What is a Brand Contract? It is You! You Represent it with Your Every Client Interaction.

Put your best foot forward and be the one and only you!

Consistent Positive Brand Touch Points Will Gain You Lifelong Clients

During these trying times, connection and honesty play a large role when establishing long term client relationships. New large scale projects may be more difficult to develop when potential clients are in survival mode, but continued connection with ongoing clients can help boost momentum.

Reviving the initial value you provided now established clients can help calm fears and revive creative opportunities for ongoing work. It is a good time to consider what you stand for (your brand and values) to help strengthen connections and evaluate how to move forward.

The Brand is in Your Every Move

Your “brand” consists of the many ways potential clients experience your business. Your website, social media presence, blog or newsletter, and your personality constitute how your clients experience the “you” in their world. Your formal brand representations are your opportunity to connect with clients, to engage and meet them where they are at the moment. Your brand is only as good as you are in real life and you can’t fake it.

We need to establish a solid foundation, a true representation of your character and what you do best to help connect with your “best fit” clients.

Your follow through on promises, the tangible effects of working with clients is your very own “brand contract.” This is the agreement you make to deliver the goods. Your personality, presentation, timeliness, speed of language, organization or disorganization as well as your product or service quality all influence how a client feels about you and your work.

It is important to think this through and identify your values prior to engaging with clients and certainly before creating communication materials. 

All client touchpoints matter. Your website content, its “look,” and its usability as well as how you speak to your audience via business communications all influence your potential value. There is a period of time in your burgeoning client relationships when you must make the “sale.”

Your personal characteristics and providing the solid answer that clients need to be answered help you connect with them and convince them to trust your process. Yes, the smartly worded terms of your business contract will protect the relationship from financial issues, but clients must first “buy in” to you as a person. 

Present the Best Version of Yourself: Be True to You

As a small business owner, your character is center stage. You place your heart and soul into your business or rest your family’s name and tradition on your work. Infusing your website and online presence with what makes your work special, helps relay your humanity.

Your trustworthiness, creativity, dependability, intellectual charm, similar personal experiences to those you help clients manage, intelligence, or passion for what you create are the characteristics that clients can most easily identify with.

Items that help showcase your personal touch include: creating a blog from your industry vantage point, adding welcoming messages, including helpful content that clearly explains your services, and taking the time to capture and add unique images all help express your personal brand.

Truth is, you need both an honest and reflective brand as well as the ability to follow through on promises. Invested client relationships develop when you can be counted on. The digital representation of “your business” must be the same as you are in real life. Align these elements and you will find clients who want to continue working with you and help you find others to join their ranks.

Have you worked to maintain these attributes of your business brand?

Does your brand need more consistency? Are you struggling to reach or keep clients?

Contact me to learn how I can help increase your confidence and retain clients.

3 Tips for Writing Clear Content that Increases Customer Engagement

Read My Guest Post on the Jottful Blog for Ideas to Simplify Your Content and Gain Clients.

And… Discover the Super Cool Website Company I Partner with to Make Awesome Websites!

I recently joined the discussion over at the Jottful marketing blog. I work as a member of the Jottful Community and have written content for their website project clients.

In my full blog post, I offer tips for presenting your work in a clear and inviting fashion!

Have you checked out the full Jottful blog yet? What are you waiting for—they have lots of great advice:)

(Re)Writing Your Brand: The Refine + Conquer Client Process

Refine + Conquer is here to support your website and communications needs.

Writing Website Content Requires Teamwork: a Little Give, a Little Take from Each of Us.

In the business of building a brand and creating clear website copy, you and I must both do some heavy lifting. When we begin the first phase of a new project, I will warn you that things will feel harder before they get better. But, the confidence you will feel once your digital presence premieres, makes it all worthwhile.  

As a new client, you may state, “I don’t know anything about writing or websites, so I trust you to do this for me.” 

“Yes,” I’ll explain, “but I will need something from you as well. My job is to represent your work in an authentic manner. Your website visitors need to get a “feel” for who you are and how you can help them.” 

In the end, fictionalizing or “guesstimating” your business personality will not help you achieve your goals. Attracting well-aligned customers requires building an honest digital representation of your work and business character. 

HOw I support you in Writing your content

My process includes evaluating your past work and success, researching your competition and audience(s), and writing your brand articulation (or brand platform.)

To do so, I must learn about your experience and research your business and industry. 

• What do you offer your clients? 

• How do you deliver? 

• Do you have a bio and resume I can review?

Further, I’ll ask you complete worksheets which include questions about your business.

In the meantime, I’ll evaluate your business competition and look over your current website content or business materials. 

Once you complete your “homework” and I complete my evaluation, I’ll begin to feel in the “know” and will be able to offer suggestions for next steps in our process. 

As I learn more, I will feel more comfortable with your “business language.” I will draft a formal brand evaluation, create a brand articulation, and write website content that effectively represents your work and is tailored to your target audience(s). 

Then, we will rinse and repeat. You will review, we will both edit and I will revise to make sure you feel confident with what we are about to put out in the world.

Until... Voila, your website is ready to go live! 

Once your approved digital business presence is ready, you will feel more comfortable moving your business forward, Your new website will help you better connect with like-minded clients. It will act as your business headquarters, a true representation of your mission and the problem your business solves.

in the end: You’ll get An Organized and Attractive website project

Though the brand creation and writing process can be demanding, teamwork is a necessary component of our work together. I may be the writer, but your work is my inspiration:) Check out how I’ve helped other small businesses bring their originality to life!

Are you ready to talk about launching your goals?

Contact me and we will discuss options.

The world awaits your next steps!

What is a Brand? It is Important and You do Need One.

Your brand is inside you already!

Clients Worry They Don’t Have Time to Make a Brand. Running Their Business is Their Priority.

Refine + Conquer Can Help!

You have come to the right place. I can help you articulate your brand and make it consistent on your website and everywhere else you show up; in searches, social media, in your communications, and beyond!

Prospective clients often approach me with popular questions such as "what is a brand?" and "do I really need a brand? Because I’m not sure where to begin.”

These questions often shift into what they see as more pressing. “I need to get some information on my website” or “I want to write a newsletter” or “can you help me strategize where to market my business?” they ask.

“Sure,” I say, “we can do all of those things.”

But, first…

Our starting point: why and How you deliver

Before I write content or offer marketing help, there are important items I need to understand about your business.

First, we must identify the heart and soul of your business, uncover your motivations, and only then can we can create content that will attract like-minded customers to your business.

A business owner must be clear about why they are providing their service (be it value or service driven), what it is they are selling, and for whom. It is also helpful to consider your competition as well as what it is that makes your services or products unique. Finally, we must identify your business character and tone. It is true that how you speak and how you represent your work to the world affects your image.

Next steps: putting the website together

A clear, organized, and attractive website look/tone helps you put your best foot forward. The process may be difficult because it asks you to dig deep. Yet, once you understand your mission and identify your goals, you will feel more confident taking the important next steps. You will be able to rely on your website and digital communications to effectively represent your work.

Your brand is part of the promise you make to your future clients. By getting clear about your business vision, your process, and your follow-through, your honesty will make it easier for the clients you’d like to work with to find their way to you.

So, yes, you need a brand. I know it is inside you already, we simply need to bring it to light.

Does the concept of a brand seem unclear to you, or an overwhelming prospect in your line of work?

I can help you highlight your unique capabilities and share your work with the world.
Contact me and learn more!