Nourish Your Brand

I’ve fallen off the wagon, so grab a cuppa, because this one’s a proper catch up. I turned 40, Studio Coya turned 8, and I swapped a very hot Asia for a very cold Canada, with no autumn in between! I’m filling you in on what’s been going on behind the scenes, and what’s cooking next.What I chat about:* The move from Asia to Canada, and the tiny thing that finally made me feel settled* Two quiet birthdays (puzzles, cheese and wine, if you’re wondering)* Why I’m not starting over, just picking up where I left off* What’s next in the Studio Coya worldThe BAP retreat early bird closes Sunday 15 November. Book a call by midnight and £2,800 is locked in. You don’t have to decide by then, just come and chat to us: https://studiocoya.notion.site/bapThe Get Your Offer Noticed masterclass isn’t quite ready yet, but update you as soon as it is!======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This chat is a masterclass in how to make selling feel good. We get into the “whoops, I made it about me” reframe that changed how I sell, her word of the year (which is BORING and I’m here for it) and how to help clients say yes without ever needing to be a trickster.What we chat about:* How Steph reframes selling as throwing a really good dinner party* The “whoops, I made it about me” moment for de-centring yourself in sales* Her word of the year (boring) and why it’s the route to bigger goals* Sneaking spinach into smoothies: giving clients what they want while sneaking in what they actually needSteph Crowder is the founder of Sold Out Group Programs and host of the Courage & Clarity podcast. She started her career as a director of sales training at Groupon back when the company made the cover of Forbes as the fastest growing in history. So basically, she knows what she’s doing!Connect with Steph:* Instagram: @heystephcrowder* Podcast: The Courage & Clarity Podcast* Sold Out Group Programs waitlist: stephcrowder.com/sogp======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

Not every offer in your business needs its own brand, and this week I’m walking through what makes an offer worth branding, how to actually pick the signature one, and what my favourite London bagel shop has to do with any of this.What I chat about:* Why trying to brand all your offers at once dilutes your business* What a bagel shop can teach you about signature offers* How to identify which of your offers is THE signature one (and what to do when two are neck-and-neck)If you’ve been sitting there going “yep, I probably just need to focus on ONE”... the Offer Oven builds out your signature offer’s brand identity in seven days 🍞======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This week’s chat with Kal is basically two brand nerds getting properly excited about themed offers, world-building, and why most brands still sound like they’ve been through a corporate blender. Kal came from 15 years in theatre, made the switch to branding and copy, and now runs Words Hurt, where he helps businesses put more FUN in their fundamentals and get booked out while causing a scene. We get into how theatre still shapes everything he does, why a theme without purpose is just decoration, and where play sits in his whole approach to creative direction.What we get into:* How Words Hurt started as an experiment to see how far Kal could push his own creativity (spoiler: nobody hated it)* Why themes need an actual purpose, and the ice cream cone analogy that explains what a working theme really does* Where “play” fits into running a business, and why it’s the difference between having an imagination well full or bone dryAbout Kalyl:A former theatre-maker turned creative director, Kalyl writes brands with bite, identities that feel alive under the skin, messaging with vertebrae, and stories that refuse to sit quietly in the corner.He has a decade and a half of experience directing performers onstage and nearly as long directing founders and creators on the page. He runs Words Hurt, where he helps businesses put more FUN in their fundamentals, and get booked out while causing a scene.Links from this episode:* Website: words-hurt.com* Instagram: @words-hurt.copy* Newsletter: Once More, With FEELING — the most dramatic newsletter on the internet ======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This week I’m breaking down a word I say on the pod all the time and I think everyone’s been hearing me slightly wrong on: consistency. It doesn’t mean post more. And it doesn’t mean use the same template every time either. I’m using Dishoom as the example, talking about the visual language that makes an offer feel unmistakably its own, and how dialling elements up and down in different places isn’t inconsistent, it’s appropriate.What we get into:* Why “just post more” and “same template every time” both miss what consistency actually is* What makes every touchpoint feel like part of the same world* Turning your brand elements into dials you can turn up and downIf you’re not quite sure where your consistency is landing and where it isn’t, take the free Brand Roast self-assessment. It’s a self-guided audit that shows you where the opportunities are in your brand ecosystem and what to tweak.ROAST YOUR BRAND HERE: studiocoya.com/roast======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This week’s chat with Liz is a designer-to-designer heart-to-heart about how to build a brand and business you actually want to show up for. We get into how she built her multi-hyphenate business over 18 years, the reframe that shifted how she approaches everything, and why she thinks of branding as a really good outfit that gives you the confidence to show up as yourself.What we get into:* The reframe from should to could that instantly takes the pressure off* Why the rejection challenge sped up Liz’s ability to pitch for anything (and the maths behind why challenges work)* The good outfit analogy for how great branding actually feelsAbout Liz:Liz Mosley is a graphic designer with over 17 years experience and now specialises in creating creative branding and websites for independent businesses. She also hosts a podcast called Building Your Brand. Her goal for her clients and audience is for them to have branding that they love that helps them to feel so proud and confident promoting their businesses and sharing what they do with the world.Links from this episode:* Podcast: Building Your Brand* Website: lizmosley.net* Instagram: @lizmmosley======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

