In this episode, host Lee Smalt leads an open conversation on branding and marketing strategy.

This episode covers:

• Starting with strategy before branding: Before investing time in logos, fonts, or website platforms, freelancers benefit from answering foundational questions about who they serve, what problems they solve, and why they do what they do — a step many creatives skip when entering freelance work.
• Defining your "why": Revisiting your core purpose regularly helps clarify which clients and projects to pursue. Completing a brand discovery questionnaire at least twice a year can surface insights that feel redundant but reveal deeper clarity with each pass.
• Niching by client personality, not just industry: Your target market doesn't have to be defined by a vertical like fintech or healthcare — it can be defined by the type of people you want to work with, such as those who are collaborative, appreciative, and reliable.
• Qualifying leads with intention: Rather than broadcasting availability on LinkedIn, focusing on building genuine relationships with people at target studios — starting with peers and working up — tends to yield stronger results than cold applications.
• Authenticity over polish in self-promotion: Showing your face, sharing your process, and being genuinely enthusiastic about your work outperforms highly produced content. Audiences and clients can sense when enthusiasm is real versus performed.
• Networking as a long-term practice: Consistent, low-pressure outreach — commenting on posts, sending connection requests with personal notes, attending speed networking events — builds visibility over time and is more effective than sporadic high-effort pushes.
• Overcoming executive dysfunction and inertia: Breaking strategy tasks into smaller steps and using body-doubling or co-working sessions can help creatives who struggle to start, especially when facing something as broad and open-ended as defining a personal brand.

Upcoming Events/Schedule:

• TONIGHT (march 4th) Community Game Night (Gartic Phone) at 6 PM Pacific / 7 PM Mountain / 9 PM Eastern — details in the Monday Meeting Discord
• "March of Robots" drawing challenge running throughout March — jump in anytime, no daily commitment required
• Next week's guest: Ashton Hauff, CEO of The Good Kids (Bismarck marketing company) — discussing her approach to strategy

Visit MondayMeeting.org for this episode and other conversations from the motion design community!

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• Lee’s Brand Discovery Form
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