If you’re a writer, you can’t make a living – this was the belief Kira Hug grew up with, so rather than pursuing a writing career, she became an artist.
By 2015, Kira had tried out many ideas, even started a business in the wedding industry, but nothing quite fit. It wasn’t until a friend told her that she could actually make money writing copy for other people that she decided to go down this road.
She put a transition plan into place, joined a mastermind group, surrounded herself with other copywriters and learned as much as she could, all the while building up her business and creating her own brand. Now, she specialises in writing conversion copy and helps small businesses to define their brand personality.
Kira and I worked together two years ago and I loved the process we went through. She surveyed and interviewed my clients in order to create emails and sales pages that really spoke to my audience. Everytime I want to write a sales page I think back to the process she used, which I’m still benefiting from today.
This week on The Sigrun Show, Kira talks about how she invested in herself from the very beginning and how she started focusing on branding. She also shares her brand living room framework and how you can use it to define your own brand personality.
If you ever wanted to get clear on your branding, don’t miss out on this episode!
[tweetshareinline tweet=”“To write copy, you need to understand your messaging, your voice, your tone and your audience.” – Kira Hug” username=”sigruncom”]
What you will get out of this episode:
- What Kira did before she was a copywriter (4:53)
- How Kira pursued her passion (6:59)
- Investing at the beginning: How Kira knew it would work out (8:55)
- How Kira’s business started to grow (13:12)
- How Kira shifted from copywriting to branding (15:44)
- Kira’s brand living room framework (16:40)
- How often Kira suggests to do her brand exercise (20:22)
- The 5 categories of awareness of your audience (21:42)
- Why nailing your setting and understanding what goes on around you is important for your branding (27:58)
- Standing out in your market space (32:33)
- How Kira applies her exercise with her clients (36:31)
Do you want to learn more about branding? Find out how to create a standout brand and website or how to build your personal brand on LinkedIn.
Creating Your Brand Personality: The Brand Living Room Framework
To create brand personality, Kira came up with a framework where she tells her clients to envision a figurative living room and slowly fill it with things that represent them. To envision your own brand living room and create your brand personality, follow the following steps:
Step 1: You
Imagine yourself in your brand living room. You are the face of your brand. How are you showing up? What is your energy and what are you wearing?
Some people are very clear on what they would have in their living room, down to their signature colour and tiny details. If you don’t have a clear mental picture of your living room and yourself in it, think about who you are and how you want to come across to others. Are you more casual or elegant? Loud or mellow? Then think of details you could add that represent you. What’s your favourite animal?
To finish off step one, imagine you have to give a toast. What would you say? What do you care about most? This will uncover your core values, which you then will incorporate in your messaging and to help create your brand personality.
Step 2: Your guests
Imagine you have guests in your living room. They represent your audience, and you need to figure out what their level of awareness is. How well do they know you and what you’re offering? Try to determine your proximity to your guests by understanding into which of the following categories they fit in:
Category 1: These are the people who are most aware of you. They are the ones who buy all your products, constantly talk about you and refer you to others.
Category 2: These are the people who are product-aware, meaning they know about you and your offer but they haven’t bought it yet. They are the people who aren’t sure yet if you are the best solution for them, and you’re trying to convert them. Think about what kind of questions these people might ask you.
Category 3: These are people who know that there are solutions to their problems out there, but they may not know about your solution yet. They know somebody can help them, but they haven’t heard of you yet.
Category 4: These are the people who are problem-aware, meaning somebody told them that they can show up with their problems and you can fix them.
Category 5: These are people who are completely unaware. They don’t know they have a problem and are not looking for a solution. In order to get them into your living room, you would have to stand on your porch and shout at them to get their attention.
It’s important to determine into which categories your audience fits, because it will affect the way you will talk to them.
Step 3: Nailing your setting
Who you are and what you’re offering needs to be of relevance to your audience, that’s why you need to understand what is happening outside of your living room. What are your guests thinking about when they walk into your living room? What stresses them, what moves them? What’s on TV, what’s on the news? Having a deep understanding of what is going on outside before you start writing your copy helps you to speak in a human way to your audience.
Step 4: Your advantage
Imagine your living room and the guests (your audience) sitting in it. What are you teaching them that makes you different from everybody else? When are people leaning in and listening to you? Figuring out what you do differently will set you apart from others and give you an advantage.
Step 5: Standing out in your marketplace
And finally, evaluate how well your audience is paying attention to you. How crowded is your marketspace? Do your competitors use the same words you do and make the same claim? While at times it’s great to ignore your competitors, there’s also a point where you need to pay attention to what they are doing. Analyse them and understand their message, their offers, their mechanisms and how they deliver – not to copy them, but to understand what you need to do to pivot your own message.
Did this exercise help you with your brand personality? I would love to hear what you came up with. You can follow and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Sigrun LIVE
Every year in October, I host a live event in Zurich, Switzerland, where my SOMBA students and Mastermind members meet in person to mastermind, get new ideas, catch up with like-minded people, get inspired by guest speakers and leave feeling ready to take action on their dreams.
Due to the Coronavirus, this year I’m holding the event online and it will take place from October 23rd to 24th. But there is more: For the first time, anyone who is not in SOMBA, Momentum or one of my mastermind programs can join the event!
For those who are not in SOMBA, Momentum or one of my masterminds, find out all about Sigrun LIVE and how you can join here.
SOMBAs and Masterminders, reserve your spot here.
Connect with Kira Hug
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