Building your Brand

This week on the podcast is a solo episode with host Liz, answering questions from the audience about branding and marketing.  A few things  I chat about in this episode: How I got started in my career What I love about Branding and Marketing How to decide on a colour palette for your brand  What branding actually is Advice for how to handle launching new branding To find out more: Design your own branding waiting list Liz's website Liz's Instagram   

Lisa Furze [pronounced like "furs"] is an Australian brand designer who works with service-based business owners, helping them to clarify their brand message and craft an identity design that showcases the quality of their work. She puts a lot of emphasis on collaboration and helping her clients identify their own values and beliefs so that the resulting design work is informed by a real understanding of what's important to communicate to the target audience. She has a brilliant newsletter and shares really helpful content about building a strong foundation for your brand.   In this episode we talk about: How to build a strong foundation for your brand How that can influence what your branding looks like How to check in with your branding and let it evolve as your business develops How often should you rebrand How great branding can help your business Why it’s important to attract the right people and repel the wrong ones   Find more from Lisa: Download Lisa’s Core Brand Pillars Workbook Lisa’s Website Lisa’s Instagram Lisa’s Pinterest

Today I have my first repeat guest on the podcast. Aime is a small business expert and founder of Bristol-based website design studio, Studio Cotton. She and her team support creative indie businesses with website advice and consultations, through to complex and beautiful custom WordPress websites. And today we dig into how to create a website that converts for your business.  We talk about: Working out what the goal for your website is 4 different elements you need to consider when creating your website The importance of Accessibility (and I shared a website for checking colour constrast which is colourcontrast.cc ) Helpful tips for categorising content if you have a product business What to think about if you are a service based business.  Also this is the blog post I mention about 7 free tools that you can use to check your SEO Find more from Aime: Studio Cotton Website Studio Cotton Blog Studio Cotton Instagram

The Fresh Princess of Email Marketing, Liz Wilcox is an Email Strategist and Keynote Speaker showing small businesses how to build online relationships, package up their “magic” and turn it into emails that people want to read and (more importantly) purchase from. In the span of 5 years, Liz grew and sold a successful blog, got bought out of her second company, and built the third into a multiple six-figure party that just won’t quit! In other words, she now teaches online entrepreneurs to simplify the whole “email marketing thing” and finally master their sales in a way that leverages their personality, vision, and values. She’s best known for her 1000+ users membership, 20 Minute Newsletter technique, and her Email Staircase framework she’s taught to tens of thousands of creatives, freelancers, eCommerce shop owners, and small businesses across the globe. Offline, Liz lives in Florida, loves to run, and is a walking 90s pop culture encyclopedia.   We chat about: How Liz handles getting personality getting her personality into her branding How she get’s the balance of being a private person but also connecting with her audience  The story of how she started her amazing email membership Her surprising top email marketing tip that probably won’t be what you expected   Where to find out more from Liz Liz’s 9$ membership (affiliate link) Liz’s Instagram Liz’s Facebook Liz’s Twitter

In this episode I chat to Fiona Thomas is an author and freelance writer with work published in iPaper, Grazia, Happiful Magazine and Huffington Post. Her most recent book Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and Be Your Own Boss has been featured in Stylist, Forbes, Daily Mail and was shortlisted for Business Book Award. She also hosts online courses and events to help budding writers bloom. In this episode we talk all about her writing career but also how writing can help improve and grow your brand.   What we talked about Fiona’s career path and how she got started  How writing can help building your brand  Tips for writing consistently  How blogging can help your business  Creating a sustainable writing practice    Where to find more from Fiona Her book Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and be your own boss Fiona’s website Fiona’s Instagram 

