Episodes
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This episode is dedicated to telling you about something really cool I’m doing in October — a free event that's all about embracing the power of values in your business. So, grab your favourite bevvie, get comfy, and tune in to hear what this is all about.
Episode links:
The Brand values, not bland values! roundtableEli Trier -
My friend Jennifer shares all her best tips for building thriving and engaged communities — you really don’t want to miss this!
In the world of online business, it seems like everyone has a community — whether it's paid or it's free — tied to their brand, which isn't really surprising at all, considering it's a pretty effective way of encouraging deeper relationships with the people you want to impact. But anyone who's ever tried knows that there's more to building a thriving and engaged community than simply setting up a free Facebook group and waiting for people to join and start connecting with each other and with your brand. I've seen so many communities go absolutely tits up. So where do we go wrong, and how can we fix it? I've got the perfect guest to help us sort all this out:
Jennifer Battle is an online CEO, business strategist, and founder of the mastermind community Success Revolution Society. She's been around the professional streets for more than 20 years now, and she's truly mastered the art of developing meaningful connections in business. Today, her work focuses on helping entrepreneurs build values aligned and profitable networks and communities so that they can experience success on their own terms, surrounded by people who bring them joy. In today's episode, Jennifer shares with us the secrets behind creating a positive and profitable community culture.
TL;DR — episode links:
Jennifer’s websiteConnect with Jennifer on InstagramJennifer’s amazing mastermind community, Success Revolution Society (I’m in there!)The Unf*kwitable podcast (launches September 12th 2023) -
Missing episodes?
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Welcome to another episode of Brand it! — where today I am joined by Laura Robinson of Worditude.
Laura is a marketing mentor for people who sell their expertise online as 1:1 services, courses, memberships and programmes. She has business, marketing and copywriting qualifications up the wazoo, and she especially loves to apply her 20+ years of experience working with people who want a comfy business — one that brings in the money they want and need, in a way that comfortably fits with whatever Life Stuff they've got going on.
Having spent years berating herself for making slow progress, not keeping up, falling behind people who started out at the same time as her, Laura realised she’s actually pretty freaking amazing for sticking with it, and growing her business slowly but surely each year.
In this episode Laura and I celebrate how awesome it is to have Life Stuff going on, and still be building a business anyway — especially when a whole lot of business advice is actually not that useful for us.
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesWorditude websiteConnect with Laura on InstagramLaura's collection of FREE resources (includes a sales page template, free lessons on aligned persuasion and marketing messaging, and a whole bunch of useful blog posts!) -
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed for Authority Magazine’s series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand. (Also: can we take a moment to acknowledge that for all of about ten minutes I got to share screen real-estate with Seth Godin?!)
So in case you missed it, or you prefer to listen rather than read, I’ve recorded it and turned it into this podcast episode!
I’m not gonna lie, this is going to feel a bit weird, because I’ll be pretending to be both the interviewer and the interviewee. But here we go!
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesRead the original article on Authority MagazineFree micro course: Brand values, not bland values!People + brands mentioned in the episode:
Randi BuckleySlow Business AdventureTalormadeDana James MwangiChris DoSeth Godin -
A bit of a rare occurrence today: I don’t often have a guest return to the podcast for a second interview. In fact, I think it’s only happened once before!
But when my friend Petra Fisher messaged me to say basically:
“Hey, I had a ball when I was a guest last time — my focus has shifted a bit now and I talk even more about values and purpose, would you have me back for a second round as YOU seem to be going more and more in that direction as well?”
...I needed all of two seconds to ponder on this before I answered HECK yeah, I'd love to have you back on the show!
Let me introduce you to Petra: A “cranky old fuddy-duddy who claims to know shitloads about Linkedin” — those are her words, not mine! It’s how her Linkedin bio starts.
You can probably already tell that Petra is a LinkedIn trainer with a twist. She's not really fussed about pleasing the algorithm. Instead, she shows you how to attract your dream clients: those who match your values, personality & fees!
