Creating a Brand for your Creative Business
The idea of creating a brand from scratch can be daunting. There are so many things to consider, colours, fonts, your voice and presence to name a few. So how do you tie everything together to create a strong, cohesive brand? Here are my top tips to help you on your way!
I produce hand-made ceramics so my tips are tailored towards a maker-made business.
1. Find Your Style
This is the most important thing of all. You're going to find your brand easier to develop and more importantly, to continue with if it comes from a place of integrity and authenticity. It can be tricky, but try not to second-guess what you think your audience will like. Instead, create products that feel true to you and fill you with joy and your audience will find you. I promise!!
2. Stick with it
Consistency is key. Once you've found your style, have the confidence to stick with it. It won't happen overnight, but a recognizable, consistent brand will build trust and in time, an audience.
2. Find Your Voice
If someone is buying a handmade item it's likely to be for that very reason - that it's hand made. It's so much nicer to buy from a person than from a large, faceless corporation, so if it's just you then say so - use "I" not "we". When I speak to my audience, whether it's in my Instagram captions, the copy on my website or my blog posts I think about the language that I use. I like to keep a chatty feel to things, not too formal or wordy, as if I'm speaking to you in person. Again, it's a person my audience are buying from, not a large company so I make sure the voice I use reflects that.
3. Tell Your Story
People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
Tell your story - people want to hear it. How did you start? Why? What about your craft brings you joy? The more people know about you, the more likely they are to invest in you and your business.
4. Colour
Once you have your style, your voice and your story, it all needs to sit together in a beautifully curated package and colour plays a huge part here. The colours I use in my branding reflect my products - natural, elegant and subtle. I've used colours that I'm naturally drawn to so nothing feels forced. Play around with a colour palette until you find a few colours that sit well together, make sure you know the HEX number then repeat, repeat, repeat! Everything from your website, your social media, your business cards down to the colour top you wear at events will help to tie it all together.
I find Coolors to be a great starting point for this - but beware, it will lead you down a rabbit hole!
https://coolors.co/
5. Revisit
Every now again take a step back and take a look at your branding as a whole. It's easy to get bogged down with the day to day tasks of running a business, so every now and again it's good to check back in and make sure that everything is still on track and consistent. If you find your business is changing slightly, or your work is leaning in a slightly different direction then make sure the branding is following.
Interested in following along with my story?
You find me on Instagram here:
www.instagram.com/hildacarrpottery
Or you can shop online here: