I’ve written about the importance of brand voice in this blog before. I was speaking then about writing in the brand voice of a nonprofit, which is critical when trying to appeal to donors. In that role, it was important that I communicate in a way that both inspires the reader to want to help…
As I begin my fourth month of full-time freelancing, I am giving myself some grace in that I have not yet figured out my personal brand. I know how difficult it is to develop an organization’s brand and how long it can take (hello LSS, 4 years of my life!), but I still thought this…
TL/DR: Why do I ask for a project brief from my clients? Because I hate to disappoint them. Point blank, period. That’s the truth, no BS, no drama. I need a fully completed and well-thought-out brief to meet a client’s expectations. So many details go into a well-written piece of content and I can’t deliver…
A promise made must be a promise kept — Aristotle We make promises every day. We promise our landlord we’ll pay rent at the end of the month. We promise our relatives we’ll visit soon. We promise our kids they can have ice cream if they eat their broccoli. We even promise ourselves a reward…
In my last blog, I talked a little bit about how your customers are your best resource for information regarding your brand and insights into how you should create or change your messaging. When you ask them the right questions, they’ll tell you all you need to know. Most companies create a brand persona for…
As you can see, I write better than I speak. Let me expound on my thoughts on brand storytelling here. As I said, I think today’s consumer wants to feel connected to brands. They want to see how a brand fits into their lives and how their life fits with the brand. They want to…
My first video blog — yikes!
I am a branding expert. I’ve created brands for businesses and nonprofits. I’ve even created a brand for my own coffeehouse 100 years ago. Now, it’s time to create a personal brand for myself again, this time as a freelance brand strategist. And I am lost. I don’t know where to start. I don’t know…
https://www.classy.org/blog/strengthen-brand-epo-media-model/ Click on the link above to read my latest contribution to Classy.org.
A recent editorial by Ruth McCambridge at Nonprofit Quarterly really resonated with me. In it she laments the standard practice of many nonprofit executives who use “othering” language when talking about their clients. She says this practice is “a regressive blast from the past, full of words and phrases that are coded shortcuts to narratives…
