How to stand out in a crowded market with branding tips for female entrepreneurs

It’s no secret at all that you are not alone in what you have to offer in terms of services in the online space – and even in the world. Because of that, it’s easy, and common, to get down on yourself thinking ‘how and why would someone want to work with me in such a crowded space, and how do I even stand out?’

Plot twist: while there are other entrepreneurs in the same space, not one of them is you. It’s absolutely crucial that you build a strong brand and that you’re confident in that brand. Once you have those two pieces, I guarantee the worry of standing out fades majorly, and you’re on your way to building a mighty business.

So let’s get into it! Here are my 4 branding tips for female entrepreneurs:

 

#1 Get clear on your passion and purpose

And I mean crystal clear. At the end of the day, you should be doing work that you absolutely love and that fills your cup all the way up. The beauty of being clear on your passion and purpose is not only that it makes content creation and marketing your business a breeze, but it allows you to be absolutely authentic in the way that you show up.

My tip for this is to define the following:

• What do you absolutely love to do, and what comes easy to you?
• How do you like to show up for people? Example: by inspiring and empowering them

Write those answers down and make them the core of what you do and how you perform your services to your ideal clients and customers. 

 

#2 Define your ideal client and perform market research 

A major mistake I see many entrepreneurs making (and I was once one of them) is not having an ideal client in mind. This leads to ‘throwing spaghetti’ at the wall in the world of not just content creation – but service offerings. 

Point blank: your service offerings should be derived from a mix of what your ideal client is looking for and how you are passionate about helping them, or you’ll never sell out the way you want.

Additionally, having an ideal client in mind narrows down prospects in the best way possible. By speaking directly to your ideal client ( let’s say she’s a 21-28 year old single digital nomad) you’ll set yourself apart from Sally, your competitor, whose ideal client is a 25-30 year old full time stay-at-home mom.

My tips for this:

• Define your ideal client’s age, location, industry, familial status and personality type 
• Then, perform market research to that demographic (reach out to people!) and ask them about their fears, goals and struggles (of course, as it pertains to what you have to offer)

Bonus tip: our ideal client is often some version of ourselves – because our experience speaks volumes and if we’ve gotten ourselves from point A to point B, then we can help others do the same. Keep that in mind as you navigate the ideal client waters.

 

#3 Create content that speaks right to their fears, goals, and struggles – in a disruptive way

You have the market research – now use it. There is so much psychology involved in selling, but you don’t need a psychology degree or to know the ins and outs of it to be able to successfully perform it without wanting to pull your hair out or feel uncomfortable.

It all comes down to how you’re speaking to them and tapping into their fears, goals and struggles.

These all come from the market research you perform. If you successfully tap into the fears, goals and struggles, you’ll find yourself not only growing your loyal audience but converting them into paying clients.

My tips for this:

• Every time you create any piece of content, go back to your market research and reference the fears, goals and struggles. Does your piece of content touch any of them? Make sure it does!
• Make sure your content is disruptive – shatter their fears, help them visualize their goals, and empathize with their struggles. Paint a picture that puts your ideal client in the exact place they want to be.
• Have a solid content strategy for creating and distributing your content

 

#4 Make sure you are visually branded

We’ve covered messaging, let’s get into the pretty stuff. Visual branding and visual identity is my absolute favorite part of building an online brand and it is 3000% necessary. In English: the way that you ‘look’ online matters.

Most entrepreneurs graze over having a branded presence or listen to people who tell them ‘you can worry about this later.’

I’m putting my foot down right there. I like to say: you CAN build the plane while flying it – a pretty AF plane that just gets more beautiful with time.

I phoned-a-graphic-design-expert in the creative space to give her two cents, and to further drill the point home; here’s what Shyne Webster of Designed by Shyne had to say: “In reality, building the plane while flying [aka visually branding your biz] can help you build brand recognition & loyalty even while you’re still growing your business! You don’t have to wait until you’re Insta-famous to create a strong foundation. I mean, you wouldn’t want to order something at a restaurant and get a totally different entree, right? So in the same way, your people want to know what you’re bringing to the table from the start. The more accurately you brand yourself NOW, the less confusion and plot-twists your audience will face later on [and the more they trust you]. It’s never too early to be specific and purposeful in the way you interact with people!”

With that said, it’s important you know that any visual piece of content that you publish needs to look and feel like YOU. I’m talking about personalized photography, stock imagery, Instagram graphics, Facebook event covers, Instagram story text – the whole shebang.

If someone were scrolling through their Instagram feed or happened to see a Facebook ad of yours, it’s important that they can quickly recognize (through your branding) that this is you. Be a thumb stopper with your content and grab more attention from your ideal clients by being visually branded. It’s as simple as that. 

My tips for this:

• The most efficient way to this is to work with a professional designer who can successfully brand you and your business
• Ballin’ on a budget and can’t afford custom branding? That’s totally cool. Pick a color palette you love and STICK WITH IT as well as 1-2 fonts you love as well and make sure those are the fonts you use in your graphics with your photos. 
• If you’re using Canva to create graphics, etc, use your color palette as well as the 1-2 fonts you picked out. It’s OK to use the templates so long as you are applying your own branding and making it unique to you – because remember, everyone and their mother is using Canva. 
• You can also purchase Canva templates that you can customize, such as this one.
• When publishing photo content, consider a few things: find a Lightroom filter that fits within the colors of your brand and wear colors that compliment your brand. #BrandedAF
• As you build your business, consider upgrading pieces of your branding by working with a professional designer. 

 

My final thoughts: 

There are so many factors that come into play with making your brand successful, but by following these tips, you’ll find it’s not at all as hard as it seems.

All you need to do is be strategic about the way that you show up in your business.

Was this helpful, and do you want to learn more? Take it a step further and download my free Efficient AF Marketing Method workbook to help you put together killer content for your brand.