brewing success: a guide to crafting your small business brand strategy
In a crowded marketplace, a brand strategy helps your business stand out. It defines what makes your business unique and why customers should choose your products or services over those of your competitors. It's essentially a potent tool for differentiation, trust-building, and attracting ideal clients. And it’s often an afterthought for most editors and book coaches.
It’s important to note that there are three important components that work together to create a cohesive and impactful brand presence: brand strategy, brand message, and brand identity. The brand message communicates the brand's essence, the brand strategy guides how it should be positioned and promoted, and the brand identity visually represents the brand to the audience. Effective coordination among these elements is essential for building a strong and memorable brand.
In this post, we’ll explore the different elements of creating a swoonworthy brand and dive into the creation of the Editors Tea Club brand, as well as the decisions that went into creating it.
Unveiling the Blueprint: Brand Strategy Demystified
Brand strategy is the comprehensive plan and framework that guides how a brand positions itself in the market, defines its target audience, differentiates itself from competitors, and achieves its long-term goals.
Your strategy is your roadmap for building and managing a brand over time. It outlines your brand's objectives, target audience, competitive positioning, and the tactics and channels used to convey the brand message.
Included in brand strategy are elements like market research, target audience analysis, competitive analysis, positioning, brand architecture, and marketing and communication plans.
Exploring the Brand Strategy of The Editors Tea Club
Target Audience
The Editors Tea Club's target audience primarily consists of freelance editors, independent book coaches, and editing professionals seeking a supportive and nurturing community. Their brand strategy focuses on addressing the unique needs and aspirations of this specific group of editors.
Brand Strategy Objective
The Editors Tea Club set out with a clear vision for its brand strategy—an intimate community of editors, a commitment to diversity, and unparalleled industry access.
It was important to explore the vision for The Editors Tea Club and to examine future goals, so that the brand strategy could grow with the group, rather than keeping them small.
The Editors Tea Club Goals
Create a community of raving fans.
Support members and make them feel seen and heard.
Advocate for diversity and inclusion in publishing.
Competition Analysis
Understanding where your brand fits within competing brands is crucial to finding your differentiating factor. The Editors Tea Club’s Differentiating Factors are to:
Establish an intimate and cozy community: Unlike larger editor groups, The Editors Tea Club fosters an intimate and cozy environment. This encourages editors to connect, share experiences, and offer mutual support. Central to their brand strategy is the creation of a close-knit community where editors can connect on a personal level, share their experiences, and provide support to one another. This sense of belonging is a hallmark of their brand.
Champion diversity and inclusion: One of the defining characteristics of the Editors Tea Club is its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Their brand strategy deliberately encourages editors from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to join the community. This commitment is not merely lip service but a fundamental aspect of their brand identity.
Facilitate industry access: Due to the intimate nature of the group, members have increased access to industry professionals, potential clients, or mentors within the editing field. This can facilitate professional growth and development.
Support professional development: The Editors Tea Club is dedicated to supporting editors in their professional journeys. Their brand strategy includes initiatives and resources aimed at helping members refine their skills and stay current with industry trends.
It’s important to keep your audience at the forefront of your brand and clearly define the problems or challenges your customers face. For The Editors Tea Club, we took note of editors feeling a lack of support and as though they're alone in their business, as well as troubles marketing themselves and potentially wanting to transition to full-time freelancing. We considered different ways we could support our audience.
Brand Message: Craft a Connection with Your Audience
Brand message is not just about words; it's the heart and soul of your brand's communication. It's the essence of what you stand for and how you want your audience to perceive you. Effective brand messaging goes beyond catchy slogans; it establishes a profound connection with your audience, stirs emotions, and conveys your brand's unique selling points.
Create an Emotional Connection
Your brand message is your chance to connect with your audience on a personal level. It's about evoking emotions that resonate with your target market. For instance, if your brand exudes warmth and inclusivity, your messaging should reflect these values, making your audience feel welcomed and valued.
Consistency and Cohesion
Consistency is the key to building a strong brand. Your brand message serves as the foundation for all your communication efforts. Whether it's your website copy, social media posts, or marketing materials, a consistent brand message ensures that every touchpoint reinforces the same narrative.
Taglines and Slogans
Taglines and slogans are the concise expressions of your brand message. They should encapsulate your brand's essence and values in a memorable and succinct manner. For example, Nike's "Just Do It" slogan conveys a sense of empowerment and action.
Mission Statements and Values
Your brand's mission statement and values provide the guiding principles for your brand message. They convey your purpose, the impact you aim to make, and the values you hold dear. These statements are essential in shaping your brand's identity.
The Editors Tea Club Brand Values: The Editors Tea Club’s close-knit community speaks to a welcoming, compassionate, and playful nature that a lot of larger editing organizations lack. Because of the smaller community, the Editors Tea Club lean into the fun (like tea-puns!)
The Editors Tea Club Mission Statement: The Editors Tea Club’s mission is to enhance participants’ personal and professional lives by offering a fun environment in which to share and learn, commiserate and celebrate, and improve our editing and business lives through education and communication.
We are at all times committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming community centered on the experiences of women, where editors who are women and individuals of underrecognized gender identities gather to support, encourage, and learn from each other.
