If you struggle with “picking a niche” or finding your “USP,” this is a great course for you.
If you’re in the midst of branding or re-branding, you’ll also find this material helpful.
The thing that’s true for every solopreneur and new business owner, is that your brand will evolve over time. Especially as you put things out to the world, test them, and see how your audience responds.
In the meantime, it’s really helpful if you can zero in on what makes you unique and how you can incorporate your particular voice and flavor into everything about your business.
This self-guided course will help you get to know yourself on a more intimate level, identify those things that might be useful to use in your marketing, and create a story/plan for how you’ll get all of this out to the world.
You also get the opportunity to ask me questions (via the comments) and get pointed answers to help you truly focus on what works.
The course is divided into 5 main sections — or lessons — and each section contains several assignments.
It should take you approximately 3 to 4 weeks to work your way through the course, assuming you devote at least 3 to 4 hours per week to the task.
Expressing Your Brand: What’s in a Name? (Your Logo, Name and other Identity Pieces)
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words Your logo and the other images you use in your marketing materials are all branding elements that help tell the story of your business. Let’s make sure you have everything in place. Revisit your answers to all the previous work...
Branding: Assignment #4 Your tagline: one of the most important ads you’ll ever create
Branding: Assignment #4 Your tagline: one of the most important ads you’ll ever create
Implement: Assignment #4 Tell me what you think
p.s. - If you'd like to chat about any of what you've learned, I do offer time in 15 min increments. Just visit my calendar here to book an appointment (you'll be asked to pay when you...
Implement: Assignment #3 Review and Adjust
Tips for the Future: Your brand rollout should take no more than three months in order to make sure you keep momentum building. However, you will always continue the process of building your brand through every action you take as a business owner. Every tweet, every...
Implement: Assignment #2 Build Supporting Brand Content and Offers
Whether you're product or service driven, your business needs to have a "lead capture device." That's just a fancy marketing term for an enticement that speaks to your ideal customer and helps them understand your Secret Sauce. That little gift needs to be congruent...
Implement: Assignment #1 Create a Rollout Plan
When you've tested your idea and feel confident that it fits with your business model and future plans, then it's time to do a "rollout." Are you starting from scratch or doing a brand refresh? Each path will have it’s own needs and timeline. But both paths will need...
Implement (Creating Your Rollout Plan)
Test! You’ve got a name, a logo, and a tagline -- now it’s time to test out your branding on a few willing guinea pigs. But not just any guinea pigs. These should be folks who are... a match for your ideal customer not your friends, spouse or other family member...
Branding: Assignment #5 Putting it all Together
Once you've got the basics picked out -- your name, logo, colors and tagline -- you'll want to start putting everything together in a way that makes sense. This video really illustrates two big lessons about branding: your visual elements need to be in alignment with...
Branding: Assignment #3 Selecting just the Right Colors
Just as typography tells a story and elicits certain meanings in our subconscious, so too does color. Your business and brand should have at least one color (possibly two or three) that you use on EVERY marketing piece, starting with your logo. Visit...
Branding: Assignment #2 Choosing a Logo
The first part of your logo -- and perhaps the only part -- is the font or fonts you use to spell out your business' name. And just like a professional handwriting analyst can tell things about your personality by the way you sign your name, your potential customers...
Branding: Assignment #1 A Rose by Any Other Name . . .
How do you choose a name for your business or blog? It's one of the most important choices with regard to your branding. And it's like naming your baby. Except there’s no Business Baby Name Book to rely on. And in fact, the best business name is one that hasn't been...
Your Story: Assignment #7 Bonus Video: Three Ways to Clarify Your Branding Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=38&v=lI7eMiSBRU8
Your Story: Assignment #6 Your Manifesto: The 2nd Draft
Now, think in terms of theme. If you haven't yet chosen a name for your business or blog this will be helpful. If you already have a name, that's okay. You can keep it (you have my permission). For now though, choose a theme or metaphor for what you do based on the...
Your Story: Assignment #5 The Manifesto: Your First Draft
Every business needs to stand for something. Your exploration and self-discovery up to this point have all helped you see what it is YOU stand for -- as a person, and as a business owner. Now it's time to write out your manifesto. Start with a blank piece of paper and...
Your Story: Assignment #4 Find Your Villains
The Other Characters in Your Story: Your Nemesis You are a Hero. But in terms of your branding, you aren't really the hero of the story. Your client is. (More on this later.) You share the stage with other characters, too. One of them is your/their nemesis, or the...
Your Story: Assignment #3 Your Hero’s Journey – Part 3: The Return
As before, write down the places in your own life that correspond to these elements: Refusal of the Return - So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes?...
Your Story: Assignment #2 Your Hero’s Journey – Part 2: The Initiation
Continue doing for this section what you did in part one. What happened in your own life that corresponds with these elements? Write them down in one or two sentences for each item. If you can't identify anything in your life that matches a particular element, that's...
Your Story: Assignment #1 Your Hero’s Journey – Part 1: The Departure
One of the most important things to remember about brand storytelling is that you are NOT the hero of the story. Your client is. You are actually the mentor of the story that your business tells. That being said, you DO have your own heroic story. One that we'll want...
