By: Eden Hensley; Photos by Brooke Dennis for Alt Summit
Branding influences first impressions. It is more than a logo. It is personality. It sets guidelines for what type of content you will produce and what you will not.
Good branding appears effortless. It is consistent from your logo to your site to your guest posts for other sites to the events you choose to attend to your speaking engagements and more.
When branding is done right, it is obvious: “that is so you!” When done incompletely, branding can lead to a disconnect: “you are not at all what I had pictured, but that is a good thing.”
Three Steps for Finding Your Brand
- Start with your why. Mariah Danielsen of Oh What Love Studios recommends writing down and then sharing your story. Your backstory will reveal what sets you apart. When your brand aligns with your why, it is easy for you to consistently share what you do and for others to remember and then share that story for you.
- Define your voice. It is important that your voice—how you speak and communicate online, through social media and in person—is consistent and engaging. Make a list of what your voice is and what it is not. Check how consistent you are by sampling a few recent blog posts, guest posts, social media updates, video interviews, and so on. For each appearance note the tone, general theme, and topics. You can begin to see what impression you may be making on people.
- Identify your passions. Create a secret Pinterest board with sites that you love. Susan Brinson of House of Brinson recommends identifying everything you love about sites you follow and looking for commonalities. The commonalities will reveal your passions, for her it was typography.
