3 Keys to Building Your Brand

What you need to know when building your brand... 

If you have been with me a while you know I have a lot to say about branding, and have probably heard what I am about to share, but Listen Up My Friend! It is worth hearing again. And if you are new (Welcome!) and listen up my new friend, because there is a lot of noisy chatter around building your brand and I am here today to make things super simple. 

The first thing you need to know about building your brand is this... 

You are your brand. 

Let me explain what I mean. While there are of course visual elements that go into building a brand, the true essence of your brand is how your business is perceived by others. 

This includes...

• How YOU show up 
• How YOU package your products and services 
• The vision YOU have for your business
• The content YOU share on your website and social media

Are you picking up a theme here? Like I said above -- you are your brand. 

So before you start designing logos and making business cards, it is imperative you get clear on exactly who YOU want to be perceived as. 

• What do you want to be known for? 
• What do you want people to say about you as a business 
• How do you want to stand out?

I know this sounds like a lot to think about, which is why I break it down into easy to follow steps in my new course, Building Your Brand.

In this course I am going to walk you through the steps I use with my clients in helping them fine-tune who they want to be in business to develop their brand.

And did I mention that it is free? 

It is free to my email subscribers and instantly available as soon as you sign up. Free free to get a jump on that by clicking here now

Once you are clear on how you want to be received... 

Once you have gotten clear on who you want to be as a business, and are clear on how you want to be perceived, it is time to build the visual details of your brand -- logo, color palette, etc. 

Why not start with a logo? 

Because often times when we dive into design before getting clear on who we want to be we choose things based on what others are doing. This does not help you stand out. It actually makes you blend in with all the other people in your industry. 

A solid brand is one that helps you stand out in a crowd to the people you are here to serve, and if you are looking like everyone else they aren't going to find you. 

There are three things to consider as you begin building your visual brand details...

• Colors that align with how you want to be perceived
• fonts that align with the feelings you want customers to experience
• Imagery that represents what you do

Sound complicated? It certainly doesn't have to be, but I understand it can be overwhelming. Which is why I show you how to do this in my course Building Your Visual Brand. 

In this course you will discover how to find the perfect colors for you, which fonts will speak to your dream customers, and how to utilize imagery that reinforces your brand. Check out this course and all of the others at https://teresaschlup.com/courses

I've got my logo, is there anything else I need to do? 

You could stop here, but if you have some time on your hands, why not start building your branding kit, so that when your dream customers reach out you have what you need to make a solid impression. 

What you create for your branding kit is entirely up to you, but here are a few suggestions I have used in the past... 

• Business Cards (of course you thought of these, but they are worth mentioning) 
• Social Media templates 
• Post cards to mail out to prospects 
• Proposals & Portfolios 
• Brochures 

And let's not forget your website which of course is going to be built around your brand. 

I'm not sure I want to do all this... 

If this is what you are thinking, I get it. Starting a business can be overwhelming enough, add in all this techy/creative stuff and you may be tempted to step back and doubt yourself. 

But here is the thing my friend... 

You had this crazy idea to launch a business for a reason. People need you, and all you have to offer so why stop now. 

Go on and check out my free course library, and see what you can do. (I promise I make it easy!)

And if you'd rather just have someone take this off your hands, I am here to help you with that as well. Just head on over to my design site Web Designs by Teresa and schedule your free 30 minute chat!