Brand You Magazine - The Together Issue

ISSUE 1

COVER WOMAN

CHERIE CLONAN

Putting people before profit

INCLUSION REVOLUTION

Fat, black, queer and owning it

YAYA SISTERHOOD

Empowering our girls

AMY CLARKE

A Confetti Rebel for all

together THE

ISSUE

1

THE

DIGITAL

16

PICNIC

CO 3

N FE

T TI R

Be real. Be true. Be you.

EDITOR’S NOTE

4

People before profit.

8

A rebel for all.

EB EL S

MEET CHERIE OF THE DIGITAL PICNIC

MEET AMY OF CONFETTI REBELS

12 The future is female.

MEET KIM OF THE YAYA SISTERHOOD

16 An inclusion revolution.

MEET RHODESIA OF INCLUSION REVOLUTION

20 Connect through copywriting.

MEET GEMMA OF CONTENTLY DRIVEN

BE REAL. BE TRUE.

Be you.

Brand You was a dream. An idea that as a collective, we have so much to share, celebrate, learn and teach each other. That business isn’t a formula. And time and time again, incredible women who were bringing their whole selves to the table drew me in.

Because they were embracing their uniqueness and infusing it into their business. And by doing this built aligned, heart-centred businesses that were a celebration of themselves and their passions.

2020 could have easily been a time of disconnect. Instead, I saw those women come together. We’ve been broken down and built back up. Together we’ve laughed and cried, raged and appreciated, learnt and grown. Because we are stronger together. Always.

Welcome to Issue One, “The Together Issue”.

ROWENA PREDDY

FOUNDER | EDITOR | DESIGNER

BEFORE The Digital Picnic is a rainbow unicorn dipped in glitter in a sea of social management companies. Founder and cover-woman Cherie Clonan ensures they stay that way by putting people first, always.

Who are you and what’s The Digital Picnic all about?

I’m a 37-year-old mother of two and a digital marketer. Always passionately digital from when I was a teenager, and dial-up internet arrived in Australia. I remember I thought that’s me done. The Digital Picnic (TDP) began in October 2014. We’re professional gap fillers with many different workshops. We teach people and run team training too. We also manage social media and specialise in performance marketing. So, that’s me and us.

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What’s the importance of an authentic and real social media presence?

People finally understand this, and it took them too long. I remember craving to humanise the presences I worked with when I was an in-house marketer for many places.

Because that’s what people crave, people. So that’s what we show. You’ve got to share the real. Even the biggest brands need to create a connection between themselves and their followers. It’s marketing 101, so that’s what we teach.

How important has being yourself been to TDP’s success, not just you, but your team as well?

I couldn’t imagine our business being anything but this. It’s a huge deal to have 14 human beings by me always, humanising at every touchpoint. There have been beautiful moments in this space that people wouldn’t see online because they’re not my stories to share. I’ll never forget when one of our team members stood up one day, encouraged by private conversations with me, and talked about her battle with mental health. It was a lovely day, not her battling depression. That’s not something I would wish on anyone, but she was supported and continues to be. I still get goosebumps thinking about how courageous she was. I still get goosebumps thinking about how courageous she was.

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What tips do you have for people to step into themselves within their business? What can they start doing?

I want to be sometimes endearing, and

I set myself reminders, simple ones that

pocket of the inter-webs.

for me, those three things have lent themselves to some of this most powerful content we’ve ever shared on our little

don’t serve to overwhelm me. I have them relatability and endearment. So I want

So, having things simplified down to three words?

to be memorable. I want to be relatable.

I feel like I make an impact with the content

on post-it notes. They are memorability,

we share. It’s because of those three things written on post-it notes. And for small and medium enterprises (SME), that’s something

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you’re lucky you get to tuck into without

%

needing seven different approval processes like I had when I was in corporate land.

OFF

So be happy, you get to show up and be

ALL OF TDP’S

yourself. And there are no restrictions

COURSES

would be my top-line advice to remove

ONLINE

other than you restricting yourself. So that the barriers people put on themselves. It’s

CODE:

tdpxbrandyou

leaning into those three things that help me

One use per person

every single day. Everything I do needs to go back to those words.

6

One of your driving values is you aim to put people before profit. What ways do you do that?

My dreams for having a profitable business are when you have money, and it’s in the right hands, good hands do good things with money. So what my hands do with the profit that TDP makes is I take it, and I make sure my family are looked after because that is important, but I also give a lot back. And that means I have happy people who stick around long-term and do incredible things for my business and what I’ve learnt is that makes your business profitable.

Lastly, why do you think it is so important to brand you into your business?

Because people are craving your stories, you only need to look at your top-line social media analytics at the end of each month. And every month without fail I see we can’t be without that founder content. It has to be there because it lifts everything else. So be true to you. If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re authentic, be real. If you’re more serious, go for the educational type content. Show up and be yourself, whatever that is. To the SMEs, especially the solopreneurs go out and be you online, don’t be afraid to be you because whatever you is, is unique and people want that.

want to hear more?

