Branding Is Intimidating! 😱

Designing my brand is one of the most intimidating things I have ever done. When your entire YouTube channel and business is designed around YOU, your personality, and your daily life, branding feels extremely vulnerable. I had the added challenge of having experienced heaps of online bullying after my partner decided to leave my YouTube channel, though I am sure many of you have experienced some trolls as well!

I had to work through the mental blocks for weeks, affirming to myself that I deserve to live the life I most desire, that I am smart and capable, and just because I am not successful now does not mean I won’t be in the future.

It took a deep connection and alignment with my ‘why’ to finally gain the bravery to start the process. And as if the universe was supporting me on my journey, I had a wee chain of events that led me to the most useful branding guide I have come across: The Ultimate Branding Checklist (makerandmoxie.com).

Hollie is a genius, and it turns out she is in the same paid creator community as I am with Jay Clouse. While you’re waiting for my own course / community to launch specifically for adventure creators (update: course is launched!), Jay’s community is an awesome resource!

Why go through the branding process?

You will hear me say this often: If you want to be successful as a travel vlogger, you need to learn things multiple times for them to stick, and branding was one of those things for me. It is only now I understand the importance. The biggest way that branding will benefit your YouTube channel is by making it VERY CLEAR for what audience is your channel.

You guys likely know my philosophy by now: slow, steady, and consistent growth that builds a dedicated audience who will buy a solution to a problem that is specifically meant for them. With this in mind, branding is thoughtful, considerate, and connecting. It shows people that they matter, they are seen, and they are heard. It respects the needs of both your audience and you: your time and energy AND your audience’s matter! And it makes it clear who is your tribe and who will find a sense of community within your YouTube channel and audience.

Branding is creating a vision for where you want to lead your audience and what it would take to get them there. It is thinking through how different elements will impact those who run across your travel vlogs. It is also being thoughtful about which elements will keep the right people coming back time and time again, thereby building loyalty to you, your message, and the solution you have to their problems.

ASK YOURSELF: WHY are you doing this?

Your WHY behind your YouTube channel is the single most important thing you should know. Write it everywhere and use it as a guide. It can change if needed, but thinking about it in advance will do wonders to keep you focused on your end goals.

My why is anchored in experiences from 2021. Once my YouTube channel is done pivoting, I will unhide the videos which told the story, and if you decide to watch it, I warn you to bring some tissues and don’t watch around children.

After going through tragedy, I randomly jumped on a sailboat for three weeks around the South Island of New Zealand to recharge. The experience ended up being much more than I imagined, not only bringing me back to life, but helping me realize adventure is one of my most core needs to feel like each day is worth it. Reconnecting with this core need reminded me of a person I had lost over the course of a decade, and each adventure that followed brought me back in alignment with my highest and best self.

For me, I dream of creating an online business that allows me to travel when I want, as much as I want, and with whom I want. I dream of being able to help my family in tough times, and able to support the next generation in my family and beyond to explore their greatest hopes and desires.

What is your VISION?

Your vision is a broad ideal of what you would like to see in the world. It should be closely aligned with your why above so that there is a strong emotional connection. The stronger your emotional attachment to your vision, the more drive you will have to keep going in the hardest times (because running a business is not always fun).

For me, reconnecting with travel and adventure suddenly gave me so much drive. I wanted this for others! I wanted this for everyone! But I didn’t just want people to connect with their need for adventure; I wanted them to reconnect with the life they most wanted. I wanted people to see that they truly could live the life they had always dreamed of!

My vision became to get more adventurers fully aligned with and living the life they most desire.

What is your MISSION?

From your vision, you need to create a mission that outlines the day-to-day business you will do to work towards that vision. Hollie’s branding guide provides this outline: [What you do] by [How you do it] for [Who you do it for] to [What value you provide].

My mission is to help [WHAT] adventurers [WHO] discover their highest purpose, grow an engaged and dedicated audience, and build a sustainable income [HOW] that allows them to adventure, live life to the fullest, and serve others [WHAT VALUE]!

What are your VALUES?

Your values will help you decide how you operate your business, such as which partnerships to take, which topics are off limits, how you respond to your audience and build a community, and how you make your money. Hollie recommends giving details to each value to make it more clear to everyone on your eventual team where you stand and what are the team values. They should be personal and close to your heart.

