The C Word Podcast with Bec Hughes

Jaz, aka Your Pricing Queen, sharing all her wisdom on pricing your creative work. In the value packed episode we cover: • Mistakes creatives make with pricing • Charging your worth vs charging your value • Creating solutions based on 'problem pathways' • Getting the right product and pricing mix As so much more!   About Jaz, Your Pricing Queen: Jaz is the driving force behind Your Pricing Queen....

Design isn’t just about what looks good, it’s about what works. But when strategy’s missing, there are gaps you can drive a bus through. Vague briefs that leave you guessing Research that doesn’t go anywhere Design without a clear purpose Over-investing in concepts that don’t land Feedback that turns into a subjective free-for-all In this episode, I define what simple strategy actually is. It's re...

Build a brand audit offer and attract clients pre-disposed to purchasing strategic services: In this episode: • The purpose of a brand audit offer • How to implement it super quickly  • The simple framework to guide the audit and produce valuable insights • Where it fits in your pipeline process • What to do next   >> Join the 4 Day Build Your Brand Audit Offer Bootcamp >> https://bech...

Listen to Carol Mackay sharing her take on the latest design industry report by Up To The Light: What Clients Think 2025. We explore: • The impact and opportunity of AI for designers • The changing tech landscape in design • What clients want from designers from pitch to presentation   About Carol Mackay: Carol is the co-founder of Design Business Council and design studio Mackay Branson. She is a...

Are your case studies costing you strategic credibility? If they read like a design diary: client needed a logo, you made it, they loved it, it’s time to raise the bar. In this episode, learn how to craft and use case studies that demonstrate your value as a brand strategist. You'll learn how to: Lead with the business problem Show your thinking (not just the doing) Highlight transformation—emotio...

If brands aren’t built in a vacuum, why are so many brand designers trying to create them in one? In this episode, I explore the hidden challenge most solo brand designers face: growing creatively without any support. I’ll unpack why: ~ Guides, hacks and courses will only get you so far ~ Creativity is a team sport (even when you work solo) ~ Insightful, objective and strategic feedback at the rig...

If you think brand strategy is about adding more... think again. In this episode, I’m sharing the one skill that instantly makes you more strategic: filtering. I’ll walk you through the three tools I use every time I create brand strategy: Themes, Priorities, and Focus. These methods will help you simplify without dumbing things down—so your clients get clarity, not confusion. If you want to be se...

For this 100th episode, I’m sharing 12 lessons from 25 years of working in branding. This isn't just the process of strategy, but what it really means to be a brand strategist. From why no one wants to buy 'strategy', how good strategy often feels like therapy, to why the best strategists know they don’t know everything, this episode is a behind-the-scenes look at the mindset, method, and messines...

Not sure how to fit brand strategy into your design process?  This is the episode for you: Why strategy doesn't have to be as complex as you think The 5 steps in my SIMPLE framework How to seamlessly dovetail strategy into your current design workflow What it really means in terms of time and workload Find out how adding strategy to your process could be the smartest shift you make. Want to connec...

Struggling to position yourself as a brand strategist? Finding clients don't want to or aren't ready to buy brand strategy services? In this episode, I break down the Brand Strategist Focus Funnel (BSFF) - attract the right clients, build authority, and make buying from you easy. You’ll learn: ✔ How to become known for the right thing with a compelling Value Pitch ✔ How to attract predisposed clie...

Over-engineered avatars are the brand strategy equivalent of a chocolate teapot - seems fun, but not fit for purpose. In this episode, I'm rethinking customer avatars, because the overcomplicated, deeply nuanced descriptions everyone tells you to create are actually unhelpful for brand strategy: Why unnecessary details (like Jane’s Spotify playlist) miss the point What really drives buying decisio...

Brand strategy is full of buzzwords, but does it need to be?  In this episode, I share a straight-forward approach to developing strategies that are simple, but not basic. We’ll bridge the gap between client and business goals, and what their audience actually wants. No fluff, no jargon - just a practical, simple approach for designers who want to create and talk about brand strategy with confiden...