In today's podcast episode I am chatting Lauren O’Sullivan. Lauren is a Business coach, marketing expert AND psychotherapist. We had a brilliant chat all about how knowing and understanding yourself better can help you in your business. I have really noticed over the past couple of years that the more time I spending understanding myself and how I work the more equipped I am to tackle running my business in a way that works best for me (rather than how everyone else online might be saying I should do things). Lauren gave me some great things to think about in this episode and I really hope you enjoy listening to it too. In this episode we talk about:  What are the most common mental blocks that small business owners have to work through How understanding yourself can help you work better and be kinder to yourself How to create a business that feels good to you How do we work out what success looks like for us Find out more about Lauren: Lauren’s 1:1 Coaching Lauren’s Newsletter Lauren’s Instagram   Today I am so excited to introduce you to Wildflower Illustration co - which is owned and run by Rebecca and Karl a husband and wife team based in the heart of the Cotswolds. They feel passionately about the power of a handwritten note to brighten someone’s day or capture a shared memory. Their cards and stationery help to spread a little joy on doormats everywhere in our increasingly digital world. 

There are so many facets of life that can have an impact on our businesses. If you menstruate that can influence how you feel about your business and your work regularly. In this episode I chat to cyclical living mentor Jen Wright about how we can use natural cycles - menstrual, lunar and seasonal to support us as we work.  Jen runs the Aligned Community, a private online space fuelled by connection, collaboration and friendly conversation.   In this episode we talk about:  They different cycles you can follow and how understanding them can help you How you can schedule work in a way that supports you The importance of resting  How collecting the data can help you   Find out more about Jen and the Aligned Community: Jen’s website Jen’s Instagram Jen’s 1:1 mentoring The life Aligned Community

In this episode I am chatting to Kathryn Jubrail who is the Managing Director of independent branding and design studio Mother Design, part of the Mother Family spanning London, NY, LA, Shanghai and Singapore. With over 15 years’ experience in brand-building and strategy for the likes of Facebook, BBC and Nuud, Kathryn’s an expert at helping brands break through the sea of sameness and convey genuine differentiation in saturated markets. Creating identities that not only reinforce a brand’s personality, energy and messaging but relevancy, Kathryn knows exactly how to create long-lasting connections with customers that future-proof brands.  In this episode we chat about: How small and micro businesses can be distinctive and stand out from the crowd. Examples of businesses that Mother has worked with that have really stood out creatively in their industry Businesses who have taken inspiration from other industries to innovate in their own Find out more about Kathryn and Mother Design: Their work with Nuud   Their work with Bloom and Wild   Mother Design website   Mother Design Instagram  Kathryn’s LinkedIn 

In today’s episode I am chatting to James Martin who you might know from instagram as Made by James. He is a logo and brand identity designer recently author and has become well know for not just sharing his final designs but for showing behind the scenes of the whole process of creating logo’s. I wanted to chat to James about logo design but what he share’s online is so so much more than that and so we ended up chatting a lot about his journey - how he completely changed his life around. How he shows up online unapologetically as himself even if that might put some people off because he wants to connect with people and help others. As a designer James is a real creative inspiration to me so it was such a treat to be able to chat to him. Just a quick warning if you are listening with kids around there is some swearing and difficult topics mentioned in this episode. But I really hope you enjoy listening in on our conversation. 

Laura Pashby is a writer and a photographer. She tells stories using words and photographs on her blog, to her Instagram audience, for brands, and in magazines. Laura spent three years as the deputy editor of 91 Magazine – an independent magazine that covers all aspects of creative living. Across social media, but particularly on Instagram, she has an established and engaged following with an interest in her atmospheric imagery and soulful storytelling.  Laura’s first book Little Stories of Your Life combines the wellbeing benefits of mindfulness, creativity and daily photography, showing you how to use words and photographs to capture moments, and how to share your stories in order to connect with others. Little Stories of Your Life is published by Quadrille and is available in bookshops now. In this episode we talk about: How you can use little every day stories to share your brand Exercises for sharing stories regularly What to do when you don’t feel like you have anything to share How story telling can convey the personality of your brand  You can find more from Laura: Laura’s book Laura’s website Small Stories, her monthly email letter Laura’s Instagram Laura’s Twitter