for hard work. Entrepreneurship is not glamorous, despite what social media might make you think!
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
As investors, my husband and I are particularly interested in helping underrepresented founders and this certainly includes female entrepreneurs. Throughout my career, I’ve been in countless meetings where investors ask me questions that they would never ask my husband or other white male business partners. The biases that exist result in female and BIPOC founders receiving disproportionately less funding to start businesses. I certainly hope to see this change for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Mary Orton is an entrepreneur, investor, and the influencer behind fashion and lifestyle blog, Memorandum. In late 2020, she launched Owning The Interview, the premier online interview course helping every job seeker learn the insider tips to land their dream job. Before starting her own businesses, Mary worked for many years in investment banking in NYC and is a graduate of Georgetown University.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik, Co-Hosts & Co-Founders of Almost 30
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik, Co-Hosts & Co-Founders of Almost 30
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
Krista: Where do we even start? We’re grateful for so many aspects of having our own brand, but what we love most is that we get to be completely true to ourselves and share our own voices. When we feel called to create or share something, we get to follow that intuition — without being blocked or influenced by others’ opinions or objections. When I was in the corporate world, I felt like there were a lot of barriers to creation and innovation. As the leaders of our own brand, we get to remove those barriers (for ourselves and our team) and do what feels right to us.
We also love that the brand evolves as we do. We’re not the same people we were four years ago when we launched Almost 30 (for starters, we’re past 30 now!), so the podcast and brand has grown and matured along with us. We’ve gone through several visual rebrands, new logos, and changes to the podcast to reflect who we are now. Having our own business allows us to have that evolution.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Lindsey: Yes, we have both always been entrepreneurial. Before starting Almost 30, I was an actress and singer, and I worked as a bartender, fit model, and a senior SoulCycle instructor, among many other jobs. Krista worked in marketing in the corporate world, but also had side hustles as a blogger, starting a travel business, nannying, and serving. We both always knew there was “more” for us — that there was a more impactful way to share our gifts. We met when I was an instructor at SoulCycle and Krista was auditioning to be an instructor. We were transitioning from our 20s to 30s, and we both felt really lost. We started having deep conversations around growing up, purpose, fear, and rejection. We thought we couldn’t be the only ones having these feelings, so we brought our conversations to a podcast. It took a LOT of work (we recorded for 7 months before putting anything out there and balanced full-time jobs with podcasting for 2 years), but making that leap was the best decision we ever made.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
Krista: We launched our show before podcasts became really mainstream, so there was no blueprint for how to do this. In fact, some people told us we were crazy for putting so much of our blood, sweat, and tears into this thing that no one else was doing. That was our first big lesson to tune out unaligned feedback and follow our own intuition — and we always come back to that lesson.
In the beginning, we had to figure out in real time how to record quality audio, grow our numbers, get sponsors, and structure our pricing. We didn’t have a lot of other people to look to and model ourselves after. That turned out to be a huge blessing because we got to follow our gut, experiment, and figure out what worked for us — and that paid off in a big way.
“Vistaprint has helped us express our creative vision in so many different ways”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Lindsey: We love that Vistaprint has helped us express our creative vision in so many different ways. We used Vistaprint to create thank you cards to send to our podcast guests, which adds a personal touch that helps us build authentic relationships with our customers. When we were on a worldwide tour to meet our community in person, we used Vistaprint to create beautiful signage that made the events feel even more special. And most recently, we launched a line of sustainable slow fashion merchandise. We used Vistaprint to create stickers and postcards that we sent with each product. We were able to translate the branding and aesthetic of our merchandise onto these postcards and stickers, and it added a special touchpoint when customers received their purchase.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
Krista: Visual elements are hugely important to our brand — they help us express who we are, how we’ve grown, and what we represent. Whether it’s graphics on our website (we just rebranded it with a new look!), social channels, downloadables, merch packaging, or podcast art, our look conveys our vibe and it helps attract the people who resonate with us.
“I hope that the next generation feels more free to express themselves openly, take risks, and try things that have never been done before.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Lindsey: I would tell them, before you do anything, get really clear on the intention behind your business. Why are you launching this? Why are you passionate about it? Who is it serving? Having this idea in your head isn’t enough — speak it out loud, write it in a mission statement, infuse it in your branding and marketing. This intention may change over time, and there’s absolutely no shame in change (that’s called growth!), so revisit your intention every year or 6 months to make sure it still resonates.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
Krista: I hope that the next generation feels more free to express themselves openly, take risks, and try things that have never been done before. I think they’ll be fortunate to have a lot of amazing role models from this generation of female entrepreneurs, so I hope they learn from us but also do things in a completely new way that keeps us all evolving.
With 400+ episodes and more than 20 million downloads, the Almost 30 Podcast has been hailed as “The Best Wellness Podcast to Listen To Right Now” by Covetuer and nominated for “Best Wellness Podcast” and “Best Spirituality Podcast” by iHeart Radio. Hosts Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik are your virtual best friends, impactful female founders and seasoned event speakers as seen on the stages of Create & Cultivate, BlogHer and POPSUGAR Play/Ground to name a few. Almost 30 is the go-to place for heart-centered, hilarious conversations and real, raw, impactful interviews with brilliant guests. In each episode, Krista and Lindsey dive deep into everything from modern spirituality to health and wellness, aliens to entrepreneurship, and social justice to self development. Almost 30 also hosts life changing events and retreats, as well as provides courses, workbooks and programs to assist in your spiritual and emotional evolution.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Remi Ishizuka, Founder of RRAYYME, Co-Founder of HōmeBodies
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Remi Ishizuka, Founder of RRAYYME, Co-Founder of HōmeBodies
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
I love coming up with fresh new ideas for content, setting goals and figuring out how to achieve them. I also love connecting with like-minded individuals and brands, all while empowering others on their own journeys!
