An easy exercise for writing a brand message

Writing a brand message is important because it encapsulates the very reason your business exists in a neat sentence or two. A clear brand message explains what you do, who for, how and why. So, let’s dive right in, shall we? For this super-simple exercise, you first just need to complete these lines:

What: ________
Who: for ________
How: by ________
Where: ________ 
When: ________ 
Why: because ________

Grab your pen and paper and let’s break down each one of these and start filling in the gaps, step by step.

Writing a brand message: WHAT

This is nice and straight-forward. What is your business? What do you do? A photographer who takes wedding photos? A developer who builds fast WordPress sites? A business coach? A virtual assistant? A marketing expert? A copywriter? The more succinct you can be, the better.

Whatever it is that you do, slot it into the “What” section. I’ll show you my own example so you can easily follow along.

What: a brand consultant/designer who creates inspiring brands

Writing a brand message: WHO

This is your ideal target market. Who are they? Think about your perfect client and how you would describe them. I start the “who” line with the word “for”. For example, “for female entrepreneurs who want to travel while they work”, or “for new, overwhelmed parents”

Here’s mine.

Who: for small business owners who are ready to reach the next level

Writing a brand message: WHERE

Do you provide your services across the country? Are you local? Local where? Or maybe you’re online? Wherever you work and provide your services/products, this is where you write it down.

Where: online, from anywhere to anywhere

Writing a brand message: WHEN

When do your clients need your services? What kind of situation calls for you to step in and help? Maybe it’s “when there’s a reason to celebrate”, or “when it’s time to find a new job”.

When: in a time when consistent, stylish and authentic branding is not only desired but expected

Writing a brand message: HOW

This links to your method or process. How do you deliver your offerings? How do you make sure your clients get the results they need? Try to highlight any way it’s different than what other businesses do. This line starts with “by”, e.g. “by making my services available 24/7″ or “by keeping my process incredibly simple and organised”.

How: by collaborating with clients from start to finish, combining strategy and design

Writing a brand message: WHY

The last one, but also the most crucial! Figuring out your “why” is no easy feat. You can check out this post for some useful advice if it’s something you’re still working out. Your why is the purpose that drives your business. It’s the reason your business exists and the reason anyone should care about it.

Your “why” should also follow on neatly from your “how”. I do what I do by X because Y.

Here’s my why.

Why: because brands need to tell whole, uninterrupted stories

Writing a brand message: Putting it all together

How you have all the building blocks you need to piece together a compelling brand message. Depending on how succinct you managed to be with your individual lines, you might need one or two sentences to tell the whole story.

Again, here are my lines:

What: a brand consultant/designer who creates brands
Who: for small business owners who are ready to reach the next level
Where: online — from anywhere to anywhere
When: in a time when consistent, stylish and authentic branding is not only desired but expected
How: by collaborating with clients from start to finish, combining strategy and design
Why: because brands need to tell whole, uninterrupted stories

You’ll notice that you can read through each line and it reads like a single (though admittedly quite long) sentence. From this point, you can refine the pieces and rearrange them in an order that makes the most sense for you.

And here’s an example of how I put the lines together to write my brand message.

“I’m a brand consultant who creates inspiring brands for small business owners who are ready to reach the next level. In a time when consistent, stylish and authentic branding is not only desired but expected, I collaborate with my clients from start to finish, combining strategy and design, so that the brands we build tell their whole, uninterrupted story.”

You might have noticed I left out “when”. For my own brand message, I didn’t find it crucial to include so I simply didn’t. The more concise you can be, the better, so don’t worry too much if you can’t fit every line into your brand message. The one thing you definitely shouldn’t skip is the “why”!

Final thoughts

I hope this exercise helped you with writing your brand message! This is a great starting point for writing the “about” section of your website, or practicing an elevator pitch to explain what you do.

Want to do some more of this type of foundational work for your brand? Check out the Core Brand Pillars Workbook — it’s a free guide to help you define what your brand stands for and how you can set it apart. Grab it for free.

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