The Remote Creative Podcast: Recent Episodes
Steve Reed
Deepening expertise, learning from failure, and exploring solutions related to the creative industry and entrepreneurship. The American Dream lives!
How is building a personal brand different than building a brand for a business? What are some key principles that I should be incorporating in my plan? I'm going to answer these questions and more all decked out as Slash from Guns N' Roses in this special Halloween episode.For branding help, visit https://vectyr.comView our work at: https://behance.net/vectyr
In this episode of Brand or Die, we dive deep into the art of rebranding. Whether you're a startup looking to refresh your image or an established business seeking a revival, rebranding is a strategic tool that can breathe new life into your brand. Discover essential tips and insights on how to successfully rebrand your business while preserving what works, staying customer-centric, and maintaining brand consistency. Join us on this journey of transformation and learn how to make your brand unforgettable.For branding help, visit https://vectyr.comView our work at: https://behance.net/vectyr
Key to capturing your audience's attention using story branding is the identification of the villain. Sometimes, this can be very difficult but there are some lessons we can learn from WW1 pilots that are amazingly applicable today! If you like history, villains, story branding, and how it can help your business capture audience attention and drive sales, then don't miss this episode!
References: https://www.historynet.com/gremlins/ Falling Hare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJrwOXgOKxg https://www.behance.net/gallery/170862439/The-Retirement-Cliff-Presentation
For branding help, visit https://vectyr.com View our work at: https://behance.net/vectyr
If you're a startup or business that needs a new website, it can be time-consuming and expensive. Well, I have as simple strategy that can help you in BOTH of those areas and in a couple more!
Resources about page-scrolling: https://medium.com/rareview/the-above-the-fold-myth-f0f93b1b9875
https://blog.c-c.com.au/how-far-will-people-scroll-down-a-web-page
https://yump.com.au/blog/do-people-scroll-below-the-fold
Note: when you use story branding and your page has a narrative to follow, you'll get more people to scroll because they'll want to see the story unfold.
For branding help, visit https://vectyr.comView our work at: https://behance.net/vectyr
Time to dig into these 8 Zombie Brand symptoms starting with the first: Lifeless Existence. We're going to discuss what this means and how not to succumb to this terrible plague!
Yo startup warriors, in this game-changing episode I'll expose a secret to why your sales numbers may be in the crapper, and reveal a solution to turn the tide in your favor. Oh yeah, we're breaking out the digital whiteboard for some Pictionary-level art to break it all down!
For branding help, visit https://vectyr.com
View our work at: https://behance.net/vectyr
In this episode, we're going to analyze the 8 symptoms of a Zombie Brand and you'll be able to self-diagnose where you currently stand and if Brand Zombification is a looming or active threat that you need to address.
02:35 - Intro to the 8 Symptoms 02:55 - 1. Lifeless Existence 04:14 - 2. Lack of Strategy 05:49 - 3. Absence of Personality 06:39 - 4. Unconscious Engagement 08:34 - 5. Aimless Targeting 09:51 - 6. Repulsive Effect 10:48 - 7. Clumsy Execution 12:54 - 8. Decaying Relevance
For branding help, visit https://vectyr.com View our work at: https://behance.net/vectyr
So you're looking to get a logo done but aren't quite sure of how much you should spend, where you should turn, or what you need. I have some tips for you that can provide some direction so that you can make the best choice no matter your budget or needs.
We're going to dig into why it is critical to find a perfect fit with clients and some ideas on how to do it. We cover specialization some more and why it beats generalization for solopreneurs.
You have a business idea, but you're making some very risky assumptions aren't you? Should you just charge forward anyway or should you validate those assumptions first? That's what we'll be talking about today. Get branding help for your business: https://vectyr.com
Spend a lot of time writing the perfect proposal and then never get contacted again or compensated for your time? Well, screw that, we're going to do things differently from now on and in a way that's better for everyone involved. Consult with Steve https://consult.vectyr.com
For creatives, selling might turn you off because you don't want to be pushy, manipulative, or forceful with your clients. Well, we're going to throw that all out the window and explore how we can best act as respectful facilitators.
Here we go into the third proclamation, which is all about making sure you know what you are getting into on any project before you go trying to implement any solutions. These are key things to live by, and you'll learn how critical it is to have one very important thing!
My guest Rose-Ellen Farmer and I cover a wide range of topics from music and how what we learn there can help our creative mindsets to positioning, niching, marketing, mountains, random accordion players, RVs, and more!
Rose-Ellen is a colleague that I met while working for a mutual client. She has a bachelor’s in human development from BYU, with a minor in music. She's been a "SAHM" (stay at home Mom) for 15 years and is a Suzuki-trained flute teacher who is expanding into content writing.
I apologize for the audio, it's not the best but there was nothing I could do about it. I'm looking at a better solution for next time.
We're going to dig into Proclamation 2 in the Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns with a mix of my own stories and experiences to give some context to the subject. Oh, and this is no longer "The Remote Creative Podcast," I've renamed this show to "Brand or Die," and I'll explain why.
