Archives for August 2013

Are You Ready For Your Close-Up?

August 27, 2013 By 1 Comment

We all know branding is about finding your ideal niche, understanding how to differentiate yourself and communicating your message clearly to engage your audience. However, a HUGE part of branding is the visual image you create to represent your promise of value.

We often think of the image of the brand as the logo or even the colors and fonts on your website. Those are all very, very important. However, if you are solopreneur one of the most important aspects of brand image is your own face!

Your brand may be the face of your business, but as a solopreneur, YOUR face is the face of your brand. @HeatherPoduska (Tweet this)

How you represent yourself personally both online and in the flesh is extremely important. Your audience will [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brand Management, Importance of Image, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

The Problem With Thinking Outside The Box

August 21, 2013 By 2 Comments

Want to know how to turn your pretty good brand into something really special? You need to shake it up, think outside the box. At least that’s what everyone says. But what if everyone is wrong? What if everything you needed to be spectacular was right inside your very own box?

The problem with thinking outside the box is the whole going outside business. We tend to think we can cherry pick parcels of genius from the ether.  The truth is, when we reach out and away, we move away from the very things that could set us apart. In an effort to expand our brand appeal we actually dilute its  potency.

Of course, we find inspiration outside of ourselves, however, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bold Branding, Connecting with your Audience Tagged With: , , , , ,

Is Your Brand Stuck in Neutral?

August 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

If you are like most entrepreneurs, you have a fire in your belly to do great things. You want to impact the world in a big way and build a successful business. The only problem is, you’re not quite sure how you’re going to do it.

You probably started your business just trying to get clients in the door. You went to networking events, built relationships and eventually started getting referrals. Now, however, just as you’ve passed the stage of getting your business up and running…things have stalled. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to generate the momentum you need to kick your brand to the next level. What’s happening? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bold Branding, Finding your support, Success Strategies Tagged With: , ,

Why Pretty Always Wins

August 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.”

Genesis 12:14-16

Since the dawn of time, beautiful people have had an advantage. The gods have favored them with good looks and the rest of us mere mortals shower them with gifts, love and money for simply winning big in the gene pool. This chick got Pharaoh to cough up some serious loot just because she had small pores and shiny hair. It’s just not fair!

Well, fair or not, it is so. There are definitely advantages to being beautiful and they’re not just superficial. Did you know  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brand Building, Importance of Image Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Is Your Brand Talkin’ To Me?

August 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I recently visited a marketing website with a welcome video on the home page. Naturally, I clicked on it and was excited to hear what this particular guru had to say. However, what happened next really disappointed me. It wasn’t that the content was uninteresting or even that the person talking wasn’t engaging, it was that the star of the video was not looking at me! Instead, the video was shot in profile and done interview-style which made it seem like some sort of documentary.

Now I’m sure it’s suppose to look more modern and maybe there’s even research to prove how effective it is to shoot video in this way. However, the effect it had on me was to make me feel left out. It was like I was eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation. You know who I want the expert to be addressing?… Me. I want to feel like they are speaking directly to me, empathizing with my pain and offering the exact solution I am desperate to find.

Whether you are using video or not, your audience should feel like [Read more…]

Filed Under: Client Attraction, Connecting with your Audience, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,