The Ultimate Personal Branding Guide for Coaches, Consultants and Entrepreneurs

The Ultimate Personal Branding Guide for Coaches, Consultants and Entrepreneurs

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Everything you need to know about personal branding as an entrepreneur.

Let's dive into why personal branding is essential 👇

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING

Having a solid brand impacts the success of your marketing.

It allows you to craft messaging that pulls in your audience.

Having a solid brand allows you to know what to use for SEO to rank.

Having a solid brand tells you the type of copy and imagery to use on Facebook ads and Pinterest ads, so that they convert into sales. 

Having a solid brand tells you what type of product or service you're going to put out into the world that's in alignment with what you want to provide and what your audience needs. 

Having a solid brand is important, and it is the foundation of the things that you can achieve in your business.

Without a solid brand, your marketing will suffer.

SIGNS YOUR BRANDING ISN’T COMPLETE

Alright, now that we are all on the same page about the importance of branding as an entrepreneur, let’s dive into some of the signs that your brand might need some additional work. It’s important to pay attention to these signs and make adjustments so you can move forward with confidence in marketing your brand and business. 

👉 SIGN #1: You’re Struggling to Make a Sale

Now, maybe it's your first sale or maybe you made a sale three months ago, but regardless of timing you're having trouble signing another client, or making another sale in your course.

The thing to keep in mind is that selling doesn't happen at the moment that someone's like, "I want to buy your product," it's happening long before. 

It's happening the first time they come across your social media channel, your freebie, your Facebook ad, your website.
That's when the relationship and sale are starting and that is all reliant on branding.

That first feeling they get when they see your brand, the messaging that they're picking up on, that this is exactly what they need in their lives at this moment, how you're following up, your email campaign, the live streams you're doing, the podcasts; all of that is directly tied to branding.

The selling process has to start long before you actually send an email that says, "By the way, guys, selling this thing." Because if it doesn't, you're going to notice that you don't sell any of the “thing”. Because without that strong connection, nobody really knows what you're about, and there will most likely still be a lack of trust. If you don't email them ever or have clear, consistent content, they might not even know who the hell you are. 

These are important pieces of branding.

So if you're struggling to make a sale, or let's just even say consistent sales, even consistent money, it's possible that you have a branding problem. 

👉 SIGN #2: Your Messaging is All Over The Place

At least once a week, someone will message me and say, "Michelle, I'm looking for support. I want to work one-on-one with somebody. My biggest hurdle is that I feel like my messaging is all over the place."

If you feel like your messaging is all over the place, I can tell you with 100% certainty that that is a branding problem. 

How you show up, how you share what you do in a way that clearly communicates to your audience that it's for them and how it will benefit them is part of your brand. So if you feel like your messaging is all over the place, it could be because of two different things. 

One, it could be your social channels, and your website, and your emails all look very different. They all sound very different. There's not a clear linear message.

It could also be that anytime you're talking about your product or an offer, maybe you're in the middle of a launch, all your messaging is different. There's no clear, "This is the program. This is who it's for. And this is how it will benefit you," or, "This is the product. This is who it's for. This is how it will benefit you." 

That is a sign that your messaging is all over the place.

And maybe you've already felt it, you aren't successful with your selling, because people aren't really sure what it is that you're doing and how it's going to support them. And that's huge.

👉 SIGN #3: Your Website Isn’t Converting

Your website is the experience that you get to control, and there's no algorithm fighting against you which is so nice.

But, once again if your website isn't converting viewers into subscribers or clients, it is a branding problem. 

Because if people don't understand who you are and what you can help them with, they will peace out and they will do it very quickly.

I very rarely talk about the aesthetics as it relates to branding, but the reality is that with your website, those photos, those colors, those aesthetics, those fonts, that one-liner at the top, can make or break someone staying on your website or bouncing right off.

5 seconds is about all you have before someone says, "Is this for me? Is this not for me? Okay. Bye." 

The photos and those pieces of your branding pull them in really, really quickly, and then it's all about your language and your messaging to keep them captivated and to convert them. So if you have a website, if you're getting traffic, and it's not converting, we have a branding problem. 

These are three examples of possible holes in your branding, and the most popular one’s I see and hear from my clients and community.

How to Find Your Personal Brand 👇

What is a Personal Brand?

Your personal brand is the experience you create for your audience. It’s made up of your experiences, stories, skills, and personality.

Building your personal brand is important online, because whether you like it or not your personal brand is being written for you. The way social media works today is if you’re not in the driver's seat controlling your brand, you risk the wrong message getting out.

If you have a business, then personal branding allows you to create a deeper connection with your audience that builds trust and goes deeper than just the product or service you provide. 

So how do you find your personal brand?

I’ve got 4 simple steps and important questions to ask yourself in the process.

1. Create a Personal Brand Identity Starting With You

If you want to create a personal brand identity it’s time to get, well, personal. The idea of a personal brand is that you and your story will be at the center of your brand.

So, before we get into strategy, ideal client work or messaging (which we will cover by the way) we need to take a look at your own authenticity and personality.

What makes you who you are? This includes the way you speak and write, the things you like to surround yourself with, what you value most and yes your favorite color. All of this is going to play a big role in building your personal brand.

When you can begin the process by looking inward rather than outward, you’ll better understand how to present yourself in the online space and that is SO important.

With how fast social media is changing and how many entrepreneurs are in your niche, it’s so important that your brand, the core of your business, is not only defined but is also different.

Now, before you freak out and say to me, “But, Michelle I’m no different, nothing exciting happened to me!”

I’d say, “Give me 60 minutes…” just kidding, but seriously, it often takes me just one coaching session to pull out the parts of you that are authentic, different and will set you apart from others in your industry.

And where I start with all of my clients is their story. Every single person has a story and that right there is what’s going to set you apart and build trust with your audience.

You can learn more about Brand Story in this post and take my Brand Story Quiz here.

2. Identify Your Personal Brand Audience and Future Clients

Alright, now that we’ve identified, or started to identify the core of your brand, there’s another crucial part.

I think we can agree that communication is a two-way street and that’s exactly what you’re setting out to do online when posting on social media, creating your website and writing emails. You can create that stuff all dang day, but if no one is receiving your message it kind of means nothing.

This is why identifying your audience is so important and should be done at the beginning of your business.

Identifying your audience consists of three parts:

1. Daydreaming about who you want to work with

2. Justifying your “dreams” with market research

3. Creating a client profile

The key step here, and what so many entrepreneurs skip, is the element of Market Research. Please promise me right now that you won’t skip this step.

Using free tools on social media, via Google, Facebook Groups and personal conversations you can begin to identify the key components of your audience and use that in your branding and marketing down the line.

3. Map Out Your Brand Offer and Framework

Let’s get one thing clear...I DO NOT MEAN YOUR PRODUCT. 

So many people think that their product is part of their brand, but it’s not that’s all your business boo and without a brand, well you won’t have a successful business.

If you start with your product or service you’re going to miss the mark. You’ll have the logistics in place, but no clear pathway or transformation that you’re providing your client.

It’s important, during the branding process to take time to clearly state the transformation you provide and the overall framework for your product and services.

And, no, I don’t care if you sell soap or an online course, what are you providing your client beyond the individual product.

4. Create an Emotional Brand Experience for Your Audience

Want to stand out online? 

Do you want your brand to do more than just get some followers and look pretty?

Then, you need emotional branding my friend. Emotional Branding is my specialty and something you don’t often find online but can be the difference between a brand that makes money and one that doesn’t.

The idea of Emotional Branding is that your audience will feel a deeper connection to your brand, above someone else's and therefore know, like and trust you...which as you guessed it, leads to business.

If you want to learn more about Emotional Branding specifically, you can check out this post.

Before you decide on your fonts, finalize your colors, create a logo or get your brand photos taken you want to identify the emotional core of your brand.

From here choose the aesthetics of your brand will be a breeze.

Brand Affinity 👇

WHAT IS BRAND AFFINITY?

Brand Affinity is when a consumer believes a particular brand shares the same values as them. 

It’s deeper than a knowledge of the brand, brand awareness, and begins to build the connection between consumer and brand on a more personal and emotional level.

This connection is what allows you, as the brand, to not only stand out online but keep your audience coming back time and time again.

Remember purchase decisions come down to trust.

“If someone likes you they’ll listen to you, if they trust you they’ll do business with you!” - Zig Ziglar

Building this trust is necessary when building an online brand in 2020 and beyond because consumers are looking for brands that they can trust.

As more generations become part of movements and make changes in their personal lives they’re looking for brands that share those values and go even further to provide support for those values as well.

When you build brand affinity with your audience you increase the likelihood that they will purchase your service or product, you create a consumer base that sticks around for the long haul (hello community) and your audience is more likely to refer others to your brand.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a sweet deal.

5 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR BRAND AFFINITY

I know you’re wondering, “Michelle, aside from storytelling how can I increase Brand Affinity with my community?”

Well, I’m so glad you asked!

I know storytelling can feel complex, I’ve included some resources below to support you with this, but I want you to be able to start TODAY. So, below you’ll find five simple ways to improve your Brand Affinity almost immediately.

1 | SHARE YOUR BRAND VALUES

Seems simple enough right? Well, not enough brands are identifying the values of their brand and therefore aren’t sharing them. How do you expect someone to experience Brand Affinity, shared values, if you yourself don’t know your brand values.

