Do you ever stare at your screen for hours because you keep questioning if that Instagram caption is good enough, creative enough, or “engaging” enough for the algorithm? Then maybe decide not to post at all? Or maybe you cringe at the thought of handing out your business card because you can’t even stomach looking at the design. And your website?? You want to cry just thinking about how it’s not the best reflection of you and your business. You don’t feel confident that your messaging is conveying what you’re all about.

Ugh. Say hello to brand shame.

I almost let it kill my dream. I almost believde the lies that my work (and self) weren’t good enough for the internet. To have a place in the creative community. To be the REAL me. And friend, I care about you way too much to let that happen so let’s talk all about:

• What brand shame is and how to recognize it
• How brand shame impacts your overall marketing strategy and kills your business
• How to get rid of brand shame and rebuild your confidence (and bank account)

 

Because I believe you deserve a business and life you’re crazy passionate about.

Aight? Let’s do this!

WHAT IS BRAND SHAME?

I could give you the wikipedia definition, but no one has ever explained shame better to me than Brene Brown. Here are my top 3 favorite quotes from her about shame:

1. “Shame is the intensely painful feeling that we are unworthy of love or belonging.”.
2. “Shame is the most powerful master emotion. It’s the feeling that we’re not good enough.”.
3. “The difference between shame and guilt is the difference between “I am bad” and “I did something bad.”.

 

Now, tie in your brand to that shame and think of it this way:

Brand shame is the crazy painful feeling that our business is unworthy of love or belonging…and by extension we ourselves, are therefore unworthy of love or belonging.

The worst part?

Brand shame is sneaky. It happens when you believe lies about yourself and business and you don’t even know they’re lies. It happens when you choose hopelessness and feel done trying. So you have to know when you’re experiencing it to take control of it.

Spoiler alert: I still struggle with this–even in writing this blog post!

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU’RE EXPERIENCING BRAND SHAME:

I see brand shame most commonly through my client’s questions. Questions like:

• “Can I really be the real me and share my personal and professional life?”
• “Do I ‘HAVE’ to create an education course like everyone else?”
• “Who am I to be blogging about this?”
• “How can I get sales without a huge marketing budget?”
• “What’s the point of posting on social media if I don’t even have a huge following?”
• “How can I send weekly emails when I don’t even know what to say?”

 

It happens when we:

• Get stuck on the comparison train of what “everyone else” is doing
• Get negative feedback about our work
• Feel misunderstood by close friends and family
• Doubt ourselves, our calling, or purpose
• Think we can’t be our “true” selves on the internet because of fear of rejection

 

So If you’re asking yourself questions like this or if you are:

• Not promoting your business because you’re embarrassed about what it looks like…
• Not clear on what your message or brand position is all about…
• Not posting to social media because you can’t afford professional photography or think your images aren’t enough…
• Spending hours trying to craft an Instagram post or not posting at all because you “don’t know what to say”…
• If you aren’t growing your email list because you think no one will care about what you have to say or because you aren’t comfortable pitching your product/services…
• If you’re constantly thinking you chose the wrong business model, product, service or are doubting yourself frequently and feel “stuck” more times than not…

 

You may very well be experiencing brand shame.

 

Trust me, I didn’t think I could talk about Jesus and rap music or yoga pants and champagne and I certainly never thought I could have one brand to put an umbrella on top of all that and still convince people to buy from me.

But I was wrong.

At the root of all brand shame is a lack of confidence. There’s a disbelief that you, your product, your service, your captions, your images, how much you make, what you look like, what people think of your business…isn’t enough. It’s not worthy. It’s not valuable.

…So you don’t promote it.

AND THAT JUST TOTALLY BREAKS MY HEART!

Why? Because this is more than just a job to you. It’s your calling, your dream, the lifestyle you choose for your family, your community, your faith, the the financial freedom you deserve…. And brand shame 100% impacts your overall marketing strategy negatively (which obvi, I’m passionate about marketing strategy).

So here’s the scoop:

Marketing is the promoting and selling of your product or services.

So if you aren’t promoting it because you’re experiencing brand shame, how will anyone know about it?

And if no one knows about it, how will you make any money??

See how brand shame is killing your business?? It all starts with you not promoting your business..and then not making money because no one knows about it.

HOW TO GET RID OF BRAND SHAME:

1. Recognize it (see above)
2. Replace the lies of not “enough” you’re telling yourself with truth.
   1. You can’t change your reality without changing your mind.
3. Act/show up– regardless of emotion.
   1. It took a long time to believe the lies you have told yourself this far and it will take some time to “feel” confident. Act anyways. Show up regardless of how you feel. Post the caption. Write the blog post. Do what it takes to promote your brand regardless of how you feel. Your mind will catch up with your actions the more you routinely combat your emotions with action.

 

Your business is worth it. YOU are worth it.

Sometimes we just need permission to move forward–you have mine.

Sometimes we’re just being “Type A” and  just need to hear that we need to make progress and not perfection.

And sometimes we just need a little boost with some even more specific action steps to jumpstart your confidence— like my free confidence mini-workbook that can be downloaded from my V.I.P. marketing library. 🙂

In it, you’ll find all my fave affirmations to replace the lies you’ve been telling yourself with truth AND a guide to the exact free (or nearly free) creative tools and resources I use to promote my business with confidence. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

 

Oh, and this blog post? And the freebies in my library? You’ll likely find minor typos. You may even find some typography inconsistencies or images that aren’t 100% centered. #sueme But guess what? It’s good enough. The information is all there. The heart is all there. And I’m still sharing it with you. It’s still worthy of putting it out in the world.

Cheers to kicking brand shame’s booty and promoting that worthy, beautiful business of yours! Cheers to progress not perfection, friend!