In a world full of competition, you have to make yourself stand out. As I build my jewelry collection I spend a considerable about of time thinking through the details. I believe this is what makes my pieces unique for each wearer. Details go beyond the actual product, they are also in your marketing plan, packaging and other visual aspects of your business. Entrepreneur’s in startup stages are known for playing a part in every area of the business. When it gets to be too much, budget in some help. Let another creative soul help you in areas you feel you have less expertise in.
This week's go to girls for branding needs are Kathleen and Tara Shannon. The sister duo runs Braid Creative; an online creative agency for individuals like me and you. If your business needs services for things like;where to start or how to build off existing strategies, this is a company you will be happy to learn more about.
I was able to chat with Kathleen about Braid Creative and learned lots that could be helpful to you. Check them out, Kathleen and Tara have been sweet enough to offer Braid Creative E courses for $50 using the discount code BRAIDHAUTEHEMI50 when you register. I'll be signing up this week! When will you?
HH:How has Braid Creative grown to where it is today? Where do your individual passions lie within the business?
KS:Kathleen here. Well, first off we're sisters here at Braid Creative so I suppose the story begins at birth. Tara and I have both been creative over-achievers our whole lives and I've followed in her footsteps (she's the older one) by getting the same degree in graphic design and then we even worked together at the same advertising agency. Tara was the creative director and I was her senior art director. I decided to make the leap to freelance first and about a year later Tara decided to join forces with me. That's when we created Braid Creative where we focus on branding and business visioning for creative entrepreneurs. Tara is the left-brained methodical and logical one where I'm more of the right-brained creative "spark".
HH: Define marketing at Braid Creative. What does a creative entrepreneur need to be aware of in regards to marketing their business?
KS:There is lots of jargon thrown out there between "marketing", "branding", and "advertising". And it all means different things to different people. We prefer the term branding and to us it means blending who you are with what you do, shaping up your content so that it's meaningful, and working with dream customers you can be an expert and have true impact for.
KS:There is lots of jargon thrown out there between "marketing", "branding", and "advertising". And it all means different things to different people. We prefer the term branding and to us it means blending who you are with what you do, shaping up your content so that it's meaningful, and working with dream customers you can be an expert and have true impact for.
We always dig down to how the creative entrepreneurs we work with are sharing their gifts of knowledge as a likable expert. And by likable we don't necessarily mean puppies and rainbows and emoticons – we mean believable. We also always challenge our clients to narrow in on their niche and embrace their expertise. Just because you can do it all doesn't mean you should.
KS:We always start with our process called The Braid Method – for creatives who are launching a business from scratch and have no idea where to begin to those who are more established and have been in business for years. By taking creatives through our Braid Method we're able to uncover their authentic brand from the inside out by pinpointing disconnects between who they are and what they're putting out there, finding patterns that are rising to the top, and capturing their true tone and personal style in their brand.
We also offer brand identity packages for creatives who don't need all the "brand therapy" but just need a really great logo and identity that better reflects who they are. And our popular online ECourses are great for creatives who aren't ready to engage with us in our one-on-one method but are interested in our approach.
HH:What can creatives learn from your E-courses?
KS:We offer three Braid ECourses that we rotate monthly.
Shape Up Your Content: Tame Your Ideas and Tell People How to Buy You is for the scattered creative who feels paralyzed or spread thin by their overabundance of ideas.
Personal Branding: Blending Who You Are with What You do is our most popular ECourse and is all about bringing more of your true personality into your career (and vice versa).
Dream Customer Catching: Embrace Your Expertise and Attract What You Track is all about narrowing in on your niche and attracting the truly dreamy customers that you have the most impact for.
KS:Our $75 ECourses are a great way to dig down beyond the logo and get thinking about the positioning and messaging you're putting out there. I'd love to invite your readers to take any of our courses for $50 using the discount code BRAIDHAUTEHEMI50 when they register. We also offer lots of free advice, resources, and worksheets on our Braid Blog and in our weekly emails to your inbox.
HH: Any books you suggest reading to learn more about marketing for creative?
KS:I particularly loved We Are All Weird by Seth Godin. It's all about using what makes you weird (or unappealing to the mass market) to find success in a small niche of raving fans.
HH:Where can readers follow Braid Creative?
KS:Check out our blog at www.braidcreative.com
Find our ECourses at ecourse.braidcreative.com
You can sign up for our exclusive newsletters here.
I also have a personal blog at www.andkathleen.com
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