Posed for Success

After hearing from so many of you, I'd like to address a huge problem. Because when it comes to building your business and brand, or social media, website and taking pictures... when it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching for your BIG GOALS with your BIG IDEAS….one of your biggest problems is confidence.

Perhaps you feel like an imposter. Even after you've had years honing your craft or experience that no one can replicate. YOU think that you aren’t ready. YOU think that you are good enough. YOU think that you won’t make it.

And that’s okay. Because you aren’t alone. I feel it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. You hear it from people who are just starting out, people who have found great success, people who are industry leaders, and more. 

It’s that lovely little voice in our head that tells us we aren’t good enough or we need to have more experience. So what can we do to combat that?

Power Pose

What does that even mean?

It looks like standing tall, hands on my hips, chest out and head up high for about 5 minutes.

This may sound a little "woo woo" for you? I promise, it’s not. Because whenever we feel scared, it’s biologically in our nature to try and make ourselves smaller. And that sends signals to our brain to be in flight mode. 

How do you think you’ll show up for that next sales call or that next client meeting if everything in your body is telling you to be small and run away?

So instead, you can try this mind hack to trick your body into sending signals to your brain that you are confident. 

It’s really that simple. 

In 2012, Harvard Business School Professor, Amy Cuddy, came out with a TED talk about this very topic that went viral. 

Here are some examples where Power Posing will help:

Right before a job interview

Preparing for a television interview

Before a presentation

Before a sales call

Prior to a client or shareholders meeting

Before trying something new

I want you to try this before YOUR next photo session. Whether that’s with a professional photographer or your bestie. If you struggle AT ALL with confidence before getting in front of the camera. I PROMISE…..pinky promise that this will be a game changer for you.

Take some time and practice your power pose. It doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to look like Wonder Woman. Sometimes I raise my hands high in the air and spread my feet apart and just get as big as I possibly can. 

Because when you face anything with that level of new found confidence, there’s NO stopping you.

Links Mentioned
Amy Cuddy Ted Talk
Brand Builder's Bootcamp

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Have you ever thought of adding a silly photo to your photo session? Or are you someone who likes to stick to the regular "smile at the camera" or "fake laugh" poses?

What do I mean by goofy photos? Not bloopers, but actual intentional photos that are out of the norm.

The best way to do this is to ask yourself the following questions:

What frustrations do my clients have?

Tune into what it is that your clients are frustrated by and try to channel that frustration in your photos. It will help your client to connect more with you because they SEE that you understand them.

What wins or successes do I want my clients to experience?

What if what you have to offer your clients is LIFE CHANGING? You want to generate some excitement around that. So how would you show that in pictures. 

Your clients will feed off of your energy and want to experience that excitement.

What are the needs of my clients?

This is another question that you’ve probably asked yourself as you’ve built and grown your business. I mean...that’s why you have a service to offer. How can you connect to the needs of your clients?

What makes me, ME?

This one is a bit different than the rest because it’s about YOU, rather than your client. You want your clients to get to know you and connect with you. Create images that really reflect what it is that makes you unique.

So don’t be afraid. Make sure to add some of these fun and goofy photos to your photo sessions. They will really connect you to your clients and they will set you apart from the millions of other offers out there. Try it. I guarantee you will be happy with the results.

Links Mentioned

The Great Cookie Quest

Do you love what you’ve heard and want to dive deeper? Then make sure to join me on the waitlist for my upcoming course, Brand Builder’s Bootcamp. We are not only going to deep dive on the photos that you need for your brand, but all the basics of making sure your brand is set up for success.

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Learn this one technique from certified coach, Becky Mollenkamp, to get unstuck from your life and business. Becky teaches us about how having a gratitude mindset can help you build an abundance mindset. "By having gratitude, you are shifting out of a scarcity mindset and towards a mindset full of abundance."

We can take this type of advice and apply it to our businesses whatever we are going through, especially when it comes to the pandemic that so many of us are being highly affected by.

In order to shift your mindset to go to gratitude, it’s a tiny shift. All it takes is a breather and to understand that we only have control over this single moment in time. It helps you to feel right and aligns with your values. It takes away the regret of living in the past or the anxiety of living in the future.

This causes us to make decisions out of desperation which will never be good for our lives or business. We need to be in the moment and know what we truly value in order to move forward.

Here are some simple, but not necessarily easy steps we can take to help our mindse

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. What am I feeling?
2. What are the facts?
3. What is my choice?

Most of us get stuck in one of those areas. To find out more about how to understand how asking these questions will be life changing, check out the episode.