So, if you haven’t already identified yours now is the time to start.

I suggest thinking of the values you personally hold and how those connect to your brand.

What values do you want to share between you and your consumer, it will be a lot easier to build a business you love if you attract the right people.

For instance, some of my brand values are:

+ Authenticity
+ Transparency
+ Care and Attention to Detail
+ Reduce the overwhelm
+ The desire for our living a Freedom lifestyle

I showcase these through my marketing, every email, photo, etc is focused on attracting people who share the same values.

TAKE ACTION: Identify your core values and then share them.

The simplest thing to do is post them on your website, this can be done on your About Me page, but as we talked about earlier you’ll also want to showcase these through storytelling.

2|  SHARE THE MISSION BEHIND YOUR BRAND

I started my career in non-profit work so forgive me as a gush over the power of a Brand Mission. As business owners we forget this, not enough business owners are taking the time to identify the mission or purpose behind their brand and this is a mistake.

63% of consumers state they want to buy from purpose-driven businesses.

And although money is amazing, I love it myself, it’s not the purpose. Your purpose and mission need to be deeper than that.

For instance, the mission behind my brand is…
“To empower women to uncover and own their story and share it with the world through their personal brand.”

This mission not only drives every decision in my business, but is also one of the main connectors for my audience.

TAKE ACTION: Identify your mission.
What is the purpose behind your business?
What legacy do you want to leave begin with your work?

Then share it! I love encouraging my clients to share their mission statement on their Home Page, but you can also include it on your About Me page.

3 | SHOW BRAND AFFINITY THROUGH PHOTOS

This is my favorite thing to do as a personal brand and it’s so important. We often don’t think about the effect of Instagram on building trust or the use of seeing multiple photos on a website as a way to build Brand Affinity, but it’s actually a very powerful practice.

Here’s why it’s so powerful. When you showcase multiple photos of yourself, different outfits, different locations, different expressions your audience feels as if they are seeing at different moments in time. It’s as if you’ve met and know each other for longer than you actually have.

Photography overall is one of my favorite investments as a brand. It’s not about spending a bunch of money or posing for all your photos, but it is about elevating your brand by showing different sides of your personality and if you’re not a photographer then hiring one can be one of the best investments in your business.

TAKE ACTION: Hire a photographer if you can and make sure you clearly articulate your brand values, ideal customer and the emotional connection you want to portray. More on prepping for a Brand Photoshoot here

But, even if you can’t invest in a photographer right now, you can use a tripod or a friend to take photos of you. Make sure you’re sharing different moments in time to achieve the Brand Affinity. Then share your photos on your website and of course on social media.

Take a look at my Instagram to get a feel for this!

4 | BUILD A COMMUNITY

There are a lot of different ways to build community outside of a private Facebook Group, even though everyone is telling you that you need one. The truth is you can build community on social media and through your email lists just as effectively.

When we think of community we think of a central location for everyone to hang out, but what you’re wanting to do is just declare your brand as the community.

For example, inside of my first email when you sign up for my email list I welcome new subscribers to the Brandmerry Community. 

I’m always referring to the Brandmerry Community on my live streams, blogs and on social media. There isn’t a specific jacket we all wear, but we know. The women inside the community know I’m speaking to them and about them and that builds connection.

You could even go as far as declaring a name for your community.

This sense of unity makes someone feel as if they are part of something bigger. It’s not just about buying your product and peacing out it’s about belonging, which we as humans want.

TAKE ACTION: How can you use the tools at your fingertips to build a community? Will you give your audience a name? Determine some of the fun ways you can create a community that allows your audience to be part of something.

5 | EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

It’s no secret that as consumers we want to be cared for. We don’t want to work extra hard to get the products and services we desire and once we make the decision, i.e. commitment, we want it to be easy.

This is where your customer service comes to the next level.

We often think the customer service is the sale, and while that is important, what comes next is what builds further Brand Affinity.

For instance, when someone purchases one of my services or courses they receive instant confirmation that their purchase has been received. Then, they receive an email with all the information they need, including login, how to access the materials, the next steps and where to start.

I take the guesswork out of getting started and right away my audience feels taken care of and trust is increased.

TAKE ACTION: How can you improve your customer service? If you have any holes in your process, post-sale, fill those now!

Emotional Branding 👇

What is Emotional Branding?

Emotional Branding is the art of communicating with your audience on a deeper, more personal level. It amplifies this idea of building relationships, which is what marketing truly is. 

The end goal when marketing your business (which is just the art of amplifying your brand and attracting the right people) is relationship building.

And how do you know what types of content to create to build those relationships, if you don’t fully understand your audience?

This is why an integral piece of emotional branding and relationship marketing is knowing your audience.

By understanding your audience you can make decisions that connect deeply with their struggles, challenges and obstacles they’re facing and the goals and desires they are working towards and use that in your marketing.

And one more note on relationship marketing. 

As consumers, we are bombarded with messages every day and we know as consumers that we're going to resonate with the ones that make us feel something, that stir something inside of us, that motivate us and make us feel a sense of belonging. This is the art of great branding.

Understanding how you want your audience to feel impacts the aesthetics of your brand; your logo, your font, your colors, your copy, the language that you're using in your copy, in your content, the stories that you're choosing, the messaging that you're using when you're on a live video, your website and even your products and services.

Emotional branding impacts every single aspect of your business.

The Benefits of Emotional Branding

A study from Harvard found that 90% of purchase decisions are made subconsciously. 

This proves that the reason we buy is based not on the logistics we know about a product, but rather the interactions we’ve had that lead us to that brand and product/service. It comes down to the know, like and trust factor of a brand and how we feel the brand will solve our problem.

And as I mentioned above, when it comes to selling we always focus our energy on the sales conversation or the moment someone says, "I would like to buy your product," but that's not actually the buying process. The buying process is happening long before they decide to purchase or they put their credit card down, it's happening in those interactions with your brand.

So if the reason we invest in someone or something comes down to how that person, that product, that business, that brand ultimately makes us feel, wouldn’t you want to make sure you’re connecting on this level with your potential client?

I bet you do!

And it doesn’t stop there with the purchase. In fact, an area that many small business owners neglect is thinking about how they are continuing the art of emotional branding throughout the customer journey.

Yes, we need to start having real conversations about the customer journey and customer lifetime value.

When we start our businesses, it’s all about making money and with good reason. However, this mindset can keep us playing small as we continue to grow our business. Once we get those initial clients in the door what happens? How do we keep them engaged?

This is where emotional branding comes in because emotional branding has been proven to increase customer lifetime value and retention. When you build a deep connection with your audience from the start and continue to deliver on your mission, values and promise, you’re creating a fan for life.

And this is how you build a sustainable business!

Choose Your Brand Colors 👇

1. Brand Color Tip #1: Look at Your Daily Inspiration

The idea of personal branding is that you are the center of your brand and use your own personality traits, authentic voice and stories to create a brand that resonates with your ideal audience. If you don’t already know my stance on personal branding, be sure to check out this article here.

So with that in mind, why don’t we start with the things you already love?

When starting to create the aesthetics of your brand it can be really easy to get lost in what other people are doing, other professionals and other brands. The result is a loss of personal brand identity and blending in with others in your industry.

Rather than first looking outside yourself for inspiration, I recommend taking a look at two areas in your life: your closet and your home.

We buy things that inspire us and often that is associated with the psychology of color (more on that later), so why not use this personal color inspiration as a tool to choose your branding colors?

Start by looking at your closet and making a list of the top five colors you see most prominent.

Then repeat the process, by walking around your home.

Do you see an overlap in the specific colors, tone of color or color palette you tend to gravitate towards? This is where you should start when thinking of your branding colors.

2. Brand Color Tip #2: Identify Your Brand Emotions (Emotional Branding)

Just like with all things branding, after you’ve connected with the purpose and story behind your brand (aka you), it’s time to think of your audience.

We never want to create a brand that only takes our taste or style into consideration and we never want to create a brand solely for others that doesn’t connect deeply to ourselves.

So, after you’ve identified the colors you enjoy most, it’s important to think of how you want your audience to feel.

This is referred to as Emotional Branding and is something I teach my clients in my signature programs. You can learn more about Emotional Branding above!

When thinking of your brand colors, you need to know your ideal client very well, the reason for this is if you don’t understand their pain and pleasure points you won’t be able to use the power of psychology to choose your colors.

For instance, if I know my ideal client is feeling overwhelmed, is highly stressed and struggles with time management, I won’t choose a color that tends to elicit a feeling of anger.

On the flip side, if I know my client is driving to feel pleasure in her home and her health and loves the eco-lifestyle, then I would choose a color like green, which gives a feeling or serenity and organic.

In order to choose the right colors based on psychology, you need to know your audience and use that information to decide how you want your audience to feel when coming in contact with your brand.

So, before moving on to step three, it’s important to identify 5-7 brand emotions to relay to your audience.

If you need support with understanding market research and why it’s important, be sure to catch my free masterclass on The Build a Better Brand Method. Sign up here.