Oh yes, my cuppa tea indeed! Which is perfect, since the one thing Petra does every day, all day, is drink tea. It’s brilliant really, she’s made her tea-drinking part of her brand — and a very memorable part too. Pure genius, if you ask me! Petra doesn’t work as hard as she would like, as she often ends up stuck under the cat, and given the housing shortage, she’s not holding her breath for the young adult daughter to move out, so she made sure her online business allows her to travel and work instead.
Intrigued? Grab a cuppa and join me as I welcome Petra back for a chat about how to stop being intimidated by Linkedin, and instead make it enjoyable and profitable.
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesConnect with Petra — on Linkedin of course! Where else?!Grab Petra's free checklistThe study that revealed that a whopping 82% of consumers want a brand’s values to align with their own -
—Oh, you’re so creative, can you just whip up this [pretty design] for me?
—If you can just play around with some sketches, it probably won’t take you long!
—You work in marketing, right?
—I need someone to draw this for me, and I know you’re into artsy stuff so…
The other day, as I was chatting with a potential client, it dawned on me that; to someone who isn’t in my line of business; branding, design, and marketing, even art — anything labelled “creative industry” really — might all seem like one big, slightly confusing, mess.
Business strategy, brand strategy, brand identity, brand design, and marketing are all important components of a successful business. We all know that. And while they are related, each of these elements has a unique purpose and plays a distinct role in building your business.
So I thought: let me record a super quick guide to help you understand how these disciplines are connected, where they sit in relation to each other, and which of them I can actually help you with.
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesBook a call with meBrand identity design — the full shebang!Brand BoostBrand it! strategy sessions -
For this episode, I am joined by Rachael Cumberland-Dodd, an ex-corporate marketer turned niche-whisperer. She loves helping do-good business owners get to the heart of what they do, why they do it, and for whom, so they can market their mission with more ease, and less urgh!
Today, I’ve invited Rachael to share a conversation with me on a topic that sits right in the intersection of brand strategy and business strategy, and one that many people have strong opinions about how it “should” be done: defining your niche.
You know me, I don’t like “shoulds” — so I’m thrilled that we get to dive into a different, less rigid, way of doing things today, as Rachael shares her approach with us. And to quote Rachael:
"There's so much pressure to nail your niche, but what if your niche didn't need to be nailed — it just needed uncovering?"
Tune in to hear Rachael’s take on niching from within.
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesFeed Marketing websiteConnect with Rachel on Instagram or LinkedinBook a free clarity call with RachaelBook a 90-minute 1:1 niche sessionFreebie: How to find and connect with your best-fit niche -
In this episode, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Rachel Allen.
Rachel is the owner of Bolt from the Blue Copywriting, where she and her team make words make money.
She loves mixing the neuroscience of communication with the art of great writing to create the words and strategies that make it possible for businesses to take the cap off their income, impact, and influence. Ultimately, all her work is in service of one simple mission: to write the words that bring great ideas into reality.
A little while back, Rachel wrote a series of three articles about the state of the online business world. They’re so good, I highly recommend you read them — in fact, I think they should be mandatory reading for every business owner out there!
Anyways, out of everything that Rachel wrote, six words really stood out for me. And by “stood out”, I mean: I couldn’t get them out of my head. They’re still there, they keep popping up in my mind almost daily — a sure sign of a true golden nugget!
Those words are: Human is the only move left.
And that, my friend, is exactly what Rachel and I are going to dive deeper into in this episode — that also just happens to be the perfect follow-up to the last episode I dropped; about reclaiming authenticity.
I hope you enjoy this very human conversation!
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesBolt from the blue websiteConnect with Rachel on Instagram or FacebookArticle 1: The big lieArticle 2: The third wave of masculine marketing is here. It’s smart. It’s woke. And it’s horrifyingArticle 3: Human is the only move leftJonathan Stewart (Rachel mentions him) -
Authenticity. It’s unfortunately become a bit of a buzzword in the branding world, and that is a pet peeve of mine!
Because so many companies have been misusing authenticity as a marketing gimmick to appeal to people’s yearning for something genuine, trustworthy, sincere products and experiences, “authentic” no longer carries the same meaning as it used to.
