6 of the Best Branding Resources for Your Biz

6 of the Most Killer Branding Resources For You & Your Biz

Anything and everything you could need to know as it relates to branding can be found on the internet, but you already know that. But what you may not know is that a lot of the branding content out there actually doesn’t do a great job at explaining the true mechanics of a successful brand and can steer you down the wrong path.

For example, the number of articles out there that talk about branding strictly from a design standpoint with no other insight behind your brand far outweighs the good stuff that encompasses strategy, content and design.

Since we’re guessing you would like to do things successfully from the get-go when it comes to your brand, here are our tried and true resources that we’ve found (and continually returned to) that you can keep in your brand arsenal:

6 best branding resources for your brand1.) Book: The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier

This is a quick read, but it’s one you’ll come back to again and again.

We listed this first because it needs to be the first thing you read before you begin anything related to building your brand or giving it a makeover.

Why? Because this book will make you realize what you may have thought was your brand (ahem, your logo) is not actually your brand.

The premise of “The Brand Gap” is: your brand isn’t just how it looks, it’s how it feels, and your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what they say it is. “They” being your dream customers.

2.) Blog: Seth’s Blog by Seth Godin

We hope you’ve heard of Seth Godin, but if you haven’t, you’ll need to set aside some time to dive in to all the good advice he serves up on his blog.

All of his blog posts are quick reads, but packed with serious insight you can latch on to and use to boost your brand’s impact and focus on what matters most when it comes to connecting with your customers.

Whether you’re the CEO, marketing director, a customer service representative, or all of the above (shout out to all the solopreneurs out there), you’ll find Seth’s Blog chock full of great info.

P.S. – Pick up Seth’s book, “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.” It will change your business.

3.) Podcast: Being Boss by Kathleen Shannon and Emily Thompson 

For all the boss ladies out there, this pick is for you.

Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative and Emily Thompson of Indie Shopogaphy have combined forces for this podcast made for creative entrepreneurs that is seriously kick ass.

They have episodes dedicated to explaining how to define your brand, attract your dream customers, and carve out your own professional identity and process among other episodes that cover things like finances, hiring employees, and running your business while on vacation.

Being Boss is invigorating in this new age of being a creative entrepreneur, it’s completely unique, and it will give you a much needed confidence boost for bringing in the power behind your brand.

4.) TED Talk: Start With Why by Simon Sinek

In case you haven’t heard, your “why,” or you’re reason for doing what you do everyday and the reason people should care, is the ultimate driving force behind your brand.

Your why is what will inspire you to action, your customers to buy, and your brand to evolve while staying true to its core.

If you read The Brand Gap (and you’re definitely going to), Sinek’s TED talk will add another touchpoint to the emotional factor of your brand that’s discussed there.

The bottom line is: people don’t buy what you sell, they buy why you sell it. Give it a listen and then tell us, what’s your why? 

5.) Paul Jarvis…that is all. 

Okay, so this Paul Jarvis isn’t specific to branding, he offers so much more. Paul provides a new way of thinking and doing that puts the emphasis on living a life of doing.

If you find yourself feeling stretched too thin or more busy than productive, Paul can give you guidance for your freelance or small business lifestyle that will flip your way of thinking upside down so you can contribute your time and energy to the things that matter most in your personal and professional life.

Your brand will benefit from following him (or stalking), trust me.

6.) A Community That’s All Your Own

Sorry, you’ve got to do the work to find this one.

One of the greatest branding resources you can have for your brand is finding your own community. I could do a whole blog post just on that, actually I just might, but for now, work on scoping out some online communities (Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups or Twitter chats) that you can participate in.
Fostering community around your brand is one of the best ways to get genuine feedback as well as guidance on what it is you can be doing to continue molding your brand in to the powerhouse it has the potential to be!

What are some of your favorite resources that you use to get great branding and business insight? Let me know in the comments… psst this would be a good starting point for that building community point we just talked about.

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