2ND EDITION | ISSUE #174

Hey Reader,

I’m writing this from a post-EFT tap, still pretty stressed, time-blocked writing chunk on my Friday morning.

I’m sitting on my freshly made gingham duvet (although the rest of my bedroom is a total mess), and it is T-minus 8 days until my bridal shower.

Less than a week until my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews get into town.

On top of it being peak planting season in my garden (why did I not think of that when I planned this?)

I could honestly go on and on.

But that's not the point of this newsletter.

The point is that - although I am on the verge of a mini meltdown (while doing my very best to keep a whole lot of things together right now), the thing that is keeping me grounded is knowing I do, in fact, have a strategy for managing it all.

Every time I start to spiral, I consult said strategy.

If emotions are the ones in charge - my decision-making process - and my experience are not going to bode well.

The same goes for how work fares when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Running a business is an emotional thing. Especially when you are both the face and the founder.

And the content creator.

Among many other things.

So often, I see that turning into people making emotional decisions about their business and about their brand.

Doing something because a coach or mentor told them they should. Or because they see their peers doing it.

And not because they actually want to do it.

Or because it makes sense for their brand.

Or because it makes sense for their goals.

And in the simplest terms, that is what a Brand Strategy is.

It is gathering quantifiable evidence and data to create a plan to help you make effective decisions and content that gets you closer to the goal you have for your brand (whatever that is).

It’s why I love Brand Strategy so much.

Why I continue to wear that hat - and the designer hat at the same time.

Because I know that no matter how cool a website or brand identity I make for you, all of it is a giant waste of money if you don't:

1. have a brand strategy.
2. understand your own brand strategy
3. and know how to implement it.

What no one ever talks about is that your Brand Strategy is a living, breathing, malleable thing.

Your Brand Strategy evolves as your goals change, as you accomplish one thing and move on to the next - continuing to move your own finish line (because that is how we entrepreneurs are wired at the end of the day).

That doesn’t just mean you need a strategy for more - that you are always needing to level up.

In fact, I’d challenge you to think about how the strategy behind your brand changes if you want less, want to work less, launch less, want to have a baby, or take time off. Hit cruise control for a little bit.

The strategy you built your business on won't be the same strategy to take you through the seasons & pivots that will inevitably come.

So now that we are thinking about Strategy differently, it raises the question: how often do we need to update our Brand Strategy, and what exactly does updating our brand strategy even look like?

And as much as I know, you want to be able to place update brand strategy on a perfect increment in your calendar and then always do it that day, and then ping life and business will be perfect.

That is not the reality we live in.

So over the next couple of weeks in this newsletter, I’ll be breaking down.

• Just WTF a Brand Strategy is.
• How to know when you need to update it.
• Where it overlaps with a content strategy.
• and how to create an effective strategy for this season behind the brand (and yes, you can just hire me for this).

And before you ask….

“Could AI just do this?”

I actually do use AI for brand strategy - combined with a lot of other practices. So yes - but also no.

Understanding what Brand Strategy is - and how to navigate your own Brand Strategy should not be looked at as another thing you need to add to your to-do list.

But instead, as the thing that is going to make everything else on your to-do list - no matter how overwhelming that to-do list feels- make more sense, be more effective, and most likely take some things off of your to-do list.

The Strategy behind data-based decision making

I love kicking my studio sessions (a week-long strategy sprint) off with a 60-minute consultation. There is a brief questionnaire clients fill out when they schedule, which gives me an idea of where their pain points are and what they want to talk about (aka. the problem I am creating a strategy to solve).

And I do some basic prep, look at their Instagram, their website - things like that. Jotting down questions for them.

But mostly I want them to talk - and I don’t even always jump to give advice or give an opinion (which is why this is a week-long strategy sprint - I package all of that after the fact), I just want to get a really deep understanding of where their head, and their business, is at.

Why do they even want to accomplish the goal they are here for in the first place?

And often I find - people are doing things based on emotions and not the data behind their brand.

Before we get into why that is, let’s clear up just WTF is a Brand Strategy is anyway.

(consults Google for the “official answer”)

What that definition does not take into consideration is the nuance of how a brand strategy changes over time.

• Your purpose, mission, values, etc. are not something you will need to refer to often, or update - even as your brand pivots - those things remain mostly the same - if anything, just deepening.
• Your target audience could change, and you will understand more about over time. So this is one of the most important ones to revisit.
• Your positioning - could change, will deepen, evolve, and get better over time - and each offer and content platform will benefit from having its positioning within your brand.
• Messaging, and story - your voice and writing style stays the same - but messaging will also get better with time, evolve with new offers, and needs to be revisited when you introduce a new offer into the mix.
• Then there is the implementation piece the way that you communicate these things, interact with your audience and get your ideas out there into the world - which is another piece of your brand that will always change and shift. What worked in Marketing two three years ago - doesn’t work anymore - buyer behavior and our online decision making process is changing as fast and in direct congruity to the introduction of AI.

