I had a really sucky website for a long time.
You know how many clients I booked from that sucky website?
0. Zip. Nada.
This website was about my writing career. I was a writer who didn’t know how to write a website.
In fact, I got a lot of positive feedback on my website. People loved the design, the layout, the writing.
But there is a big difference between people liking your website and people booking you and being able to pay your rent with it.
Then I discovered *website copywriting* and I built a brand.
This was honestly a game changer for me. I didn’t need a better business (but that happened too) I needed a brand that people remembered and wanted to engage with.
Building a brand that stood for something and had a clear offer has opened tons of doors for me. It’s allowed me to build much more meaningful relationships with other business owners, help more people by writing amazing website copy for them, and nurture an amazing on-brand newsletter full of engaged subscribers.
There is a difference between building a business and building a brand. Understanding that difference is a crucial step in growing the business of your dreams.
What is the difference between a brand and a business?
Before you get too caught up in this, yes, there is crossover between building a business and building a brand. At different points in your entrepreneurial journey, you should focus on each of these elements separately.
But at a basic level, here’s the difference:
Business: An organization that provides goods or services to consumers with the goal of making a profit.
Brand: The identity, personality, and perception an organization has to their consumers.
To show some perspective, you can probably think of people or business owners you know who have focused on growing a business, but haven’t invested in growing a brand.
A lot of freelancers (me) do this when starting out at first. It’s not too hard to start selling services (writing) to people without building a brand, since a lot of businesses need writers.
Some businesses might neglect building their brand because they get a lot of business from referrals. This isn’t a bad thing, but it might get tricky to get people to pick you over others when they aren’t referral clients because you haven’t solidified why your business is an awesome choice to invest in (branding.)
Yes, your brand and your business can (and should) overlap
On the flip side, it is possible to build a brand without having a business. This is the typical influencer, personal brand, or hobby blogger route. They start building a platform that has an identity, but isn’t necessarily driven to make a profit (at least at the beginning.)
Personal brands, influencers, etc. are all building a brand before they start bringing in money (usually.) So here’s a quick overview of the routes you can take:
Influencer → Business
Business → Brand (me)
You’re probably starting to see the different routes you can go here, and identifying which course you’ve taken yourself.
Which one should you focus on first – a business or brand?
If you’re anything like me, and you needed a way to pay your rent while you quit your 9-5, you need to focus on building a business first.
If you’re a service provider, this is an absolute must. You should focus on building your skills, your offers, and processes as a priority. It’s not that building a brand isn’t important at the beginning, it’s just that having a solid business foundation is more important.
Most business owners will agree that getting actually good at what you do is more important than having a cute logo or tagline.
When it actually comes to building your brand, you’ll feel so much more confident and get so much more out of it if you are certain your business isn’t going to be going through big changes anytime soon.
The exception here would be if you’re actually an influencer or hobby blogger right now (and making a business-level income isn’t a priority for you) then go off queen. Build that strong brand identity, which I’m guessing will how you attract those super-aligned brand partnerships you’re looking for.
The essentials for building a business
So, now that we’ve agreed that you’re ready to go the typical route of building a business before you build a brand, here’s the essentials checklist you need for building your business.
Focus on these for building your business:
– A problem you solve
– An offer (or offer suite)
– A process
– A target client
– A service you provide
It’s very rare that a business owner comes out the gate and has perfect clarity on each of these items when they start their business. I’ve certainly changed my business several times since I first started freelancing, which is only natural. Give yourself time to get aligned on what you really like and what you’re really good at.
Once you’ve NAILED these down, then it actually is super beneficial to get clear on your brand.
The essentials for building a brand
People automatically think a brand equals a logo, and that’s not entirely true (it’s not entirely false either.)
Remember, a brand is how people perceive your business. Typically, this will involve:
– An identity (logo, colors, name, font, graphics)
– A message (the story your brand takes your customers through)
– A persona (the tone and characteristics of your brand)
– A mission (what your brand stands for and works towards)
Yes, some of these are visual in nature (which you’ll get working with a brand designer) but some you’ll need a copywriter or brand strategist to help you with. And yes, it’s possible to do some of this yourself. It’s just the tying-it-all-together that helps really bring your brand and business to life.
Need help with blending it all together?
Without a doubt, creating an amazing website is one of the best ways to build both your brand and business.
A website isn’t just a brochure of your services. It’s a way to take your audience through the experience of your brand. It invokes a feeling that makes people want to keep coming back.
The TL;DR: better website = better business and brand
And if you need help getting more eyes to your brand and business (and getting people obsessed with you) here’s how I can help:
Check out my copywriting services: Need some conversational copy that is optimized to grow your business and your brand? Check out my services here.
Subscribe to my newsletter: Marketing tips, weekly inspiration, and copy direction, all in one not-so-formal newsletter. Subscribe to the wired & inspired newsletter here.
Book a discovery call: Not sure what’s right for your business right now? Let’s have a virtual coffee date.
Follow me on social media if you need more copywriting and marketing tips on your feed.