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Growing up, I saw my dad run his own business, but I never thought I had it in me to do the same. I was working corporate jobs 9-5, but I felt unhappy and unfulfilled. It wasn’t until I made a decision to better my own wellbeing from the inside out (exercise and eat healthier) when everything changed.
I started sharing a different breakfast recipe each morning on my Instagram, mostly to keep myself accountable. Without realizing it, I started impacting the people around me. Looking back it was the consistency of posting something of value every single day and connecting with others that led to more opportunities. Eventually I quit my full-time job in corporate, became a content creator, and now a co-founder of a popular at-home fitness program called, HōmeBodies.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
At the beginning of the pandemic, my boyfriend and I hopped on Instagram every single day at 9am and led a full body workout on IG LIVE. During this uncertain time, people following along met us every morning on their mat. It was how we connected during a time of isolation - It created a sense of normalcy.
We became a super tight knit community, and after 3 months of free workouts, some technical setbacks, and people wanting a better experience, we decided to launch our own subscription-based fitness program.
The challenge we initially faced was the push back that came from turning a free service into a paid one. I learned that we can’t make everyone happy, but we sure as heck will try! While we knew our price point was on par with what we were offering, we wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to benefit from our program. One week later, we added a different package at a lower tier so people who wanted to join HōmeBodies, but couldn’t afford the full program could still weave in creative movement into their schedule 3-4X a week.
“The process was a breeze, the quality was amazing and all of our customers were so excited about it.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint's wide selection of product options has allowed us to connect with our customers and enabled us to personalize the customer experience for our very first physical product launch, Deck of Cards! We created custom stationary through Vistaprint and included a handwritten note in every order to elevate the unboxing experience. The process was a breeze, the quality was amazing and all of our customers were so excited about it, which is exactly what we wanted.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
I’m huge on aesthetics. Visually, I wanted HōmeBodies to feel luxe and unisex, but most importantly minimal since that is our bottom-line philosophy. Branding is important because it’s a direct reflection of not only the product, but the community you cultivate. When someone visits our website or unboxes a product from us, we want them to immediately feel what HōmeBodies embodies, if that makes sense? People should feel empowered to make incredible changes on their health journey, while also feeling accepted and welcomed as they are. Their power comes from within themselves and HōmeBodies helps them realize they don’t need to take excessive measures to get there.
“What you focus on, thrives. If your heart isn’t in it, your audience will know (sometimes even before you do). ”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
1. What you focus on, thrives. If your heart isn’t in it, your audience will know (sometimes even before you do!). Don’t build or sell / promote something you don’t 100% believe in.
2. Social Media is free marketing, so use it, but remember you don’t own the platform AKA - it could go away tomorrow - we have no control over algorithm changes or guideline updates. Make sure you start to gather your communities’ emails. Create a free offer with SO much value that they want to sign up and give you their email. Oh, and keep offering them value. If you offer killer FREE value, they will trust you when you decide to create something they can buy. I missed out on that for years until the launch of HōmeBodies .
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
This has already started happening, but I can’t wait to see more and more content creators turn into entrepreneurs in their own right. Creating their own products, growing their teams and using their platforms to solve problems and inspire their communities!
Remi Ishizuka is an LA based health and wellness expert. Remi shares relatable tips - making her channels a place for her community to access her daily workouts, healthy recipes, skincare tips, and love for her pups. She is also Co-founder of HomeBodies a successful virtual online workout program that consists of 365 unique workouts a year.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Whitney Rife Becker, CEO/Founder, The Retail Therapist
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Whitney Rife Becker, CEO/Founder, The Retail Therapist
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
I love being my own boss and that I have been able to create a lifestyle that I love. I get to be a wife, a mom, I get to travel and experience life, and most importantly, I get to make women feel good about themself and express themselves daily with the cutest clothes, accessories, and shoes on any budget.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
Yes, it honestly started with selling food in a play kitchen, then in 4th grade, I made staple necklaces and bracelets, and sold them for $0.25 each. My parents both work hard and own their own business so I learned a lot from them. I have worked for as long as I can remember and had always wanted to own a boutique one day. I loved shopping and my mom had always dreamed of owning a boutique as well. It is so fun to get to do it alongside her and with the help of my brother we have turned our little dream into a big reality. I had no idea owning my own boutique would turn into becoming a Fashion Blogger/Social Media influencer as well and then open the door to owning a tanning salon as well – but that’s the fun!
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
In every business there are always challenges and curve balls thrown your way. Going to the Apparel Market the first time was overwhelming and I could have planned better for it but it only took one trip to learn what works best for us. There were days we had a negative bank account and some days we didn’t know how we were going to pay our employees. What I did know though is that this was my dream, my baby, and we were not giving up. Beyond the first year, 2020 as a whole was really tough for any small business. Thankfully with our online store and the power of social media we were able to adjust and keep going.
“ Vistaprint is essentially an extension of my business, and my go-to source for all of my marketing and packaging needs – business cards, flyers and sale flyers, pens, masks, and more.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
I have used Vistaprint since The Retail Therapist opened online almost 8 years ago. Vistaprint is essentially an extension of my business, and my go-to source for all of my marketing and packaging needs – business cards, flyers and sale flyers, pens, masks, etc. Each order from the boutique gets a cute postcard as well, designed right on Vistaprint. You name it, Vistaprint has always been there for us. I’ll never forget the day I was able to order personalized bags from Vistaprint for our storefront.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
I love to update our packing based on whatever season we are in plus sometimes like to include special discount codes plus features and highlight customer photos or influencers we are working with. If it is Christmas, every order gets a Christmas card, if it’s summer, you may get a cute summer card with return policy + if you tag us in a picture on social media, you may even see yourself on the mailer. It is so nice to be able to depend on Vistaprint to update all packaging plus ship in a timely manner and be so affordable. Every penny counts when owning a business and I am thankful Vistaprint is always cautious of that.
