The Brandsmith

Today, I want to chat about brand values. Ok, so it’s probably not the first time you’ve heard me talk about brand values, and it won’t be the last. But today, I specifically want to talk about a trap I see so many brands and businesses fall into: the perceived safety of bland before brand. Safing it with generic values that could belong to pretty much any other brand out there. When you try to ma...

I had actually planned to take a break this week, because I’ve got the entire week off and I am behind on my podcast batching. I was doing so great there for a while, with episodes lined up for several weeks, and then… life happened! So yeah, I wasn’t going to publish an episode this week. And then I realised: holy shit! This week is my 6 month podcast anniversary, I can't not post an episode! Cue...

How would you feel if someone said it's ok, good even, to pick just one marketing platform for your brand? Relief? Hesitation? Disbelief? All the above? In this episode, I am joined by Tracy Stanger – an anti-hustle business coach for women building world-changing businesses while parenting. She believes you don’t have to “do it all” and that you will actually get better results (and less stress)...

In this episode I’m talking about choosing a name for your brand, and I’ll share with you my method that I have used to guide clients through naming processes. A great name is an important part of a kick-ass brand! If you have kids, you know that choosing a name can be... well, let's just say a bit tricky. After all, a name is supposed to last a lifetime, so the last thing you want is to f*** it u...

This episode is a short one, some might call it more of a rant actually. But I have something I want to get off my chest. You see, I’m in the middle of a launch right now, and something’s come up that I would really like to talk about a little bit. So since I'm launching something, naturally I have a sales page, and I’m promoting it on social media, sending out emails to my list… you know, all the...

Maggie Patterson is the founder of Scoop Studios, a boutique content marketing agency, and the creator of Small Business Boss. With a 20+ year career in client services, and 15 years of being a business owner, Maggie brings a unique perspective to service-based business owners. She serves freelancers, creatives and agency owners through her mentorship, mastermind, and podcast, The BS-Free Service...

In this episode, I'm joined by Venese Lau for a conversation about how you can create a brand without necessarily showing your face. (I can almost hear all the introverted and shy people perking their ears already!) This concept of creating a brand personality that isn’t actually based on a real person is something we are fairly used to with the larger brands out there, but what if you’re a solo b...

In this episode I want to talk to you about brand alignment. Or in other words: signs that your branding isn’t “quite right”. Recently I’ve had several conversations with business owners who don’t feel quite “at home” in their brands. When I’ve described some of the symptoms of an unaligned brand, they’ve responded with “Oh, that is so me! I totally do that!” – so today I thought we’d take a look...

For this episode, I am so pleased to welcome back Malene Fuglsig – and this time round, she’s here to teach us all how to incorporate some hygge into our brands! And I mean… who doesn’t need a bit of hygge right now, as we come up to almost a year of this Covid crap?! You see, Malene is not just a Pinterest expert – she is also a hygge ambassador! Yep, that’s right. But if you thought hygge was ju...

In this episode I share a conversation with Audrey Holst, about perfectionism and how it can impact your brand. Audrey Holst helps people reform their perfectionism so they can reclaim their agency and put their full energy into what really matters. Her work uses a combination of mindfulness and neuroscience tools, and through her Fortitude & Flow® Process, Audrey guides individuals and groups...

You may have heard the term brand audit and thought it sounds like a complex process and something only the big brands do. Well… Yes and no. The big brands do, of course, and their processes might be complex, but: They most likely have an internal team or they hire a team to do the audit You are probably not running a big multi-national corporation, so you don’t need it to be big and complex But w...

Hallgeir Gustavsen is a self-proclaimed nerd who helps marketing managers become superheroes. He’s been working with marketing, sales and the web since 1998, and has built numerous brands from scratch, including his own. Today he's a digital consultant who works with websites and ads, as well as visibility on digital surfaces and giving lectures on marketing, sales and social media.  This episode...

