It’s really hard to build an authoritative brand when you string together random Canva templates. Random colors + random fonts = random results. I don’t know about you, but “random results” aren’t my cup of tea. 

If you want to build authority and signal competence to your target market, then you need to create a visual identity that aligns your unique personality and audience avatar with a design aesthetic to support your business goals.

Today I want to show you how to create this type of visual identity for your brand so you can look expensive and attract your dream clients. 

The Two Stages of Visual Branding—And Why You Need Both

When it comes to branding your business, there are two stages where most entrepreneurs stumble.

Stage #1: Figuring out what your visual identity should look like.

Stage #2: Figuring out how to maintain a cohesive visual identity across your entire digital presence.

Let’s tackle them one at a time.

Give yourself extra time to identify your brand energetics.

Stage 1: What Should Your Visual Identity Look Like?

Too many eager beavers jump straight to the fun part of branding, like choosing fonts, colors, and logos. And hey, I don’t blame them. I like fun things too! But what they don’t realize is that an effective visual identity is primarily an inside job. So when you skip straight to the external stuff, you jangle together a misaligned brand that never quite feels right. 

(E.g. Just because your favorite colors are turquoise and purple doesn’t mean they are the right colors for your brand.) 

So please, before you even touch the digital canvas, you MUST get clear on your brand’s energetic signature. Here are four questions to help you identify your unique energetic signature:

1. What values does your business stand for?
2. What core beliefs do you hold about yourself?
3. What core beliefs do you hold for the people you serve? 
4. What emotions do you want to inspire in people when they see your brand?

If you think these questions are fluffy, think again! These questions are the requisite inputs to creating an aligned, authoritative brand. So spend some time reflecting on your answers. If you’re an early or mid-stage entrepreneur, give yourself extra time to identify your brand energetics because there’s a lot in flux during this stage of business growth. 
  
(Tip: Once you’re clear on your brand’s energetic signature, only then can you translate it to an external design aesthetic. To do that, you can pay a branding agency or a qualified graphic designer. Or you can take the Brand Quiz to get a personalized visual identity based on your brand energetics for free.)

Stage 2: How Do You Keep Your Branding Consistent Across Your Entire Digital Presence? 

Hoooboi. Stage two is tricky. Once you do the hard work of figuring out what your visual identity should look like, you have to roll out your branding across every (mostly digital) touchpoint. 

Brace yourself. We’re talking:

• Email signatures
• Email headers 
• Email avatars
• Social media profiles
• Social media feeds
• Pitch decks
• Proposals
• Invoices 
• Webinar slides
• Workshop slides
• Landing pages
• Media kits
• Lead magnets
• PDF downloads
• Website(s)
• Blogs 
• Case studies 
• Video thumbnails
• Podcast covers 
• Speaker slides  

Catch my drift? Your digital footprint is expansive. It’s not enough to have a pretty little style guide with your color palette, fonts, logos, and imagery. That’s just stage one. Stage two is being proactive in creating all the branded assets required to run your business. Otherwise you’ll turn into a bundle of burnt-out tumbleweed—reactively chasing down all the graphics and files you need to bring your ideas to life. 

If you’re a content creator in any sense of the term, many of these branded assets will be recurring needs. So think about how to procure them before you say hasta la vista to your branding partner.

Your brand will be an asset you can leverage to build trust.

Your Brand = Your Reputation (And Reputation Is the Highest Form of Leverage)

In the branding world, we like to say that their perception is your reality. If your reality isn’t what you dreamt it would be, then you might have a reputation problem. And your brand is your reputation. It’s how people perceive you online. Done well, your brand will be an asset you can leverage to build trust, attract high-quality clients, and command premium prices. So treat it with the care and attention it deserves.

Now at this point, if you’re still reading, hi! My name is Nadine Hanafi, I’m the CEO and founder of Digital Brand Kit—the world’s first full-stack branding system crafted just for personal brands. I’ve spent over a decade helping entrepreneurs transform from hidden gems into industry icons with branding that not only looks gorgeous, but also works like a charm.  For Digital Brand Kit’s Branded in a Day offer, click here.

My secret sauce? A mix of digital psychology, behavioral design, and a sprinkle of magic. I’ve branded everyone from high-profile TED speakers to New York Times bestsellers, and now I’m on a mission to make you look expensive, feel confident, and attract your dream clients.

And to do that I made you a freebie I think you’ll like: Your Playbook to a $1M Brand. 

It’s a 25-step roadmap you can follow to build your brand strategically, doing the right steps in the right order, to build a 7-figure brand. It’s full of workbooks, templates, and extra resources you can immediately implement to get results. Interested? Access the playbook here.