I'm a firm believer that every mistake and failure we experience teaches us something. However, when it comes to branding I'd love to save you the heartache of making a major mistake if I can.

Brand Positioning

So what is the number one mistake I see business owners make? To be honest, it comes down to just one thing—positioning. Brand positioning is all about how you frame your product or services. Not literal framing of course. I mean the way you talk about what you sell, how your brand sounds, and how you differentiate it from others in your industry.

When you take a misguided approach to positioning, your whole business will suffer. Like trying to play with darts with chocolate chips, not much will stick. So instead, let me drop some knowledge so I can help you sidestep that mess. I know this next truth will be a tough pill to swallow, but it's the key to helping you position your brand for the kind of success it deserves.

A year ago I was working as the creative director at a photography production company just outside Philadelphia. I knew I was bumping my head against the ceiling there, and I'd been getting the itch to start a business of my own for a while now. But with a newly purchased home and our wedding-planning well underway, I knew it would take time and some serious preparation before I could finally take that leap.

Podcasts to the rescue!

At the time, I had a pretty hefty commute that was proving to be one of the most draining facets of my work situation. I mean, few things will make you feel like you're wasting your life away quite like sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic twice daily. Luckily, that's when I finally discovered podcasts.

I adore music, but I'm jamming constantly while I work and I wanted something more productive for my drives. Podcasts really couldn't have popped up at a better time for me. When I was feeling trapped by my circumstances, podcasts were my lifeline. They gave me hope, helped me clarify my brand strategy, kept my outlook positive, and made my daily commutes a lot less dreadful.

So without further ado, I'm sharing my favorite podcasts with you. Some are more serious than others, but all of these podcasts have been total game-changers for me. I hope that they'll be a light for you in your own journey too!

We've made it to the final part of the Instagram series—yay us!! I started this whole thing off by covering why to separate personal and professional content and how multiple Instagram accounts can help. Then we went deep on the idea of curating what you share and why it makes such a profound difference for your brand.

QUALITY & CONSISTENCY ARE EVERYTHING

The more you share targeted content on a platform like Instagram, the more magic it will work for your business. Today's post is all about streamlining how you share so you can post even more killer content without driving yourself nuts. The key is creating standards for quality and consistency, then harnessing systems to support them.

Please note that I'm sharing the apps I use here. There are many other alternatives out there worth exploring. Do some research and play around, but in the meantime these have worked wonders for my brand's Instagram feed. So without further ado, let's dig in!

Welcome to Part 2 of Harnessing Instagram for Your Brand! In Part 1, I shared the in's and out's of keeping your personal content separate from your brand's Instagram account—why I do it, what my experience has been, and how having a 2nd account has set me free in a lot of ways.

Keeping your brand's feed strictly professional is absolutely one way to practice curating your feed. You're probably wondering, why should you curate your Instagram feed anyway? Well, I'll give you some stellar reasons to start curating today, and we'll dig even deeper into crafting your branded Instagram feed. Let's dig in!

A couple weeks back, I opened up to you guys about my belief that absolutely nothing is ordinary. My theory is that it's just a matter of shifting your perspective to discover the magic in your everyday life. Sounds great, but a bit vague, right?

Well, we're going to dig deeper and explore how you can channel this philosophy into your social media, specifically on Instagram. This is going to be another two-part post (I know! It's been a while) so buckle up. I'll share my own strategy, some practical examples, and recommendations for harnessing Instagram for your own brand.

I'm so excited to unveil my latest brand identity project—another wonderful collaboration with the talented ladies of Spruce Rd. This one is for the lovely Janell Strouse, a super sweet Ohio-based photographer who specializes in high school senior photography.

Janell prides herself on making her clients feel instantly comfortable in front of the camera, and captures real laughs and smiles that allow each senior's authentic to self shine through. Janell makes her clients look and feel amazing in their photos, so they can show them off and capture this exciting time in their lives the way they want to be remembered.

I know how easy it can be to get bored with your routine, even when you love what you do. Before you know it, you're taking your skills and expertise for granted. You're telling yourself that anyone can do what you do. After all, it's nothing special.

Meanwhile, you see what someone else has going and think to yourself, “Wow, that is so amazing. If only my business were that exciting/unique/interesting...”

Not so fast, friend. First off, you're totally off your rocker and I'm going to tell you why. Now bear with me here for a bit, and let's see if we can overhaul that perspective.

Way back in January, I started on the brand identity for Creative, She Wrote and it's come such a long way since. I'm so thrilled with how it's evolved and this one definitely has a special place in my heart as one of my first projects while out on my own. I'm ready to dig deep into the process here, but first let's talk about how collaboration took this one the extra mile.