3. Brand Color Tips #3: Choosing Your Brand Colors Based on Psychology

Ok, no the REALLY fun part and the part I seriously geek out on. This is why emotional branding is so important because everything that relates to the aesthetics of your brand: colors, fonts, logo design, website layout, brand photos, etc… can be built on the fundamentals of psychology. 

I recommend choosing three brand colors as your main colors and explore complimentary colors to play around with on social media.

Must Haves for Brand Messaging 👇

WHAT IS BRAND MESSAGING

Brand messaging is how you communicate the purpose of your brand, the problem that it solves, what you do, the work that you do, and the products that you have in a magnetic way. 

It's not only about attracting the right people, it's also leading them, and converting them to the offer. It's about bundling it all up in a clear, specific and concise way.

People are always telling me, "I want a better way to communicate what it is I do to my audience so that they want to do it." 

And I'm like, "That is brand messaging." It's all about communication.

The mistake people make with their brand messaging is just focusing on what they do. They craft messages that say, "This is what I do. This is what I create. This is how many modules there are," and they don't focus on why those things are important. 

Their focus is, “Well, this is how I'll help you, and this is what I'll do with x, y and z”, and not focused on why their audience cares about those things in the first place. 

What your audience really wants to know is how what you say you're going to do will benefit them. Because when we're going into buying something, yes, we might be looking for specific things, but we want to know it's going to solve our problem and it's going to help us get to the end result that we want.

I know that might seem like a lot to include, you might be thinking, "How do I communicate all of that?" but it truly is quite simple.

WHERE TO USE BRAND MESSAGING

Brand messaging can be and should be designed for your brand as a whole. This is something that I teach inside of my programs and referred to as Core Brand Messages.

It's this idea that your brand as a whole solves a very specific problem for your ideal customer, and you need to understand why solving that problem is important to your ideal customer. 

But then, you can also create different variations of that or even more specific messages for a particular offer, for a landing page, for a webinar, for a sales page, in an email, etc...

For instance, I have core brand messages for Brandmerry as a whole. But then, my program, Brandmerry Academy, which focuses specifically on marketing and teaching people how to market their business, has very specific messages on marketing. I don't talk about the basics of starting a business because we're focused on marketing. 

I reserve those types of messages for my program Roadmap to Freedom.

Strong messaging is used everywhere and anywhere you want to sell something, and following this brand messaging framework will make your life way easier.

BRAND MESSAGING FRAMEWORK

Excellent messaging always comes back to knowing your audience. So, even though I’m going to share with you a framework for your messages, I want you to remember the language you’ll use will come from what you know about your ideal customer.

We can't craft messages that convert, sales pages that sell, email campaigns that email, we can't do any of that if we don't know how to communicate to our audience.

I think copywriting is such an art. And so many people are like, "Well, I'll just hire a copywriter. I'll just get to a place when I hire a copywriter." But you're never going to get there if you don't know how to do it now yourself. 

There are people who are incredibly skilled at writing copy, and they freaking own that. They're just masters at it. But, everyone at the bare minimum needs to just understand how to communicate to their audience. And that's really what messaging is. And as you can see, so much of your messaging working is reliant on understanding who you're talking to and then letting them tell you what they want and the language that they use and plugging that into your copy.

The framework, once you have the market research, is actually quite simple.

The brand messaging framework includes what you do, the problem you solve and why it’s important.

PART ONE: WHAT YOU PROVIDE

You need to note that it’s not just one thing, otherwise you’d have one brand message. What you do needs to be broken down into pieces. Think about your framework, modules you offer, modalities, techniques or just the flow you lead your client through. 

PART TWO: WHAT PROBLEM DOES IT SOLVE

Taking it back to the ideal client work, understanding the struggles/ pains of your ideal customer is huge. When you know what they want to avoid or what they are working towards you can use that to share how what you do will help them achieve that.

This is the second stage of messaging to say, “This is what I do so you can…”

PART THREE: ADDING THE REAL BENEFIT AND URGENCY

This is all about why your audience should care and why it’s important. This is the sweet spot of brand messaging and the difference between someone working with you and someone not working with you, someone buying your course and not buying your course, someone buying your product and not buying your product. 

If they aren’t clear on how investing in this will serve them, they won’t do it!

4 Branding Tips 👇

Branding is hard, there I said it! 

As a Branding and Business Coach for Female Entrepreneurs, I support women in branding and marketing themselves online and building the business of their dreams.

However, it took me months to find my personal brand after being stuck in a cycle of comparison and lost in connecting to my true story and personality. 

I started my business with a single struggle - how to brand myself and my services online.

I spent eight months trying to create an online brand based on other’s expectations and it resulted in zero clients. 

That was almost 4 years ago and since that time I’ve grown my community to thousands of women, celebrated over $400,000 cash in my business and figured out this whole personal branding thing, so much it’s what I now teach as the foundation of all my programs and as an online business coach.

And, if I’m being honest I think so many online coaches, especially business coaches get the whole branding thing wrong. It isn’t as simple as picking your colors and fonts and sure as heck doesn’t revolve solely around your service, product or offer.

However, it is one of the most important things you can do for your business!

You can learn more about The Build a Better Brand Method here.

Aside from the 3-part method I teach inside the free training, I wanted to share with you 4 great branding tips from someone who not branded herself online, but also teaches other women how to do the same.

Let’s get into it!

1. Tapping into Your Story

Yes, Storytelling is my signature tool to support female entrepreneurs and for good reason...storytelling is the key to branding.

The first thing you really need to do as a personal brand is to actually identify your story. You need to identify the reason behind your brand. You need to identify the mission behind your brand and tap into the different ways that your story, your personality brings that to life.

One of the things that separate a personal brand from a regular brand is the personality behind it and so you want to be able to input you into everything that you do in the online space and there's no better way to do that and set yourself apart from other people than by tapping into your story.

I highly recommend looking at your business, looking at the brand that you want to create, and then look back at your story.

There are various chapters to see which ones connect to where you are now. This is going to help you get started and actually sharing your story in the online space and start to build that trust, like and know factor with your audience.

Additional resources:

Where and When to Share Your Story. Click to read more.

How to Identify Your Brand Story. Click here to read.

2. Emotional Branding

If there is one secret weapon I learned earlier on in my biz as I was designing my business coaching programs, it's the importance and power of emotional branding.

We all know that feeling when we just click with a brand. We become obsessed with their content, products, IG stories, etc…

That's not because we need their product it's because we feel something when we're connected to them. This is emotional branding, and it's how I feel every time I think of Trader Joe's ♥️

Emotional Branding is so important no matter what you sell. Think of how you want your audience to feel when they see, hear, read or come in contact with your brand (remember it's not just aesthetics). How can you build trust with your audience by making them feel this connection?

P.S. this is also why we buy, because of an emotional connection, so you're doing yourself the service of not only attracting lifelong fans but also making sales.

Additional resources: 

How to Build an Online Community Through Emotional Branding. Click to read more.

How to Attract Your Dream Clients Through Emotional Branding. Click to read more.

3. Clear Communication and Messaging

My third tip for you is around clear communication and messaging. You literally can not have an effective and revenue-generating brand without this piece.

How you communicate who you are, what you provide and in a way that resonates with your audience can make or break your business.

So I get this question a lot. “How much do I share?” “What parts of my story do I share?” And this is the communication component.

If you have a piece of your story that you think is really amazing, but you cannot connect that to your audience, it's not the right time to share that.

So some of the key things that I love to ask myself, is this valuable to my audience? And what kind of value do they get?

This allows me to make sure everything that I'm creating with my personal brand, every way that I'm communicating it through my marketing, my email and my social media is always going to resonate with my audience. This is the key.

Make sure your messaging is clearly communicating the benefit of working with you, of your service, of your product, with your audience so they can really see themselves in the outcome of your product.

Additional Resource:

How to Create Better Brand Messaging. Click to read more.

4. Create a Sensory Brand Experience

This one might be a combination of all three but it's worth repeating. Great brands are sensory, meaning they play on all the senses we as humans experience.

This is important because in the online space we often can't touch a product before we buy but we can get the same feeling through strong imagery and copy.

Focusing on creating a sensory experience invites your audience in and makes it real, tangible and unforgettable.

This is why I love storytelling so much because it gives you an opportunity to paint a picture for your audience.

The next time you're writing copy or choosing images think of how you can describe something so your reader feels as though they are right there in the room with you - this will not only increase awareness of your brand but also lead to more sales.

Actionable Step: 

4 Steps to an Authentic and Revenue-Generating Personal Brand. Click to read here.

And don’t forget to sign up to watch my on-demand Build a Better Brand Method training! We dive deeper into my signature 6-part framework.

👉 Sign up for the training at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.

P.S. Have you tuned in to The Beautiful Climb podcast? I release new episodes every other Friday on topics around productivity, motherhood, habits, goals and going after the life of your dreams! Check out past episodes and be sure to subscribe at thebeautifulclimb.com

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

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START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Brand Storytelling Guide

Everything you need to know about storytelling as an entrepreneur.

Let's dive into why storytelling is essential 👇

WHY STORYTELLING IS SO IMPORTANT AS AN ONLINE BUSINESS AND BRAND

I like to use the Ice Cream Sundae analogy when talking about your brand and storytelling.

Imagine for a second that your brand and story are the ice cream. The ice cream alone is delicious and something you can enjoy just as it is or you can enhance it to make it even better.