Your Story: Bonus Video Clarify Your Branding Story
The following video was recorded as part of my DigitalDiningRoom program. We look at a different aspect of your marketing plan (aka storytelling framework) each month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUfcXxP9cDE...
Crafting Your Story (Unique Selling Proposition/Emotional Selling Proposition)
Your Unique Selling Proposition You'll hear about the "USP" quite a lot from other marketing and business professionals. But what IS it, really? In short, it's the Big Promise you can make to your clients and customers based on your unique mix of skills, values, and...
Hero’s Story: Assignment #7 Conveying the Meaning of YOUR Role and Character
Now that you've clarified what your motivations, values and vision are, it's time to find a metaphor or archetype that will work as shorthand for all of that. Think about the stories we tell each other via fairy tales, comic books, movies and television. What kind of...
Hero’s Story: Assignment #6 The Mission Statement!
Don't let this exercise scare you. One thing I've learned about mission statements is that they can really be a lot of fun. Here's what I want you to keep in mind before we start: Your mission statement doesn't need to inspire anybody -- that's not what it's for! So...
Hero’s Story: Assignment #5 Your Perfect World Scenario
If you could wave your magic wand and create a perfect world, what would it look like? Not just for you, but for everyone. Close your eyes for a minute and let your mind wander. Really have fun with this and imagine things not as they are, but as you'd like them to...
Hero’s Story: Assignment #4 Your Values
Everyone has them. These are the principles that guide our decisions and keep us focused (or not) on any particular project -- either short term or long term. Understanding what your personal values are is the first step to connecting them to your business values --...
Hero’s Story: Assignment #3 Identify Your Motivation Style
Take this quiz: http://agelesslearner.com/assess/motivationstyle.html Share your primary and secondary motivation styles with us in a comment below.
Hero’s Story: Assignment #2 Your Motivations (your WHY)
Why do you get out of bed in the morning? Why do you keep on keeping on? Is it your family? Your spouse? Your business? Or maybe you just want to see what's around the next corner? These are basic motivations that we sometimes overlook. Examine them now. Take out...
Hero’s Story: Assignment #1 Your Story
I hope you've been enjoying the discovery process so far. Don't worry if you're not quite sure where all of this is going yet. There's a recorded lesson coming up that will help clarify things a bit. For now, just relax and take your time with this. Do you have any...
Unique Gifts: Bonus Video: An Inventory of Your Assets
The following video was recorded as part of my Digital Dining Room program. We look at a different aspect of your marketing plan (aka storytelling framework) each month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOE2fLsEKqs...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #9 What kind of Superhero are you?
Read this article on Wikipedia. Next, think about which parts of your history, background, talents and quirks fit into this model and answer some of the questions they pose. What kind of superhero would you be and why?...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #8 Your Ideal Customer – Creating the Persona
You care about your Aunt Sally. When she comes to dinner, you don’t knowingly serve her shellfish because she’s allergic. By the same token, any marketing message you try to deliver also needs to be created around specific knowledge of your prospective customer....
Unique Gifts: Assignment #7 Your Work History
I swear this is a lot more fun than putting together your resume, so bear with me... For this exercise, I want you to make a list of EVERY job you've ever had beginning with that first one back in high school. Yes, babysitting counts. Go ahead and make the list. I'll...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #6 Your Goals
What's on your bucket list? What are the things you really want to accomplish this year? And where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 20? All of us have goals -- we may not write them down, but they're there. Lurking in the back of your mind. You might "hear"...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #5 Your Quirks and Weird Spots
Yes, we want to know what your passions and strengths are, but we also need to take a look at the stuff others might label as a little "freaky." What odd idiosyncracies do you have? What did the other kids tease you about when you were growing up? Was it your name?...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #4 Outline Your LifePath: Create a Timeline
Using a large piece of paper or your computer, create a timeline with increments of no more than 5 years at a time. Begin with your birth and end with your current age. Now think back over the years and make notes of any significant occurences, struggles or...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #3 The SWOT Analysis of YOU
First watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/embed/GNXYI10Po6A One of the first things you might learn in business school is the SWOT Analysis -- a way to look at your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It's a tool that's been around a long...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #2 Your Myers-Briggs Type
Before you take an in depth look at your strengths and weaknesses, take the Jung Personality type quiz to find your unique personality blend: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp Once you've scored the quiz, read up on your personality type and what it says...
Unique Gifts: Assignment #1 Know Your Top Passions
For this first exercise, try not to censor yourself or respond in ways you think you “should.” Be as honest as possible. Only you will see this! Get out a piece of paper and get ready to jot down whatever comes into your head: When I was a kid, I dreamed of… I can’t...
Orientation: Assignment #2 Get Your Workbook
Your Course Workbook If you'd like to read the lessons in a different format, I've put together a PDF workbook that you can either print out, or add to your iBooks reader (for those with an iPad). Download...
Orientation: Assignment #1 Intake Survey
Please help me better understand your current needs in terms of branding. This quick intake form will ensure that we both know where you are in your branding process and what kind of assistance you'll benefit from most. [gravityform id="1" name="Origin Stories - New...
Orientation
Welcome to Origin Stories. This course is available to you at your own pace. That means you do the lessons when you're ready and have the time. You can progress as fast or as slow as you like, but you'll need to mark each lesson topic complete before you can move on...