Behind the Scenes of My Rebrand
If you’ve ever wondered if, when, or why you should rebrand or update your website copy, then, friend, this blog post is for you. I’ve been in business for five years now and I had the same website since day one. Over the past year, I reached a turning point and realized it was time to kick things up a notch and take my brand and business to the next level.
In this post, I’m going to share the reasons behind why I rebranded, my inspiration, and I’ll also share how my messaging shifted. Because the truth is even more so than the imagery, pretty logo and bright new brand color palette, my positioning and copy are the most important and drastic changes I made, even though at first glance the photos and colors are what grab your attention.
Let me take you back to the beginning of this long, strange trip.
I started dreaming up my new brand last March, when I enrolled in Marie Forleo’s B-School.
I was four years into my business and the demand for my services was growing fast. I was busier than ever and generating more revenue than I ever had before. But even though the evolution was ridiculously exciting, I felt completely overwhelmed and unfocused. I was working on a million kinds of projects, meanwhile I wasn’t working on my business at all.
I realized that I needed some guidance in clarifying my vision and defining what I want in life and in business.
B-School gave me the perspective and roadmap I needed to create that vision for my business (which P.S., even today, is still evolving).
This new brand and corresponding website are the product of this process.
Everything from my color and photo choices, to the words on my site are a reflection of the vibrant and quirky clients I hope to attract and the energy I aim to put out into the world.
To give you some context, here’s a screen grab of my old website, which a friend designed for me when I first launched my business five years ago.
Get a load of that sweet headline …
“For all your writing, editing and content strategy needs.”
ALL OF THEM!!!!
I still get the giggles when I read this. I mean, clearly I thought pretty highly of myself.
The crazy thing is I meant it.
If you were an editor for the Tampa Bay Times and you needed a profile on a local teacher-turned-attorney, Erika Holmes was hot on the trail!
If you were a marketing director and you needed an extremely dry case study on your software’s amazing accounting capabilities, I was your girl (so what if I dreaded sitting down to actually do the work?).
Need some light proofreading? Why the heck not?
This was my menu of services — and by the way, this was after I had already pared it down a bit.
Five years ago, I had no niche. No specialty. No real vision for my business. I didn’t necessarily think of myself as a “business owner,” let alone a brand.
I was just a freelancer. A writer. A new mom who desperately wanted to ditch my hour-long commute and be able to take a bubble bath whenever I damn well pleased make my own schedule and not feel guilty about calling in when my son was sick.
I thought that being the copywriter, editor and content strategist “for anyone and everyone” was a pretty solid marketing plan.
And it worked, for a while.
But as my business grew and I began realizing the kind of work I absolutely loved doing, the signs pointing to Rebrand Land became crystal clear.
Here are the three recurring signs that made it clear it was time for me to make a change.
- I was taking on a huge range of clients and projects that didn’t light me up because I wasn’t being specific enough about who I wanted to work with and what kind of work I wanted to do.
- I was saying “yes” to a lot of work out of fear that something else might not come along.
- I was helping my clients establish themselves as experts in their niche, but I was neglecting to do so for myself. Ouch. This one hurts to admit.
Can you relate to any of this?
The truth is, my brand and my website were solid but safe.
My site was beautiful, yes. Well written, of course (dusting off that shoulder).
But it failed to speak directly to the type of clients I absolutely love working with — creative, slightly quirky, vibrant, colorful personalities and brands who want to stand out and have a little fun with their marketing.
It also failed to tell clients what I can do best to help their business, which is write personality-driven website and email copy.
Will I still take on other kinds of projects? Of course I will if it makes sense for me and my client.
But if I can have total control of my marketing message and do everything I can to attract the kind of work I truly love doing, well … why wouldn’t I?
So I began marketing myself as the go-to copywriter for all-things website copy in Facebook Groups, at networking events, in casual conversation. Magic things started happening.
Last year alone, I wrote copy for 10 websites, proving that how you market and position yourself truly is a reflection of what comes back to you.
Behind the scenes, I was treating myself to the Erika Holmes Client Experience and gave my brand and website a makeover. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I’m pretty much obsessed with my new home on the web.
The imagery is bright, energetic, playful.
And the new headline is pretty damn clear:
“Website copy that stands out, for bold business owners who refuse to blend in.”
Boom. In one sentence you know exactly what kind of copy I specialize in and for whom.
I share this with you, because the words on your website and your marketing materials are directly linked to who you attract or don’t attract.
Picture your dream client right now. When they land on your home page, is it clear enough that you offer exactly what they want and/or need?
Are you speaking their language?
Are they thinking, “Yess!!!! This is my person!!”
Stay tuned, because in the coming weeks, I’m going to share how you can make just a few slight tweaks to your website and see some serious results.
