The Start of Your Brand, Starts at the Start.
Do me a small favor, look around yourself in the existing room that you are in. No serious, have a look!
Do you see a recognizable brand? Chances are you do.
Maybe you are on an Apple iPhone reading this, or a laptop computer that is of a top brand. Maybe you are in your kitchen and you see all sorts of recognizable brands....a refrigerator from GE or Whirlpool or a Cuisnart coffee maker. Maybe you are at a Starbucks coffee shop.
All recognizable and mainstream brands.
And then of course, when you go online, you are going to naturally come across brands with every search. It could be your favourite DIY blog, to Amazon, or maybe you are checking out movies on Netflix....
The reality is, these are all famous and reputable brands. When they started out however, they had to make conscious decision that they were STARTING a brand.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, didn't know he was going to create the largest shopping platform in the world, but what he did is respected his brand and considered it a long term vision/brand right from the outset.
Steve Jobs didn't know he was going to create the world's most valuable company in the world when he returned from a local Apple orchard (and being on one of his "fruit" diets), and decide to name his company Apple.
But they all had dreams and ambitions. If you saw these two words "amazon" and "apple" by themselves prior to this companies gaining worldwide popularity, you would have likely thought of the Amazon in South America, and the fruit Apple.
But now you think of something different, and you likely don't think of the true definition behind the word when you hear it. Isn't that crazy? Well that is the reality of branding.
And this leads me to that very idea.
Start With a Brand, And Think of it As Long Term.
When you start out online, you need to consider the fact (and envision) the idea of your brand being a long term and significant company from the outset.
You just need to get started. You need to choose a domain name and brand name you like for your business, something that resonates from you.
Ideally it is relevant, but it doesn't have to be. Again, look at Apple, or Amazon. A brand is what you decide it is, and it becomes what you are willing to work for and make it. It could be substantial.
So you want to approach your business even from its infancy stages as though it will be something substantial one day. In all reality, it can and it will if you have remained persistent to that vision.
You ARE the Next Big Thing.
I know it is hard to "picture" yourself being the next big thing when starting out, but to be honest with you, this vision should be something that you make mandatory whenever you decide on a brand.
We didn't start out with Wealthy Affiliate thinking it would fail and that the brand wouldn't exist after a year. Quite the opposite. We started out back in 2005 by coming up with the domain/brand, and then moving forward from there.
Was it the best choice of a brand name? That we don't know. But it is our brand, we are passionate about it and wear it on our sleeves, and here we are 15 years later as one of the leaders in the affiliate marketing world.
But this "brand" started off as a simple $15 domain purchase, and a dream to one day to establish a business that truly helped people. Over the past 15 years we have cultivated a brand that has become recognized in the affiliate marketing industry.
It took time. It took a belief that one day this would become a reality. And it took confidence in our brand, and thinking that one day we would be "the next big thing".
All brands start as a blank slate. The decisions you make, and the actions you take in the subsequent weeks, months and years are what will dictate what your brand becomes. It could flop after a few months and never gain a footing, or it could be one of the most recognized names in your industry. YOU decide.
Tell Us About Your Brand.
Alright, so now it is your turn. I want you to tell us about your brand, tell us a bit about your vision and what it is going to become one day. Remember, if you don't approach your business from the outset as though it will be a highly successful brand one day, the likelihood of that happening is going to be much less.
I look forward to hearing about your brand and your vision for your brand, please leave it in the comments below!
Recent Comments
129
Hi Kyle
Thank you for this article. The brand discussion has been totaly confusing to me. You did more than just say your brand is your identity.
It is more than this first website. It is something that can encompass many websites, so now mabe I can figure out a brand and logo.
Thanks again Jacky
Nice piece of motivation.
I look forward to this jouney and what will become of it. Although I do not have a well defined brand /niche yet but I have a direction that I feel I can take, hopefully it will stick around and grow since I'm passionate about that niche..fingers crossed!
Hello to all you great people.
Being in the Meat industry for over 40 years, I love to cook and make smoked meats. I now have 14 different smokers and cookers in my backyard.
But along with a great smoked meat meal, comes Bar-B-Que sauce. I did not like what you could buy on the retail shelves. So I went to work in the kitchen trying different recipes. And have come up with our own brand for sauce we Call( Dal-licious). Got the name trademarked so no one else could use the nane.
At first, we were making it at home and canning it in mason jars. Selling it to friends and family.
Today we have a copacker making our products and are in 10 retails outlets. And sell on our website.
Our next step is to add dry rubs to the Dal-licious brand.
Keep the dream alive and
Live the Life you Love
~ Rolland Dall
This sounds very tasty, Rolland.
You should do a Caribbean Scotch Bonnet and pimento pepper line.
They will do very well. 🙂
Cassi
Hi Kyle
My brand is Aspire Act Adapt.
As a professional coach for many years, I help people become very clear about what they want to achieve (Aspire), to figure out how to get there and take Action (Act) and to continually monitor progress, learn and change as needed (Adapt).
Straplines include:
"You Have The Power To Achieve Whatever You Want"
and
"Learn From The Past, Design The Future, Create It Now!"
A broad use brand that I believe can be fitted to many different niches.
Right now I'm building foundational material on how the brain and mind work, encouraging people to realise that they have a great deal of control over their minds which ultimately delivers what it is 'programmed' to do. Next comes mindset.
I plan to cover many productivity and business-related subjects. It would be easy to branch out into aspects of sport and music (my early careers) over time.
:-)
Richard
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My brand is mbs essentials, mind body & soul but that is my domain mbs essentials, I know that my niche has to be more specific, first one being menopause natural products, the next one may be yoga, but it is all under my brand, then I may do meditation, or law of attraction, the list goes on. I have a vision, have had it for years but never done anything about it, until I found this sight. Once I have sorted a couple of websites, I will then do the Affiliate boot camp and promote you guys.