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As creative entrepreneurs, we pour our heart and soul into our business. We work hard to create a brand that speaks to our dream clients, but let’s be real – trying to stand out online these days can be as hard as navigating a foreign country without a map. 

That’s where brand storytelling comes in. It’s an incredible marketing tool that injects humanity, emotion, and relatability into all aspects of your brand identity. By using stories in your overall branding, you can create a meaningful connection with your audience and make them feel like they’re a part of your journey from the moment they find you. 

No matter your industry, a blend of strategy and storytelling can make all the difference in setting yourself apart from the competition. The old saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ holds true here…and we all have a story to tell.

What is brand storytelling?

Before we dive into the why and the how, let’s clarify what “brand storytelling” is at its core. It’s a term that’s been coming up a lot in business conversations lately, but what does it really mean? 

Brand storytelling is basically the art of using narrative in a way that resonates with customers. When it comes to branding, think of it as a visual narrative. It’s like a juicy novel, but instead of getting lost in the plot, your audience gets hooked on your brand’s personality, mission, and you guessed it – aesthetics. 

The role of storytelling in brand design

Creates a Cohesive Visual Identity

If you own a business, you’ve probably heard this already but here’s a little refresher: brand design is not just about slapping a logo on a website or business card and calling it a day. A brand’s visual identity is SO much more than that. Storytelling allows brands to represent who they are and what they stand for cohesively across all touchpoints (your website, social media graphics, marketing materials, and more). 

Builds Brand Recognition

Speaking of consistency, using the same narrative can help you create a recognizable brand. Think about it: when you see a checkmark, you immediately think of Nike. That’s the power of strong branding. The brand has used the same logo, the same slogan, and delivered relevant stories to/about their customers for decades now. What do YOU want to instantly be known for to your audience? Storytelling can help you achieve that same level of recognition.

Sparks Human Connection

We’ve all had that experience of watching a movie or reading a book that left us feeling something deep down in our souls, right? Well, the same thing can happen when you use storytelling in your branding. As much as we would like potential clients and customers to connect with our brand at face-value, stories are what create the opportunity for deeper relationships with your clients and strengthen loyalty over time. 

Tips for incorporating storytelling into your branding 

Define Your Story + Values

Defining your brand story and values before diving into the visual elements allows for so much more intention during the design process. This is why I ask my branding clients TONS of questions about their business to really dig into the “why” – so we can craft the story and values that set them apart and resonate with the clients they love to serve. 

Use Emotive Imagery

Your imagery should tell a consistent story and be reflective of your brand values, who your clients are, and who YOU are as a business owner. Using real images with a story behind them can add a whole new level of impact to your business. For example, if you’re a photographer who does a lot of outdoor shoots and elopements, you can incorporate that within your photos or illustrations (check out the branding + website for our client Liz from The Organic Moment to see what I mean!). Ditch the cheesy stock photos! If brand photography isn’t doable right now, check out our recommendations for some high-quality stock photos. 

Choose Intentional Colors + Typography

Just as the words you choose and the stories you tell shape your brand, the fonts and colors you use also communicate a message to your audience. Both can convey different moods and personalities, from polished and professional to playful and creative. For example, a bold, sans-serif font might suggest a brand that is modern and forward-thinking, while a traditional serif font might convey a more established and trustworthy image. Choose colors/typography that reflect your personality and the emotions you want your audience to feel.

Storytelling not only brings your brand to life, it speaks directly to the heart of those who consume it — and that can make all the difference if you’re looking to stand out. Telling stories through visuals goes beyond surface-level design (no thanks!) and has the ability to shape a customer’s entire experience. When done correctly, it’s a powerful way to communicate a lot of ideas without having to say too much.

Ready to breathe life into your business through brand storytelling?

It’s launch day, baby! Our Showit templates are here and ready to help you stand out online + take your website to the next level!

We’ve been working hard to create Showit templates that not only look stunning and have been designed with so much attention to detail, but are also easy to customize for your unique brand.

