AWC PORTFOLIO //
more BRAND personality = emotional connectED READERS
Indigo Wild STUDIO: photographer
[brand messaging, brand voice guidelines + web copy]
Simon is a wedding photographer who lives down here in Cornwall.
He came to me wanting to optimise his website for SEO. He also wanted his brand strategy and messaging guidelines sorted, to use as a basis for the website updates he was planning on DIY-ing.
His immediate business goals? “To be more consistent and less feast and famine.”
We kicked off with the brand messaging. After our first discovery call — ending up being nearly two hours, chatting all things self-employed life, fitting work around surfing time, oooh and also my own wedding — it was his approachability that stood out to me.
Having been an actor in a previous life, his superpowers seemed to be (1) being a positive influence around people who don’t like having their photo taken, and (2) becoming part of the party so he can take emotion-saturated photos at precisely the right moment, without being intrusive.
But looking at Simon’s old website, his USP and personality weren’t communicated clearly.
In trying to appeal to anyone and everyone, by not having laser-focus on just one niche audience, his message had become weak:
“I have spent years up until now with the mindset of ‘any client is a good client’. I think it comes from a lifetime of being a freelancer where you take any job because you never know when the next one is going to appear.”
Indigo wild // ABOUT PAGE
Sneaky insights: Hover your mouse over the screenshot of the Indigo Wild Studio’s about page + start scrolling to see the full page in the flesh.
Laser-focus = a stronger emotional connection.
In order to make Simon more appealing to the right customers (and therefore make his USP clearer on his website), we had to get inside the head of his target audience, know their hesitations when booking a wedding photog, and what kind of day was in their head when dreaming about walking down the aisle.
We had to understand the small group of people who were craving Simon’s approach to photography. So we had to research his perfect client.
I already had a great idea of the types of people dying to find a wedding photographer that doesn’t make you pose for hours, someone to feel relaxed around (and, in fact, I was exactly one of those people). So we spent some time working out who Simon didn’t want to work with.
“The concept of discovering who I didn't want to shoot for, who were the people I should avoid or in essence try to put off — that was surprisingly uncomfortable for me. But it has helped enormously. I now know who I am speaking to when I post something or even when I describe my business to someone. It's given me an unexpected clarity on what Indigo Wild Studio does.”
Indigo wild // SERVICES PAGE
Sneaky insights: Hover your mouse over the screenshot of the Indigo Wild Studio’s photography services + packages page + start scrolling to see the full page in the flesh.
So the focus, now, was on accurately and authentically portraying Simon’s personality and approach through both the words and the design.
My approach to communicating Simon’s USP and personality through the website included:
Uncovering the story that engaged couples are telling themselves and what they feel is standing in their way of achieving what their wedding day-dreams look like + making sure that sits in line with the story Simon is telling
Developing a warm, approachable, humorous brand voice, to make prospects feel at ease, that Simon doesn’t take life too seriously and therefore connect with like-minded couples (i.e. the ones Simon wanted to attract more of)
Creating a design that was playful but elegant, using a deep, ocean-like colour palette to convey Simon’s love of the outdoors (and appeal to his adventurous ideal clients too)
Speaking directly to the reader, through Simon’s voice, to put prospective customers at ease, as they’ll feel relieved that (1) someone is listening to their hesitations and worries about not getting the emotion in the photos they’re paying for, and (2) they’ve found someone they can connect with, to the point where they think “I like him, I want Simon to be there on my wedding day”
Using story-telling techniques to transport readers to their wedding, replicate the emotion they will feel being surrounded by their loved ones, therefore connecting the reader to the idea that Simon can facilitate these emotions for them on their big day
How to grow your business.
All in all, my project with Simon included:
✔️ Brand messaging guidelines
✔️ Audience psychographics
✔️ Brand voice style guide
✔️ 5 pages of website copy (home, about, services, intro to blog and contact)
✔️ Advanced SEO, competitor research and keyword integration
✔️ Squarespace website design + build
“I actually felt like I didn't need [a designer], or should I say it wasn't on my priority list. I was originally looking for someone to do SEO, and it was only after looking through what Alice could do for my business that I decided to go the whole hog.”
Indigo wild // HOME PAGE
Sneaky insights: Hover your mouse over the screenshot of the Indigo Wild Studio’s home page + start scrolling to see the full page in the flesh.
“I can't recommend Alice and her extraordinary work more.
Without me realising or planning it and as a side effect of her process she has not just redesigned my website, she has completely revamped my business, made me reconsider my working practice and place within the industry, it's given me a renewed confidence in what I offer clients and is allowing me to be 100% genuine to myself in my work and my marketing.
Alice is now my absolute 100% go-to in all things webby & branding. It also really helps that she's just a bloody lovely human being too.”
— Simon Johns, all-round nice guy
+ owner of Indigo Wild Studio
The results.
Happier customers
Through the brand messaging exercise, Simon is now able to bake his values throughout the entire client experience, strengthening his brand through the consistency of his message:
“This process has given my business a much stronger identity and given me a much clearer view of what and why it is I do what I do, which is translating to how I approach clients on a daily basis, and actually how I approach shoots.”
More personality
Readers can feel like they already kinda know Simon before reaching out, which is a huge conversion-barrier we’ve overcome when considering nervous prospects:
“A couple of other people have gone through it and have said: ‘Yeah, it feels like you’re talking to me.
If a website could distil a personality, it feels like you’ve done just that. Absolutely superb. You’ve bloody nailed it.”
Wider reach
The SEO strategy was designed to lead blog readers, at all stages of the buyer’s journey to the relevant next step, depending on where they are in the wedding-planning process.
Three months after launch, “I am already seeing an increase in traffic on my site + I have no doubt that over time this will equate to more bookings.”
Your website shows who you are. It is a meaningful interaction with your clients (past, present and future) that will set the tone for everything else that is to come.
Without clarity on your brand’s mission and message, it can make your website feel lacklustre.
As Simon so eloquently put it: “If your business is the large cafetière in the background brand messaging is the espresso you show people.”
As business owners we usually have a slightly distorted view of what we are and rarely find the brain-space to analyse the overall picture. Let me be that zoom out you need to refocus.
A stronger website can help your business grow, whether it’s attracting better clients, attracting more clients or both!
Let’s jump on a quick 20 minute to chat about how the world currently sees your business-baby and set a new trajectory for how you want your target audience to think and feel about you.