Without specialization, creatives are just generalists that fail to stand out from the vast crowd of others that are all offering the same thing. This episode is based off of the first proclamation in The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns.
For creatives, I think the answer is "better" clients and not necessarily "more" clients. There are actually a number of things you could start doing right now. In this episode, I share some background on things I've tried, what I do today, and what I would recommend to others looking to make a change. If you are a creative entrepreneur and really want to take things to the next level, check out RemoteCreative.io
This is a problem I run into all the time with clients, and it is all avoidable. If you have any business accounts online, websites, social media accounts, brand assets, etc., be sure to listen and see if you are at risk and how to fix it!
In this episode, I talk about something that I've seen hold people back time and time again, and it's this debilitating fear of failure that keeps people from claiming the treasure they seek, which is hidden in the cave that they fear to enter.
In this show, I talk about the challenges, advantages, and disadvantages of being an introverted entrepreneur pursuing a remote work business. I share some experiences that were major fails, some wins, and what my goals are for the future moving forward. If you're an introvert, listen up!
Yes, we finally answer the age-old question right here and right now. Should a business get a logo designed first or spend some time formulating its brand identity as a whole? We're going to kick this thing off with a fun test devised by @joanagalvaodesign at @gifdesignstudios.
Warning: This episode is very visual in nature so you'll want to check out the video version: https://youtu.be/i9Cc_UUjqxg, otherwise, just use your imagination!
Have you ever published a misspelling or some horrific grammar into the world for yourself or your clients? I have. But luckily, there are some great tools out there, and I'll share one of my favorites with you.
Meet Emlynn Jones, she is on the verge of creating an empire based on amazing original artwork, stickers, notebooks, keychains, and many other interesting products that her growing audience hungers for.
Emlynn has a lot to share from her experience and it is inspiring to see someone thriving as as creative in a world where there is so much noise and competition. It can be done! Emlynn is the proof!
Check out her store (subscribe to know when it goes live) at: https://MilkyTomato.com Follow her on https://instagram.com/milky.tomato and https://www.tiktok.com/@milky.tomato
Over the years I have tried several methods of pricing my work for clients and in the beginning everything seemed fine but as my skills increased, my family grew, inflation did its thing, I outgrew my starving artist rates. I tried different things that worked but with unintended consequences. At long last, I found what worked best and I'd like to share it all with you. This should be a great episode if you're a creative and have been struggling to make ends meet.
Ever heard of responsive logo design? Well, it's essential, especially in this day and age when there are so many digital platforms, social networks, devices, etc. and even an infinite variety of offline situations. I'll explain what responsive logo design is and how it can benefit your brand.
We're going to define what a brand strategy is and look at it in a way that you might not have ever considered it before. If you don't know anything about branding at all and this sounds foreign to you then you owe it to yourself to spend a couple of minutes getting up to speed; you can thank me later.
I share two stories about clients that I consulted with for logo design and how I had to tell them that they were making the wrong choices with their designs. I think these are great examples of how seemingly good ideas can backfire and may communicate the opposite of what you intended.
A recent conversation with a prospective graphic novel writer lead to some intense advice about finding ways to break a big idea into many smaller ones and get started with much less effort and risk.
I learned at an early age the power of being able to see how much I had grown over time. We can use this hindsight to inspire our foresight and help us to continue ahead or perhaps pivot and course correct. Not tracking this risks getting stuck in the present and into a cycle of insanity.
When I was 19, I landed my biggest and most visible logo client. All it took was keeping my eyes open and making a crazy proposal. I'll tell you how it did it, and what I would have done differently.
Sometimes, more often than not, asking for something can yield some excellent results. The "YES" you get is worth all of those nos you may have received before. I have three stories for you that help to illustrate the power of asking.
If you haven't had a difficult client, you haven't been in business long enough. Whether you've dealt with them before or are dealing with them now, it can be frustrating and add unnecessary stress to the lives of everyone involved. This show goes into this topic and offers some ideas and solutions that have proven effective.
When you are new to entrepreneurship, starting off fills you with the rush of possibility until inevitably, the challenges along the way crush that motivation and you feel lost, upset, and confused. This is part of the journey and while it is certainly not fun, it's what everyone faces and what the successful have learned to work through. This episode explores these dynamics and offers advice to those struggling and searching for a way forward.
Having an improper work-life balance caused me nearly 2 decades of pain and grief and I'll share with you what happened and how I've improved over the years. This could be a life-changing episode if you are on the same path; it may be time to adjust course before it's too late!
Ever had that experience where something didn't go well and you couldn't quite figure out why? Well, after a lame encounter with a prospect, I finished a book I was reading that gave me the information I needed to do much better with the second client.
It's alive! The brand new, super-shiny Remote Creative Podcast is here to help you deepen your expertise and give you additional tools and insights pertaining to the creative industry and entrepreneurship.