5 Fun and Affordable Ways to Personalize Your Brand

One of the biggest things Davey and I stress when we talk about branding is that a brand is so much more than a great logo and website. Yes, those things are a big part of your brand, but a great brand extends to every touchpoint between you and potential clients. Small things like the type of images you share on Instagram, the way you describe yourself on your about page, how you respond to inquiries help personalize your brand. 

As I’ve explored branding with our clients, I’ve noticed that a few creatives who are excellent at branding have found ways to add personalization to their brands without slapping their logo on mugs, pens, totes and everything else that paper supply companies will try to tell you. I’m not the only one who gets free pens with my business name in the mail, right? 

5 Fun Ways to Personalize Your Brand

1. Colored paper

Megan Gonzalez of MaeMae & Co. is one of the most talented stylists I know. She’s a big part of the reason why one owns a Mrs. Box. When she styles, Megan often uses colorful backgrounds that coordinate with the brand she is styling. I love white and marble backgrounds, but if you’re looking for a way to make your Monday morning coffee stand out on Instagram, you could consider creating few backgrounds that coordinate with your brand. Paint-samples and lightweight boards from the hardware store are a great way to create boards that last! 

 

2. Welcome Guide

I’ve seen a lot of creatives use welcome guides to educate new clients and manage expectations. Katelyn James has an amazing 72-page Bridal Guide template that I’ve seen several people customize to match their own brand (I love Hope Taylor’s!). If you put the time into making a guide like this unique, it’s something that your clients can reference throughout their entire experience with you. This results in a whole lot of impression potential for your brand!

 

3. Client Gifts

We use client gifts as a way to personalize our brand. Brides receive a bottle of wine (one of my favorite things,) about a month before their wedding. The Wine.com membership was 100% worth it!

We also send out custom Artifact Uprising calendars to couples who do an engagement session with us. The calendars fit with our brand, and—as a bonus—they’re something couples hang up in their homes leading up to their wedding date. 

 

4. Gallery Wall

Bear with me on this one. I’m promise I’m not just using this brand enhancer as a way to justify redecorating my house. Although if we could find a way to write off the kitchen… Anyways, having a space in your house that you use as a backdrop for Instagram stories, webinars, Facebook live broadcasts and photos is a great way to establish a brand. Especially if that space has some cute details that coordinate with your brand. In our house, this is the wall: 

The photos are consistent with our style, the colors coordinate with our brand and the area is filled with natural light.

 

5. Plants

This is a trick I learned from my friend Caitlin Kruse. She buys flowers and uses them to stock up on photos to Instagram later. I took a shot of her feed and outlined the number of times she used those roses in a one week period. Pink florals coordinate with her brand, but it could be succulents, ivy or some other type of plant for yours. 

 

Or, if you’re partial to cute things, you could adopt a new puppy like Justin & Mary Marantz.
I’ll just leave this here…