18: Why do a brand refresh in the first place?

Hi friend,

It’s been a while since I popped into your inbox.

Frankly, I got so caught up with client work and juggling changes to my schedule that writing this newsletter fell off.

But there have been a couple of things happening behind the scenes, which I’m pretty excited to discuss!

1. I refreshed my website, and this time, I think it’s much closer to what I want to convey)

2. I did my first personal photoshoot, both as a way to update the photos on my website/digital profiles and as a fun experience

3. I developed a couple of visual components for my content which I’m pretty excited to put to work!

Read on for more off-the-cuff thoughts on this brand refresh exercise. ⬇️ 

For the cynical, brand refreshes are an indulgence. 

And perhaps they are.

But for business owners, these brand refreshes require a lot of thought and inner work. I started this brand refresh process because I felt a gap between what my visual identity was saying and what I actually wanted to communicate. And when you start feeling constrained by your existing ‘boxes’, I think it’s a good time to make a change.

What made this latest brand refresh different from the others?

For one, I was much clearer about what I wanted to convey on this new website iteration. I have a better sense of how my voice sounds (or at least, when I feel most like myself).

I had a few doubts going in, like, “Is this going to be worth the time and money?” (And I’m in marketing!).

Sure, lots of brands refresh their websites because they’ve moved away from their previous brand identity or want to get more ROI out of their website.

Which are valid reasons. After all, your website is a representative of yourself. It’s also an asset that drives sales, and helps people to know who you are or how you work.

But consider the intrinsic fulfillment as well. I did this because it made me happy and fulfilled, and that’s important to me.

Maybe that’s all the reason I need, lol.

Thanks so much to Ying Hui from Ying’s Creative Lab for her excellent work. She understood what I wanted to accomplish with this refresh and translated these intangible requirements into a color scheme and design concept. Visuals aren’t my strong suit, and she was excellent to work with (both on the previous iteration of my website and this one).

There’s a critical difference between working ‘on’ your business versus working ‘in’ your business.

I’ll be honest: I’ve been feeling uninspired by my business for the past month.

It reached a point where I felt like I was churning out work, which is not a great place to be.

I was focusing all your time on client work, and once you’re done with these deliverables, you’re excited to get off the computer to do something else. Sure, maybe I’m still adjusting to the physical/energy demands of being a dog owner (and it’s been a life-changing experience!), but there’s been a noticeable impact on how my business fits in with the rest of my life.

I was spending too much of my time working ‘on’ my business.

No wonder I didn’t feel like working on my content, or newsletter (still happy that I got back to posting on LinkedIn in July).

I just felt … tired about everything.

No wonder there’s a noticeable gap in content topics in my scrap notes (the document where I jot down things that might be interesting to talk about or think about). In hindsight, maybe I should use this as one barometer of how I’m feeling about my business. 🤔 

When you’re in ‘working in your business mode,' you’re in ‘get stuff done, almost in survival/grinding mode. You just want to get stuff done and get out. But spend too long in this state, and you see tasks as a series of checkboxes.

However, working on this brand refresh helped me get back to that aspirational, curious state of mind again. I started getting excited about sharing my thoughts again. I thought things like: “Building stuff is cool, and it’s infinitely better when you own it 100%.”

Which is a very different mental state from just wanting to get stuff done.

I don’t think either state is necessarily bad. There’s a time to get stuff done, and there’s a time to be curious and dream more.

But when you start spending too much time in either state, like I have over the last few months, maybe it’s time to change things up.

Give yourself space to learn and grow

To be clear, this is the second time I’ve refreshed my website in the last 12 months. It went from something I threw together with zero visuals in 2 hours to a first attempt at a logo and visual branding (which was when I was thinking, “OK, the website needs to look professional”) to this one with the more vibrant pops of yellow and orange.

Pretty cool evolutionary process, I must say!

Copywriting-wise, that sounds much more aligned with how I talk than the overly professional tone of previous iterations. As you can tell, I love bright colors, especially when they’re contrasted against darker colors, haha.

This version of the website would not have existed without the previous iterations. It’s easy to think that the previous iteration was a waste of time, but I wouldn’t have gotten here if I had not first tried defining a brand identity for myself.

I’m happy with where it’s at now. But there’s still room to further evolve.

My main takeaway here is that I learn best when I’m taking action on something. When I exert effort to put something out into the world, it’s easier for me to find out which parts resonate with me and which parts don’t.

Things that inspired me this month

• Yes, But: Darkly funny comics that make you think about the paradoxes of life

• Taking stock of client feedback and positive things! As self-employed people (or maybe even as human beings), we can be pretty tough on ourselves, so it’s really important to celebrate the wins and remember them. Negative feedback can also be a valuable source of learning.

• This Unravel Research webinar on brand image and neuromarketing appeals to me as a psych nut.

This excellent quote on unsolicited advice from Eric Doty of Dock (and resident moderator in the Superpath community (emphasis mine).

I have a client opening from September!

Here’s how we can work together. 

⭐ B2B SaaS product-led content: People look for solutions and information online. Why not position your product to illustrate a point and show why your product is the best at solving a problem? It attracts visitors and educates your customers while motivating and guiding them to use your product. Talk about a win-win!

⭐ Customer case studies: Highlight how you’ve worked with a customer and celebrate their success! Case studies build trust with potential customers and show how your work has solved their issues. Attract customers like your ideal clients who want to solve a similar issue.

 ⭐ Whitepapers, research reports and e-books: When paired with original data, sharp design and excellent storytelling, these assets help start sales conversations and build industry authority (i.e, backlinks!). Let me help you with these mammoth projects! Besides interviewing experts and conducting research, I'll help with the outline, drafting, and publication.

 ⭐  Content repurposing: Don’t let the content you worked so hard to put together collect digital dust after publishing. Repurpose your existing content to reach a new audience. For example, I’ve worked with clients to repurpose speaker recordings into blog posts and turned internal sales slides into e-books.

DM me, and let’s schedule a call to discuss your content! Let’s determine what types of content best suit your customers and craft a path forward together.

Thanks for reading and being here.