My newly refreshed branding and updated website is here.  I am excited to share it with you because it is the culmination of:

1. A complete branding refresh
2. A review and update of the types of services I offer
3. Clarity around how I will be working with clients

Firstly: The Branding

I worked with branding strategist Karen Davies, Pink Lemon Branding and Design We have known and worked with each for many years. There had been several times when I had ignored her subtle comments on my branding. But as these started to become more overt and obvious, such as “you know your branding doesn’t do you justice”, “your branding doesn’t reflect the enthusiasm and passion you bring to your work” and, the clincher, “your colours are flat”, I had to admit that the time for an overhaul had come.

However, at first, it wasn’t easy to think about myself in this way. It wasn’t until I reframed myself in my mind as a client that I truly started to get into the flow.

Under Karen’s guidance, support and encouragement, I thought deeply about my values, the personality of my brand, how I wanted to work and the wonderful clients that I truly enjoy working with. We also thought about my purpose, character, tone of voice, language and key messages. It was only after this had been completed that we began to consider colours and fonts.

Together, we chose colours which I felt represented my corporate background but retained a feminine quality. Karen brought her perspective and experience of working with me into the mix. She chose beautiful purple and pink and darkened the hues “to lend a sense of gravitas”, as she put it, combining these with natural greens. The imagery was kept simple, but with floral flourishes for femininity.

I now have refreshed branding with a clear brand identity that better reflects my credentials, experience and personality, which I have now incorporated across my stationery, e-books and social media graphics.

Secondly: The Website

The new branding needed to be incorporated into the website. I embraced the opportunity to build on the work I had done with Karen and focus on the areas of public relations and strategic communications that I wanted to specialise in, which are:

• Public Relations and Communications Strategy and Planning
• Personal PR and Personal Branding
• Thought Leadership

I also wanted to highlight that I can work with clients in two ways. Firstly, by providing a complete ‘done-for-you’ service or, secondly, a coaching service where I provide a plan and monthly support which build clients’ own PR skills and confidence.

Once the wording and packages were written, I needed to update the images of myself. As a reluctant face in front of the camera, I enlisted the help of local photographer Claire Williamson from Little Olives Photography Over the course of a morning we had an enjoyable (mostly relaxed) session, during which she took shots of me in three locations across my hometown, Tunbridge Wells.

With the wording and imagery done, it was over to my website designer, James Elliott, to pull it all together and do the technical aspects which are beyond my knowledge (and patience).

Overall, it’s been an enlightening and self-affirming project. Giving a greater sense of who I am and what I want clients to feel when they work with me. I am thrilled with the result. That’s not to say that I won’t continue to tweak the wording over the next few months and beyond. After all, a website should grow and change as we grow and change.

What’s next: A weekly email

My Communicating with Clarity newsletter has also just undergone an update and refresh. I want it to inspire, educate and inform you, wherever you are in your PR and communications journey.

Each week, I am sharing:

• Actionable how-to tips
• Inspiring PR case studies, including sometimes, examples of what not to do!
• Handy PR reminders
• My own ‘at the coalface’ PR learnings
• Recommendations for you

So that you can:

• Create content you are confident to share
• Manage your communications effectively
• Build a loyal audience
• Raise your visibility
• Become a trusted voice that is respected and listened to

It will be landing in inboxes every Tuesday at 7:40 am (the time of the train I used to catch when I commuted into London).

To subscribe, sign up here