The Branded Solopreneur

Where Cult Brands Are Born

How to Use a Interactive Quiz to Set Your List Building Roof on Fire

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Interactive Quiz

 

What has the click-wattage of a nuclear power plant without any of the radiation poisoning?

Two words.

Interactive Quizzes.

They work across cultures, generations, genders, and industries. They’re bite-sized, totally harmless nuggets of entertainment crack cocaine. We can’t get enough of them… whiiiiich makes them an absolutely perfect tool for building a list of leads that are hot like fire. 🔥

I created one for our Brand Personality DNA Test about a year ago and it’s been a nice lil’ automated lead generation workhorse ever since – it generates, on average, around 35 new leads a week. It also gives us priceless, honest, intel about our audience – who they are, how they think, what they give the most fucks about.

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How to Get 25+ Images from One Styled Stock Photo

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Have you ever found an image that was super stylish, on brand, and a perfect fit for your blog… and then realized you need more than one?

Or maybe there is more than one of that style, but the images are twenty bucks apiece and you need two dozen of them?

Yeah, that definitely sucks.

But, my friend, you are in luck because in this post I’m going to show you how to take ONE styled stock photo and edit it into several dozen (or more!) photos. If you’re on a budget or you simply can’t find an entire collection of like images, this is the tutorial for you. [Read more…]

Brand Personality: A Real AF Guide to Getting Under the Hood

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Brand Personality: A Real AF Guide to Getting Under the Hood

 

You’ve made the biggest decision of your life.

Finally, you can call yourself a business owner, aiming for world domination. Fist bump and virtual high five!

But what the heck now?!

You’re the captain of your tiny dinghy and have set sail into the bloody ocean of sales, branding, innovation, power editors, webinars (aherm) Happy Hours. Sorry Dre!

You’ll be OK. Just lie down until the overwhelm passes.

I’m sure the magic business fairy will wave her magic wand over you and suddenly you will have arrived on the scene…

WRONG!

This is a guest post by Cat Paterson from StraightTalkingGinger.com

Disclaimer: I use UK english and Scottish colloquialisms so if you see a typo thenplease don’t write in. Instead I’ll do a happy dance as my readership just went global.

 

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4 Ways Of Creating Images Without Using Stock Photography

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Creating images without stock photography

 

Hunting down the perfect stock photography for an image can rob you of more hours than it’s worth, which is why you really need to have a couple effortless alternatives waiting in your back pocket.

When time is limited and you don’t have a viable stock photo at your fingers tips use one of these time-saving tricks that will net you killer image in a fraction of the time.

In no particular order here are 4 ninja tricks for creating images without using stock photography. Continue Reading

8 ways to build brand recognition with your images

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8 ways to build brand recognition with your images

 

Blog images are to websites what the yellow brick road was to Oz.

They’re not just some pretty arm candy for your content, they’re a visually recognizable path to your solutions.

Recreating the wheel for each of your blog images will cost you brand recognition and turn the path back to your brand into a dead end. And I’m betting that’s the last fucking thing you want!

The art of branding blog images doesn’t require a design degree or a sophisticated level of complexity. In fact, it’s a lot easier than you’re making it.

There’s a dirty lil NOT so secret weapon to creating branded blog images that snap, crackle, pop.

And that’s a template.

But don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not talking about some icky pre-packaged graphic that you and 900 of your fellow diyers buy off Etsy.

I’m talking about a signature image style you craft based on your visual brand identity, that you repeat across your blog images.

 

There are two HUGE benefits of creating a template for your blog images: [Read more…]

3 Ways to Create a Color Palette That’ll NEVER Fail You

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3 ways to create a branding color palette

 

It’s not as easy to create a color palette as it may seem. Most solopreneurs simply pick a bunch of colors they love and call it a day. Those are the same solopreneurs that end up changing their color palette 42 times.

Fuck all that madness.

Let’s skip that giant suckage of time and make sure you have all the knowledge bombs you need to put together a color palette that will NEVER fail you, the first time around.

In part one of this color series, we covered the 5 types of branding color palettes that reign supreme and how each one works, and in part two I broke down the entire DNA of a branding color palette, including how many colors you need and exactly how to use each color in your palette, so make sure you circle back and give those both a thorough devouring so there are no gaps in your understanding of color and how to rock that shit in your brand identity.

In this last installment in the series we’re going to tackle three, actually FOUR since I threw in a bonus for ya (insert giddy squeal), ways to create a color palette that’s totally failproof.

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The DNA of a branding color palette

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While the look and feel of the color palette for your brand is going to be dictated by your style, personality, and industry, the genetic makeup of it will not be unique to you or your brand.

At least it shouldn’t be.

Don’t worry though, my lil unicorn, that doesn’t mean you have to bleed the same rainbow as anyone else, it just means that there’s a genetic structure you want to preserve, to ensure your color palette has unf*ckwithable genes.

In the first installment in this series, I showed you the 5 types of branding color palettes that reign supreme and exactly how each of them works.

In this second installment, I’m going to dissect the DNA of a agency quality brand color palette, so you understand exactly what versatility you need in yours.

A branding color palette can be divided into 4 sections, each one fulfilling a VERY specific purpose, so let’s run through those in the order you should define them. Continue Reading

5 Types of Branding Color Palettes That Reign Supreme

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5 Types of Branding Color Palettes That Reign Supreme

 

I hate to burst your color loving bubble {it really is such a cozy bubble} but not all color is created equal when it comes to branding.

Creating a kickass color palette for your brand isn’t just a matter of personal taste or favorite colors. That’s what your bedspread and throw pillows are for.

Your brand identity should be made up of digital assets that WORK, not just pretty shit that makes you gush, and your color palette is no exception!

As we go through the palettes, I’m going to take you for a spin around the color wheel, and play a little Love Connection, because colors have relationships. Not the Netflix and chill kind, but you already knew that.

Like any relationship, on paper your palette might look like a match made in heaven {don’t they all at the beginning}, when it’s really more like a May to December romance.

I want happily ever after for you and your palette, so let’s hit the wheel.

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The Idiot Proof Guide to Using Transparent Overlays To Style Your Brand Photography

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The Idiot Proof Guide to Using Transparent Overlays To Style Your Brand Photography

 

There are two sure fire ways to infuse your brand identity into your images, and make them more memorable…

1. Adding a headline or call to action in your font theme

2. Applying your color palette to elements

One of the simplest ways to kill both of those birds with one stone is to use a transparent overlay!

A transparent overlay is simply a layer of color with a transparency to it, which lays on top of the background of your image.

Transparent overlays are perfect for images because they create an even backdrop of color for adding text in a way that’s actually readable, AND they give you a simply way to infuse your brand color palette.

I call that a win, win, baby!

Here are 3 types of transparent overlays that work like gangbusters…

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How To Use Fonts Like a Boss, Even If You’re a Design Newbie

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How To Use Fonts Like a Boss, Even If You're a Design Newbie

 

While the power of pictorial storytelling is magical we’ve got a long way to go before text is extinct.

Which means you better learn how to use fonts effectively in your visuals or you’re going to be looking straight down the barrel of obscurity.

 

TYPEFACE vs. FONT

Right out of the gate I need to clarify a common mistake.

The correct term to use when describing lettering is ‘typeface’ and not ‘font’.

Typeface is the actual character set. {i.e. Arial, Times New Roman, Century Gothic, etc}

Font is the specific size and style of a typeface.

For example: While Arial, is the typeface, Arial 10pt bold is the font. Continue Reading