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Day: June 28, 2019

June 28, 2019

7 Tips to Improve Your Branding (That You Can Start Today)

Branding can sound scary, especially to those who don’t fully understand what all goes into it. But improving your branding can be as simple as making sure everything is consistent, all the way up to making sure your voice, colors, logo, and look all tell the story of your business.

JSL Marketing & Web Design loves finding the unique ‘why’ of our clients, which is why we love branding so much! It is one of the ways you can show the world who you are, what you do, and (most importantly) why.

Need a shortened version of the above? Here’s a simple definition of ‘branding’ by Entrepreneur.com and Google’s dropdown feature snippet.

definition of branding screenshot

Now, let’s find out how we can improve your branding with just a few steps – steps you can even start today!

1. Your Logos

First, you need to decide on a logo design, one you absolutely love and will never part from (at least, until you rebrand/redesign your style). After you’ve designed and fully committed – you need to stick to it.

Now, this isn’t to say you cannot have a couple of slight variations (inverted colors, emblem or abbreviation vs full name) but it does mean you can’t have a different logo in every location on every page and on every platform. This will confuse customers at best and make you seem unpolished or unprofessional at worst. Branding is all about building trust, and trust comes from consistency.

Remember ‘close enough’ is only for horseshoes and hand grenades.

Check out our logo variations below for a visual example of what we mean:

JSL Marketing Brand Standards

JSL Marketing Round Logo 2

JSL Marketing New Logo

New JSL Marketing Logo

2. Your Colors

Of course, you probably noticed that all of the JSL Marketing & Web Design logos are in a similar color scheme – that is completely intentional. Because if you suddenly saw our logo in red, it would seem wrong, off, and other.

That is all because of our branding.

We consistently use the same colors, the same fonts, and the same logos to build trust, feelings of dependability, and a professional image.

Now just because you mainly see our green, blue, and white doesn’t mean you have to choose 3 colors and exclusively stick to those, instead, consider having one or two primary colors, a couple secondary ones, and even a couple tertiary ones to use for pops of color or CTAs (calls to action).

See our full color-scheme below:

JSL Marketing Color Scheme

3. Your Voice

Voice is incredibly important in building your brand online, because one of the main communication forms online is through writing. This means you need a strong angle or a strong ‘style’ of how you write in order to portray your voice through your words, through the screen.

Take the ‘voice’ of three huge digital marketing and SEO teachers of our time – Backlinko, Neil Patel, and Search Engine Journal.

Each is personal to varying degrees, each is educational, and each talk about similar subjects, but there are hard and fast differences between their voices, or, the style in which they speak.

This is important to remember when you are researching your ideal client or customer. Think of how they want to be spoken to, and then make sure your voice matches that demographics needs and wants.

4. Your Look

We’ve talked about the importance of web design before, but it must be mentioned within the realm of branding as well – make your site look nice and function well.

Because no matter your consistency, color scheme or voice – if your site is a flop, then your business will be a flop.

Most online users judge your company from your website, so make sure you aren’t losing their business from an aesthetic standpoint before you ever get the chance to win it.

5. Your Content Plan

Your visibility is important, and one of the best ways to ‘get out there’ is with a content plan. This can include updates to your website’s copy, blogs, email marketing, eBooks, white pages, fact sheets, infographics, and more.

But what’s most important to remember is that content is king and putting out quality content will show you as a thought leader, and a brand that gives value through its content and knowledge.

An innovative brand that writes worth-while content? That will certainty breed some serious trust in your customer base.

6. Your Social Media

This is actually a subsection of content marketing, but it deserves its own spot due to its importance. Make sure your social media’s branding is just as polished as your website’s and make sure you are consistent in voice, logo, colors, style, and even posting schedule.

Social media is a great way to get your brand out there and increase your brand awareness. If you are a new company, then consider starting off with some paid ads to get in front of your customer base. This can be especially great if you are just starting an SEO strategy and need leads fast, since SEO can take more time to see results than PPC ads.

7. And (Of Course) SEO

We’ve been dancing around it for the last few tips, so surely you knew we’d end up here. But it is true – branding needs SEO to truly thrive.

From content marketing to web design that converts, to social media posts and blogs that are targeted and optimized, you need SEO if you’re online.