Brand Identity: Visualizing Your Unique Brand
Brand identity is the visual and sensory representation of a brand. It includes the design elements and tangible aspects that consumers can see, hear, touch, and feel. It is how the brand presents itself to the world visually.
Your brand identity creates a recognizable and memorable image for the brand, fostering trust and loyalty among customers. It ensures consistency in your brand's visual representation across all touchpoints. Brand identity components include the logo, color palette, typography, imagery, packaging, and other visual and design elements.
The Editors Tea Club Brand Identity: When creating the brand identity for The Editors Tea Club, we first started with a Pinterest board to capture the essence of our ideal audience. We leaned into the fun and quirky, as well as the feeling of “home” and “being seen.”
Creating a visual identity that resonates with The Editors Tea Club's brand values was an exciting journey. We wanted every aspect of the visual identity to reflect the quirky, vintage, hand-crafted, heart-centered, and thoughtful vibes that emerged from our discussions, brand strategy and message, as well as our Pinterest board exploration.
The Mood Board: Our first step was to create a mood board that encapsulated these unique qualities. The mood board served as a visual reference point, helping us stay aligned with the desired brand personality throughout the design process. It became our creative compass, ensuring that every design element felt in harmony with the brand essence.
Color Palette and Logos: The choice of colors and logos was a pivotal part of our visual identity.
Color Palette: I was mindful not to choose colors that were overtly feminine, as inclusivity is a cornerstone of our brand. The goal was to create a palette that welcomes everyone, including our non-binary and trans women members. The colors we selected strike a balance, offering warmth and vibrancy without being exclusive.
Main Logo: The main logo draws inspiration from the concept of a drop cap, adding a touch of vintage elegance. We wanted it to feel like a warm invitation, much like the welcoming aroma of tea. The quirky lettering in the logo injects a sense of playfulness into our brand, aligning with our heart-centered and thoughtful approach.
Sub Logos and Sub Marks: I was inspired by tea for our sub logos, so I created a simple tea bag.
Fonts: Fonts play a crucial role in conveying the brand's tone and personality.
EFCO Brookshire: EFCO Brookshire takes the stage as the main header font, commanding attention and encapsulating the brand's unique identity. Its boldness mirrors the heart and soul of The Editors Tea Club and ties seamlessly into our logo.
Garet Book: I chose Garet Book as our main text font for its clean and easy-to-read qualities. It ensures that our communication is accessible and approachable, in line with our heart-centered values.
Libre Baskerville: Libre Baskerville serves as an accent font, adding a touch of sophistication and timelessness. It complements our primary font and enhances the vintage vibe of our brand.
Every element of our visual identity was meticulously chosen to reflect the heart and essence of The Editors Tea Club. From the mood board to the color palette, logos, and fonts, each choice contributes to creating a brand identity that welcomes all and evokes the spirit of warmth, inclusivity, and playful camaraderie that defines our community.
Craft Your Own Brand Strategy
Now that you've gained valuable insights into the world of brand strategy, messaging, and visual identity, it's time to put these concepts into action for your own business or brand. Here's how you can get started:
Reflect on Your Brand: Take a moment to reflect on your own business or personal brand. What are your unique qualities and values? What sets you apart from competitors? Jot down your initial thoughts and ideas.
Identify Your Target Audience: Who is your ideal audience or customer? Define their characteristics, needs, and preferences. Understanding your audience is key to effective brand strategy.
Craft Your Brand Message: Write down the core message you want to convey through your brand. What emotions do you want to evoke in your audience? How do you want them to perceive your brand?
Visualize Your Brand Identity: Consider the visual elements that represent your brand. What colors, fonts, and imagery align with your brand's personality and values? Create a mood board or rough sketches to visualize your ideas.
Set Brand Objectives: Outline your brand's short-term and long-term goals. What do you aim to achieve with your brand strategy? Having clear objectives will guide your efforts.
Explore Differentiators: Just like The Editors Tea Club, think about what makes you unique. What differentiates your brand in the marketplace? Highlight these aspects in your brand strategy.
Plan Your Next Steps: Create a roadmap for implementing your brand strategy. What actions will you take to communicate your brand message and visual identity to your audience? Set achievable milestones.
Seek Feedback: Don't hesitate to seek feedback from peers, mentors, or customers. Their insights can be invaluable in refining your brand strategy.
Remember, building a strong brand takes time and consistent effort. By taking these actionable steps, you're on your way to creating a brand that resonates with your audience and helps your business stand out in the crowded marketplace. Share your progress and experiences with us! We'd love to hear how your brand journey unfolds.
Tiffany Grimes (she/they) is a writer, book coach, and Squarespace web designer whose mission is to amplify marginalized voices through unflinching and inclusive book coaching and design. She’s the founder of Burgeon Design and Editorial and she hosts “The Residency,” a writing community, and “Revision Alchemy,” an online editing course for fiction and memoir writers.
She’s got an MFA in writing from Hamline University, craves stories that delve into the deepest truths, and is obsessed with her cats. She can often be found hiking, backpacking, or curled up with a good book and a cat in her lap. She’s the communications coordinator of the Editors Tea Club and the brand manager of LGBTQ+ Queer Editors Association.
