The Basics of Brand Building — The Why » Arbenting Freebies

Previously, on Arbenting: The Basics of Brand Building - The Where, brought even more to the discussion in this new series on building your brand, continuing this look on the idea behind it.

As you set out on the branding course, you must be sure to address those six standard questions: the who, what, when, where, why and how of branding...The Who, Your Name Here...You are the key, and therefore, you need to get your name out there and attached to your brand...The What, or The Business Model...where your business model comes into the branding equation...The When, Timing and Networking...timing is everything, and for your brand this is true as well...The Where, Marketing Might...as it relates to your brand building, is all about marketing with the location, location, location principle applied. As a freelance desidev you, and you alone, are in charge of handling the marketing of your business...So it is up to you to know where to turn to make the most of the marketing opportunities afforded you.

And now...we continue this examination of the branding process with our next area of consideration.

Why - The Community Connection

Alas, it has come to this, and we find ourselves nearing the end of this inquisitive in-depth examination of building your freelance desidev brand (in case you have forgotten, desidev is the lazy writer's designer/developer, so, yeah). In this installment we have come now to the why of this extended equation of establishment. Now here we are looking at why you want to brand yourself within the field you are working, and the overall Community Connection.

First thing right off the bat that you need to realize in this branding quest, is that you are setting yourself up in a community of relevant masses which means a couple of things to your business that are extremely important to this conversation. And the sooner you come to this realization, the better it will be for your business. What it means is that you are going to need to work with and set yourself apart from said community to establish your brand.

Now this is an area that we have touched on before in other posts on various blogs, but it is such an important one, that it had to be a part of this discussion here. Mainly because it is the X-Factor of the equation. Meaning basically that it is one of the main areas that effects your business that you really have little to no control over. So always bare in mind that the community plays a big part in your business, and your interactions and dealings with them can determine in what way you are affected.

One thing you need to remember is that in order to remain valid, you must work with the community. It is beyond key, because like so many other online and real-world communities do, they feed each other so both you and this larger organism are able to thrive and grow. This is not dissimiliar from the whole ‘it takes a village’ principle. The community you work in as a desidev with an online presence is rich with resources and opportunities, but it is important to remember to give as much as you get in order to keep the community in balance, and your business rep in good standing.

Now given that this market is densely populated, you need to make sure that you have an identifiable brand that does not simply get washed under in the sea of others all vying for visibility. So you want to be mindful of this as you build your brand, and take the time to construct it as uniquely and inspired as you can muster. Try to avoid the popular trends when you are crafting your brand, so as to maintain a more unique sense of style and feel for your desidev endeavor.

Riding the coattails of a much more popular, already established brand through logo or name association may seem like a good idea, but it does reflect poorly on you with most crowds. And if you are already biting on the style and reputation of someone else as you build, then it is not going to really scream fresh ideas or originality to your potential client base either. You want to ensure that you stick out in people’s minds and dance readily off the tips of their tongues, not get confused with someone else's brand. Do this right and your brand will remain memorable, and not fall victim to a more out of sight out of mind state.

So be sure as you are running through your brand building checklist you remember this. Why? The Community Connection can make or break you.

Next Time on The Basics of Brand Building

The branding discussion takes its final bow, finishing off this in-depth reach into the queries we have taken on during this week-long series. On tomorrow's wrap-up of this freelance desidev series we are going to examine the most important part, the how. In this final chapter of our dialog on the branding process we take on The Approach.