“YOUR time is now. While you’re waiting, someone else is already a step ahead of you.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
DO IT! Quit searching for answers to questions you may have. Not every business is ran the same and you have to do what is best for you and your business. In today’s world, it’s so easy to compare your start to someone else's middle, especially with social media. STOP doing that and just start. You can’t wait on someone to get back to you with an answer that you just sent a question to via DM. You may always be waiting. YOUR time is now. While you’re waiting, someone else is already a step ahead of you.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I would like to see females not worry about being a female. I started my business over 8 years ago when females were not as far along as we are now. Women clearly deserve to have CEO after their name and I’d love nothing more than for another female to never have to worry again IF she can do it all because SHE CAN.
Whitney Rife Becker is the every girl's girl. As a wife, mother, and entrepreneur, Whitney documents her love of fashion, food, and daily real-life experiences as a working Mom on her blog and other social media outlets. Coming from a small town in Virginia where she owns a women's clothing boutique and tanning salon; Whitney now resides in Murrells Inlet, SC with her husband, Shawn and son, Bo. After starting her blog in 2011, Whitney has reached over 400,000 followers across her social media platforms. Her signature style mixes high end designer pieces with everyday affordable styles. You can find her boutique storefront in Tazewell, VA or shop online at www.shopretailtherapist.com
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Jaclyn Johnson, CEO and Founder, Create & Cultivate
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Jaclyn Johnson, CEO and Founder, Create & Cultivate
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
The ability to make decisions quickly – especially in 2020 when things changed overnight. We were able to pivot quickly and decisively, which in turn saved our business and grew our brand exponentially.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
No! Despite the fact that I grew up with an entrepreneurial family, I found myself in the corporate rat race early on. I was laid off from my corporate gig and left to figure out what I wanted out of my next career move, and accidentally fell into starting my first company – it worked out for the best.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
We are a completely self funded entity with high growth, and scaling has always been a challenge. From knowing when to hire to when to invest in technology, it’s always a game of chance. For us, a major shift in our business happened when we brought on our COO, who really helped create systems and processes that gave us the runway to grow productively.
“Vistaprint makes it easy to create and customize marketing with easy-to-use digital tools and design-templates!”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
Vistaprint makes it easy to create and customize marketing with easy-to-use digital tools and design-templates! We have been wanting to design Create & Cultivate merch for awhile, and it felt like an arduous process with large minimums and high costs. Vistaprint, made it easy to test drive different products – from totes to hoodies – to see what our audience liked most!
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
BRANDING is so important when you are building a BRAND! The visual representation is part of your brand’s DNA from day one. Create & Cultivate’s signature pink/beige color has been our guiding principle throughout our design and in many stages of the business over time. It has become a signature of the brand, to the point where people will say “that’s so C&C!”
“Create your own momentum. Don’t pay attention to what everyone else is doing.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
Create your own momentum. Don’t pay attention to what everyone else is doing. Focus on your brand mission, and keep on creating from there.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I would love to see more women having access to capital, whether its venture capital or angel investing. Women need money to see their ideas through, and need to be in the rooms where deals are being made.
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'Real Stories' From Vistaprint Alum: Hayet Rida, Founder, That Hayet Rida
Explore ‘Real Stories’ from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint to grow, adapt, and evolve their business.
As part of our Create & Cultivate x Vistaprint Brand Campus, we’re sharing all the ways that Vistaprint can help you grow, adapt, and evolve your business. Discover "Real Stories'' from Vistaprint Alums, and learn how entrepreneurs use Vistaprint as a one-stop-shop for all of their small business marketing solutions.
Whether you’re sourcing a physical product, seeking digital design services, or simply looking for inspiration, Vistaprint is the marketing partner that enables small business owners to elevate their brands – at every stage of their journey. Read on to discover how real business owners use Vistaprint's design capabilities and wide product selection to help their businesses grow organically—and how you can too.
Hayet Rida, Founder, That Hayet Rida
What do you love most about having your own brand/ business?
My favorite part about having my own brand and business is the connection to the community. As an entrepreneur, we tend to think we are just selling ideas or products – but our businesses are really an avenue to connect deeper with the community.
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and establish your own brand/business?
I would say, yes – I have always been entrepreneurial. When I was about seven I started making bracelets out of beads. I had no idea what ‘business’ was but I understood at some level that I was making something other people would want, and that I could sell it to them. It took me a bit longer to cultivate the confidence to make the leap to full solopreneur, but I’m glad to be where I am now.
What challenges have you faced in launching your brand / business? How did you overcome them?
The greatest challenge I faced launching my business was getting out of my own way. I would overthink everything, wondering what if it didn’t work – but what if it did work? What if I don’t have enough time? What if nobody likes my product? At the end of the day I realized that I did not have the answers to those questions. And the only way I would be able to get the answers to those questions was if I gave it a try.
“I trust Vistaprint to help me create quality products that reflect and elevate my brand.”
How has Vistaprint helped you grow, evolve, or adapt your business? What are some of the tools and services you have used and how did they help you?
For one of my businesses, Aïya Candle Co., I wanted to convey a luxury experience to our customers with beautiful visuals in our shipping boxes. I used Vistaprint to design beautiful, high-end campaign cards, which really helped to elevate the entire experience. As for my other business, my blog, I like to keep stationary on hand to surprise my supporters with a handwritten thank you note from time to time. Through Vistaprint, I was able to create a quality set of ‘thank you’ stationary, which not only reflected my brand and my business, but my relationship with my community.
How do visual elements play a role in your branding? How are they important to your overall marketing strategy?
Visual elements are the key to branding. It’s not just the imagery and the photography, but how you communicate your brand message all the way down to your notepads, the stationary, the product packaging, and all of the things in between. I trust Vistaprint to help me create quality products that reflect and elevate my brand, without having to worry about ordering high volumes.
