Personal Branding: An interview with Kelsey and Britt
Meet Kelsey and Britt, the dynamic duo behind Launch Your Daydream. These two talented women recently helped me rebrand Jodi Lister Photography into a contemporary portrait studio business.
After creating a visual identity for the studio, including a new logo design, they built the very website you are now reading this blog on. During launch week, I sat down to ask them some questions on the importance of personal branding, how they came up with my new look, and why they are excited about the launch of Jodi Lister Contemporary Portrait Studio.
Jodi: Let's start with the basics… How do you define personal branding and why is it important to a business?
Kelsey and Britt: Personal branding is important for entrepreneurs because as a business owner, you are an integral part of your own brand. Your personality, the way you look and dress, the way you speak, and the way you interact with others all have an impact on the success and validity of your brand.
Jodi: How have you established yourself as personal branding experts?
Kelsey and Britt: We actually had the unique experience of hiring each other before we came together as business partners. Kelsey designed Britt's branding and Britt designed Kelsey's website, both for our previous businesses. We loved working together so much, and realized this experience we loved going through with each other, that we knew we needed to somehow share it with our clients. After about 1.5 years of working in our separate businesses, we decided to come together to provide the best branding experience to our clients. We know personal branding is SO important when it comes to establishing a brand, because if we weren't our true, authentic selves in our business, it would almost feel like an identity crisis! We've been truly lucky to help dozens of creative entrepreneurs with their personal brands by recommending they define their values, stand by the experience they provide their own clients, and showing them that branding is truly more than just a logo and pretty colors.
Jodi: Ok so lets talk a little bit about your design inspiration for Jodi Lister Photography's new look. Tell us how you came up with the branding and why it relates to the new studio experience.
Kelsey and Britt: We really wanted the authenticity and timelessness of this brand to shine through in it's design. The experience and the quality of work is professional, beautiful, and upscale, so we created an aesthetic that resonated with those vibes. The neutral colors, bold serif font, and clean layout of the website were all intentionally chosen to nod to the client experience that you create.
Jodi: What excites you most about the launch of Jodi Lister Contemporary Portrait Studio?
Kelsey and Britt: We really love the "why" behind this business and we're so excited to see it flourish. Your passion for making other women feel confident is so genuine and it's a beautiful thing. We know that this rebrand is the upgrade needed to bring this biz to the next level and to really get the recognition that it deserves.
Jodi: Finally, can you share 3 tips for my personal branding clients that may focus their visual identity?
Kelsey and Britt: Of course we can!
1 - Think about how you want others to speak of your business when chatting with friends or family. What words do you want them to use when describing the experience? These words can be used as guidance for all design decisions you make moving forward. For example, one of Jodi's words was "timeless." So, we wouldn't want to use any crazy colors or funky fonts, because that wouldn't elicit the right feelings for her dream clients.
2 - Speaking of dream clients, make sure you are fully aware of who you're trying to reach with your branding. Come up with a detailed persona of who your dream clients are. Where do they shop? What do they read? What social platforms are they on? What is their personal/family life like? Get into the details--this might sound crazy, but it truly helps guide your brand from there on out. Put yourself in your dream client's shoes when making any design decisions for your brand.
3 - Make sure that ALL of your client touchpoints give off the same vibes. What we mean by this is that no matter where a prospective client interacts with you, whether it be in person, through social media, email, etc., he/she should automatically recognize that it's YOUR brand because it feels the same across the board. This includes your voice as well--think about how you speak to clients and how you compose emails, social media captions, etc. too!
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Readers be sure to enter our giveaway for a photography personal branding consultation from Jodi as well as a website consultation with Launch Your Daydream. We will each take the time to comb through your website offering you constructive criticism through video and a provide you with a list of actions to improve your photography, branding, and website now! To enter, simply visit Jodi Lister Photography on Instagram and comment on what you love most about the new site and what your are most thankful for in your business this year.