So now, when a brand claims to be authentic, instead of leading to increased levels of trust — it often leads to scepticism and cynicism. That’s because we, as consumers, increasingly recognise that many brands use authenticity as a fancy facade to hide their true intentions. And those intentions are often focused on profit, profit and more profit, at any cost. As a result, these cynical brands have ruined authenticity for the rest of us, and it’s pissing me off big time!
Can we reverse this damage? I think we can, but it’s going to take some work. As human-centred brands, we need to take a different approach, one that prioritises authenticity in every aspect of our businesses — without shouting about it as if it’s a big deal. I mean, it kinda is a big deal, but really it should just be the norm. We shouldn’t have to question someone’s authenticity, but here we are.
Tune in to hear my take on this!
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesStrategic brand designBrand BoostBrand it! strategy hoursBook a free callFree five day micro course: Brand values, not bland values! -
In this episode I want to dig deeper into a topic I emailed my list about a couple of weeks back, and I want to challenge you to ask yourself: are you falling into the trap of building a shallow brand?
I want to make it clear: I’m not implying that you, as a person, are shallow! Firstly: I don’t think you’d be listening to this podcast if you were, tbh. I would have scared you off a loooong time ago!
And secondly: even if you were, you wouldn't admit it, would you? I mean, who wants to be seen as someone lacking emotional or intellectual depth; that person who judges others on their looks, their job, their house, or how much money they have. Who is all-consumed with appearances, but flakey af when shit's about to get real. I’m not saying that at all.
Of course you're not shallow. But what about your brand?
I hate to tell you: If you are only focusing on the visual aspects of your brand, then… yes. Your brand is shallow.
— But I want [my brand] to be so much more than just a pretty face! I hear you scream. Well, my friend, I want more for your brand too.
Tune in to hear about the pitfalls, and how to avoid them!
TL;DR — episode links:
ShownotesFree brand audit checklist (PDF)Free five day micro course: Brand values, not bland values!Free brand perception survey (Google form)Brand it! strategy hoursStrategic brand designBrand BoostBook a free call -
With all the recent talk about artificial intelligence I thought it would be fun to “invite” ChatGPT to be my guest for a podcast episode about the importance of a human approach to branding in 2023 and beyond. I hope you appreciate the irony of the topic as much as I do 😆
Anyways: I asked ChatGPT to script an episode, and dropped a few questions into the mix along the way, and here’s the resulting “conversation” between AI and I.
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It should come as no surprise to regular listeners that I take a very strategy-driven approach with my work. A little while back I connected with today’s guest, and as we chatted it soon became apparent that the “strategy first” approach is something we share, and that we both implement in our respective professions. Today, you’ll hear us chat about how strategy and branding come before a website — and how most people think of the website as a thing that leads those, but it's truly just one piece of implementation.
I’m thrilled to be welcoming today’s guest: Kelsey Gilbert-Kreiling, the cofounder of Week of the Website. With over 700 successful site launches to date, Week of the Website aims to be the most creative, trusted and loved Squarespace agency for industry innovators. Week of the Website has worked with groundbreaking artists, industry innovators, game-changing political advisors, creative leaders and just all around awesome people.
Kelsey drives business development and sales for Week of the Website, and loves working with clients to help them synthesise their ideas and make them real. She’s all about breaking down barriers between her clients and their websites, and gets super excited to work on projects featuring authors, travel, hospitality and design, but also likes digging into innovation in professional services. As the Fearless Leader of the Week of the Website design team, Kelsey loves coaching and supporting developers as they help make their client’s website dreams come true.
When she’s not working, Kelsey loves spending time with her son and her husband in Chicago. Lately, she’s making her way through a cosy knitting project and reading The School for Good Mothers by Jessamin Ward.
TL;DR — episode links:
Week of the WebsiteConnect with Kelsey on InstagramWebsite planning toolkit — handy steps you can take to prepare to build your website either on your own or with a designer -
OK, so this is exciting! And terrifying. But mostly exciting. When you're a brand designer, one of the hardest damn things in the whole world is working on your own brand! And yet, that is exactly what I've been doing for the past few months.