Click to listen to Cherie’s podcast >>>

listen HERE

www.thedigitalpicnic.com.au

A FOR ALL With her infectious laughter, bubbling enthusiasm and nobullshit honesty Amy lives up to the title of “the antidepressant ray of sunshine on the ‘gram”.

What is Confetti Rebels and how did you come up with the epic name?

Confetti Rebels is a female empowerment apparel brand. If you look at my fashion, sometimes it’s quite questionable, but I wanted to have an apparel brand that stood out from the crowd and made a difference. So the word confetti, bright and vibrant. And I suppose you could say I’m a bit of a rebel.

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What advice do you have for people wanting to build a successful space on Instagram?

Be authentic. That’s what people want to see. No one wants to see bullshit.

I’ll put a picture up of a t-shirt. “Yeah, look, brand new t-shirt out. Go buy it.” I get 100, 200 likes. But if I do a post with me in it and put a t-shirt on that I’m selling, (so there’s a little bit of marketing in there), posts with me in it skyrocket 700, 800 likes. It’s crazy, comments through the roof. As I said, people want to see authenticity.

What advice do you have for those who are scared or hesitant to step up as themselves?

If you’re passionate about what you’re doing or what you’re selling, then other people are going to be passionate about it as well. You’ve got to put a story towards it and put that passion into it, and bring out your personality, your memories. That’s golden content right there. It’s something that takes time. It’s something you don’t go all guns blazing into it.

Warm into it. Do a couple of little posts first. Do a couple of little stories of yourself, and I can guarantee you’ll get positive feedback and really good reactions.

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You’re vocal about your stance around inclusivity. It has a different meaning for everyone. What does it mean to you and how do you ensure your business is inclusive?

I feel like inclusivity’s not just about body positivity. It’s about everything, people with disabilities, people of colour. It’s been hard for me to convey that because I’m a privileged white girl. And I can genuinely say I had a great upbringing.

But it’s important to realise not everybody had that, and everyone’s got their own story. So the important thing about my business and inclusivity is making sure my products attract everybody. And some of the t-shirts aren’t for everyone. But I don’t think that’s got anything to do with colour or body size.

I think it’s sometimes to do with the slogan. That’s also why it’s important for Confetti Rebels to have charities. Focusing on charities that do need help, like Indigenous charities in Australia that are doing so many amazing things.

What’s one of your biggest learning curves that you’ve had in your business?

Don’t do everything yourself, because you’re going to burn out. I’m a control freak. I always have been, I need to control everything. And I’ve tried to do everything half-arsed, and it’s not working. So I stick to the shit I know and do it right and started outsourcing shit I don’t know anything about.

I’ve learnt it’s essential to do. So trying not to do everything yourself is the biggest learning curve for me.

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What advice do you have for people wanting to put a little more color into their world?

Wear whatever you’re comfortable in.

If you want to wear obscene colours and crazy things on your head, do that.

One of my friends is like, “Oh, I wish I could wear what you wear, but I don’t like people looking at me.” I’m like, “Well, unfortunately, that’s what you get. But who gives a shit if someone looks at you?

Whatever. What do you care what they think? You don’t even know them.” Fun, bright outfits make the world go around and bring happiness.

What would be one of the best reactions that you have had to being yourself in your business, and why should people step up in their businesses as themselves?

“If people don’t like it, then they can f*ck off.”

Look, through my dancing videos, I guess.

I’ll just chuck on whatever I’m wearing at that time, even if it’s just a pair of undies.

It’s own what you do. Own what you love. Be passionate about it. Show how you’re passionate about it. And again, if people don’t like it, then they can f*ck off. Because the ones that do like it will stick around.

listen HERE

want to hear more?

Listen to Amy’s podcast now>>>

www.confettirebels.com.au

THE

future IS

female

Kim’s magnetic positivity is infectious. A guiding light for tweenage girls on the cusp of womanhood, she embraces all it means to be a woman in today’s society.

What is Yaya Sisterhood is and how did it came about?

Yaya Sisterhood is a monthly workshop I run for girls aged eight to 12. We explore topics like body positivity, social media safety, healthy friendships and nutrition. It’s all held in a circle setting, and we share a talking bowl around. It’s set up to be a safe and intimate space for girls.

It came about having conversations with my children, where they were expressing their frustrations about friendships, their confidence levels with their body and social media things.

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I want girls out there to understand who you are right now is exactly who you need to be. You stand up and stand out as yourself, right?

The language I use in the workshops, and through the branding is tools. We have a tool belt, let’s add to that tool belt, which is how I structured the workshops. So the tool we might be learning in this workshop is affirmations.

Or how to have honest conversations and communications.

How important is your support network to you?

