*I am co-founder of Broadcast Louder, a company dedicated to building and strengthening creative brands. My co-founder, Susan Newman, and I teach an 8-week course titled, Creativity + Abundance 1.0. This article is an excerpt from Broadcast Louder’s Class #1:Go BEYOND the Logo -
Understanding Exactly What “Branding” Is
Vanessa Coppes wrote a great Visiting Creatives Article on how businesses can give back and gain but I thought that with the holiday season upon us, I’d talk about giving in terms of branding your business.
You started your art business to speak through your work, to express yourself, explore your craft and do what you love while making money. All of those things are honorable and important but there is one characteristic of good branding and good business that some people don’t know about and that’s “giving”. To be more precise, giving to others without expectations of receiving.
Way to give back to add to your unique band are:
1. Setting up interviews on your website to allow others to speak their expertise. You’re giving to your clientele and offering exposure to others.
2. Donate your product or your time to charities and announce it in your marketing campaigns!
3. Teach or give free or low cost seminars to local artists or schools. Give back YOUR artistic expertise to excite the creativity of growing artists.
4. Give MORE to your clients! Have clay leftover from a special order? Make a coordinating piece and add it to the shipment. Want to stun your customer and “give”? Add one extra pillow to your bedding set.
Please realize that you MUST talk about your “give back” projects, a lot. It’s not being self-centered. Announcing your good deeds is important because it will open other ways to give back, will allow potential customers to trust and respect you more as a business person and especially when you give to a charity, it exposes that charity to those that may want to donate but didn’t know it existed.
To up the ante’ on your amazing branding strategy, find an area where you can give-solely. When you give of yourself people notice, trust and respect what you’re doing. Fans turn into advocates and advocates turn into customers.