I am so grateful to have had the chance to speak with Becky and more importantly, to share her and her message with you. I know that I’ve gone on a huge journey the past 5 years to understand more about my mindset and how important a role it plays in my business. So I hope that if all of this is new to you, that it piques your interest and you choose to dive in a little more. Or if this resonated with you that you go check out Becky and learn from her. She has some wonderful, WONDERFUL resources to help you get unstuck in your life and business. I encourage you to hop on over to her website or check her out on social media. 

Website: https://beckymollenkamp.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/beckymollenkamp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegutsyboss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/beckymollenkamp

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/beckymollenkamp

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/beckymollenkamp

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Have you ever wondered what the big deal is with personal branding photos? I mean, can’t you just use stock photos and then you don’t have to worry about getting in front of the camera? Well...today we get to hear from an amazing photographer and I’m so glad to call my friend, fellow branding photographer Amy Lyn. 

Amy Lyn is a commercial and brand photographer working hard to help brands stand out from their competition.  She and her team have had the privilege of photographing for brands like Little Tikes and Smuckers and lots of smaller businesses too.  

After fifteen years in the business, Amy still loves custom photography for her clients, but she has added stock photography as well for those who can’t afford or don’t need all custom photographs.  

So the cool thing about Amy is that she not only does custom photography, but she has an amazing site for stock photography and she is going to help us understand a little more about how these two types of photography can work well in your business. Let’s dive in.

There’s a great balance between custom and stock photography. Most benefit from using both kinds of images.

We live in a visual world and people are purchasing based on your photographs. Especially if there are great photographs associated with it. Using proper photos will allow you to feel and look professional. Great lighting and styling is key.

Your photo is the hook that draws your clients into your message. That’s what will stop them before they begin to read your copy. If you have an excellent photo it will set you apart from your competitors. 

You’ll want custom photography if you are selling a product. It will showcase the product and be very specific to you. If you are selling a service, you might be able to get away with more stock photography. 

Find out more about how to be intentional with your images to find out what will work best for you and your business.

Learn more from Amy Lyn below and follow her on IG.

Amylynphotography.com

hellostockphotography.com

@hellostockphotos

@helloamylyn

Remember to hop onto my facebook page to connect with me live each week on Thursday! I can’t wait to see you there.

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Have you ever gotten away for a day trip to the beach or a weekend at a small, quaint town and realized that you would love to take pictures of yourself in that location because it would totally fit into your brand?

Perhaps you are kicking yourself for not scheduling a branding photographer? Or you don't want to spend your glorious vacation time doing "work".

Well, what if you could take your own branding photos on the go?

I'd count that as a win/win!

So let's talk about all the ways that you can easily accomplish that AND still have a great time exploring or enjoying some down time.

Here are my 9 *easy* steps to getting on brand photos wherever you are!

1. Have A Purpose
2. Scout Out Your Location
3. Choose A Great Outfit
4. Find Awesome Light
5. Take A Few Test Shots
6. Set Up Your Camera and Settings
7. Discover Your Photographer
8. Get Your Image in Focus
9. Mix It Up

Now, some of this may seem easy and some of it may seem confusing. Don't worry, I've got all of the details on how to execute this in the podcast.  

The best part about it is that once you know how to do this, it's easy! So dive into the episode to learn more and get excited about taking those photos.

Mentioned in this Podcast

Brand Builder's Bootcamp

Learn Your Lighting

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There’s a ton of people out there who still don’t quite know what personal branding is. So let me call it by a name that you may be more familiar with.

Headshots.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word Headshot?

It may be that you are thinking of the 80 style headshot studios where there’s just one single pose and everyone looks the same in their pant suit with the same pose and studio lighting and you attach it to your resume or business card. Am I right? I know that’s what I always think about when I hear headshots.

When deciding what type of headshot you need, ask yourself these questions:

1. What Am I Doing?

2. How Am I Doing This?

3. Why Do I Need These Images?

4. Who Am I Serving? / Who Am I Talking To?

So let's talk about the three types of Headshots you need to know about!

Find more at www.brittanybennionphotography.com/episode28

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I can’t wait to share this interview with you from brand designer, Rebecca Peterson. 

Rebecca is a designer, wife, and mom of two boys. Her best skill is making ugly things beautiful and baking the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Rebecca has seen how good branding has allowed her business to thrive and that’s what she provides for other entrepreneurs.

Rebecca tells us that branding is what sets you apart in your business. Here are some quick tips that she gives us to uplevel your Personal Brand.

• Focus first on the feeling that resonates with you. 
• Write down the top 3 feelings that you want your customers to have when they work with you. Walk into your closet and ask yourself what you surround yourself with and what feelings that gives you. Determine what colors and styles convey these feelings. 
• Hiring a designer will help you hone in on your messaging and can guide you to the best style.
• Make sure to appeal to your target audience. 
• “Your brand should identify your industry but help you stand out from your competition.”
• Do a brand audit to make sure that everything looks cohesive.