“We don’t always have to have these big audacious ideas. Sometimes the true value lies in the smallest idea executed by the smartest people.”
What tips would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs to help them launch or scale their businesses?
My only advice to other business owners and entrepreneurs, especially women, is to get out of our own way. Often we seek other people to help nurture us into the confidence to launch our business. But the sooner we realize that though we must work together, believe in each other, and share a vision, ultimately the chance is ours to take. And last but not least, know that it is OK to fail. Failure is a part of growth. When you fail, you learn, you adopt, you grow.
What would you like to see change for the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
I hope the next generation of female entrepreneurs is not afraid to share and build their ideas – even if they seem silly or obvious. Some of the best ideas are low hanging fruit and we wonder why someone hasn’t done it already. Well, the reason why nobody has done it, is because it’s for you to do. We don’t always have to have these big audacious ideas. Sometimes the true value lies in the smallest idea executed by the smartest people..
Hayet Rida
When I was starting this brand, I wanted it to be more than just a product, but a full experience that was built on not only my vision, but a strong team of black women. In every production, and visual decision I chose to hire 100% black women. Every product is the labor of our own vulnerability, trust in ourselves and desire to remind our customers that they deseve black owned luxury.
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Ask an Expert: How to Develop Your Brand Voice, Personification, and Tag Line
A digital marketing pro explains.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Branding is more important now than ever before with COVID-19. While it may not be the time to be pushing sales, it’s certainly the time to put your best foot forward and showcase your brand values in order to build a community. In order to market successfully during this time, you have to be able to connect with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing.
“Buyers make most of their decisions by relying on their two second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.” This quote from Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink,” powerfully expresses how your customers think. In layman's terms, you only get one chance to make a first impression. To find out how to do it right, scroll on to learn more about branding, including developing your tag line and voice.
What Is Branding?
To begin, it’s crucial that you understand what branding is and what it is not. Branding is not telling people who you are, it’s managing what other people say you are. What will your audience associate with your brand? It’s up to you to create this emotional connection through your branding.
Specifically, branding is the look and feel of a brand, the characteristics, values, tag lines, logos, energy, etc. Branding includes all the ways your company shows up in the world and how you hope a consumer will relate and engage with it on an emotional level.
However, before you can even begin to market your brand out into the world, you must start by building a strong foundation. Here’s how.
How to Define Your Brand
Branding Exercise
When establishing your personal or corporate brand, it’s critical to begin by defining what you want your brand to be. This starts with developing a name and logo that speaks to your target market and evokes a specific emotion, adjective or sensory experience. You can go about this in many ways. When working with a new client, one of the first things we do is take them through a branding exercise that we call “word vomit” that looks a little bit like this:
1. Write down a list of words, potential names and/or concepts that you might want to start with (this is if you don’t already have your company name).
2. Write down a list of adjectives and emotions you want your potential client to feel when they see your logo or hear your brand name.
3. Go out and find 5-10 logos you like and 5-10 logos you don’t like and describe in detail why you do or don’t like them. The creative process is so subjective, so before we start throwing ideas at the wall, it's crucial that we know what your aesthetic is. Knowing what you don’t like is as important as knowing what you do like.
4. Similarly, determine a list of colors you like and don’t like and types of designs you do and don’t like e.g. I do like minimalist fonts, but I don’t like figures in logos.
This exercise allows you to get clear on your brand values, decide which words you want associated with your brand and, almost as importantly, which words and sentiments you don’t want associated with your brand. This type of exercise can help with buy in and can also spark creativity and should be a lot of fun.
At the end of the day you get what you pay for, so remember, this logo will live on your business cards, web site, and all marketing materials that you will create for your company, which are the first things a prospect sees, even before they get to know you. So putting your best brand effort first is key.
Brand Book
Let’s just get this out of the way—yes, you absolutely need a brand book. A brand book is a document that outlines every detail about your brand. It’s basically your brand’s DNA. At its most fundamental level, a brand book must include your mission and vision, your logo and colors, your typography, and sample imagery. The best brand book, however, has more than the basics.
As important as it is to define your brand, it’s equally important to define what your brand is not. What words or phrases are off limits? In order to stay on brand, you must know what it means to be off brand.
I said it once and I’ll say it again: Branding is not telling people who you are, it’s managing what other people say you are. In order to do this, you must know a little bit about your target audience. What do they like? With your target audience in mind, how can you shape your branding into something they can appreciate and recognize?
Ultimately, your brand is the foundation for all things marketing, so it’s critical that you get it right from the start and build a lexicon around it so that as you build and scale, the original ethos of the brand remains intact.
About the Expert: Laurel Mintz, J.D., M.B.A. is the CEO and founder of award-winning, Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Elevate My Brand. Laurel’s gift is connecting with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. Laurel’s energy has been the driving force behind the agency’s growth since it launched in 2009. Her awards include the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Company award, the Los Angeles Business Journal 2016 Women In Business Award, and more. Need help figuring out how to do this for your brand? I can’t wait to talk. Reach out today to get started.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
6 Ways To Use Copywriting To Build Your Personal Brand
Write the right way.
Doesn’t it feel like advice about building a personal brand is everywhere lately? It’s true that a big part of building your personal brand is showing up on social media and maintaining an aesthetically pleasing, strategic website. But the thing that really makes or breaks your personal brand is your messaging. From blog posts to newsletters (and even Instagram captions), you’re the one shaping how others view you through words.
When you’re struggling to bring it all together, the best place to start is on your website. Social media platforms will come and go, but website copywriting is one of the seven pillars of your personal brand as an entrepreneur since brand clarity— how you want to be perceived by others— is where it all starts after you define the purpose of your business.
Writing your website might totally freak you out, but it doesn’t have to be such an undertaking. Keep reading for six ways you can use copywriting to build your personal brand and have confidence that what you want to say matches up with how you say it.
