The more regularly you practice writing, the easier it will get and the more defined your brand's voice will become. You'll start by mimicking others, but over time, your true voice will emerge as you learn to get cozy in your own brand's skin. My weekly blog posts have been priceless for helping my own growth in this area.

Since blogging is a longer form of writing, it can seem pretty daunting and it's hard to know where to begin. What's helped me is to follow the same steps each time, which makes the writing process a whole lot smoother. I'm sharing these steps with you in the hopes that it will help you jump in and start honing your own voice. Now let's dig in!

There's no question that the right logo and visual identity are essential to your brand. They're the first thing your customers see—that all too critical first impression. But they aren't everything.

Even the most visually stunning brand will feel hollow without the right content and voice behind it. Crafting that compelling tone is essential to effective communication for your brand, and today I'm here to share tips on that very topic.

I'm a firm believer that every mistake and failure we experience teaches us something. However, when it comes to branding I'd love to save you the heartache of making a major mistake if I can.

Brand Positioning

So what is the number one mistake I see business owners make? To be honest, it comes down to just one thing—positioning. Brand positioning is all about how you frame your product or services. Not literal framing of course. I mean the way you talk about what you sell, how your brand sounds, and how you differentiate it from others in your industry.

When you take a misguided approach to positioning, your whole business will suffer. Like trying to play with darts with chocolate chips, not much will stick. So instead, let me drop some knowledge so I can help you sidestep that mess. I know this next truth will be a tough pill to swallow, but it's the key to helping you position your brand for the kind of success it deserves.

A year ago I was working as the creative director at a photography production company just outside Philadelphia. I knew I was bumping my head against the ceiling there, and I'd been getting the itch to start a business of my own for a while now. But with a newly purchased home and our wedding-planning well underway, I knew it would take time and some serious preparation before I could finally take that leap.

Podcasts to the rescue!

At the time, I had a pretty hefty commute that was proving to be one of the most draining facets of my work situation. I mean, few things will make you feel like you're wasting your life away quite like sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic twice daily. Luckily, that's when I finally discovered podcasts.

I adore music, but I'm jamming constantly while I work and I wanted something more productive for my drives. Podcasts really couldn't have popped up at a better time for me. When I was feeling trapped by my circumstances, podcasts were my lifeline. They gave me hope, helped me clarify my brand strategy, kept my outlook positive, and made my daily commutes a lot less dreadful.

So without further ado, I'm sharing my favorite podcasts with you. Some are more serious than others, but all of these podcasts have been total game-changers for me. I hope that they'll be a light for you in your own journey too!

We've made it to the final part of the Instagram series—yay us!! I started this whole thing off by covering why to separate personal and professional content and how multiple Instagram accounts can help. Then we went deep on the idea of curating what you share and why it makes such a profound difference for your brand.

QUALITY & CONSISTENCY ARE EVERYTHING

The more you share targeted content on a platform like Instagram, the more magic it will work for your business. Today's post is all about streamlining how you share so you can post even more killer content without driving yourself nuts. The key is creating standards for quality and consistency, then harnessing systems to support them.

Please note that I'm sharing the apps I use here. There are many other alternatives out there worth exploring. Do some research and play around, but in the meantime these have worked wonders for my brand's Instagram feed. So without further ado, let's dig in!

Welcome to Part 2 of Harnessing Instagram for Your Brand! In Part 1, I shared the in's and out's of keeping your personal content separate from your brand's Instagram account—why I do it, what my experience has been, and how having a 2nd account has set me free in a lot of ways.

Keeping your brand's feed strictly professional is absolutely one way to practice curating your feed. You're probably wondering, why should you curate your Instagram feed anyway? Well, I'll give you some stellar reasons to start curating today, and we'll dig even deeper into crafting your branded Instagram feed. Let's dig in!

A couple weeks back, I opened up to you guys about my belief that absolutely nothing is ordinary. My theory is that it's just a matter of shifting your perspective to discover the magic in your everyday life. Sounds great, but a bit vague, right?

Well, we're going to dig deeper and explore how you can channel this philosophy into your social media, specifically on Instagram. This is going to be another two-part post (I know! It's been a while) so buckle up. I'll share my own strategy, some practical examples, and recommendations for harnessing Instagram for your own brand.