So, do I create Brand Strategy decks with all of these things and all of the research when someone is starting a new brand or has undergone a major rebrand, or has no documentation on any of these things? - Yeah.

But do you need a 20+ page pdf collecting digital dust somewhere on your desktop in order to have an effective Brand Strategy? No.

How Data Helps You Design an Effective Content Strategy

I build both long-term brand strategies for 1:1 design clients & short-term pivot-ready brand strategies inside the studio session, all in Notion, so that the documentation you have can serve as an actual resource in your brand.

And - something you can use to make using AI more effective.

I can very clearly speak to someone and know - okay, this person really understands the strategy behind their brand vs. This person has a vision but is really just throwing spaghetti at the wall and doing whatever they want/ what other people have told them/ what other people in their industry are doing.

Like posting content on LinkedIn - when their audience is made up of people who are probs not on LinkedIn.

This is the intersection of Brand Strategy and content strategy that can trip people up.

Think of it like a hot dog cart (and don’t ask me why this came to mind)

But like the best hot dog cart you have ever seen in your life.

There are at least a dozen of those square metal holes with topping options.

Plus they have carrot dogs, beef dogs, and chilli dogs. Literally anything.

There are some things we all need to get started - like a bun and a hot dog In your case, that's messaging and positioning. They are the basis of what you are going to need at a minimum at any one time, and in every season, and the pivot of your business.

Then you have like a gazillion and ten toppings to choose from. These are all the different ways you can market your business.

You could attempt to put all one dozen toppings on your hot dog and try not to make a huge mess (but good luck - and also idk why you would want to do that).

Instead, you want to choose a few toppings at once to work together - and then go and enjoy it.

So, how do we know what toppings to choose for our brand pivot hot dog? And also where the heck is this metaphor headed?

This is where two things come into play - understanding what your content needs to do & the data behind your brand.

I have offically lost count of how many times I have linked to this post from Xanthe Appleyard - because it breaks down so simply the roles that you need to fill in your content strategy.

Because you don't need every single hot dog condiment. And you don't need to be marketing on every platform.

• You just need one for Networking
• One for Trust Building
• One for longevity
• And one for behind the scenes.

Then that little marketing machine we all dream of having starts running.

So how do we know which platforms we should create content on?

That's where understanding your audience & your data comes in.

And that data itself can be a lot of things.

• SEO on your website is some of the best data you can get for your brand
• Analytics from your content and Instagram can be data for your brand
• Audience research can be data for your brand.
• Your own capacity, in any given season, your own reflections, and availability - can be data for your brand.

And all of the above should be data for your brand.

When combined, these are the things that can help move the needle forward even in the busiest seasons.

So how do we get that data then?

All you’ll need is a couple of hours on the calendar to take yourself through a mid-year brand audit - or even better, a quarterly brand audit (I’ve tried to do these monthly, and it is just tooo much to commit to).

And if you know me at all, you’ll know that yes, I already made you a template for how to get the data you need through a DIY brand audit.​

You can do this all in one session or over the course of 3 days.

You don’t need AI. but I do think that a Claude Pro account serves as a great way to help you identify patterns.

This free 3-part mini course gives you everything you need to audit your brand from the ground up — your audience, your content, and your impact — with video walkthroughs and fill-in-the-blank Notion templates for each step. Plus, you'll get two bonus resources: a Quarterly Brand Reflection template for checking in on your wins and growth every 90 days, and a Content Strategy AI Planning Framework packed with guided prompts to help you build a strategic content plan using AI. It's the brand strategy deep-dive you've been putting off — made simple.

If you are someone in the beginning stages of a pivot within your brand who is trying to figure out what to burn down vs. what to put on their hot dog (what a weird sentance) Taking some time over the next week, or even month to do a mid-year brand audit is going to give you the clarity to be working on the things that matter most this summer, creating content that is going to have the greatest impact - and doing all of the above in a way that you ya know dont hate/ dare I say maybe even enjoy? or have fun with?

Because all of us, myself included, want to be working less in the summer.

We are busy with other things. Overwhelmed by our own season of life - and trying our very best to balance business, self-care, and our families and social schedules. We need work to work more than ever.

And a strategy for this season is the best way to achieve just that.

Now that you've got the data - I'll see you back here next week, where we are going to talk about what parts and pieces every brand strategy needs + how to DIY them.