Get ready for your glow up with our new Showit templates…

Whether you’re a photographer, coach or biz owner that falls somewhere under the “creative entrepreneur” umbrella, our Showit templates are the perfect way to showcase your work and connect with your dream clients!

And the best part? You don’t need to be a tech wizard to use them. With Showit’s user friendly drag-and-drop platform, you can easily customize our templates to create a website that’s totally YOU. And with our launch week discount of 10% off all templates (and off our Website in a Week service, if the DIY route isn’t your jam), it’s the perfect time for a glow up!

So what are you waiting for? Head over to the template shop and check out our new Showit templates for photographers and creatives. And don’t forget to use the code LAUNCH (discount valid until 03/08/2023) at checkout to get your discount during launch week!

We can’t wait to see what you create!

This post contains an affiliate link for Dubsado. If you sign up using my code (or link), I’ll receive a free month of Dubsado- so, thank you!

I’ve been running this business for nearly ten years now, and in that time, I have experimented with several different ways of organizing the admin/project management side of things and let me tell you- having a CRM (client relationship manager) that does all of the heavy lifting for you sure beats the messy + stressful combination of ridiculously long email threads, disorganized spreadsheets and forgotten post-it notes all over your desk.

I’ve been using Dubsado as my CRM for the past few years and can’t recommend it enough for fellow service-based businesses. Having a streamlined, efficient and automated (or even partly automated) process and client experience has completely transformed my business.

What is a CRM?

CRM stands for customer relationship management (referring to the software you’re managing your customers with). Client relationship manager is more straightforward to me, so I just call it that, haha. The capabilities of a CRM can vary greatly, but Dubsado covers pretty much everything I ever want or need to do, so I’ve been using them for a few years.

What does it do?

Oh man, so much. The amount of work Dubsado takes off my plate is honestly incredible. There are so many features to take advantage of, but here’s what I use it for most:

Lead Captures

I have embedded a Dubsado lead capture form on my website to act as the inquiry form. This means that when someone fills out this form, their information is imported into Dubsado and I don’t have to set up a new client myself. I can then turn that lead into a client if they book and save myself the time of filling out their info again.

Scheduling Calls

Once a lead fills out my inquiry form, I can send them a scheduler link directly through Dubsado (assuming they’re potentially a good fit and I’d like to learn more about their project). I have pre-set my availability in the scheduler, so I don’t have to do anything other than send the link. You can also use this to feature book calls at any time during the project.

Canned Emails

You can set up all sorts of canned emails and attach them to various parts of your process. For example, I have canned emails set for when an invoice is sent to a client, when a scheduler link is sent, when a specific form is sent. The options are endless here and honestly, I don’t currently use this for as much as I could. There is massive potential here to automate a ton of your communication.

Client Onboarding

This is where Dubsado really shines, in my opinion. Dubsado gives you the ability to create as many different forms as you want (and by forms, I mean questionnaires, contracts and proposals) which makes onboarding an absolute breeze. I have forms created for every type of service I offer, so I never have to create a form from scratch for a client. You can also create packages and payment schedules for all of your different services which makes invoicing easy as well. Here is a little rundown of how this works within my own business:

• I send the prospective client a proposal (using a template I created once and continue to reuse)
• Client accepts the proposal and is automatically taken to contract (that I created once and autopopulates client’s info)
• Client signs contract and is automatically taken to invoice to pay first payment (which I’ve set up using packages and payment schedules- all of this is automated now that I’ve done the initial setup)

Invoicing

As mentioned above, I do all of my invoicing within Dubsado. Everything you do in Dubsado is branded with your business logo and colors, and I love that this means even a plain ol’ invoice can be on brand. You can connect Stripe, PayPal and Square to Dubsado. You can send as many invoices per project as you want, you can set up recurring invoices with autopay and you can choose your own payment schedules.

Client Portal

You can set up a client portal which has pretty basic functionality at the moment (I’m hoping they expand on this in future), but is very helpful for clients. It houses all of the forms/invoices/etc for the project so the client can access everything in one place rather than being sent several different emails to keep track of. I add my brand and web questionnaires to the portal as well as the content planner (if it’s a web project) and send my client a login to access all of this. It’s just one of those things that makes your client experience that much more streamlined and professional.

