BlogHer Series Part 3: Branding with Irvin Lin and Shauna Sever

This is the third part of the BlogHer NYC 2015 series. I was able to attend the branding workshop moderated by Irvin Lin of Eat the Love and “Next Door Baker” Shauna Sever of ShaunaSever.com. I came in with fellow bloggers Brook Reiser of The Babbling Brook, Elizabeth Obih-Frank of Positive Kismet and Crystal Quintero of The Cinderella Syndrome.

Irvin Lin is a writer, recipe developer, designer, photographer and self-taught baker. He has been baking since he was 9-years old and blogging full-time since 2010. Irvin has spoken at numerous blogging conferences and has a book coming out in the fall of 2016.

Shauna Sever is cookbook author, baking blogger, television host, and mom of two. She is known for her easy, fun, and accessible approach to baking. Her books include Real Sweet (HarperCollins), Marshmallow Madness!, and Pure Vanilla (Quirk Books).

Just to warn you, visiting Irvin and Shauna’s blogs might make you very hungry. I checked both out and got so inspired by the enticing food images that I promptly worked on the baking recipes I’d put on the back burner, such as Rachel Khoo’s quiche lorraine and a Pinterest pinned lemon rosemary shortbread.

Here are seven ways to a better personal brand.

1. Define your voice based on your authentic experiences, likes and dislikes. Julia Child has a very distinct viewpoint in the realm of classic French cooking. If you watch her old cooking shows, she’s this tall, proper lady with a string of pearls around her neck and wears a dress and apron. Her high-pitched, nasal voice also plays a part of her personal brand.

Another one is Jess Shyba’s Momma’s Gone City, which shows a whimsical aesthetic based on personal experiences from NYC and CA. She’s got an urban, modern viewpoint. Based on that, brands know how to approach her.

2. Know your digital voice and aesthetic. Not sure what it is? Go to google images and enter your blog’s name in the search box. The images create a visual storytelling that relates to your own personal story or brand and reflects a particular point of view.

Here are some examples.

If you google Oh Joy you’ll notice the images on her site are bright and modern. The blogger is a graphic designer so superb design is part of her personal brand.

The Pioneer Woman is another distinct brand. The images on google images have a consistently warm and earthy tone.

If you listen David Sedaris’ voice on NPR and then go on to read his books or essays, you may notice you start to HEAR his writing. His self-deprecating, humorous, writing style is part of his personal brand.

3. Excavate your personal brand traits by freewriting.

Who are you?
What sparks joy for you?
Why do you do what you do?

What are your personal catch phrases?
Freewrite and ask friends. Catch phrases set you apart.

What are your key messages?
What do you consistently give or deliver to people and how?

Your personal life is part of who you are so include some bits to share.

Don’t feel defining your brand will close you off to more opportunities. Also, don’t be afraid of being niched because it’s a great way to get identified in a crowded online space.

4. Don’t be bothered by copycats. It’s been said that imitation is a sincere form of flattery. Sever shares how this has happened to her before. She styles her own cookbooks and then noticed in the blogosphere others trying to copy her work and claim it as their own. While this has been frustrating to her, she has chosen to take the high road and ask herself, “What would Nigella Lawson do?” She also lightened up her attitude and realized, “it’s just food, let it go.” Good news is, her audience was able to call out and “shame” the imitators on blog comments so that’s been a help for her brand.

5. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out, learn from imitating, but then add your own layer to make it different. Lin suggests to be honest and specific, then polish. The blogoshere is crowded so do your best to put blinders on and put out content that’s specific to YOUR personal brand as best as you can.

6. Prepare your brand story. Have a long version, a short version, an even shorter pitch version. Have spins for your brand and certain catch phrases that are distinct to you. Your brand story will evolve.

7. Go big on your branding dream. What’s your biggest, craziest dream for your brand? In the beginning you can experiment and it will take time, but later on you will be able to crank out the content to what you really want to achieve.

Related articles

• Publishing industry’s ‘Super Thursday’ to see more than 500 books published (theguardian.com)
• The world’s most amazing ice cream parlours (telegraph.co.uk)
• 10 Things I Learned from Watching Nigella in My Pajamas – Food Crush (thekitchn.com)