Now, let’s imagine the marketing, funnels, ads, social media platforms, etc are chocolate syrup, nuts and whipped cream. Mix those together and have them stand alone; it’s kind of just a mushy, nutty sweetness. Definitely not as good as it is with ice cream.

The point is your brand and story can stand alone and make you money. The marketing strategies can not. You need to have the entire package for those to even work.

You need the whole package.

WHY STORYTELLING WORKS IN ONLINE MARKETING

When you add storytelling to your messaging and content it is 22x more likely to be remembered

Not to mention it helps in the decision-making process. A report from Harvard University found that 90% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously and based on emotional connection. Emotional connection comes from trust and storytelling.

So you’re also more likely to convert your clients into a sale by using storytelling.

AND not to mention the average time someone spends on a website is 8-15 seconds. Yet, this is where all the information about your business is. So, how do you keep them captivated for longer? Storytelling and strong personal messaging.

That’s because storytelling makes your brand:

1. Captivating - pulls in your ideal customer

2. Memorable - at the front of their mind, even as they scroll

3. Trustworthy - builds an emotional connection to you and your brand

It Starts With Your Brand Identity 👇

What is Brand Identity?

Let's talk specifically about how Brand Identity helps your brand as a whole. So, brand identity is the personality of your brand. It is that experience that you are creating. 

It is the combination of values, your mission, how you want people to feel, that emotional side. It's that entire experience and it's one of my favorite things to talk about. 

You've actually probably heard me just refer to it as branding because to me that's truly what it is. 

We have had such an evolution with what branding is and what's important when it comes to branding. From just thinking it was a logo and your colors to understanding that it really is about the human connection, values, mission, and emotional connection you’re creating.

So, I will refer to just brand identity as branding. I interchange them all the time because that's just the direction that we're heading with branding overall.

So branding is really about that experience, creating that experience and putting a personality to your brand. 

When you're creating a personal brand it makes it a lot easier because you're front and center, you're sharing yourself, you're sharing your stories. So, that personality just naturally happens which is why personal branding is so powerful.

So if you want to learn a little bit more about emotional branding and all those different things, after this video make sure you definitely check out my blog. I have tons of content over there on emotional branding and just the foundational pieces of branding. I've got some YouTube videos on it as well. 

And if you go to my Facebook I've got an entire folder of videos on that as well. 

So when you think of Brand Identity, I want you to think about the personality behind your brand and the experience you’re creating for your audience.

What is YOUR brand story?

The first thing that you've got to do is figure out what your brand story is. So this will look different for different types of businesses. There are different ways and structures to actually create your brand story based on your personal story and based on your individual business. 

But really what I want you to focus on now is stripping away the, "How do I write this on my about me page?" And, "What does this look like on my bio, on my homepage?" Strip all that away and just focus solely on the story.

In fact, when you're writing this out I want you to think about actually telling this story to someone. 
Some of you might want to even record it and transcribe it. It might feel a little bit more natural to you. 

Ultimately, what you want to do is highlight and share the journey that has happened that led you to the creation of your brand.

Your brand is not a product, your brand is not a service specifically, it's the whole thing. 

It's that umbrella, it's the work that you're putting out into the world, it's your mission, it's who you ultimately want to impact all rolled into one. And you want to share the evolution of how that came to be. 

So I want you to strip away, “How is this structured?” and “How does this flow?” and really just allow yourself to tell the story. That's where all the goodness gets to go in. And then when we format, we can pull out the unnecessary pieces and clean it up a bit. 

But I want you to just deeply understand what has led you to this moment and think of really telling that story to your audience.

For example, when I talk about my brand story, one piece of that is this underlying feeling of not living a life based on other people's expectations or going against the status quo. 

And I know that that's important to my audience, that's important to you, that's something that you also believe in. I share that through my storytelling and I share that through my brand story to get that message across. 

You're probably already picking up on it, but your brand story is where that connection can really start for many of you. Because once we get to formatting it for an about me page, or we get to putting it out there in social media, it might be one of the first things that people see and you have an opportunity to build that connection with them right out of the gate. 

Focus on taking your audience on this journey, write out your brand story and become really clear on what you ultimately want to share about your journey and what has led you to the brand that you are creating today.

how to Identify The Brand Emotions

Step two is to elevate the experience by focusing on the emotional connection.

And this is where we really take your story and spin it around to pull in your audience and build that trust. 

I call these brand emotions and I encourage you to identify five brand emotions for your brand as a whole. 

Don't get too obsessed with the number. It could be three, it could be six, it could be seven. Don't do 25 or something like that. I find five is the sweet spot.

But you really want to ask yourself, "How do I want my audience to feel?"

I mean, the reality is you've got eight seconds to make an impression. 

That's not a lot of time to read an entire message on a piece of content. It's not a lot of time to read a bunch of stuff on your homepage. 

You've got to make that first initial impression a good one and powerful, and that really comes down to that emotional connection. How do people feel when they land on your website, when they see a piece of your content?

In order to exude that, in order to allow people to feel that, you need to know what you want people to feel. 

Take the time to identify those brand emotions. 

I want to give you two examples, because I know sometimes you might be thinking, "What do I want people to feel, Michelle?"

I have a client who is in the mindset space, the spiritual mindset space specifically, and she supports women in moving through a very difficult period of their life. She does a lot of shadow work. Her clients are currently in a difficult time but they are moving towards the light. They want to understand how to get there, they want to feel supported through that process, and they want to do it in a way that feels good and not forced.

We know this about her audience and we also know from her brand story she's really good at it. So when we were thinking of her brand emotions we wanted to show the light. We wanted to show what was possible, the desire, and what her audience was wanting to move towards. 

Because her audience didn't want to neglect where they were and that was really, really important to communicate, we played with sharing that through messaging, through story, through brand colors, showing both the dark and the light. 

That's just one example but again it comes back to how do I want people to feel and ultimately what are they looking for? What are they searching for?

With my brand, I decided very early on, well actually after eight months of having a brand that was not me at all, I redid the whole thing and now it's great. But when I redid it, I got back to this core piece of storytelling and brand emotions and I asked myself, "How do I want people to feel?" 

And it kept coming up for me that I wanted people to feel safe and comfortable and that they could be their authentic selves. That there was this connection between the two of us, between my brand and between them and their story. That it almost felt like we were sitting cozied up by a fire on a fall day just having a really deep conversation and chat. 

I used that to motivate all of these different pieces that we're going to talk about in just a second.

Again, take the time to understand who you are and the journey that you've gone on to get to where you are, to have the brand, the mission, the values, the core beliefs and the impact that you want to make in your ideal customer's life. As well as understand how you want them to feel from the moment they come in contact with your brand, through all of those different pieces.

Now that brings us to, "Now how do we actually use this Michelle? How do we use this? This all sounds great, I love it, but how do we use it?" 

Let's talk about how we use that brand story and those brand emotions to enhance and communicate and have this wonderful experience also known as brand identity.

How Often Should You Share It? 👇

The truth is you should be sharing story in every piece of content you create, but when you’re just starting out you might just have you Brand Story or Founders Story and that’s ok. Here are some suggestions on where to share it!

10 WAYS TO SHARE YOUR BRAND STORY online

Now, you’re ready! You know the power of sharing your story with the world, you’ve identified your story and now it’s time to share it.

Below, I’ve included 10 DIFFERENT places to share your Brand Story as a way to build brand awareness and community. I’ve marked the ones that can be repeated ever 30 days with an *.

1. On the homepage of your blog (include a small excerpt similar to a social post)

2. On your About Me/ My Story page (want my tips on this? Click here)

3. The sidebar or footer of your blog

4. Social Media post (includes Facebook and Instagram) *

5. IGTV video 

6. Insta Stories *

7. As a highlight on your Instagram

8. Introduction in a Facebook Group *

9. Youtube video (tied in with your favorite tip within your niche)

10. Live video (Facebook) *

That’s one freaking story, imagine what you could do if you repeated this over and over again for your most important stories - the ones that share your expertise, relate to your audience and build trust.

Pretty cool stuff, right?

So, Should You Repeat Your Story? 👇

WHY REPETITION IS IMPORTANT IN MARKETING

Now, that we’ve covered how to effectively repeat stories in business, let’s dive deep into why this is so important.

Remember, the information I’m sharing here doesn’t just apply to storytelling, it applies to marketing as a whole. Think of repeating not just your stories, but your messages, offers, freebies, etc...and why it’s essential when building an online brand.

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Unfortunately, the number of contact points needed before someone becomes a customer is growing. There is just so much information online and with the algorithm changing frequently, it’s important that we’re consistently showing up for our audience if we ever want to make money online.

While there's no clear number for contact points, the standard is:

BRAND AWARENESS: 3 points of contact before someone will pay attention to your brand

SALES: 7 points of contact before someone will take action or make a purchase decision.

As you can see repetition is necessary when it comes to marketing your business, because the odds of someone seeing your content, thanks to the algorithm, and taking action after one message is very slim.

In addition to the multiple contact points needed, there is also the concept of The Frequency Illusion (or Baader-Meinhof phenomenon). It’s the illusion that we see or hear the same thing everywhere.

The best way to describe this is when you’re thinking about buying a new car and you decide on the one you want and then you see it EVERYWHERE!

