+ BROUGHT TO YOU BY OKSANA RADIONOVA | FOXYOXIE.COM

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A STRONG BRAND IDENTITY

THE BRANDINGWORKBOOK

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HELLODARLING

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I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Are you ready for this? It’ll blow your mind.

The biggest reason why so many creative businesses, freelancers and bloggers fail is the lack of a plan.

Mind blowing, right?

Establishing a strong brand may seem like common sense in theory. Yet in my experience, a vast majority of people simply glaze over branding basics in a frantic effort to get to the “stuff that really matters,” i.e. selling products, booking projects, publishing posts or whatever the case may be.

Sooner or later you will see (or maybe you’ve found yourself at that point already) that your efforts to “get to the stuff that really matters” were in vain – all because you didn’t take the time to establish a clear direction for your brand and ensure that your brand essence was channeled through every aspect of your business.

My approach to brand identity is not about tossing around theoretical industry jargon or imitating what everyone else is doing – it’s about refining and compartmentalizing every aspect of your business, until there is nothing left to sort out. It’s about being a catalyst to help take your brand to the next level.

Exciting, right? I think so, too. So let’s get started!

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FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO OPEN YOUR OWN BUSINESS, BECOME A FREELANCER OR START YOUR OWN BLOG?

It’s important to identify the purpose behind what you’re doing. What has influenced you to strike out on your own? What motivates you to continue doing what you’re doing?

GIVE A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT.

What do you want your newly established brand identity to achieve? Do you want to change how clients perceive you? Do you want to grow your client base? Do you want to change creative direction? How will you define the success of this project?

Maybe you want to make 100 sales or double your subscriber list by the end of the year. Set specific goals that can be measured and deadlines that can be tracked.

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03 WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?

What inspires you to continue doing what you do? What excites you most about your work? How can you capitalize on that passion to grow your brand?

Passion fuels confidence, creates excitement and is extremely contagious. By building your brand around your passion, you will attract the right type of clients and projects. With that in mind, can you think of anything that needs to change about the way you do business so that you can do more of what inspires you and less of what drains you?

Say you’re a blogger passionate about self improvement, and you want to utilize your blogging platform to encourage others to seek out every opportunity to improve themselves. Are your readers aware of your passion? Is your passion evident in your writing? What are creative ways you can encourage your readers to live a life of self-improvement? Are the companies you partner with and fellow bloggers you work with in alignment with your passion? Is there anything that you are doing that doesn’t feel authentic to your passion?

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04 WHAT ARE YOUR CORE VALUES?

What are your fundamental beliefs? What guides your business decisions? What dictates your behavior and actions?

List four values that you want your brand to represent.

Your values should be at the very core of everything that you do. Values are the guiding principles that inform all business decisions and operations, spanning across your entire organization – in personal interactions, culture and communications, products and services – even down to the smallest detail.

For example, are you driven by innovation, community, authenticity or profit?

Be very honest with yourself.

The best way to identify your values is to analyze how you behave in difficult business situations. A core value is only a true core value if it has an active influence on your actions. For example, you may think you’re driven by integrity, but if you’re consistently accepting projects simply because they pay well, then you’re likely driven by profit more than anything else.

What do you need to change in the way you currently do business so that your brand is in better alignment with the core values that you listed above?

CORE VALUE 1 : CORE VALUE 2 CORE VALUE 3 CORE VALUE 4

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05 WHAT PRODUCTS OR SERVICES DO YOU OFFER?

Consumers make sense of products by classifying them into categories of things they already know and understand. A product’s success depends heavily on how quickly the consumer “gets” it. So a clear understanding of your offering allows you to quickly connect with the right client, which gets you closer to meaningful results.

Are consumers confused by what you offer?

Start by assigning each product or service to a category and identifying the attributes of each. For example, say you offer the following creative services: branding consultations, logo design, web design, graphic design, web development, search engine optimization, social media integration and print design. What would you reply if someone asked you what it is exactly that you do?

Instead of rattling off an extensive list of your services, you could classify your list into the following three categories: 1) Graphic Design, 2) Branding Solutions and 3) Web Development.

Now let’s dig even deeper.

Is your offering in alignment with your passion and core values? Are there products or services that don’t seem to fit? Are there items that simply aren’t selling? Are there products or services that drain you of all energy and resources? Are there additional products or services that you could be offering?

This is your chance to regain focus or to reinvent your brand.

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06 WHO ARE YOUR MAIN COMPETITORS, AND HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO YOU?

A good place to start is to analyze the industry and see what works and what doesn’t. How does that compare to what you’re currently doing? What are some practical ways you can improve on what others are doing well?

COMPETITOR 1

WHAT ARE THEY DOING WELL?

WHAT ARE THEY NOT DOING WELL?

HOW CAN I IMPROVE ON WHAT THEY ARE

DOING WELL?

COMPETITOR 2

COMPETITOR 3

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07 WHAT IS YOUR UNIQUE SELLING POINT?

Being better is not enough. You need to be different.

What are the key benefits or advantages that set you apart from your competitors? What is it about your product or service that your clients really value?

You can’t be all things to all people, so create a proposition so effective and compelling that clients simply can’t resist. Granted, it takes a lot of work and analysis to develop this degree of focus, but by streamlining your product or service range and aiming at a highly segmented market, you’ll make your business irresistible.

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08 WHAT TYPE OF CLIENTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY ATTRACTING?

What do your current clients have in common? What drives them to choose you over your competitors? Are you satisfied with how your current clients perceive you? How does your current market fit in with your core values? Is your current target market in alignment with your passions? Do you feel like you’re attracting the wrong type of clients?

DEMOGRAPHICS

INTERESTS + HOBBIES

CLIENT NEEDS + MOTIVATIONS HOW YOUR BRAND MEETS THOSE NEEDS

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09 IDENTIFY YOUR IDEAL CLIENT OR PROJECT.

What type of clients or projects would you like to attract? Is there a market that could benefit from your products or services but that you are currently not targeting? Please give as much demographic information as you can about the age range, gender, income, employment, location and lifestyle of current clients and those you wish to reach. How are your ideal clients different from the clients you are currently attracting?

Now ask yourself, what sort of emotional, social or physical needs does this ideal client have, and how can you satisfy those needs? What would motivate this ideal client to choose you over your competitors?

LET’S BEFRIENDS

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ABOUT OKSANA RADIONOVA

My name is Oksana – I’m a designer, stylist, blogger, wife and passionate proponent of embracing everyday luxuries.

I fancy bright lipstick, intimate dinner parties and authentic conversations – and hope to share a few with you! Say hello at radionova.oksana@gmail.com.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE

You are welcome to use this workbook as a guide for establishing the brand identity of your own business or blog but may not sell

it, distribute it or re-purpose the content in any way.

Copyright © 2015 by Oksana Radionova

All rights reserved. This workbook or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express

written permission of the publisher.