Start by writing your website.
Going through the steps of writing your website copy and then moving outwards towards other communications like blogs, newsletters, social posts, and even podcasts is a solid strategy for finding the brand voice that fits you.
Before you start writing, make sure you’ve given plenty of thought to what you’d like to be known for. Which topics are you an expert in? Which services or products are you selling, and who are you selling them to? These are the questions you should answer before digging into your homepage. If you’re lost, look back on your social media posts. How did you use these posts to communicate with your ideal client or reader?
To make the process of bringing it all together a little less scary, try writing the homepage headline first. A typical format is “I help [ideal client] with [specific goal] by [list or one-liner of what you do.” Yours might look a little like this: I help creative service-based businesses shore up their marketing strategies through SEO and social reach.
But this isn’t the only way to write a homepage headline. Feel free to get creative here!
Find the intersection between your voice and audience.
As you’re writing the pages of your website, you’ll want to bank words, lingo, and stories you find yourself using a lot. While you’ll want to avoid repetition, it’s definitely a good idea to know which words work with your personal brand. But you’re not the only one reading your site.
When writing, you should always remember to speak to your ideal client. If you’re unclear about who that is, pause the writing process and poll them. If you don’t have readers yet, pop into a Facebook group in your niche and ask for feedback. Genuinely, of course.
You’ll want to know what their pain points are so that your offerings will be much more specific to them. Plus, you may get some ideas for what to write straight from your audience.
Make a brand guide with core values.
If you make a brand guide before you write anything, it’s all too easy to fall into analysis paralysis. Instead of banking all your words and ideas beforehand, a better way to solidify what you want to write is by quantifying what’s unique about your service in the form of core values.
What do you believe and how is that absolutely necessary to run your business? What is unique about what you offer? These are questions you should ask yourself and write down, especially in a saturated niche.
Look at unique words for inspiration.
An important element of writing your website is characterizing the tone and style of your brand. Is it exuberant? Bookish? Classy? If you’re stuck describing what you want to write as fun or nice, get inspiration from out-there or untranslatable words on Pinterest or the thesaurus. You may not be packing your copy with these words, but you’ll definitely benefit from the fresh ideas.
Learn from voices outside your industry to really stand out.
Staying in your lane and not interested in the competition? While it may seem like a good idea to avoid looking at the competition at all costs, it’s a good idea to see where your competitors stand so your pricing and offers match up with the industry. It’s also a great way to see how your website copy can present you as a unique and separate solution from your competition. Still, you don’t want this to drive your entire strategy.
Look to those slightly outside your industry.
As a copywriter, I would not want to pay too close attention to a fellow writer, but I love looking to designers’ websites to see how other creatives present themselves.
When you’re writing, don’t look at their webpages. Try to focus on what you want to do. Take notes on what works, and use those to guide you instead.
Don’t rely on design to tell you if your copy is good.
When you have a pretty website, it’s all too easy to get swept away by design. That’s why you should avoid writing your website words directly into your template. Open up Google Docs and type away. Check for errors, read aloud, and don’t let your design tell you that the copy is working when it isn’t. Wording should come first, and then you can beta test it in the live preview.
Kayla Dean is a website copywriter and content writer for visual creatives helping entrepreneurs say what they mean with confidence and strategy. Her byline has appeared in publications like Bustle, The Believer, and Darling. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her planning her next big trip or marking a book as “Currently Reading” on Goodreads.
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How This Brand Strategist Is Building a Girl Gang for Black Creatives
“That’s what wakes me up in the morning: knowing I’m collaborating with women from all walks of life to design the brand of their dreams.”
Brittany Wilson is a woman you want to know. Formerly in fashion and marketing, she launched her design and branding studio, The Idea Girl, in 2017. Since then she’s been helping budding entrepreneurs and business owners figure out their company mission—and then going out and living it.
Below, Brittany shares the secret to her success.
What inspired you to start The Idea Girl? What need did you want to fill?
Two things actually inspired me, for one my multifaceted background often left it hard for me to find a career I thought I could grow with and hearing my family say things like “Jack of All Trades, master of none” didn’t help much either. I love creating beautiful things to make people feel good about themselves, and I’ve had many vehicles serve that common core. I’ve worked as a sales associate, visual merchandiser, and assistant buyer to passionately shop with strangers for their most intimate moments. I’ve also worked as a marketing manager, office assistant, and even become an operations manager for a Mitsubishi dealership to spice up the skillset. By age 24 I was working a crappy receptionist job and fighting a tough battle with depression. I was tired of getting hired, fired, and climbing up the ladder and losing to office politics.
Sick of being in a slump, I decided to create the life I wanted including a job I’d fall in love with. I realized that I was the go-to person at work and in my circle for all things aesthetic related from fashion to interior design, which created the “aha moment” of calling my brand The Idea Girl. I decided to take all my skills and talents and create a job title that included all of my expertise in one. I want to show women everywhere that we are malleable, fluid, and multidimensional and can manifest our thoughts into action. I want to show them that having a title holds no value and break from it boundless to be the creative forces that we are meant to be.
Two, the lack of economic power and freedom within the Black community is what shifted my focus to working with women of color specifically. Art, creativity, and talents are typically frowned upon in our culture due to the older generations faith in the hospital and government jobs. Many of us are tricked into believing that a college degree will provide us with security and a moderate paying job will be the safety blanket we need. WRONG! I wanted to break that generational curse that’s kept so many young people of color from pursuing their dreams and tapping into their innate and artistic abilities. Through The Idea Girl, we empower women of color into entrepreneurship by helping them dig deep within to monetize off their skills and talents through adept strategy and emotive design approaches so they can shine confidently next to their competitors and communicate with their clients. We needed a space where we can thrive financially, spiritually, and professionally to break generational curses and pass down our wealth. There weren’t too many creative safe havens for women of color, so I created one.