This illusion is something we as marketers need to remember and use to our advantage. It’s why you see retargeting ads when you search for something on Google or visit a website.

The reason so many marketers are using this principle in business is that the more we, as consumers, start to see or hear the same message we begin to think of it as important. It heightens our awareness and moves the brand, product or service up the importance meter; essentially you’re adding importance and urgency to your offer.

You can achieve this by consistently showing up with your content so you’re top of mind, sharing your brand story so people actually know who you are and utilizing retargeting tools in advertising.

Repetition is key in not only making sure our audience sees our message and making sure it is of importance to our audience, but also because it builds brand credibility and trust.

The final thing I’ll share with you on repetition in marketing is the power of sharing your core stories and messages across all platforms. When we do this we’re creating brand affinity and brand messaging consistency and consistency builds trust.

If someone lands on your Facebook page and then heads to Instagram and maybe your website, is it the same? Does it feel like the same brand and message? If not, you’re breaking trust.

When we think of utilizing this for your Brand Story, I want you to think about posting the entire thing on your “About Me” page, then sharing a variation of that on your Homepage and Blog sidebar, Facebook, a one-liner on Instagram and so on…
...this repetition and consistency in messaging will build trust with your audience quicker.

3 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR REPETITION IN STORYTELLING

1. SWITCH UP THE EMPHASIS

As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s important that even when sharing the same story, think of your Brand story, that you switch up the way you tell it and the emphasis.

Focus on pulling different parts of the story based on your central theme or goal. If you need a refresher scroll up for my brand storytelling example.

This works wonders because the art of storytelling is about showcasing a moment in time. So when I share my Brand Story, I might focus on the moment when I realized I lost myself in the branding process because of comparisonitis. Then, I might share the story later and focus on the moment when I realized branding wasn’t about the font, colors and logo.

You can also switch it up based on what’s happening in your business or what’s timely in the world. For instance, when COVID first started I saw so many of my friends, family and community members worried about working from home with kids. So, I started sharing more of my stories and experiences of running my business and working from home with my son for four years.

You can modify stories, emphasizing different parts, and sharing them in different ways to build brand trust and affinity.

2. EMBRACE THE ART OF REPURPOSING YOUR CONTENT

Your audience needs to hear things multiple times, this is why I love repurposing to make sure my content every week is reaching my audience!

As we’ve mentioned it requires multiple touchpoints for your audience to take action, but who the heck has time to come up with new content every single day? Not me!

That’s why I shared an entire blog post on The Art of Repurposing, which you can check out here.

I can't tell you how many times I put something on my Instagram Stories, and I'll send an email, and I'll make an Instagram post and then, after all those other posts, I'll post on Facebook and someone will respond with,  “Oh, I didn't even know you were offering this!”

The reality is our audience are busy living their lives, so if we’re not repeating our content and repurposing it we’re doing a major disservice to our marketing.

Just like your Brand Story, the concept of repurposing is taking your content and sharing it multiple ways on multiple platforms.

You can check out my blog on Repurposing here.

3.  IDENTIFY YOUR CORE BRAND STORIES

Did you catch the plural there? The truth is there are so many types of stories we should be sharing in our business. Aside from your Brand Story or Founders Story, we also have the collection of stories that showcase your brand values, pillars or framework of your offer and your brand mission.

The more you, as a brand, can share these stories the more you’ll attract a community of people who are in alignment with your brand and brand mission and that is important.

Once you have these stories in your Story Bank, you can add additional stories and sprinkle them into your content at any time you’re posting...and yes you need a story every time you post content!

Think of it like this, you create a content calendar of posts you want to make over the next 30 days. These are timely pieces that promote your freebie, your offers, share value. Then you go through each of them and pair it with a story from your Story Bank.

Do you see how easy it is to incorporate storytelling into your business? And it’s so powerful.

What About Imperfect Stories 👇

How to Share Imperfections and ‘The Messy Middle’ in Storytelling

So now that we understand vulnerability and transparency as it applies to storytelling, let’s talk about imperfections or ‘The Messy Middle.’ 

How do you share stories and when do you share stories that feel raw?

I’ve got a couple of rules here that you will want to steal, so grab that notepad.

RULE #1: IS IT SACRED?

It’s important to make sure the stories you share feel aligned, so you need to ask yourself, “Does it feel good to share this story or a small part of this story?”

As I mentioned in the blog a few weeks ago, storytelling is not about a period in time, but a moment in time. If the period as a whole doesn’t feel good, can you strip it back and share a moment.

Example: When I was sharing about the birth of my son in the beginning I was still in the postpartum experience and it felt raw, but I knew it was an important part of my story as it related to my brand. So I chose the parts that felt good to share, including why I started my business and what it was like to build the business with a baby. As time went on and my brand evolved I would share more and more.

So ask yourself if what you’re wanting to share actually feels good and if it feels better to strip it back, then do that!

RULE #2: DON’T SHARE IT WHILE YOU’RE IN IT

Remember, you’re building a business not just talking to your friends on the internet, so the stories you choose need to be strategic.

As a business owner it’s important that no matter how vulnerable or transparent you are, you still need to be the guide for your ideal customer. If you’re going through something at that moment and are wondering how to share it, it’s going to be hard to be the guide or show the value.

You’ll notice in my business I don’t talk about life as it’s happening, in fact, I rarely post in real-time even while traveling. I wait till I’ve experienced something and then I weave it into my content by telling a story.

An example is in 2019 when we started traveling I had a hard time navigating this new schedule and lifestyle. That was hard and I was in it so I didn’t talk about the hard stuff openly on social media. As time went on and I got my grounding I could talk more about it and share the lessons I learned as a way to provide value to my audience.

So, remember if you’re in it don’t share it. Take the time to go through it and look back on the lessons you learned so it provides value to your audience.

RULE #3: IT MUST PROVIDE VALUE 

Arguably the most important part of the storytelling process is your audience. Although the stories might be yours they aren’t for you. When you’re sharing stories as part of your brand and business you want to make sure they are of value to your audience.

When you think of these stories, run them through my 2-part question test…

“What value does this story provide my audience?”

“How does this story build trust with my audience?”

If you can’t answer these questions with clarity, no matter how authentic, transparent or vulnerable they might be then it’s not the right time to share them. Put them away in your story bank and come back to them later.

Ok, Ready For Some Content Examples? 👇

5 EXAMPLES OF BRAND STORYTELLING

So many entrepreneurs never think of sharing their story outside of their Brand/ Founder Story, but that’s only a small piece of the puzzle. 

You can’t share your brand story every single day on social media and every offer you create needs a little more attention than just how your business was started.

This is where different types of stories come into play.

1. THE TESTIMONIAL STORY

The stories you share in business don’t have to be your own, they can be stories from your client and community members. This is a great way to share social proof and do more than just post a 2-3 sentence testimonial on your website.

When asking for feedback or testimonials be sure to ask multiple questions about where your audience was, where they are now and what changed for them. Along with your testimonial statement, you’ll be able to use this information to tell stories on social media and in your email marketing that helps your audience make a purchase decision.

Bonus Tip: Videos are a great way to share stories. Have your client create a short video sharing their story and share it during your next launch or promotion.

2. THE TRANSFORMATION STORY

The transformation story can fall into The Testimonial story above, because who doesn’t love a great before and after. If you’re in fitness, health, wellness, products or even service-based you can use the transformation story constantly.

Here are some examples:
Fitness - Share a before and after photo of a client or yourself
Product (Skincare) - Share a before and after photo of someone using your product
Graphic Designer - Share the before and after of your client’s graphics

The possibilities are endless.

But, I’m going to encourage you to think a level deeper and share your own micro transformations. Think of the things happening daily that your audience can relate too.

Some places to start are moments of “failure,” mindset shifts, overcoming obstacle and stories of success. Seriously, I bet if you sat down with pen and paper right now you could come up with at least 20 posts.

3. THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORY

These are great stories to show what you do and your process in business, as well as build trust with your audience.

Human to Human or Relationship-Building Marketing is on the rise. People want to know the brand they are investing in. One of the ways to build this trust and go beyond just a product or service you sell is to invite your audience behind the curtain.

This is one of the reasons I love showing up on Instagram Stories. It’s a simple way to share my day to day, my role as a mother, my love of gardening, our travels and my business. 

My audience gets to see multiple sides of my personality, which also builds Brand Affinity, and as a result, the trust is accelerated.

If you sell a product consider sharing the behind the scenes of how you make the product.

If you’re a coach, show your client calls and trainings.

Show how you manage your day-to-day, the things you love and how you take on the other roles in your life.

These stories are powerful and some of the easiest to start with.

4. THE VALUE STORY

Last week on the blog we talked about identifying your core stories early on. These core stories include:

+ Your Founder/ Brand Story
+ Your Mission and how it came to be
+ Your Why or Purpose Story
+ Your Value Story

It is important that as a brand and business owner that you create these micro-stories that show your values in action, affirm your values and share why you have these values.

For example, one of my values is authenticity. That's just not a word that I like to use for marketing, I truly believe it to my core. I share that value in my stories because I want to attract people who share the same value.

This is where Brand Affinity becomes so powerful because brand affinity is that shared mission, those shared values. It goes much deeper than someone saying, “Oh, you're cool. Oh, I like your product or your service. Let me check it out.” 

