You have thought long and hard about your talents, business purpose, niche and values.
You feel that your business is lost amongst an abundance of similar services.
You wonder what on earth can help you stand apart and stand out to communicate a certain flavour of a business and attract your ideal type of client.
A familiar story…right?
It is incredibly common to feel lost at sea amongst an exceptional level of quality information within the online community.
But, there are ways to mitigate this.
One way, is to clearly define the personality of your brand.
After all, having a consistent personality within your brand year after year helps to stand apart from your competitors and attract your ideal client.
What do you mean by personality?
A distinct, authentic brand identity will help you attract the right people. It will also help them recommend you to others.
So, how?
One way is in the use of powerful archetypes.
Archetypes can give your brand a clear meaning, by communicating just how you do things.
The psychologist Carl Jung believed that we have a universal shared unconsciousness out of which archetypes emerge as forms or images that everyone recognises.
How do archetypes work?
You start with your purpose and then project this to the world by using archetypes to represent you in a way that is familiar to everyone.
This gives your brand meaning and increases your kerb appeal to people who REALLY want what you have to offer.
There are many references to the 12 archetypes online and it is not my intention to give you a detailed overview here.
However, I do recommend the Pearson Archetypal System as a great place to start.
The key is to pick an archetype you resonate with and use 1-2 additional ones as an added flavour into the mix.
Communicating through your archetypes, in a consistent way, helps anchor your service and give a sense that people know if they are in the right place.
People want to know what you stand for and they value your consistency in order to build trust and feel safe.
You will be more authentic and confident as you communicate your values through the archetype you identify most powerfully with.
It is a case of evoking the archetype through your brand rather than becoming it.
An example
After working with the beautiful Jac Mcneil, I discovered that my main archetypes are the Creator and Magician with a flavour of Lover.
This combination enabled me to write a clearer web copy and communicate my message authentically to the world.
I am continuously compelled to create new things and love to intuitively transform an idea into an inspirational piece of work. I gain enormous pleasure from connecting with people by making beautiful things of lasting value.
The words I choose and the visual effects of my website evoke the Magician and Lover Archetypes, whilst the Creator is already abundant in my artwork.
So, what are your archetypes?
If this information makes sense to you and you would love to visually evoke an archetype within your online brand, then do connect with me further here >>
Oh, and also
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From working with the wonderful Jac McNeil, we deduced that my main archetype is Innocent, with Alchemist and Explorer supporting.
This gave me permission to go full out with my “do what you love”, “it can be joyful”, “you are somebody’s guardian angel” message – because that Innocent’s idealism is backed up by the rigour and transformation of the Alchemist and the “find your own version of this” freedom that the Explorer brings.
As ever, loving your visual representation, Lisa!
Yes thank you Corina.
When I look at your website, I can really see the powerful archetypes shine through. Very powerful, fresh and an liberating.
I know this works in writing and visuals as I was particularly taken by the work you did with Jo Bradshaw and the blogging course you created and all the work you did around this. I loved the idea of looking at what superhero you would be etc..
Yes!!! the amazing Jac McNeil introduced me to the idea of brand archetypes in the first place and it was instrumental to me making sense of my service ;))
Having struggled to develop a brand image, I felt this was a luscious journey into something resonant with me. You make some self-deprecating comments on your facebook page which did not feel congruent with my experience of reading this piece, which felt strong and clear, and gave me a great adventure.
I found the archetypes piece powerful. Also, loving your images.
Hi Fi,
I appreciate your feedback.
I was wondering which comments you particularly felt were self-deprecating on my fb page.
Occasionally I show human vulnerability through cartoons, but I would really value knowing more about your experience of my fb page.
Thank you for your contribution,
Warm wishes,
Lisa
Hi Lisa
Thanks for this and I will attempt to clarify my sense of it. You said you were ‘rusty’ and if this ‘fell short’ you would get there with practice. The meaning I made of those words was that you had some uncertainty about the value of what you had written. What I wanted to convey was how congruent and valuable I found it – and that it did not seem rusty, and did not ‘fall short’ for me. However that is how I received your beautiful blog. Does this help you?
I own that I am not good at showing my vulnerability in this sphere (or finding some of the posts etc!) so maybe I was misreading you. Do say ….! xx
Ah Yes Fi,
Ahhh…I get it now. I said I was ‘rusty’ on the private fb group for blogging course because I had not blogged for a few months and am starting a new business.
I interpreted that you said my Lisa McLoughlin Art fb page was self deprecating in parts as that was not my intention as I am proud of my artwork 😉 So, I was checking in on your opinions further soas I could review what I was posting.
Thank you for getting back to me, I really value your input and opinions …x
Lisa, this is wonderfully thought-provoking! The way your artistic vision brings these words to life in this blog alone moves me to think more deeply on what you shared.
Thank you Sheila! ;))
Hi Lisa,
Beautiful and creative images which drew me in. Useful content for people to gain clarity on their brand identity with a clear explanation on how they could use archetypes to bring out their own unique personality. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Josie for stopping by and reading my article 😉
Hi Lisa!
I actually ended up buying the book “Awakening the Heros Within”, which goes into detail on these archetypes, and I did the test to see where I personally fall on the spectrum – I’m very strongly a Seeker/Explorer, backed up with Creator and Sage a little ways behind. It’s a fascinating book, I’m just reading and learning more hopefully today if I can squirrel away an hour 🙂
Yes Catherine,
It is an interesting read and one to keep returning to. I , too, am hoping to absorb more over the coming weeks as it really helps with my business. Thank you for mentioning the book here ;))