These tangible tips will help you to build your brand. It starts simple, but will be the foundation that you need to grow.

Connect with Rebecca at:

www.rebeccapetersonstudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/rebeccapetersonstudio/

Links Mentioned In This Episode:

Building A Story Brand

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years

Episode 9: Color Psychology 

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When you are building out your business you really want to have brand recognition in every aspect. Having an awesome photo in your email signature is one of the best ways to do this.

Have you ever gotten an email and just don’t know or remember who it was from? Maybe they had their name in the signature and it’s about a topic that you’re interested in, but you’re confused if you ever signed up for their stuff or if it’s just spam?

When we are talking about building our brand we are really talking about building that know, like, and trust factor. If someone doesn’t KNOW who you are, you’ve already lost them.

That’s why I love to have your images splashed everywhere. And your email signature is no exception.

So let’s dive into some quick tips on what makes a steller email signature photo. 

1. Let's see your face.
2. Have good lighting.
3. Fill the frame.
4. Reflect the message you want to get across (somber, sophisticated, warm, inviting).
5. Small in size so loads quickly.
6. Don’t just use an image. Include other relevant information like links and contact information.
7. Stay away from GIFS or video may not load properly.

Now all of these tips will work perfectly for your email signature photo, but BONUS….they also work for you social media profile images and email headers, if you choose to use those.

Links Mentioned

Learn Your Lighting

Email Rescue with Emily McGuire

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Emily is the Owner and Chief Email Marketer of Flourish & Grit: An Email Marketing and Automation Studio. Emily honors the grit it takes to get through this world, appreciating ways to work smarter, not harder.

She believes that email marketing has the power to move the revenue needle through automating messaging to the right person at the right time. It’s the hidden marketing powerhouse that often goes overlooked.

You’ll typically find Emily with a cup of coffee in hand because #momlife. When her head isn’t in her laptop, you can find her chasing her toddler, reading a book or binging trashy TV.

Learning email marketing has never been easy and Emily McGuire has all of the tips you need to uplevel your email game.

To begin, we need to understand the difference between social media and email marketing. Social media is outbound marketing where you actively seek new customers and as a way to get noticed. Email is inbound marketing, where you can grab future customer’s attention, and nurture them.

Email takes your customer on a journey, from the awareness stage to nurturing to becoming a customer to becoming a repeat customer.

With social media, you do not own your audience. You are subject to the platform that you are using. Even if you have a large audience, you don’t have control over the algorithm and can lose them at any time. If you have an email list, you own that list.

Why you should use images in your emails….

It’s super important to have your images on the email so that people can see and connect with you. Seeing your face really goes a long way to build your personal brand and build trust in your business.

Where to use images in your emails...

Email signature - allow people to remember who you are and connect with your reader.

Header - grabs the attention of your reader.

Images in your email - Breaks it up and allows people to read it more easily.

Reasons why people will unsubscribe....

You don't have a recognizable brand in your email and it confuses them.

You're sending sporadic emails, and not being consistent.

Having a “sender name” that is recognizable

How to use email to market to your ideal client...

Kill your newsletter - Don’t send out a huge email with a ton of content. Break it up and send it out over a number of weeks.

Keep it simple because we consume digital messages quickly.

Show up weekly with smaller bites of content.

Recycle your content a few weeks later to remind your subscribers and give them another chance to read it.

Make your emails skimmable. People spend on average 1 minute in your emails. 

Give your subscriber an option to become a customer by telling them what the next step is. 

Find the balance between service and selling.

Test, test, test. It takes time. 

Links Mentioned

Flourish + Grit

How to Be a Badass at Making Money

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch

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In light of all of the recent events surrounding civil rights and systemic racism, I’m choosing to forgo teaching about branding and instead providing you resources for learning, educating and taking action. These are from instagram accounts, to books, and articles I’ve enjoyed reading and learning from. If you have additional resources that you’ve found useful, I certainly appreciate you adding that to the comments.

This is a time for learning, growing, and changing. And it is long overdue. 

I’m not perfect. 

I’ve been learning a lot. I’m recognizing that there are things in my life that I need to change, both consciously and unconsciously. And I pledge to do and be better.

Instagram

@shafonnemyers

@nobiworks

@staceyflowers

@bbwrnetwork

@coachaminaz

@gurlstalk

Books

List of Children’s Books on Race

How to Be An Anti-Racist

Between The World And Me

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism

So You Want To Talk About Race 

Articles & Websites

https://www.devoncornelius.com/post/speaking-my-blackness

http://ibramxkendi.com/

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