Starting a business? Great!

Starting a business with no clue on how to begin branding to reach amazing growth in the hugely competitive market? Not so great, but that is where I can help you out.

You see, it is no secret that starting your own business, in general, comes with its own set of challenges. Now adding a global pandemic into the mix, it might feel financially burdening to hire a branding designer right now, and that is okay. You are certainly not alone.

But the fact of the matter is that you are not stuck. Actually, you are quite the opposite of stuck 🙂 There are several DIY brand building things you can do without having to spend a dim on an expert right now, and I am about to show you how.

5 DIY Branding Tips

1. Define Your Clientele

Whether you hire a designer or not, you got to know who the heck you are trying to attract. Step back, really plan out who you are serving, and figure out how to cater to them. Think about it; if your audience is 20-year-old women, you might not want to cater towards 50-year-old women. I mean, you could, but it wouldn’t end in good results.

Find the sweet spot between your dreams, visions and how you can appeal to your target audience. Once you figure that out, you can yell bingo!

2. Discover Your Brand Voice

Next up, have you put any thought into what your brand voice will be? No? Well, now is no better time to start. Your brand voice is essentially what “watermarks” you and allows you to stand out from your competition.

For instance, chances are when you talk on the phone with a friend or loved one, you already know what tone and sound they are going to use. You want that same recognition with your brand. Get people to recognize your business by your style, lingo, and little quirks that make you unique.

PS: This can be hard, so make sure you truly know what you want your brand to sound like and go from there. Trial and error runs are fine here.

3. Figure Out Your Brand Attributes

Much like SEO, you have to have at least a couple of keywords in your back pocket that identifies your brand. Here I mean adjectives that will help you in guiding your audience in how they interact with you. Do you want them to feel happy, excited, calmed, or at peace when they think of your business brand? For a quick reference:

• Happy could be bright and colourful.
• Peace could be light and airy.

Whatever you choose, you can always reach out to your audience as well and simply ask them so you can be confident that the keywords you choose allow your brand to come off the way you want it to. No shame in going right to the source and asking.

4. Pick an Ideal Colour, One or Two Fonts

Once you reach this part in your business brand development journey, you have to really nail down what you want your brand and logo to look like. In general, make it fit your business industry, your attributes, image, and leave a lasting impression without overwhelming your clients.

Then, choose your theme, 3-4 colours, 1-2 fonts and be consistent with it. Use the same theme across all your channels and really market the heck out of it so that when people see it, they immediately think of your brand.

Remember, this does not have to be perfect right out of the gates, but it does give you a great starting point for when you are actually ready to hire a professional designer down the road.

5. Be Consistent

If you have gotten to this part, congratulations! Now it is time to tie it all together and make your efforts worth their while. And you do that by practicing consistency.

Consistency is the key to making it big and the #1 business killer when not incorporated. Once you made your logo, figured out your color scheme, etc., stick with it! If you keep changing it around drastically, you are only going to confuse people.

So, every time you market, use the same brand outline you came up with thus far. If you do decide to use a designer down the road, you can always improve it, but try not to change it completely so it really can become a brand image that is memorable in the long run.

Final Thoughts – Your Branding is Like a Tree and Its Roots

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, your brand does not build with your business; your business is what builds from your brand. This is so important, and one you cannot overlook, even if you cannot afford a designer right now. Seriously, don’t skip it.

To shed some final thought light here, think of branding like a tree and its roots.

Strange, but bear with me.

The tree itself represents your brand’s surface, such as your logo, colour scheme, fonts, videos, all that fun visual stuff. Then as you go under the soil, that is where your brand vision, values, and missions lie. It is the core of your brand, and the foundation to keep the entire tree alive. So, the stronger you make your “roots,” the stronger and more flourishing your tree will grow (aka more loyal clients/customers).

With that little visional lesson, I hope you see why branding is such a critical part of your business. Whether you can afford a designer or not, you cannot just throw the concept out the window and hope for the best (Newsflash, businesses don’t thrive on hope).

All in all, try doing these DIY tips above to at least get yourself heading in the right direction. If there comes a time when you can afford a designer, then that’s awesome. But it is not a make or break deal because you can easily begin the process yourself.

Good luck!