I'm 42 today, and this is my gift to myself: a bolder, braver, and more edgy iteration of my brand. I'll be rolling it out across all my platforms and collateral over the coming month or so, starting with my evergreen Instagram grid, the most important parts of my website and my podcast.
You'll recognise some familiar things, like two of my brand colours and one of my brand fonts (and me, I'm not going anywhere) — but there are also some quite radical changes, like a new and quirky feature font that is also used for the logotype. My yellow accent colour is sharper, and I've added a darker teal for better visibility and contrast against white backgrounds. Overall, it's a more attention-grabbing brand identity that aligns better with my brand values — and my depleting levels of fucks left to give.
To hear more about the rebrand and why it came about, tune into this week's podcast episode!
TL;DR — episode links:
Check out my new Instagram 9-gridTake a peek at my new brand guidelinesSign up for the Brand values, not bland values! micro email course -
“I have done many values exercises but found absolute clarity in embracing your challenge.”
That was the response from Stephanie Graham, after taking part in my Brand values, not bland values! challenge. In this episode, we get to hear how Stephanie worked through the mini course, and the difference it made in how she approaches her brand values.
Stephanie is an artist, photographer, and filmmaker who creates artwork about relationships, pop culture, and being black. She exhibits this work in art galleries and museums and works on commissions through editorial and advertising companies. Her zone of genius is getting to know people! People are her palette as she loves to hear people's stories, where they have been, where they are going, and what their dreams are; conversations and storytelling with people and how we relate are where she gets her inspiration for her projects.
She says she can talk to anyone, and you can see some of this in her podcast noseyAF, an interview series of people in the thick of what they do.
Anyone who has listened to my podcast, or been in my general orbit, for a while, knows that I keep going on and on about the importance of rooting your brand in values. So I think it’ll be really cool for our listeners to hear about the process from someone who has actually done the work to define their core brand values.
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Do I have a treat of a conversation for you today? Yes, yes I do! In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Maddie Peschong — a branding photographer and coach who is obsessed with teaching creative entrepreneurs how to build a profitable business by being themselves.
If you’ve been listening to this podcast, or following me on social for more than about three seconds, you know that this is something I feel strongly about too!
Through coaching, digital products, and personal branding photos, Maddie helps women discover their magic so they can stand out in a saturated market, confidently scale their income without trading more time for money, and do only work they love. She is the leader of the Confident Creative Mastermind, host of the Take it Personally Podcast, and founder of the White Space Studio in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — a place where creatives can design, dream, and collaborate while developing their own irresistible brands.
Today, Maddie and I talk about building an authentic personal brand to stand out in a saturated market — and we get to learn about her framework, and the “four Rs”. I can’t wait, so let’s dive straight in!
Links:
Shownotes + transcriptConnect with Maddie on InstagramVisit Maddie's websiteBrand BoostFree 5-day micro course: Brand values, not bland values! -
What makes us trust a brand? I know, hard to put your finger on, isn’t it? It somehow feels so… subjective and intangible. Yet, trust is one of the key ingredients in building a successful brand. If people don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. But how do you build that trust?
Last week I learned something that I wanted to share with you. I attended a business related conference, and one of the keynote speakers was Anita Krohn Traaseth, who is a brilliant and very well renowned Norwegian business executive, speaker, and author. Anita shared about a tangible way of determining your trustworthiness: the Trust Equation. It’s a tool that you can use when evaluating your strengths and weaknesses as you work to earn the trust of your people — whether it’s your employees, or your dream clients.
Links:
Shownotes + transcriptBrand BoostFree 5-day micro course: Brand values, not bland values! -
Tune in as I chat with Suzi Gray, an online business mentor who likes her humour served dry. You can already tell this is going to be a good one, right?
Suzi works with quietly ambitious coaches, consultants and creatives who want to position themselves as pioneers in their industry and radically redefine success for themselves. She's also a new mum, former lawyer, and she lives on a little marina in the UK. (I mean, come on, how fantastic does that sound?! I'm a little bit jealous here.)
