5 Ways A Meaningful Brand Works Magic

At the very end of our last article, we left you with something pretty big to think about: To do the work you really want to do and connect with the people you want to serve, you have to make the decision to step out and be seen. And that means having a meaningful brand.

But I totally get that right now this whole "being seen" thing might be your least-favorite part of being an entrepreneur. "I just want to do the work I love," you're thinking. "I don't have time to create a website. Do people even look at stuff like that?”

We get asked questions like that a lot. So I want to give you some answers today. You probably won't be surprised that we're huge advocates for building a meaningful and highly personal, connected brand. But the reasons why branding is so essential just might surprise you. When you dig deep and create a heartfelt brand, it isn't just good business. It's downright magical. Here's why.

1. Your Brand Is Like a Vision Board

I'm betting you've spent at least one New Year's Eve (or, for me, a weekend holed up in an Airbnb in West Texas) making a vision board for the year ahead. I'm also going to bet that you've had this experience: Months, or maybe even years, later, you've been shocked at how many things from that board have actually happened in your life — even when a lot of those things seemed out of reach at the time when you put them on your board.

There's a good reason for this. Putting your dreams and desires out into the world by giving them a visual representation helps them gain momentum and become more real. It raises your energy around a desired situation and actually puts its creation in motion.

So if that's true for a piece of poster board that ends up in the back of your closet, imagine how much more true it is for your website and other marketing materials that are out in the world for anyone to see. Like your vision board, they are visual representations of what you want to achieve. Creating them awakens a new kind of energy in your life, one that constantly moves you closer to everything you want to manifest.

(By the way, if you’re doing a vision board, thinking about your brand or just want to learn more about visualizing and manifesting, we strongly recommend the book “The Source” by Dr. Tara Swart, a neuroscientist turned coach.)

2. Your Brand Amplifies Your Intentions

Studies have found that writing down your goals makes you more likely to reach them. According to researcher Mark Murphy, your brain really kicks into high gear when you record your goal in vivid detail. That means using words and visuals to capture all the particulars about what you want to achieve. Your description should be so vivid that anyone you share it with will quickly say. "Oh, I get it!"

It just so happens that this is exactly what you're doing when you build a brand. You're declaring your major plans for the great work you want to do, why you want to do that work and whom you want to work with. I'll talk more in a moment about the messages your brand sends your audience. But before that even happens, the very process of creating your brand changes you by deeply encoding your goals in your brain and in your soul.

3. Your Brand Lets You Be Everywhere

We've met entrepreneurs who are amazing one on one but who have never taken the time to develop their brand. They're working hard and achieving some success. When they talk to prospective clients, their knowledge and passion shine, and they easily make sales. Anyone who meets them wants to buy from them or recommend them.

The problem, though, is that running your business this way isn't totally sustainable. Yes, you're great at in-person sales. But you can't be everywhere at once. And you can't spend every single moment selling. You need time to do your work and, you know, sleep. When you work this way, it's next to impossible to truly take your business to the next level. You're also at high risk of burning out.

You need a way of generating sales even when you're not selling in person. That's what a brand does. But the key thing to remember here is that your brand can only accomplish this when it's deeply, authentically you. Your brand has to capture all those qualities that people respond to when they meet you. When a prospective client visits your website or your social channels, it should feel just like talking to you in person.

4. Your Brand Takes the Work Out of Selling

Are you constantly trying to persuade prospects to buy from you? That's not fun, and it's not why you started your business. But it doesn't have to be this way. A meaningful brand can do so much work for you. For example, let's say that someone who is an ideal client for you visits your website. Whether they got there via an online search or you were referred to them, they have a lot of questions

•     Will they like you?
•     Will you like them?
•     What's it like to work with you?
•     Why should they choose you over their other options?
•     Will you get them the results they're looking for?

Your site can answer those questions — and build their excitement about working with you — before you even talk to them. You'll spend less time explaining and convincing. And you'll spend more time helping the people you are meant to help, because your brand attracts the right people and opportunities to you (and helps the wrong ones self-select out).

A carefully branded website also effortlessly enlists other people to help you make sales. When your friends and past clients can easily show others what you do by sending them to your website, they’re more likely to make referrals.

5. Your Brand Makes You an Expert

OK, I'm not saying that a fantastic brand will make up for a "meh" product or service. A business like that might make a splash initially but will ultimately fail because that beautiful brand just wasn't authentic.

What I am saying is that your work alone isn't always enough to lift you to the top of your field and attract the clients you want. If your website is boring, dated and disorganized, that's the impression prospective clients will have of you. It doesn't matter that you're actually warm, creative and detail oriented, because your brand isn't sending those messages.

People want to work with experts. When your brand is polished and intentional, you have a head start on building others' confidence in your expertise. At the same time, a powerful brand also makes you more confident in yourself. It is a constant affirmation of the value you offer others and your commitment to your business.

A meaningful brand is a bold declaration. And when we're boldly ourselves, the universe always returns that energy. Ready to make your own declaration? DesignGood can help. "The High-Vibe Entrepreneur Method" is our definitive guide to creating your own unique and magnetic brand. And you can download your own copy for free. Don't want to go it alone? Shoot us an email or schedule a call with me. Your magic is out there waiting for you to claim it.

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