The C Word Podcast is evolving!  Welcome to Brand Strategy Unwankified, a no-BS space for brand designers and creators who want to learn brand strategy and sell it as a service. If you’re over the jargon and gatekeeping of the ‘exclusive club’, and want practical, honest tools and insights, you’re in the right place. Why listen… this podcast is dedicated to helping brand designers confidently add...

Email marketing... are you doing a bit or none at all? In this episode of The C Word Podcast I share my perspective on the 3 key questions I think designer are asking when it comes to email marketing? 1. Do I really need to send regular emails, my business is about visuals not words? 2. What should I send, because who needs another newsletter? 3. How do I get people on my list?   Links & Resou...

In this episode I share the one thing you need to do if you find your clients don't value or want to buy brand strategy. You need to make ‘ownership’ of brand strategy a priority and that involves upgrading 1, 2 or all of the following: • Your offer • Your message • Your content   Resources You Might Love Download the Brand Designer to Strategist 90 Day Plan Subscribe to The Brand Brief

Sometimes the design work just isn't right, but that's not always the case. In this episode I share some of the other reasons clients don't sign off first time. I also share 4 things you can do to work towards making sign-off first time the norm not the exception. Bec x   Resources You Might Love Download the Brand Designer to Strategist 90 Day Plan Subscribe to The Brand Brief Episode 72 - How Ma...

This episode is part therapy session, part cautionary tale and part paying it forward so you can learn from my mistakes. First, let's be real, having 100% 'dream clients' isn't realistic.  You won't always repel or be able to pick the pain in the ass clients straightaway. In this episode you'll hear about: ~ My shittiest client experiences ~ The learnings I took from it ~ Why 80:20 'shining star'...

With so many tools and custom prompts to support AI generated content and solutions, I want to ask if AI can make you more creative. It can make you more efficient, perhaps more informed. But as brand designers one of our key messages is the importance of originality and ingenuity in brand. How can we use AI as the creative engine and simultaneously stand by that claim? Does using AI as a tool to...

Would you rather lots of engagement with your content from people who will never buy from you or a small amount of engagement from people who will buy from you? I think we'd all say the same thing... if our logical brain was answering. But the emotional reality is quite different. In this episode I discuss: • The reason designers are falling into the trap of a specific type of content • Why that c...

Not sure what to include in your brand strategy presentations?  This is the episode for you. I take you through my own presentation format step-by-step, to cover the 4 crucial parts of a brand strategy presentation and the 12 elements I include to build those parts out: • Part 1: Set the Scene • Part 2: Present the Evidence • Part 3: Create the Narrative • Part 4: Intentional Wrap-Up I hope it's h...

In this episode I'm calling out the 'charge your worth' messaging that is infecting the coaching space.   I believe this kind of messaging is click bait, created to tell you what you want to hear and tap into your insecurities and worries about your pricing. I discuss: • Why your worth has nothing to do with your pricing • Why your value and perceived value are what actually matter • Why money min...

In this episode, I pick apart into what inspires and fuels my creativity day-to-day. Inspired by the 'Romanticise Your Life' movement, I explore the idea of 'Creaticise Your Life' and how it makes me a better designer and creator.   Work With Me If you’re ready to connect with me on a deeper level and work together, there are 3 ways you can do that. Just visit my Mentoring with Me overview to get...

If you want to stand out, cut-through, have high perceived value and be more profitable, your 'Big Fish Offer' is a very good place to start. In this episode I'll give you a step-by-step process to brainstorm, define and articulate your big fish offer so you can: • Increase your profit • Streamline your workflow • Make marketing less painful • Create a pipeline of pre-qualified clients   Work With...

Brand strategy mistakes aren't a problem as long as you learn from them. In this episode I cover the 7 most common mistakes brand designers make when creating brand strategy for clients. Mistakes that are devaluing your offer and undermining your authority: 1. Mistaking a questionnaire for strategy 2. Failing to separate brand and design strategy 3. Not connecting the dots between theory and appli...

Your creative or strategic work is only as good as your research.   In this episode I share my 5 pillar brand strategy research framework: 1) Stakeholder Inputs 2) Brand Audit 3) Competitor Deconstruction 4) Industry Trends Analysis 5) Audience Understanding   I hope it helps! Bec    Work With Me If you’re ready to connect with me on a deeper level and work together, there are 4 ways you can do th...