It's much deeper than even trust, it’s a shared value.

Share these values to bring in the people that align with your values, the things that are important to you, and let the others drift away.

5. THE DISRUPT STORY

When it comes to the Disrupt Story, I’m slightly obsessed. I believe this story is an excellent way to share your values and your beliefs and separate you from others in your industry.

You know you have an industry-standard or common thread of beliefs in your industry. You see them in every Facebook group and on websites that all start to look the same.

Think about your own business, your superpower, your teachings and pull out the pieces that go against the grain.

For instance, last year I did an entire email series called Behind The Brand. I called out beliefs inside the industry around branding. Some examples were:

+ How the industry defines success
+ The truth about templates and how they create inauthenticity and a copy and paste culture
+ Transparency and vulnerability as a business owner

I also talk about the power of a brand and why I believe that without a brand you don’t have a business, something that goes against other mentors and coaches who “skip” branding.

These types of stories have allowed me to talk about my business, but also call my audience to speak up. When I share the disrupt stories I always attract new community members, increase my engagement and sign clients.

People want transparency, authenticity and something different. This story does that!

Here’s an example of The Disrupt in action.

Oh, And Don't Make This Mistake 👇

BRAND STORYTELLING SECRET WEAPON

When you are telling stories in business they are for your ideal customer, they are for your audience...they are not for you!

You're not buying your own stuff, so the story is not for you. 

The ultimate goal is to attract your ideal customer and dream audience, build trust, build brand recognition, brand affinity and ultimately tell stories that sell. 

The beautiful thing is that you can use stories at every single level of the buying process. Whether someone isn't aware of their problem.
They're aware of their problem.
They're aware of a solution to their problem.
They're aware of products but haven’t made a decision, you can incorporate stories to move them along.

So no matter where your ideal customer is in the buying process stories are an excellent marketing strategy.

You might tell a story about your situation…
You might tell a story about your transformation…
You might tell a story about your values…
But if you're not tying that to your audience, it becomes a cool-story-bro situation.
It becomes a “that's nice” situation.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Marketing Secrets: 3 Repurposing Mistakes to Avoid

Marketing Secrets: 3 Repurposing Mistakes to Avoid

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

If you don’t already know I’m obsessed with simplified and minimalist marketing strategies.

Starting my business with a newborn, then scaling my business while traveling full time has taught me to streamline my business faster than most.

I learned very quickly that extending the life of my content, through the art of repurposing my content was the secret.

Mix the strategy of repurposing with the strategies I teach inside of Brandmerry Academy, to create more evergreen traffic to your website and you’ve hit the marketing sweet spot.

However, repurposing is a broad term and honestly many entrepreneurs do it wrong or miss out on some key pieces which result in mediocre optimization. Seriously, I want you to get the most impact from your time and energy, so avoiding these mistakes is key.

Read on to learn the 3 repurposing mistakes to avoid.

Content Repurposing Mistake #1: Thinking Too Small

One of the mistakes I see entrepreneurs make when repurposing is thinking too small. They limit themselves to the amount of content they can create from their core content.

In case you’re not familiar with the strategy I teach inside of Brandmerry Academy, all repurposed content comes from a core piece of content (email, blog, video, podcast, etc…) and then is expanded to additional platforms and additional posts.

Once you have this core piece of content, the possibilities are endless.

A single podcast could become:

• A new podcast episode

• A transcribed blog post

• 5-6 Pinterest images

• A Reel for Instagram

• 3-5 social media posts for Instagram

• 3-5 social media posts for Facebook

• 3-5 tweets on Twitter

...heck, you could even go live about the podcast episode answering questions or record the podcast episode for Youtube.

See? The possibilities are endless if you take the time to map out your strategy.

And, this isn’t just about creating more content, it allows you to spend less time creating content every single week, gives you more opportunities to reach your ideal customer, extends the life of your content (most social media content lasts a few hours, where blogs can last 2+ years) and did I mention it saved you time? Because it definitely does!

Content Repurposing Mistake #2: Not Optimizing For Warm and Cold Audience

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to content creation is not considering your audience at every single stage of the buying process.

I see entrepreneurs who only think about educating their audience (i.e. at the Problem or Solution Stage) or only creating content for those ready to buy (i.e. the Purchase Stage). When in reality, there is a way to produce content that serves your audience at every single stage.

Stages of the buying process is something I teach inside of Brandmerry Academy and is important when creating content!

Let’s take a video example into consideration. 

You create a new live video every week (by the way this could be a blog, podcast, etc...I’m not saying you have to do live video for this to work, but you get the idea).

So, you create a live video every week. 

That live video has a pretty specific title, it’s based on what your audience has asked about and leads to your current offer. Maybe it’s something like, “How to Repurpose Your Content for Social Media.”

It’s specific to your audience and what they’ve been asking for and designed for your existing audience, as live video doesn’t typically attract new people! This is most likely for people further along in the buying process as their seeking out solutions and product/ services to solve their problem.

Now you have this video content and you’re transcribing it for your blog, because you’re smart, but the people you want to attract to your blog will come from Google and/ or Pinterest and be a cold audience (i.e. people who don’t know you and your brand just yet).

The key here is to optimize for those at the beginning of the buying process and use Search Engine Optimized keywords and titles to do just that. 

After research, you might adjust the title to, “4 Ways to Save Time on Social Media and Plan Your Content for a Full Week!”

It’s more specific and rooted in research.

This is what I want you to remember. Choosing titles for content isn’t based on a feeling, it’s based on research - if you want to be discovered. This is why taking the time to research your content before creating and adjusting your titles for different platforms is important.

It’s one of the reasons I teach advance content creation inside of Brandmerry Academy, so your content doesn’t just sit there, but is actually discovered.

Content Repurposing Mistake #3: Consistency is Lacking

Although it may come as a shock to those of you that know me and my message, I’m not talking about the consistency in content, timing or even your message.

I’m talking about the consistency of your systems!

Your systems are everything and these daily, weekly and monthly habits are the difference between wasting hours and hours in your business and making money.

So, what do I mean by lack of consistency? I mean a lack in workflows!

Once, you’ve decided on your repurposing plan (i.e. your core content and additional platforms you’ll be optimizing) you can create a weekly workflow that can be duplicated week after week.

I feel like I don’t have to tell you how much time and energy this will save in your business!

And the best part, you don’t need a team to master this (although when the time is right, this can save even more energy), but just having this weekly workflow outlined will allow you to do more as a solopreneur.

I suggest using a platform like ClickUp or Asana to create your weekly content workflow and save it as a template.

This includes listing every step of the process from idea generation, writing, editing, formatting, graphics, scheduling and more!

You then can adjust the content topic, titles, and descriptions every week, but have a clear and optimized work flow. This can allow you to create your content for the entire week in a single day!

And as you grow your team, you can assign weekly tasks to members just further optimizing your time and making sure your energy is best spent on content and marketing!

CONCLUSION

Well, there you have it! 

If you’re making any of these mistakes it’s time to adjust your content and repurposing strategy.

It doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but it does need a little strategy behind it, which just so happens to be one of my specialties.

If you’re interested in not only learning more about repurposing your content, but also how to market without relying on social media, then check out Brandmerry Academy.

This monthly marketing membership was created to help entrepreneurs maximize their time and learn the true art of marketing, which isn’t really dependent on social media!

Your marketing can’t wait, it’s required to not only grow your audience, but move your audience through the buying process which, you guessed it, leads to profitability!

Learn more about Brandmerry Academy here and happy repurposing!

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

2021 Marketing Projections for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

2021 Marketing Projections for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

As we head into 2021, there are so many lessons that we learned throughout 2020 that are going to impact how we market our businesses.

Of course, marketing is always changing, but the good news is that the predictions and trends we’re seeing for this next year have been building for quite some time, so none of them should require a complete overhaul of your existing strategy.

To be honest, I’m so excited about the following five trends because, as you’ll notice, there is a great deal of emphasis put on human to human marketing and focusing on building experiences as a brand. This is one of my favorite things about being a business owner and one of my favorites to teach.

So get ready because we’re going to see the following trends in full force and if you’re an online business owner and entrepreneur you want to make sure these are part of your marketing strategy moving forward.

To support you further, we’re sharing the five trends below and actionable steps and recommendations you can take within your business.

#1 Marketing Trend of 2021
Video Will Explode

At Brandmerry we love video. It’s my favorite strategy for creating core content for my brand and I’ve been so excited to see the changes and new additions to video marketing over the past few years.

Video marketing won’t be slowing down anytime soon we’re seeing more and more platforms embracing video options. According to a Cisco study, by 2022, 82% of all online content will be video content.

One of my favorite platforms Pinterest is making video a top priority. Releasing Pinterest Stories and more short video content within the feed (similar to Instagram Reels) to create more brand awareness and community feel.

In 2020, we saw the catapult of TikTok during the pandemic, followed by Instagram Reels later in the fall. These short-form pieces of video content meant to educate and entertain our audiences will continue to rise and be favored within the algorithm.

TAKE ACTION IN 2021: 

Make sure you’re creating consistent video content for your brand. If you struggle with consistency, be sure to check out my Consistency Guide here.