“Decide what makes you feel good and progressive. Stress is real, not-so-easy clients are real, and time is limited—so make it worth your while and feel good all of the time.”
You work solely with woman-owned startups and female entrepreneurs. What drove you to make this business decision?
I love working with women because I am a woman. Women are fighting adversity on a daily basis from their wages to their body rights. Starting my own business lit a fire in me that I never know could be ignited, a feeling so contagious that it was obligatory that I spread it. There is nothing like seeing another woman finally recognizing her worth, reclaiming her time, and fully investing her talents into a business to help solve issues both big and small. Forbes recently said that Black women are the fastest growing entrepreneurs in the nation, it makes me extremely proud knowing that I am one of the people behind the scenes accelerating this spike through my work to help women like me shine.
What’s been the most fulfilling part of your job? What about the biggest challenge?
The most fulfilling part of my job would have to be the look on my client’s faces when I bring their brands to life with design. Seeing is believing, so once they start seeing mockups and prototypes it’s like “Woah, sh*t’s getting real!” and the ideas and inspiration begin pouring in abundance. Their confidence beams through their smiles, and in that moment I know I am fulfilling my purpose. The biggest challenge would definitely be balancing my personal life and prying myself away from my laptop. Sometimes I’m so obsessed with what I do, that I’m afraid to go to sleep in fear of missing out of something. I even have to watch my dialogue when speaking to my boyfriend, friends, and family so it isn’t always work-related. My mind keeps me up, and I’m always overworking. I have to be extremely mindful of my body and the messages it sends me. If my body says she’s had enough, I know it’s time to hit the lights and to hit the sack. My biggest challenge staying healthy (mentally), keeping my body going, staying hydrated, and keeping anxiety at bay.
In the FAQ section of your website, you post your studio hours. This isn’t a common practice among entrepreneurs. Why do you think it’s important to let clients know your availability?
A friend of mine was actually the one who encouraged me to enforce office hours to set professional boundaries between my clients and I. There would be times where I would receive emails at 3AM and felt anxious and reluctant to answer every request at any given moment. It was wearing me down, so for the sake of my mental and physical health, I keep my office hours up to let my clients know the times they can catch me working and when they can get a response. Communicating that in the most professional way possible is also key. I let my clients know that I have every intention of completing their requests and I politely reiterate my policies and all possible options we can take to move forward. It’s important to inform clients and prospects the times they can reach me, but it’s just as imperative to let them know when I’ve clocked out for the day. I also have specific days set where I take phone calls that way I won’t lose track of time and can focus on my design projects for most of the week as that can also cause major distractions. Having a work schedule actually helps me leave work at work, so I can enjoy life outside of it; money isn’t the key to happiness but peace of mind most certainly is!
Time management definitely taught me the importance of managing effective office hours. You have to time everything you do and decide what makes you feel good and progressive opposed to funky and regressive. Stress is real, not-so-easy clients are real, and time is limited so make it worth your while and feel good all of the time. I set my boundaries with time and let people know to respect it in the sweetest and most professional way possible. Also, it kind of gives me a reason to light a spark my clients. It’s like being a coach or teacher, teaching them the importance of slaying their business goals in between there 9-5pm. Plus what I normally do, my clients follow suit to improve their lives. When I make better use of my time, so do they, and I love impacting them in that way.
You host GRLPWR Launches to help business owners hone their brand strategy and marketing solutions. Tell us a bit about what that process entails.
The GRLPWR is a combination of brand strategy, marketing, and creative solutions individually crafted for each brand I work with. Typically for business newbies or seasoned girl-bosses who want to implement a new endeavor, I work side-by-side with women to help get their ideas out of their heads and into their pockets by building out content plans, connecting them with ladies in my professional network who can help them execute their vision, and exploring future opportunities by mapping out their objectives and aligning them chronologically according to what makes the most sense right now in this moment. I give my clients the freedom to think out loud and devising a plan to get there from A to Z, figuring out where to monetize and what part of their business to invest in first. We start off with deep brainstorming where we formulate ideas and concepts with action plans to get started. Then they go through a series of workbooks to develop their brand and communications strategy before we develop a customized vision board before executing the launch.
“The Idea Girl Gang celebrates Black creative women by sharing a safe haven for them to network, find jobs, learn skills and join a sisterhood of ‘sistas’ ready to cheer them.”
You created the Idea Girl Gang to help black women in business find work and skill swap. How is the IGG different from other women’s career groups?
In the Black community there are sorority and fraternity organizations but very few that target Black women that are taking the road less traveled in not-so-ordinary fields. The Idea Girl Gang celebrates Black creative women by sharing a safe haven for them to network, find jobs, learn skills and join a sisterhood of “sistas” ready to cheer them. IGG welcomes all female-identifying creatives of all colors, classes, and creed. Although we primarily focus on providing professional resources for Black women, we welcome our community to all people who aspire to uplift and elevate women of color.
What do you think are some challenges that face female business owners and entrepreneurs today?
I think one of the main challenges is not being taken seriously or seen as a “boss” like our male counterparts. By stereotypical measures of gender roles, women are assumed to be incapable of making tough decisions or can’t be taken seriously if our clothes are too tight. Women are badass and we get the job done with no questions asked. We wear many hats and take on jobs as counselors, strategizers, designers, and planners. Sometimes I find myself adding a bit of bass in my voice when getting a point across or during a negotiation to show people I’m not here to play and that I am just as deserving to have a seat at the table. As a woman, it’s important to have an organization that promotes love for other women and sisterhood so we can be there for each other and break glass ceilings together.
“That’s what wakes me up in the morning: knowing I’m collaborating with women from all walks of life to design the brand of their dreams.”
Who are some female designers and entrepreneurs (maybe even some of your clients!) who inspire you? Why?