Dubsado does a ton more than this, but these are the main features that I use right now. If you want more insight on how I use Dubsado specifically as a brand + web designer, check out my feature on their site.

They have excellent support and customer service, and they’re always working on developing new features- the amount it has grown since I started using it three or four years ago is crazy. There is also an awesome Dubsado Facebook group that is so helpful.

Want 20% off your first month or year with Dubsado? Use code lennoxcreativeco when signing up!

Would you believe me if I told you that the most important part of a brand isn’t having a nice looking logo, but rather a clearly defined brand strategy? Sure, an aesthetically pleasing logo is great and all, but if you haven’t figured out who to make it look good for and why they’ll be attracted to it (among a slew of other things, which we’ll get into below), then you’re wasting both time and resources by taking stabs in the dark- and in the meantime, having your dream clients pass you by.

This is where brand strategy comes in. But before we dig into what brand strategy is and why you need one, let’s clarify what a brand is first.

What is a brand?

Your brand is so much more than just a logo. It’s every single touchpoint that a client has with your brand, from the colors used on your website to the style of imagery you post on your Instagram feed. It’s the way you speak to your clients and the feeling people get when they think about or experience your brand.

Okay, so what is brand strategy?

Brand strategy is the basis for all of the above, and that’s why it’s such an integral part of the design process. It’s essentially the guide for how you’ll market (and in turn, grow) your brand, which is why you want to have all aspects of your brand strategy clearly defined from the get-go. It ensures that every single aspect of your brand is cohesive, which is so important when you’re trying to stand out and make a name for yourself.

Key components of a solid brand strategy

Purpose + Mission

What is the “why” behind your brand? Why are you in business doing what you’re doing? Having a clear brand purpose in mind can help guide a lot of the decisions you make in your business and how you market it.

Your brand purpose can also serve as a guide to form a short mission statement/elevator pitch that you use to convey what you do, who you help and how you help them. Be authentic and true to your brand- you want to stand out from your competitors, not blend in with them. It’s best to revisit the creation of this once you’ve worked through the rest of the brand strategy.

Values

What does your brand value? Defining your values will help you connect with your target audience on a deeper level, as well as differentiate you from your competition. Perhaps you’re a small organic farm who values family and health, or you’re an elopement photographer who values love and adventure. Whatever your values may be, they’re an important part of your brand that’ll help you connect more meaningfully with your ideal client.

Target Audience/Ideal Client

Determining your target audience is one of the most important parts of brand strategy. You need to know exactly who you’re speaking to in order to know what to say to them. Knowing their demographics (age, gender, income level), their values, their “why” for seeking out what you offer (sometime referred to as pain points) and their hesitations/fears will make an enormous impact on how you go about successfully marketing to them. The more you know about the exact type of person you want to work with/sell to, the more you can tailor your brand and business to potentially convert them into a paying customer.

Voice

Defining a brand voice will help say you the right thing in the right way to your target audience. If your brand is high-end and luxurious, it’s voice may be more formal, minimal or poetic. If your brand is more casual and fun, it’s voice may be friendly and conversational, or even a bit humorous. Knowing how to speak to your target audience will help keep your messaging consistent.

Competition + What Sets You Apart

Identifying your competition is important because it allows you to analyze both what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong, AKA where you should be aiming to position your brand in the market. Use this information to figure out how you can differentiate from your competitors and set your brand apart in a way that will appeal specifically to your target audience. Beyond that, don’t spend too much time focusing on what competing brands are doing as every business is different and what works for one won’t necessarily work for another. You want to stand out from the crowd, not blend in with it!

Having a super clear brand strategy set in place before diving into the visual identity (the logo, patterns, typography, etc) allows for so much more intention behind the choices that are made during the design process. This ensures that your branding not only looks the part, but also attracts the people you want to work with/sell to (whilst simultaneously turning away you don’t).

Ready for beautiful, strategy-driven branding that attracts your dream clients?