I caught myself doing the exact thing I tell clients not to do. Mid client rebrand, adding another colour, another font, a few more icons, and every single one felt like an improvement at the time. Then I stepped back and went… oh.This episode’s about why we all default to adding, and what it’s costing you.What we get into:* The moment I realised I’d have to cut hours of work (and why I was lucky)* The Lego bridge experiment that explains why your brain never offers “remove” as an option* Why the thing you’re proudest of is the thing paying the priceIf any of this is hitting a nerve, my Brand Roast is now a self-assessment!You go through it yourself, privately, and it shows you what’s actually doing a job in your brand and what’s just sitting there → studiocoya.com/roast======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This week’s chat with Hannah is all about Big Fish Energy, the mindset she’s been building for the last 18 months that took her from sitting on ideas to speaking at Atomicon, running the London Marathon, and going solo camping at a festival.We get into what a big fish goal actually is, why naming your thing changes what’s possible, and the tiny confidence reps that build up to the bigger wins.What we get into:* Why naming your concept, offer, or mindset makes it feel real (and how Big Fish Energy came about)* Using jealousy to help you actually figure out what your big fish goals are* The one question to ask yourself in any moment you’re about to shrink backAbout Hannah:Hannah Isted is the founder of HI Communications and the author of The Best 90 Days Ever. She’s been running her business for over 11 years, helping small business owners promote themselves in 10 minutes a day through her membership of the same name. She’s also the brain behind Big Fish Energy, a concept and upcoming programme all about not ruling yourself out and actually going for the goals you want.Links from this episode:* Instagram: @hicommunications_* Website: hicommunications.co.uk* The Best 90 Days Ever* Big Fish Energy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This episode’s about the shift from calling myself a service to building a signature offer and what that meant for me.What we get into:* Why “I do branding” was really just what I did, not an offer for my clients* What changed the day Offer Oven got its own theme and world, not just a name* Where offer branding actually shows up, sales pages, proposals, DMs, screenshots you’ll never seeIf this has you wondering whether your own offer needs branding, pop me a message, not every offer needs it, but it’s worth figuring out which one of yours might → LET’S TALK!======================🍞 Want your offer to stop getting overlooked? Brand your signature offer in 7 days. Stick it in the Offer Oven 👉 studiocoya.com/offeroven💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what’s cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let’s be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com

This week’s chat with Mel is all about visibility, PR, and showing up in your marketing as the person you actually are. We get into how she overcame her own fear of being seen, why the messy chapters of your story are the thing that makes you connective (not the polished bits), and the simple mind-mapping exercise she has clients do before every podcast interview. If you’ve been thinking about doing more PR this year, this one’s for you.What we get into:* Why the messy bits of your story (the divorce, the pivot, the moment you almost quit) are actually your PR gold* The three-day rule for duvet days, and how Mel keeps consistent when she’s not feeling it* The one exercise to do before every podcast interview so you don’t show up wooden and nervousAbout Mel:Melanie Whittaker is a Public Relations consultant. She helps people weave their story into their marketing. By widening the net she gets them featured on podcasts, magazines, newspapers and Digital TV. Your story is powerful and Melanie helps you share it with the world.Links from this episode:* Website: youareyourmarketing.com* Threads: @youareyourmarketing======================💌 Want this podcast, more design nuggets as well as a nosey at what's cooking behind the scene delivered straight to your inbox? studiocoya.com/newsletter📱 Let's be friends on Instagram: instagram.com/studiocoya This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit studiocoya.substack.com