If branding interests you (or content marketing, web design, or simply SEO in general) then contact JSL Marketing & Web Design today!

We have created in-depth brand books for clients, logo designs, website, and social media plans that perfectly mesh with their desired tone, voice, and company culture.

Give us a try and see what we can do for your company and brand!

June 28, 2019

How I Deal with Success & Imposter Syndrome [5 Tactics]

Did you know that Psychology Today’s very first tip in achieving and dealing with success has to do exclusively with imposter syndrome?

Success and Imposter syndrome definition

That’s because people often feel that they do not deserve the success they have received – this usually goes one of three ways:

  1. They fight the undeserving feeling so hard they ultimately reverse it, becoming big-headed. This leads them to feel that they deserve every bit of success they have, and that success is owed to them. This isn’t an ideal situation, as it breeds arrogance, egotism, and entitlement.
  2. They fully fall into imposter syndrome and feel that they are not worthy of their success, have not done enough, and become afraid that others will realize they are ‘a fraud’. Their fear of being found out and the guilt that the carry wears them down and ultimately leads to poor decisions and poor self-esteem. This is also not ideal, as it goes far too far in the opposite direction.
  3. They accept that their success is a mix of their hard work and luck, or, both their efforts (which they fully control) and opportunity (which is less controlled). This leads to a healthy balance between owning your success and being grateful for it. This is the ideal, as it breeds a heart of gratitude, giving, but still leaves room to be proud of your hard work and its ultimate payoff.

But how do you become that third type? How do you make sure that neither arrogance nor imposter syndrome takes hold?

Well, for starters, you can follow the same five tips that I did when my company skyrocketed to the forefront of the DFW digital marketing and web design industry – a hugely competitive market that JSL Marketing & Web Design has been dominating for years.

1. Remember Your Failures – They Can Teach You

Remember that one failure that really sticks with you. Maybe you tried to start a business and it flopped. Maybe you tried to get a big sale and you lost them. Maybe you tried to learn a new skill just to discover it was much harder than you expected. Maybe you even worked for a company and it ultimately wasn’t a good fit – whatever your ‘failure’ was – hang onto that memory.

You can use this as a way to stay humble, as well as a lesson. There is something to learn from every situation, whether it be a win or a loss, and remembering to always look for that lesson is the first step in becoming successful (and ultimately, dealing with that success).

2. Remember Your Wins, Too – They Can Motivate You

The inverse of the above tip is true too – your successes are great lessons and great motivators as well. Make sure you don’t ruminate on your failures so much you forget about your big wins.

Remember, in order to be ‘type number three’ from above, it’s all about balance. Balancing your hard work with gratitude, and your acknowledgment of failures with successes!

3. Comparing Helps No One – So, Don’t Do It

You will probably never be Bill Gates or Steve Jobs – and that’s okay.

But comparing yourself (to those above or below) isn’t healthy and helps no one. Comparing yourself to those less successful will simply inflate your ego and comparing yourself to those more successful will dishearten you.

The only person you should ever compare yourself to – is your past self. And make sure you blow them out of the water!

4. Don’t Advertise Your Success (& Don’t Hide It)

Here is yet another tip that directly related to balance – don’t shout your success, and don’t hide it. Your success isn’t the entirety of you, which is why you shouldn’t advertise it as if it was, but it is still a part of you, which means you shouldn’t hide it.

Instead of taking one of these two extremes, let your success be a small part of your overall self. Meaning, it can come up at times, it can be acknowledged at times, but it isn’t the only conversation piece or tried-and-true small talk topic you have in your arsenal.

Lucky & Grateful VS Undeserving & Pretending

This is where it all comes to a head, isn’t it?

Ultimately, you should feel lucky and grateful for your success, not undeserving and pretending, or arrogant and entitled. If you focus on having a grateful heart and a thankful outlook, then you will be able to avoid both imposter syndrome and the possibility of straining your neck by how large your head gets.

Find the Healthy Balance Between Owning Your Success & Being Grateful for it

If you want to learn more about my company, myself, or read more articles written by me, stay tuned as my personal website www.JamesLeff.com will be launching soon.

Want to jump right into Sales Coaching or Business Consulting? Contact me here!