So, we all know that visibility plays a huge part in creating a brand and getting it out there! But with all the social media channels out there, how do you know which to focus on? Being on every single channel is a surefire way to spread yourself too thin, and that’s why I’ve invited a series of guest experts to let you in on allllll the secrets – so you can make an educated decision about where...

In this episode, I’m joined by Helen Tremethick – a brand voice strategist & business coach who helps entrepreneurs find the courage, confidence, and clarity they need to grow and scale their businesses. Formerly the CEO of The Communications Distillery, Helen has recently rebranded under her own name. Since 2011, she has worked with hundreds of business owners to clarify their messaging, copy...

If you’re listening to this episode as it airs, it’s xmas eve 2020. I’m recording this in my brand new home office – which is such a lovely way to end an otherwise pretty shitty year. I have a cozy reading nook, ambient lighting, plants – and a door. A door! Finally some peace to record. The end of a year seems to automatically make me reflect on what was and what will become, and the shitfest tha...

So, we all know that visibility plays a huge part in creating a brand and getting it out there! But with all the social media channels out there, how do you know which to focus on? Being on every single channel is a surefire way to spread yourself too thin, and that’s why I’ve invited a series of guest experts to let you in on allllll the secrets – so you can make an educated decision about where...

Rosie Di Lecce is a Persuasive Content Expert and Coach. After years working as a content and copywriting specialist for a variety of startups and big brands, Rosie started her own business to support entrepreneurs struggling to create content that sells. Her current mission is to help entrepreneurs to learn how to sell more through the power of persuasive content and storytelling, while supportin...

So, we all know that visibility plays a huge part in creating a brand and getting it out there! But with all the social media channels out there, how do you know which to focus on? Being on every single channel is a surefire way to spread yourself too thin, and that’s why I’ve invited a series of guest experts to let you in on allllll the secrets – so you can make an educated decision about where...

After a few weeks of pretty badass guest experts on the show, if I may say so myself, you’re stuck with just me this week! Keeping it short and sweet with this episode on brand identity.  A couple of weeks ago, at the time of this recording, I did a talk at an online summit – along with my friend and copywriter extraordinaire: Iren at Pen Intended. We spoke all about how a clear identity can help...

So, we all know that visibility plays a huge part in creating a brand and getting it out there! But with all the social media channels out there, how do you know which to focus on? Being on every single channel is a surefire way to spread yourself too thin, and that’s why I’ve invited a series of guest experts to let you in on allllll the secrets – so you can make an educated decision about where...

Beth Farris is joining me today to talk about messaging. Like I’ve mentioned in previous episodes, branding is not just about the visuals, and Beth is here to tell you that you need both a visual and verbal brand identity to stand out and succeed. Beth is a business mentor and brand strategist for starting solopreneurs. She spent 18 years working in creative marketing communications for companies...

I don’t know about you, but I am oh, so guilty of standing in my own way sometimes. It’s super frustrating, especially when you have a really clear vision for your brand… and then you sabotage yourself for whatever reason, and that goal seems to always stay juuuust out of reach. And that’s why I’m really excited to welcome Barbara Nixon for this week’s episode. Today she’ll be talking us through 5...

When I was speaking to Heather Thorkelson the other day, in episode 4, we had a really interesting conversation about owning your sh*it when it comes to building a strong brand. We briefly touched on whether you should be mixing politics and branding and I really wanted to dig a little deeper on this because I think it’s something a lot of people are struggling to navigate, and a lot of people thi...

Colour is the visual component people remember most about a brand. According to the Institute for Color Research, people make a judgment about your content or your brand in 90 seconds or less. And, up to 90% of that judgment in that very short amount of time is influenced by the colours they see. Research shows that the proper use of colour can increase brand recognition by as much as 80%.  That s...

So many of you have asked me to do an episode about fonts and colours, so today we are going to look at how to choose fonts for your brand, and take a deeper dive into some of the options available to you.