Hubspot found that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support

No matter what platform you’re most comfortable with there is a video option available or coming in 2021. This includes an increase in video use on Pinterest, Twitter (their new app called Fleets) and LinkedIn, as well as some of our favorites Facebook and Instagram.

BRANDMERRY MARKETING TIP:

Have fun with your video content. Think of ways to give incredible value to your audience while also sharing your personality to build a stronger connection to your brand. We love Instagram Reels for this and plan to repurpose those same videos to multiple platforms in 2021.

#2 Marketing Trend of 2021
Marketing OFF of Social Will Increase

2020 brought a lot of changes to social media and while it’s not going anywhere soon, we are hearing a lot of buzz from people taking time off of social media.

You’ve probably seen this happening within your industry and circle as Instagram rolls out a new Privacy Policy and more information becomes available 

Am I suggesting you stop using social media? Absolutely not! I highly suggest all online brands have some social media presence (one platform is enough) for nurturing their existing audience.

However, with these changes and more consumers spending less time checking on social media it’s important to have alternative marketing methods in place.

Way too many entrepreneurs are using social media as their only form of lead generation and communication for their brand and that’s some risky business.

TAKE ACTION IN 2021: 

If you’re not already focusing on search engine optimized platforms now is the time. These search platforms were specifically designed for consumers and users to search for very specific resources, products and information and get results.

Unlike social media, the intent is to point users in the right direction, which means more trust and a better user experience than most social platforms. Not to mention content on these search engine platforms lasts much longer than on social media. A blog can continue to deliver results for 2+ years, while a Facebook post lasts a few hours.

BRANDMERRY MARKETING TIP:

Inside of Brandmerry Academy, we focus on equipping entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills to grow their business off of social media. 

Three of my favorite tools to use are Website SEO (to make sure you show up in Google Searches), Blogging (to create a stream of content that lasts and increases your overall Google ranking) and Pinterest (to drive consistent cold traffic to your website).

Not to mention, small businesses with blogs get 126% more lead growth. (Content Marketing Institute) 

Youtube is an excellent search engine platform for video content, but I find most of my clients prefer to start with blogging as it’s a little less time consuming than weekly video.

Curious to know more about Brandmerry Academy? Find out what trainings are included, the incredible support and more here.

#3 Marketing Trend of 2021
Brand Values and Human Connection are Top Priority

77% of consumers buy from brands that share the same values as they do (HavasGroup, 2019).

And we are going to see the importance of brand values and emotional branding play a major role in 2021. The reality is, consumers, want brands that they can trust and more and more consumers are looking for brand affinity.

And this level of trust and desire for brand affinity will impact revenue generated by brands. 64% of consumers said they would buy from a brand or boycott it solely because of its position on a social or political issue (Edelman, 2019).

TAKE ACTION IN 2021: 

The importance of branding, with an emphasis on values, mission, messaging and connection, will continue to increase as we move through 2021 and beyond.

The old methods of branding and marketing, just focusing on the same, are going bye-bye, which I’m incredibly grateful for!

One of the best things you can do for your business in 2021 is to focus on human connection with your ideal customer. This includes being clear on your brand values and mission and sharing them, sharing more stories that focus on connecting these values and life experiences with your audience and focusing on authenticity as the driving force of your brand and business.

BRANDMERRY MARKETING TIP:

One of the best things you can do for your business is build a solid foundation and this includes, and should be centered on your values and mission.

These can be some of the best marketing tools for attracting your dream customers and keeping them engaged as part of your brand. This form of branding is centered around emotional branding, which is one of the foundational pieces I teach inside of my program You! Branded.

Motista found that emotionally connected consumers have a 306% higher lifetime value.

So aside from identifying your values and mission, how do you build an emotional connection? That’s all in the art of storytelling. Learn more about storytelling here.

#4 Marketing Trend of 2021
Virtual Events Will Increase

As someone who made it a goal to book public speaking engagements in 2020, the events of the pandemic definitely threw that off course. My guess is you noticed as more and more businesses adapted and turned to virtual events.

Well, this shift has resulted in what is sure to be an increase in virtual events in the year to come. 80.2% of event organizers were able to reach a wider audience with virtual events in 2020. (Bizzabo, 2020)

However, this isn’t likely to replace in-person events but does open the door for more small businesses and brands to have the opportunity to add events when in-person events are not in the budget.

TAKE ACTION IN 2021: 

Thanks to 2020, more consumers are familiar with online virtual events, so if you’ve been thinking about hosting an online event now is an excellent time to begin planning. 

On the flip side, this also opens the possibility for more features, as you can submit yourself as a speaker and expert for virtual events that don’t require travel or a major time commitment.

BRANDMERRY MARKETING TIP:

Make a list of in-person events in your industry and follow them on social media or via their website. Keep a lookout for when they release details regarding applications and submissions for their 2021 virtual events. 

63% of organizations are moving to digital conferences and events. (TOPO, 2020)

Weekly public relations pitching is an excellent strategy to increase brand awareness and authority. 

With a degree and background in public relations, I can tell you it’s one of the best ways to increase your ROI on your marketing efforts. Often, these virtual events bring in new email subscribers and paying customers and don’t cost you, the expert, a penny - bonus points if you’re paid!

Curious about building your public relations strategy for your brand? This is one of the twelve trainings available inside of Brandmerry Academy. Learn more here.

#5 Marketing Trend of 2021
Email Marketing Will Still Rule

When it comes to converting your warm audience into paying customers there is nothing more powerful than email marketing, and despite all the new social platforms and changes, email marketing is still the best way to communicate with your audience.

Emails are typically the first check of the day for consumers, and statistics show that the average person checks their email 15 times a day.

And since I know convincing you to put more emphasis on your email marketing is always a little difficult (I’ve worked with enough entrepreneurs to know), here is some information to get 100% on board:

• 59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions. (SaleCycle, 2018)

• For every $1 spent, email marketing generates a minimum of $32 in ROI. (Oberlo)

• 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI. (Emma, 2018)

You’re ready to improve your email marketing now, aren’t you?

TAKE ACTION IN 2021: 

Growing your email list of community members and showing up for them weekly should be a top priority. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be overly complicated.

At the very minimum have some sort of opt-in for your ideal customer to provide their name and email address. I love to give a free gift to new subscribers and suggest you do the same to increase conversions.

From there, have a simple onboarding email series that introduces your brand, values and mission - remember marketing trend three from above! Also, provide value for your audience for a week or so.

From there, make it a goal to share one email a week (minimum) with your audience and use email marketing as your main tool for sales and promotions.

BRANDMERRY MARKETING TIP:

I encourage every entrepreneur to focus on growing their email community in 2021. So many entrepreneurs, before working with me, are overwhelmed with one more thing to do in their business, but simplified marketing allows many of these strategies to work in the background for you.

For instance, inside of Brandmerry Academy, we teach you how to create a consistent stream of leads through evergreen content (think blogging, Pinterest, Youtube and more). With this consistent stream of new potential clients, your focus is on nurturing and connecting with your new community members.

Through the art of repurposing, you learn how to take a single piece of content and extend the life of it on multiple platforms to expand your brand awareness and brand connection. This includes repurposing that same piece of content for email.

Every week you can follow the same structure, think rinse and repeat, to take the overwhelm out of marketing. This small shift allows you to focus more on connecting with your audience, creating and serving your paying customers at the highest level.

To learn more about Brandmerry Academy, just click here.

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

---

- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

3 Myths Busted About Consistent Content Creation

Consistency is one of my love languages and is one of the fundamentals of a successful business no matter how you create content or where you post that content when promoting your business. 

And it’s not just about social media and promotion, but also consistency in your habits. 

So today I wanted to bust three myths around consistency to really give you the power back in planning out your day, in planning out your content and feeling good about how you're showing up and building your community.

But, we’ve got to start at the core of it all and that’s the Importance of Consistency in Business.

Consistency in Business

I really believe in the power of consistency to grow your community and ultimately grow your business. 

From a community standpoint, consistency is so important because it builds trust. So it's not really about you just pushing out a bunch of content. 

It's about you being there. 

It's about your brand being there and showing up for your community, delivering value to your community, and ultimately building that trust.

When you're consistently showing up and they're following you on that platform, or they're subscribing to your email list, they know who you are. They really start to get a sense of who you are as a person, who you are as a brand, what you stand for, and ultimately your expertise, which is huge. 

This is where the relationship with your brand starts to form and brand affinity can start to happen.

Another element of consistency is the role it plays in messaging. Consistent messaging also builds trust with your audience because you're showing up and you're delivering value and you’re doing it in a way that builds authority.

Your goal is to become an expert in a specific niche, so you’re consistently creating content and resources around that area. And that makes you the expert. It elevates you, it elevates your brand.

But, if your messaging is all over the place and not consistent, then your audience is going to have a hard time understanding what it is you do and how you can support them. 

I've been saying the same thing since 2016, my core concepts haven't changed.

Recently, we found my very first YouTube video. I’m not going to lie, it's kind of embarrassing, but what it did was reaffirm the concept of consistent messaging and the impact it can have on a business. I've been saying the same thing about branding, about storytelling, about emotional branding since the beginning.

And that is one of the reasons that I have now been able to get featured on podcasts and in articles and more as an expert on this topic.

