In Episode 73, we are talking about branding your first online product. Branding has been around a long time, and has changed considerably over the years. And yet a lot of the earlier basics of branding still apply. To help us understand more about how to brand that first product, we have invited Kim Doyal, who specializes in product development and online marketing at theWPChick.com. She shares with us how she has helped others bring their brand to the forefront, as well as her own lessons learned while branding her first app.

We chatted about:

* How Kim defines branding and what it means today

* Figuring out whether to brand a new product under your existing brand or a separate brand

* The common challenges in branding a product

* An example of what she felt was a perfect launch for a first product— and why it was successful

* How going back to the fundamentals can help you with branding your product

Thanks to Our Podcast Sponsor: Bluehost

Transcript

You can also download a pdf of the full transcript here: WordPress eCommerce Show Episode 73 May 3 2017

Bob Dunn: Hey everyone and welcome back to the WP e-Commerce Show. Bob Dunn here, also known as BobWP on the web. Today we are talking about branding, particularly around products you are planning to sell. Over the years, the concept and meaning of branding have taken a few twists and turns. To help us understand today’s world of branding, I’ve asked my friend Kim Doyal to join us. Hey, Kim. Thanks for taking the time to be on our show today.

Kim Doyal: Thanks for having me, Bob. I am happy to be here.

Bob: So, Kim, we have a lot to cover today. I’m not sure how long I’ve known you, but it seems like forever. Would you tell us a bit about what you’re doing these days?

Meet Kim Doyal, Online Marketer and Podcaster

Kim: I am proud to say I am out of the client service space. You know, I got my feet wet and really dug into WordPress. But my focus these days is really two things. Content marketing is one;  I love creating content, leveraging it for traffic and all that good stuff. So I’ve gotten a little obsessed with content marketing.

The other thing is, I’ve partnered with someone to develop a web app called Lead Surveys. We’re a couple months out from getting that open and, you know, I love my tools and stuff. And I have always come from this place. It needs to be simple. I shouldn’t have to hire somebody to manage a tool that I’m using for my business. But yeah, it’s it’s all about marketing and content for me now. Creating that and growing an audience. Like I said, I’m kind of out of the service space.

Bob: Yeah. Branding is interesting because it’s so much content now and there’s so much branding around that.

I’m going to pick your brain, what you’re doing, and all of your experience you’ve had with branding. You’ve been involved with it throughout your career or at least your online career.

So let’s start with this. Talking about branding in general, I know many moons ago when I was first in the space and doing print branding, it was, “Hey, I want a logo.”

What about the client who knows she needs branding but doesn’t really understand it?

At the time, it was just like make sure all your print materials match your logo colors and, believe it or not, that was branding for businesses. And then the web grew, other factors came into play and now it’s huge and covers so many aspects. So my challenge to you is how do you describe branding when a client comes to you a...