My values are:

• Everything about life is an Adventure! I’m an adventurer at heart, and that doesn’t just mean just going on an adventure, but also choosing every day to try something new, pursue the unknown, openness to learning, and viewing the unexpected, even when sad, as an adventure. Life is an adventure, and I am excited for it!!!
• Prioritize REAL connections and building community. People and community are at the heart of what I do. I feel a deep responsibility to the world, and I don’t want anyone to ever feel alone in their life journey. I believe people are inherently good, many are misunderstood, and too many are hurting. I am dedicated to building a safe space where we can all shine our brightest, safely and respectfully communicate, and find connections that bring us joy and push us closer to our most aligned selves! I love the power of community and how renewing it can be!!!
• We grow faster when we grow together. I think it’s a real shame when successful travel vloggers don’t help small and new creators out. I want to foster a culture of giving and mentorship. I commit to bringing other creators with me in my growth journey, and I will always be transparent so that others may learn from both my successes and mistakes.
• Always take accountability. I’ve made and will continue to make mistakes over the years. As a creator in the eyes of many, that means when I fall, there will always be those waiting in the shadows to point fingers and tear me down. BUT, I will not be bullied into shame. I will always take accountability for my actions and commit to loving and giving myself compassion no matter what.
• Stay Aligned!!!!! I will never divert from alignment with my highest and best self ever again. I will carefully choose who and what energy I allow in my life, and I commit to audaciously building and choosing the life I most desire. Because in this best version of myself, I am best able to serve the world and treat those around me with respect. I deserve this, and YOU deserve this.

What are your GOALS?

GOALS. I have not been good at them in the past, mainly because I am a doer, and the act of thinking through goals felt like stagnation. But goals keep you focused and aligned, which is absolutely necessary if you want your creator business to be successful. One of the biggest issues that travel vloggers experience is following shiny objects and trends. But if you have goals, you will stay on track and also be able to make adjustments if you are not progressing at the speed you desire.

Remember that in order for goals to be achievable, they must be SMART:

• Specific: Well defined, clear, and unambiguous.
• Measurable: With specific criteria that measure your progress toward the accomplishment of the goal.
• Achievable: Attainable and not impossible to achieve.
• Realistic: Within reach, realistic, and relevant to your creator vision.
• Timely: With a clearly defined timeline, including a starting date and a target date. The purpose is to create urgency.

My goals for my creator business and 2023 are:

• Build and launch a high value YouTube course and community that will ACTUALLY help my fellow travel vloggers build a sustainable income by December 31, 2023.
• Produce a biweekly newsletter that is value-packed with information that will help my fellow travel vloggers effectively grow their sustainable creative business. Grow newsletter to 250 subscribers by the end of 2023.
• Produce biweekly podcasts with successful travel vloggers that is value-packed with information that can genuinely help creators grow their business to be sustainable. Grow consistent average video views to 1,000 per video by the end of 2023.
• Produce biweekly or ad hoc travel vlogs that inspire individuals to relentlessly pursue the best version of their lives. Grow consistent average video views to 3,000 per video by the end of 2023.
• Improve engagement of an audience that is inspired to pursue their best life and build their creative business to 5% of views on both the podcast and travel vlog.

Takeaway

Branding is about staying on track, and staying on track is the fastest way to building the life you desire. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of this process:

• Branding is mentally exhausting. It requires you to really get in touch with what you most desire. So give yourself mental space. It took me about 4 weeks to get through a first draft of my brand using Hollie’s checklist.
• Do branding deep work early in the morning, and limit the amount of time you spend on this. Give yourself time after to relax and recharge.
• Don’t judge what you want. Leave it wide open so that what you come up with is most aligned with what you most desire.
• Don’t people please here. It needs to be personal and you need to be emotionally attached in order to get you through both the highs and lows.
• Dream big! Don’t limit yourself. It might take some time to build, but you are 100% capable of building the life you desire. Believe in your ability to figure things out and win!!!!

Action

Take the time to work through at least the priority branding items using Hollie’s The Ultimate Branding Checklist (makerandmoxie.com). You deserve the life you most desire!!!!!!