Lotta Nieminen is definitely the Queen of Design in my book. Her style is so minimalistic, clean, and abstract. Jade Purple Brown is also one of my favorite illustrators with her use of bold splashes of color and homage to women of color. Most importantly, all of my clients inspire me as they are the true Idea Girls. They come up with the most innovative and creative inventions with great intent. Not only are they slaying the day at their 9-5’s they’re rushing home to speak with me to build an entire empire. That is what wakes me up in the morning, knowing that I am collaborating with women from all walks of life to design the brand of their dreams.
What are you most looking forward to in 2019?
For 2019 I am most looking forward to the unknown, and just living life spontaneously. This year has started off amazing for me thus far with my first speaking engagement, two successful events, and traveling to meet my IG girlfriends in real life! I’ve been opening myself up to receive more love and I’ve been walking blissfully blind, hand in hand with faith. I trust myself a lot more, and I trust whatever the Universe has in store for me. Opportunities and doors are opening everywhere so I am ready for whatever 2019 has to bring. More life, more love, and more vacations!
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5 Ways to Use Twitter for Your Brand in 2018
File this under: Twitter’s not dead.
Somewhere along the lines, the term Social Media became synonymous with Instagram. And sure, as Facebook’s protégé with a whopping 25 million Business Profiles and counting, it was love at first like for business owners and marketers alike.
But social media is so much more than just Instagram- and, believe it or not, your customer base lives and behaves differently on each platform that they use. As a social media marketer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard phrases like ‘Isn’t Twitter Dead?’, and ‘Do people still go on Twitter?’- to which, my answers are always More alive than ever! and Yep- only the savviest of business owners.
In 2018, many business and brand owners are hesitant to add Twitter to their digital marketing strategies, usually citing uncertainty and inexperience with the platform. If you’re not utilizing Twitter for your brand in 2018, you should RUN (don’t walk) into the wings of the adorable blue bird—its capabilities are truly unparalleled, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Here are 5 ways to use Twitter for your Brand in 2018.
Use it like a search engine.
Unlike Instagram, where search capabilities are limited by hashtag, Twitter’s search bar is comparable to that of Google or Bing — and a goldmine when it comes to cultivating new leads for your business. Use it like an advanced search engine by searching for the exact problem that your business offers a solution for. For example, if you own a Lash Studio, you might type in phrases like Eyelash extensions. You can then filter results by Latest to order the results reverse chronologically, or use Search filters and Published Near Me on the left hand side to yield tweets from your neighborhood.
Ready to up the ante? Use quotation marks around full sentences, keywords, and key phrases to find leads. Your search for Eyelash extensions tweets might become "thinking of getting eyelash extensions".
From there, send a personalized reply — and get the conversation going.
Reputation Management
Gone are the days that displeased customers pick up the phone to give unfiltered feedback. It’s certainly no secret that Twitter has been moved as the unspoken home for customer service complaints, but dealing with it is a narrative of itself. The biggest PR mistake that a brand can make on Twitter is sitting in their notifications (or waiting on tags) to be notified of an upset customer. If you’re not conducting a daily search for your business name on Twitter, you could be missing timely customer service issues that have yet to be addressed. Many upset customers opt not to tag the brand in negative tweets, so it’s up to you to venture out of your notifications and take care of your customers. If you happen to stumble upon a tweet with a negative tone, respond to negative feedback promptly and publicly, without suggesting that the conversation be taken to DM’s. Other customers will see your commitment to rectifying the issue and appreciate your transparency.
Use Twitter Lists Like a Pro
Sure, you may have heard of (or even dabbled in) creating Twitter lists- but are you using them to their full potential? Many businesses use Twitter lists to organize existing customers in one place, or build customer loyalty by adding them to a list called, say, Lash Out Studio’s Clients of the Year.
Twitter lists are a great way to network professionally, especially in the realm of event planning. If you regularly attend trade shows, conferences, or events for your business or brand, it’s a good idea to create a public list of influencers, buyers, media personnel, and other users who plan on attending. Creating an event-related list will not only allow you to corral event-related news in one place, but view content shared by members of a particular list to stay in the know.
Another great way to utilize Twitter lists is to flatter influencers and notable voices in your space. If an expert in your field is added to a Public list titled Best Beauty Bloggers in San Diego, you can bet you’ll grasp their attention.
Tweet Unique Content
Sure, it’s easy (and tempting) to automate your social media channels to cross-post your content from another platform, but it’s not what your audience wants to see. Not only does another platform’s content not properly convert to a tweet (Umm hello, URL-in-the-place-of-my-perfect-Instagram-photo.com), but the Twitter customer doesn’t consume content the way that the aesthetically inclined Instagram customer does. Instead of relying on your perfect coffee shop shot to auto-post to your profile, take advantage of Twitter’s conversation starters, like running a poll for your customer base or tweeting out a question for your audience. And if you can, try to adhere to the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be engaging with other users, while only 20% should be salesy content that’s catered to your brand.
Run Ads
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been disappointed by the results of a Facebook ad, only to throw in more ad dollars to expand your reach. News Flash: CTR’s (Click-thru rates) on Twitter are actually higher than Facebook’s, despite being short of Facebook of about 918 Million active users. (Not joking.) According to AdWeek, engagement rates on Twitter ads in 2018 are averaging between 1 and 3%, while Facebook’s CTR sits at about 0.119%. (Low followers? You can even run engagement ads that specifically garner Twitter followers for your brand!) Plus, running an ad on Twitter looks almost identical to Facebook’s interface, so navigating it is a piece of cake.
By: Jamie Halper
Jamie Halper is a Digital Content Creator, Social Media Manager, and Influencer Publicist for today's leading Beauty, Pet, and Wellness Brands.
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How to Use Your Weekend Plans to Elevate Your Brand
Cheers!
Ahhh…the weekend. We’re trying to stay productive while enjoying our jam-packed social schedules, running errands, and more. It’s not easy to balance it all but, of course, you make it happen. But what if it could be easier? What if you could enjoy some dinner and drinks while making strides for the future of your company?