You might not know exactly what you're talking about out of the gate, and that's fine. You're going to have to experiment. 

But when you really realize what it is you want to own and why people come to you and what differentiates you from others, consistently honoring that and creating messaging and content around that can help you grow your business substantially.

Then there's the other element, and that’s consistency in business overall - this looks like workflows and systems that save you so much time and energy.

I have very clear workflows in my business and I teach these content workflows inside of my programs, including The Consistency Guide.

Every single week, we are repeating the same content strategy over and over and over again. And as I've added team members, it's been really beautiful in being able to outsource different projects in a seamless way.

And while, the teamwork is amazon, the reason I do this is so that I can have consistency on my end so that every week I'm super clear on the fundamental things that I need to do in order to get content out there, to be able to grow my community, to build trust, to make sales. 

And then it frees up so much time for me to be creative and focus on creating new things or showing up for my audience, or if you're in any of my coaching programs, you know I'm really active inside of those communities. 

These systems give you the time to create, explore and grow your business without constantly feeling bogged down, trying to come up with content ideas and creating new content.

Myth #1: Consistency is Posting Daily

Myth number one about consistency is that you have to post daily. 

I had to start with this because I’ve got some beef with this topic. Consistently showing up online does not mean posting every single day.

I did this, we've all done this. Some of you are maybe posting twice a day. If that works for you, go for it. But if it’s a belief that you have, thinking it’s the standard and if you’re not posting daily you aren’t consistent, well that’s just not true.

We need to stop this one please because showing up and posting daily is just more emphasis on growing through social media, which is one of the things that I don't teach. 

I teach other avenues like Pinterest, SEO, Google, the things that you guys have heard me talk about all year as a way to grow your community.

And using Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, even maybe Twitter, as ways to just continue to show up for the existing community. 

Using these platforms allows you to step back from the hustle of posting daily.

So rather than looking at consistency as posting daily content, start to think about how many times you want to show up each week and honor that. 

And I think this is where people get really hung up and where they struggle is, maybe it's really fun and exciting and you do it for two weeks. And you're like, “Yes, yes, yes.” 

And then suddenly a week happens and you're like, “Oh my gosh, I can't post this week” or “I'm not feeling inspired.” And then you're like, “Aw, crap. My whole entire consistency plan is out the window.” 

It doesn't have to be like that.

Start thinking about more sustainable consistency, not something that you just feel like, “Oh, I have to do this. I have to post every single day.” 

That's one of the reasons that I encourage people to really look at platforms that expand their reach and that allow content to live longer, like blogging. 

You don't need to blog every single day. You can blog once a week and optimize that blog. Same thing with Pinterest, where the content ultimately lives longer. 

People ask me all the time, "Michelle, you're getting all this traffic from Pinterest." I'm getting anywhere between 13,000-20,000 views a month on my blog, about 90% are from Pinterest. People are like, "How many times a week do you blog?" 

Once a week, but I'm consistent with my once a week - and that’s what consistency is really about.

Think about what works for you and what is sustainable, because I’m going to bet that posting daily is not sustainable for most of you.

Myth #2: Consistency is Hard or Difficult

The second myth is that consistency is hard or difficult to keep up with. 

We shy away from this conversation around consistency because having to consistently create content every single day or weekly feels like it is overly complicated and hard to stay up to date with. 

Sometimes they say that you don't plan because you're afraid to fail, right? Many people don’t shoot for consistency because we just don't think that it's attainable for us. 

But I promise you that it is.

I promise when you have your systems in place, it 100% is possible for you. 

I've worked with enough entrepreneurs, with enough personality types and different backgrounds to say that this method works, and really simplifies your marketing overall.

This method is the art of repurposing.

The idea is that you have a core piece of content and you're repurposing that content through additional means.

You're not creating a bunch of new topics and new things every single day of the week. 

Here's an example: I do a Mondays With Michelle video on the three myths of consistency. 

This video will then be transcribed. 

That transcription will go on my blog. 

That blog might have a different title just depending on SEO, but probably not (if you haven’t caught on it’s this blog). 

And then that blog gets pushed out to Pinterest where our content lives longer and drives most of the traffic to our website.

The same core piece of content. I didn't come up with something new. 

Then, we take that transcript and create three to four social media posts, every single week. 

I have a graphic designer that I work with that I absolutely love. And she takes the transcript and creates the graphics. Those graphics then get pushed out over the next week. Sometimes we'll even save some of them and use them down the line. 

So again, same video, the same piece of content, a bunch of graphics. And if you don't work with a designer, you just create some templates in Canva and just start to really practice your flow.

In the beginning, it might feel a little shaky. 

It might feel a little like you're piecing it together; it always does. You're figuring out what works best for you, but I promise you, when you get into that rhythm, your entire mind will be blown and it just makes your life so much easier. 

You can build your repurposing workflow and more with The Consistency Guide.

In addition, it’s very important you understand why you’re showing up with your content and that comes back to understanding and feeling grounded in your purpose. 

So many entrepreneurs just create content to create content. 

It becomes a dumping ground to put stuff out there. 

And yes, of course, in that first year or so, you're experimenting with things. You're wanting to see what people resonate with. Absolutely, there's always experimentation that comes with marketing your business.

But if you don't have a clear purpose, which is both the end goal, the action you want people to take, the product or the service or the offer that you want them to purchase, as well as the overall purpose and mission behind your business, then it’s really hard to show up.

It's really hard to just create consistent content, especially when you're working extra hard in the beginning to grow your audience. 

But when you have that purpose, very, very clearly defined in the back of your mind of “What is the overall purpose for my business? What am I working towards? And what is the purpose? What am I ultimately leading people to?” 

It makes content creation and consistency so much more effective.

So if you haven't already identified your mission of your business, you definitely want to do that. 

And if you don't already have a signature product or service or an offer, that you're leading people to, think about that because that's really going to help you decide what type of content to create. 

One of the core pillars of my branding process is your Signature Offer. If you’re just starting out, or don’t feel clear on this end goal, be sure to watch my free class on The Build a Better Brand Method: brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass

Myth #3: Consistency is Hard or Difficult

The third myth is that it has to be new content. 

I think you can already pick up on what I'm putting down when it comes to repurposing and therefore you do not need to create new content every single day in your business. 

I mean how exhausting. 

But, when you’re only focused on building your community with Facebook or Instagram, it can feel like you need to create new stuff all the time and that’s because content on those platforms doesn’t live as long as these evergreen options.

I'm sorry, but if I'm taking all this time and energy to create this video and then it’s gone in 24 hours. No thank you!

It’s one of the reasons I created Brandmerry Academy, because I see too many entrepreneurs struggling to build their audience without spending all their time on social media.

This is why people have trouble with consistency. 

This is why people have trouble with content creation because they're like, “Well, shoot, I got to create something new tomorrow because that one's all gone.” 

But if you really change your thinking from new content daily to extending the life of your content, you're reusing the same thing over and over again. 

And I promise you, your audience does not get tired of it. 

Your audience will thank you for posting it again because they probably missed it. 

So when you're thinking of creating your content calendar for the year, even just for the month, I want you to break it down to one core topic every week. 

What would your life be like if you had one weekly piece of content that you then pushed out and repurposed and manipulated in different ways, and shifted the messaging so that it actually lasted longer?

What would happen? 

Would that completely change your life? Because it did mine.

I stopped focusing on creating new stuff every single day for Instagram and really went to this repurposing web. It’s one of the things I teach inside of both The Consistency Guide and Brandmerry Academy.

So it's less about creating a quantity of content and more about the quality of content. 

Now that doesn't mean that you post one thing and you're like, fingers crossed, hope it works. 

It's about then having these repurposing strategies in place so then you can make sure your content is being seen by your ideal customer.

Remember, people like to consume content in different ways.

They want to be able to read something, watch something, listen to something, consume it very quickly. And the more that we can really show up on multiple platforms and think about ways that you can show up for your audience and be there for them and they can consume your content in the way that's best for them. Again, building trust.

CONCLUSION

Let’s recap the three myths, shall we?

Number one is posting daily, you don't need to do it. Just be more strategic with your content and the high-quality content that you're putting out there. Consistency doesn't mean daily. It means figuring out how you're going to share your message and consistently sticking to that, honoring yourself, honoring your commitment to your audience. 

Number two is that it has to be hard or difficult. It doesn't have to be that way. Repurposing is going to be your best friend. If you guys want my top tips, plus build out your own repurposing web, then get your hands on The Consistency Guide.

And also understanding the purpose, what's the purpose behind the content that you're creating? 

And then finally, remove the idea that it has to be brand new content all of the time. 

Look at ways to extend the life of your content. Look at ways to repurpose your content, not just in one week, but maybe even recycling content that does well. 

These are all ways to consistently show up that don't require you to just create, create, create, write, write, write, write post, post, post, post, graphic, graphic, graphic every single day.

I also wanted to share with you that one of the things that I created this year because I saw a need. So many women were coming to me to say consistency was their main pain point in business, so I created The Consistency Guide. 

This 40-page workbook breaks down my entire process into an 8-part framework to help you master consistency in your business. Learn more at brandmerry.com/consistent.

P.S. Want to watch the full training? This video was recorded as part of Mondays With Michelle which airs every Monday at 4 pm CST.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

---

- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.