Why it makes no sense to create content without brand strategy
Creating content without brand strategy: The dread and anxiety of endless revisions.
Before learning about brand strategy, I used to feel anxious when I receive new emails from clients.
I got nervous from seeing the names of my current clients sending in their revision notes because I dread the revision process. And I felt uneasy seeing names of new people because I just didn't know whether I'd be able to do a great job. The process of figuring out everything on my own was a dread. Yes, that was the whole theme: dreadful.
Whenever I started a new project, the guessing game would start all over again. I'd try to minimize the 'guessing' by asking for as many references as they could give me. From there, I would try my best to replicate the style. But at some point, I found myself out of words.
Even though I had like some information from the clients, it was so limited it could hardly make up a page of a website. I had to scrape through dictionaries and my own brain to find the words, but often they don't sound like the client. Which made sense... because it wasn't my client's voice, it was an edited version of my own voice.
Whenever I started a new project, the guessing game would start all over again.
I was grateful that I get to be paid for doing what I was good at and loved doing, but looking back it wasn't a fulfilling season. I used to think that in the creative industry, you can't know what makes a good writing or design, everything will be based on subjective opinions because it's "art". I thought that it will always be a "hit and miss" with my clients because every client will have their own preferences.
I didn't know how to bridge the business goals with the creative work—be it copywriting or visuals, because I never asked about their business goals. It never crossed my mind.
Brand strategy: the thing that binds everything together.
When it comes to building a brand and business, every aspect matters.
You can't just draft out the copy of your website and have someone design the layout without understanding what's written on it. You can't set up systems that make your workflow more efficient if your manager doesn't know the culture and lifestyle you'd like to pursue in your brand and business.
The designer, copywriter, operations manager, virtual assistant—all these people and everything they create need to work together towards one unified goal. And the thing that binds everything together is strategy.
Whatever text you choose to put out has its specific place and purpose—no content, post or blurbs are accidental.
Strategy for copy means mapping out what success looks like for your content, who you serve and what they need, and how you can help them solve that need. And then afterwards ask ourselves: What kind of content can we share to help our audience draw the connection?
It's all the fundamental principles of strategic thinking applied specifically to the content you have in mind. It ensures that whatever text you choose to put out, the text has its specific place and purpose—no content, post or blurbs are accidental.
With brand strategy, we're answering the question how to translate what you already know by heart about your brand and business, into a writing piece that connects you with your audience.
Placing strategy at the foundation also means that I'm not trying to create a distinct voice for you. Your voice isn't something created, it is something you discover. It is something that you find within. Every brand actually has a voice, it's just a matter of figuring out what that is and how we can show that voice in a way that the audience can relate to.
It wasn't possible to discover this voice without strategy workshops. To know your voice, we have to dig deep into your 'why'. With brand strategy, we're answering the question how to translate what you already know by heart about your brand and business, into a writing piece that connects you with your audience.
With brand strategy, there’s no more shooting in the dark.
It is crazy how much everything changed once your creative work is based on a solid strategy. You give more value to your clients and you elevate your process. I feel like everything becomes a lot more seamless because I'm not making stuff up in the hopes that my client will like it.
I'm transforming their stories and their own words into articles, case studies, and social posts. I don't get many revisions anymore and I'm certain it's not because of my writing skills, it's has more to do with everything that comes before the writing process.
Strategy helps us produce creative work that doesn't shoot in the dark. It gives us a basis on what to create and which direction our creative work needs to go. It even helped me leave my fixed mindset behind and embrace collaboration. It taught me to embrace digging deeper and seeing my client as a partner to experiment and learn together with, instead of someone I need to fear in the project.
Brand strategy helps us produce creative work that doesn't shoot in the dark. It gives us a basis on what to create and which direction our creative work needs to go.
And you know what? I don't worry about running out of ideas like I used to because it's not up to me! My biggest role is to draw out those ideas from my clients, to brainstorm together and be inspired together with my clients as we figure out what to write next.
While I won’t always know what to write when I started the project, now I always feel confident and inspired at the start of new projects because I understand my client, their goals, and the people they serve. What a difference a strategic mindset brings!
Things to ponder
If you're writing your own content and wondering how you can incorporate strategy into your process, you can start by asking these questions:
What do you want your content to accomplish for your business?
Why now? What prompted you to start thinking about writing content?
What do you want people to do after reading your content?
Who will read your content and why would they read it? (What will prompt them to read?)
If you were to share content right now, what do you already have? (Ex.: Stories, client work, tips, etc.)
If you need help untangling your thoughts and mapping out your content or case study, let's connect. I'd love to hear your story!
Choose joy,
Lev.