It’s possible, and you can get started today. Ahead, learn how you can leverage your weekend plans to help boost your brand.
Elevate Your Personal Brand
The quality of your network strengthens (or weakens) your personal brand. In turn, your personal brand impacts the brand of your business. So get out there. Meet new people and make new friends. Meet them without expectations and realize the benefits turn up in the long run. This isn’t the time for the hard sell and don’t try to close any deals.
Excellent summertime networking spots include professionally elevated social and co-working spaces, conferences and even Facebook groups dedicated to exciting events. For membership spots, I like Soho House, NeueHouse, WeWork, and The Wing. For conferences and events, check out Summit, and Create & Cultivate, of course. These are the kinds of places where it’s okay to talk business while having fun. Research for your best fit, and get ready to discover new like-minded people.
Relax and have fun. Sometimes you’ll find it’s best to keep the business talk to a minimum, but always at least share what you do and find out what industry others’ are in. And chances are you may even know some of the same people since you’re hanging out at the same place. This could serve to further strengthen these new connections while lending everyone greater credibility and trust.
Strengthen Your Network for Future Opportunities
Your network can lead you to significant opportunities in the future like partnerships and branded collaborations. Special deals like these can boost your sales and the visibility of your brand.
For instance, let’s say a particular company is in high demand for collaborations. You and the CEO are friends or share the same friends. This immediately gets you on the shortlist for who will most likely get the deal. That’s not all. The collaboration will be easier to plan and execute and could even cost significantly less than it would if you didn’t have a personal connection.
Introduce the Possibility of Potential Reduced Costs
The quality of your network can save you a great deal of money. If your network includes critical influencers, photographers, writers, and other industry talents, you can walk away with special pricing for photography, influencer campaigns, copywriting, PR, web development and more.
Finally, while I’ve mentioned a million benefits for you, don’t forget about everyone else. Relationships are always a two-way street, and as I said, your plan is to make friends. Friends help one another out!
Always be mindful of opportunities that show up on your radar that could interest others in your network. Think about how you can help the people you know. Could this buyer benefit from meeting this emerging handbag designer? Could this photographer benefit from meeting this magazine editor? Also be willing to share your expert know-how through the form of friendly solicited advice.
The concept of networking can be cold and very transactional. We prefer to think of it as making new friends- because that’s really what it should be like at the end of the day. So make a new friend (or two) with mutual interests, and help one another out.
We’ll let you get back to dinner now…
By: Syama Meagher, Chief Retail Strategist at Scaling Retail
Scaling Retail has launched brands around the world, through a combination of expert advice and creative marketing strategy. We believe in the power of hard work to grow and build your businesses. Discover Scaling Retail at www.ScalingRetail.com.
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Snap To It: Using Snapchat to Build Your Brand
How's this for a snappy statistic (pun totally intended): 41 percent of teens use Snapchat, and it's the third most popular social network (after behemoths Facebook and Instagram). In the 18-29 demo—the ultra-coveted millennial age group— 26 percent cop to using Snapchat, and a remarkable 70 percent of those users are women. There are about 26 million Snapchat users in the U.S. alone, and they send a whopping 400 million snaps a day. So if your brand isn't already on Snapchat, now would be a good time to start! Here, we've got you covered with a few tips and tactics to for making the most out of it, whether you're jumping in for the first time or just want to grow your audience. Now, snap to it!
How's this for a snappy statistic (pun totally intended): 41 percent of teens use Snapchat, and it's the third most popular social network (after behemoths Facebook and Instagram). In the 18-29 demo—the ultra-coveted millennial age group— 26 percent cop to using Snapchat, and a remarkable 70 percent of those users are women. There are about 26 million Snapchat users in the U.S. alone, and they send a whopping 400 million snaps a day. So if your brand isn't already on Snapchat, now would be a good time to start! Here, we've got you covered with a few tips and tactics to for making the most out of it, whether you're jumping in for the first time or just want to grow your audience. Now, snap to it!
Geofilters
For whatever city you’re in, there is for sure to a filter to match your location. Think of it as Snapchat’s digital postcard that uses a cool filter to let all of your followers know where you are. Not only can Snapchat’s geofilter feature show artwork to match the city you’re in, but if you’re hosting a large event (concert, party, festival, conference, etc.), you can also add a geofilter for your event! With a geotag filter, its a sure ticket to have tons of people share about your event to all their followers on Snapchat.
Snapchat stories
The next level to Snapchat geofilter feature is having your own Snapchat story for your occasion. Just like every city has a Snapchat story, so can your event! Give everyone who is coming to your event a chance to add your snaps to the curated Snapchat story for a chance to be featured! Not only does this give a chance for your attendees to engage more in Snapchat, but it also allows people who were not able to come to your event see it on their Snapchat feed worldwide.
When your brand has exciting news, head to Snapchat and build up anticipation by announcing it in a series of snaps.
Story lines
Do you have something exciting to announce or want to start a recurring series that lives on your Snapchat? Build up the anticipation by planning out a storyboard of how you want to announce your news in a series a snaps, and then put it into action. Not only will a story line project your message better than just a snap that lasts 10 seconds, but it will also increase your views after people see that a long series of snaps means there’s something exciting to announce.
Snapchat exclusives
When you give your followers on other platforms exclusives if they follow you on Snapchat, get ready for the views to come flooding in. Exclusivity always wins, so use Snapchat as a tool for that if you have some behind the scenes action going on, or create a promo code that's just for your followers.
If you’re already experienced with Snapchat, what are some of the tactics that have worked best for you? Let us know below!
Priscilla Castro is Create & Cultivate's Director of Social Media and Community in Los Angeles. She also does social media client work at (No Subject), and was previously Editorial Director at BeautyCon. Follow her @kodeofkondukt.