Anyways, Suzi considers luxurious simplicity to be her love language. Her clients adore her ability to pull out the gold inside them and the unique way that she combines strategy and creativity to package it up irresistibly. Before moving into mentorship, Suzi was an in-demand copywriter and brand strategist for some of the industry's best.
In this episode, Suzi is here to teach us a thing or two about positioning yourself as a pioneer in your industry.
Links:
Shownotes + transcriptConnect with Suzi on InstagramVisit Suzi's websiteGo read the love letter! Brand BoostFree 5-day micro course: Brand values, not bland values! -
You can’t rush quality.
In this episode, I talk about the current obsession with instant gratification, and why it’s not a great approach to take when building a brand.
I see it all the time, across all industries: people are chasing after results, and they want them NOW. “I need a full rebrand, and a full visual identity system, and some branded templates — and I need it ready to go in three weeks!”
When did we get so impatient?!
It’s a bit of a rant, this. But I just want to be a counterweight to the fast-paced hamster wheel, and advocate for a return to seeing time as a creator of value.
Whether you’re new to business and this is your first time building a brand from scratch, or you’re a seasoned business owner who was seduced by the thought of instant gratification and later realised that you rushed past all the good parts in the process: this episode is for you.
Links:
ShownotesBrand BoostFree 5-day micro course: Brand values, not bland values!That 🔥 post by Nik Goodner (and a hat tip to Tracy Stanger for making me aware of it!) -
I'm kicking autumn off with a special client spotlight episode to highlight my Brand it! Group programme.
For those of you who are new around here, Brand it! is an intimate group experience where I help you go from confusion to brand clarity → in just 12 weeks, as you discover and define your brand’s unique purpose and personality, find the confidence to own your sh*t, tap into your uniqueness to spark meaningful connections — and attract more of those omg, yes! 🤩 clients.
At the time this episode airs I’m in the middle of enrolling students for the second cohort of the programme, and what better way to give you an insight into what it’s actually like — than to invite one of my past students on to tell you about their Brand it! experience?
So that’s exactly what I did. Lynn Dutrow was a student in the first cohort of Brand it! and in this episode I chat with her about her brand strategy journey. Lynn calls herself a Compassionate AssKicker, and has a background in psychology, education, coaching, and motorcycle sales. She specialises in supporting Empathic Entrepreneurs and Purpose-fuelled Professionals in enjoying their success with less stress. She’s also the author of the book ALIGNED as Fuck — transforming your inner assholes into allies. Yep, she’s pretty awesome, and I’m proud to be able to call her a client and a friend.
Links:
ShownotesBrand it! group programmeBook: ALIGNED as Fuck — transforming your inner assholes into alliesLynnDutrow.comConnect with Lynn on InstagramConnect with Lynn on Linkedin -
In this episode, we’re going to be diving into the topic of… emails! And I have invited a guest on, who is just the perfect person to teach us a thing or two about using email to boost your brand!
Eman Ismail is the person to call when you want to make money from your emails.
As an email conversion strategist and copywriter, she helps 6-figure (and above!) online business owners and ecommerce brands fire up their conversions, evergreen their sales and turn fans into Superfans.
She’s worked with powerhouses like Emily Thompson from Being Boss, Joanna Wiebe from CopyHackers, Belinda Weaver from the Hot Copy Podcast, Interact (the quiz platform), and she also holds regular copywriting workshops in partnership with Lloyds Business Bank.
When Eman is not writing high-converting emails for clients, delivering workshops or teaching business owners how to write copy that converts, she’s bingeing either podcasts or pizza (but she’d rather you didn’t tell her PT that).
I reached out to Eman about… six months ago I think it was. I first came across her when she was a guest on The Get Paid Podcast by Claire Pelletreau, where she spoke about how she went from tiny profits to steady 10k months. I was inspired by her story, and started following her, and there was something about her relationship-building approach to emails that just really resonated with me. I knew pretty soon that I wanted to invite her on for a chat.
Ah, I’m eager to dive in, so let’s get to it!
Links:
ShownotesThe Email Rules (free 35-minute email class)InkHouse websiteInstagram - Show more
