How important is it for a freelancer/consultant to have a 'brand'? What difference does it make having a fully-thought through brand, as a solo freelancer, vs just bumbling along with whatever colours, photograph and tone of voice you feel like? If you're already known for what you do, how much will having a brand really add?
A comms consultant for charities got in touch recently and wants to know whether a fully thought-through brand is worth it as a solo consultant, or whether they can carry on with whatever colours, photos and tone of voice feel right on the day.
Dear Known-For-It-Already,
This is a brilliant question, and one that I’m sure SO MANY solo business owners (or whatever title they give themselves) have asked countless times. My take on this one has always been this: being a solo freelancer doesn’t make a brand identity any less important. If anything, it makes it more important.
A big business has teams and budgets, as well as years of recognition to lean on. You have you, and what people see of you. For a lot of your audience (old and new), that’s your logo, your colours, your photos, your website and the way your proposal looks when it lands in someone’s inbox. Your visuals are doing the work of a whole marketing department.
Being known for what you do is a great place to be. But being known isn’t the same as being seen consistently, and that’s where a brand identity comes in.
People judge before they read
Your name might be known, but your visuals are what people meet first. The comms manager (at a charity you’ve been wanting to work with for a while) who’s heard good things and Googles you. The trustee who gets passed your proposal. They form an opinion in seconds, before they’ve even read a word of your brilliant proposal.
So what do your visuals say right now? Established and considered? Or put together on a Sunday night in Canva? Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh, but that’s what’ll go through people’s heads!
With so many unthought-about, quickly generated, samey-looking brands out there, a visual identity with real thought behind it stands out more than ever. ESPECIALLY now with the rise of people using AI to generate their branding and other visuals.
What “bumbling along” actually costs you
Recognition. Inconsistency makes you harder to remember, and recognition is built by repetition
Price. When you look intentional, you feel intentional, and it’s easier to charge accordingly
Time. Rebuilding every proposal, social post and slide deck from scratch gets old fast
Growth. If you ever want to bring in associates or launch something new, a brand identity carries that weight for you
You’re a comms consultant. Your own comms are your shop window.
Your clients are charities that care about being clear, consistent and credible. If your own visuals are all over the place, it quietly undermines the thing you sell. When your brand looks intentional, the people who need someone intentional know they’re in the right place.
Consistency is what makes you recognisable
A brand identity isn’t just a logo. It’s the whole visual communication system, and it’s what keeps you recognisable as well as memorable:
Logo and colours, so you’re instantly recognisable at a networking event with your business card, on a website, or on a LinkedIn post
Typography, which sets the tone before anyone’s read a word
Photography, because real, consistent images of you and your work build trust in a way generic stock never will
Layout and style, so proposals, reports and socials all feel like they come from the same person every time
Use the same visual language again and again and people start to recognise you before they’ve even read your name. Recognition builds trust, and trust is what gets you recommended. If you choose whatever feels right each time you’re putting something new together, you’re starting from scratch. Every time.
And what happens if you send two different-looking proposals to the same comms manager within a few months? Do you cause confusion?
It also helps you attract the right clients. If your visuals are clear, the charities who need what you do know they’ve found you.
A considered brand helps you charge more
People use what they can see to judge what they can’t. Before they’ve worked with you, they can’t tell how good your advice is, so they read the signals. How your website looks, how your proposal is laid out, whether everything feels consistent.
When those signals say established and considered, a higher price feels reasonable. When they say made it up as I went along, even a fair price can feel like a huge risk.
Now look, a brand identity will absolutely NOT replace being great at what you do. But it makes sure your price makes sense before the conversation even starts.
P.S. Even if you love your rates and your diary’s full, a brand identity makes it easier to be chosen over the next person, and to be remembered accurately.
A considered identity helps you grow
A well-thought-out brand identity isn’t just for looking good today. It’s a foundation that you build on day in day out. You can build up from that foundation, rather than patching things as you go.
Bringing in associates. A clear identity (colours, fonts, templates, style) means someone else can represent you without it looking like a different business
Launching something new. A workshop, a toolkit, a talk. You’re not starting from scratch each time
Saving time. Fewer hours wrestling with design, more hours doing the work you’re paid for
(I’ve written more about thought out brand identities for small business here.)
The bottom line
You’re already known. A brand makes sure you’re known for the right things, by the people who’ve never met you, and in the conversations you’re not part of.
Onwards, Bhav x
Go on, ask…
Got a burning brand question or dilemma you're too embarrassed to ask out loud? Whether your logo is giving you a headache, your website feels a bit Frankenstein, or you just don't know where to start, send it over completely anonymously to dearbhav@b81designs.com.
No judgement, just honest advice. Anonymously.
