An Easy Tip to Create Content that Connects

Creating good content is like building friendship with a best friend—you want to focus on one to connect deeply.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseySeptember 8, 2021Brand Strategy

My learning journey so far has showed me that there’s greater power in sharing my ideas than keeping them for my own. It has proven to me over and over again that my fears about running out of ideas are simply not true.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseySeptember 6, 2021Brand Strategy

How to Present a Brand Strategy

It was through brand strategy that I learned this: the best part about being in this creative journey is that there isn’t a fixed framework that works like magic forever.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseySeptember 1, 2021Brand Strategy

Ways to Give More Value as a Brand Strategist

You are not just a person who works with clients to help solve the client's problems through brand strategy, but you are a business. This means that there are many other things outside of client work that are just as important as doing the actual client work.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 30, 2021Brand Strategy

Why Client Work is so Stressful

Saying yes to all the client’s request and not knowing the goal of the project leads to a lot of assumptions because it is based on how much your client likes your work or not. It is this guesswork that creates anxiety.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 25, 2021Brand Strategy

The Easy First Step to Start Getting Clients

What I did didn't get me clients because I was focusing on the wrong things: strangers—people who are far from me, people who are outside of my own circle and community.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 23, 2021Brand Strategy

The Freedom to Create Work that Matters

Work that matters cares about getting people to their goals and solving people’s needs. It doesn’t care about trends because it understands what’s trendy doesn’t always make things better.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 18, 2021Brand Strategy

The Two Main Characters in a Brand’s Story

Brand strategist, don’t fall into the trap of focusing on trends and storylines. Focus on understanding the brand and their customers.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 16, 2021Brand Strategy

Your Ideal Client Persona Might Not be Ideal Anymore!

Your ideal client persona today might not be your ideal client persona 10 years from now, not because the potential clients you have now become different people, but mostly because you might not be doing the same things 10 years from now.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 11, 2021Brand Strategy

You Have Permission to Quit Brand Strategy

It was never about defining it once and for all, but it is about the journey. It is about seeing the process as something bigger than the destination.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 9, 2021Brand Strategy

How to Sell Brand Strategy Without Portfolio

This is your first real brand strategy client. You have nothing to show them, except a few trial brand roadmaps that you don't want to show. You have a workshop template, but that's a template not an actual evidence of client work. Oh no.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 4, 2021Brand Strategy

Which Customer is “The One”?

It’s just like figuring out the criteria for that guy or girl who could be “The One” for your best friend. In the case of a brand, it’s figuring out the customer persona who is “The One” for the brand.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyAugust 2, 2021Brand Strategy

Two Superpowers of Great Brand Strategists

If curiosity and empathy are essential to brand strategy, what can brand strategists do to cultivate these two things and make them a part of their daily practice?

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJuly 28, 2021Brand Strategy

How Brand Strategy Ties a Brand Together

The same way that a recipe provides an anchor for bakers to know how much of each ingredient to put in the mixing bowl, brand strategy provides an anchor for you and your client to know what kind of visuals need to be created and what kind of texts need to be drafted.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJuly 26, 2021Brand Strategy

Brand Strategists, Ditch Your Frameworks!

Nailing all the brand attributes, writing the most perfect positioning statement, creating the most complete stylescape... sometimes I wonder, do we even need all of this?

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJuly 21, 2021Brand Strategy

Are You Doing Brand Strategy Correctly?

There is only one right way to do brand strategy, which is whatever way that helps your clients get to their goals.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJuly 14, 2021Brand Strategy

When Clients Don’t Know Their Ideal Client

Although this challenge might sound daunting at first read, it is a challenge that you can overcome simply by taking a step back and approaching the discussion from a different angle.

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJuly 7, 2021Brand Strategy

What if Clients Won’t Hire You?

The underlying reason why we all want to make the pivot from just doing designs to making strategy the main part of our process, is because we want to do meaningful and purposeful work. How can we achieve any of that if we can’t find clients?

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJuly 5, 2021Brand Strategy

When $10k for Brand Strategy Shocks Clients

What do you do when your client starts backing away after hearing that you charge $10k for brand strategy?

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJune 30, 2021Brand Strategy

Overcoming the What-ifs in doing Brand Strategy

What if you don’t know how to sell strategy? What if you only know design, and you know nothing about brand strategy? What if you quit your job and then nobody wants to hire you?

All, Brand StrategyMelinda LivseyJune 28, 2021Brand Strategy

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