I could not shout it any louder, how 100% essential it is to have that support network of “me too’s”, the “you go girl”, and the “you’re not alone”. I know this isn’t everybody’s flavour of jam when it comes to business, but I’ve been honest from the beginning and shared every step. Every time I came across a new resource, I’d share it straight away. If I hadn’t seen other people being honest about their journeys and having those me-too moments, I don’t know how far along my journey I’d be. Because I’d be stuck wallowing in my own space, with self-doubt and anxiety.

And it starts to foster this positive space.

Positivity encourages positivity like realness also fosters realness. It’s 6-degrees of separation by business, right?

It’s like a personal development journey that coincides with business.

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Join Kim on her podcast ‘The Sun is Coming’ It serves as a space that believes everyone has a story worth sharing; a story that someone else needs to hear, a story that could be the very ‘AHA’ moment someone needed to make their next bold move, a story that could heal, a story that encourages belly laughs and knee slaps, a story that leaves a lasting impression of ‘I can do this, because I am not alone’.

What conversations do you feel you’ll be having with some of these girls about what’s been happening over the last few months?

You’re not your mum’s eldest daughter, who is her helper.

You’re not the grumpy big sister. This is your space to be without the labels, and everybody’s equal. And now we’re back here all of that stuff doesn’t exist because they would have had this quick injection back to school post-COVID and probably haven’t had time to recalibrate into who I am. They’ve had to shift from homeschool life back into, “Oh, wait, I’m that girl again”. I’m the academic girl, or I’m the tomboy girl.

How have you branded what you do differently in your industry?

Sticking to what is me. I make sure this is throughout my copy, I’m not there to educate on a particular topic. I’m there to facilitate a space that is safe and open, where we can explore. So within my branding, I’ve kept it as me. What you see on social media, the way I talk, the way I show up on stories or a selfie, a branding shoot is what you meet.

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The fact these young girls are going to have a mindset skillset to go out into the real world. Seriously, the future is female true?

I think what happened early on in the Yaya, building phase, I had set up my initial first workshop and to myself and thought, okay, I’m going to do this. Did it and it generated a lot of interest and a lot of success with great testimonials. And then I did nothing for eight months because I thought I need my logo to be perfect. I need my grid to be perfect. I need to be perfect. I need a blow dryer, and I need power suits, and I need everything to be shiny.

“The future is female.

And I’m not sorry about it.”

And I was basing that off the comparison of other successful, youth wellness and development workshops and businesswomen thinking the word business meant a suit and blow-dried hair. Let’s give those parts of me a chance to shine and build those parts up, which then translates into the circle space with the girls. Everything that gets shared, explored, discussed and communicated in those circles is 100% what I feel you would have experienced as a child, I would have experienced as a child and what we all would have needed as children.

So 100%, the future is female. And I’m not sorry about it.

want to hear more?

Listen to Kim’s podcast now>>>

listen HERE

www.yayasisterhood.com.au

n o i t u l o v e inclusion r She’s a fat, black, queer womxn with mental illness...

What values, beliefs, and traits do you embody within your business?

Society or individuals have tried to erase one or all of her identities.

Equality. I’m big on people treated fairly and getting an equal chance. Creativity, that’s obvious as a designer. You-ness.

It’s important to be your true self, and that should be enough. And colour.

Definitely colour. I love bright colours.

She fights back by being unapologetically herself.

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“We all are different and we can celebrate each other’s differences.”

Can you tell us about a pivotal point that you went, you know what? Stuff this. I’m just going to be me.

You know Tumblr? I was on there constantly. Seeing fat women who were unapologetic about their bodies and loving themselves. Having relationships and falling in love and being successful was such a pivotal moment for me because I think of, my identities, being fat has always been something that was seen as negative by the world. I decided I’m going to be done feeling bad about myself.

I’m going to live it the way I want to do it, and this is what I’m going to do. I used to say I’m going to have a relationship when I’m this. I’m going to feel happy when I do this. But all that is BS. It’s frustrating to think I was waiting to live my life because of that.

What piece of advice would you give people if they want to try and understand more where someone’s coming from?

I would tell them not to see. Like people are people, but everyone’s different, and that’s what’s beautiful about it. The fact that we all are different and we can celebrate each other’s differences, but also know that we’re all still people. I think that’s the most important thing.

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What do you believe are the top reasons why people should be pushing towards having an inclusive business?

Because it’s the right thing to do, but that’s beside the point. Some people need to be motivated by numbers. 64% of millennial buyers will be more likely to buy something after they see a diverse business. And then also knowing you can attract people with the same values as you. If you care a lot about the Black Lives Matter movement and stuff like that, you should be posting it on your business profiles. Otherwise, people aren’t going to know that’s what you support and you could get clients that are against it and likely saying all lives matter. You don’t want that. I don’t want it.

I post whatever I feel on social media, so people know what I stand for. Because otherwise you’ll get people who could be the opposite, and then you’ll have to turn projects down or have awkward conversations with clients, and that’s not a good time for anyone.

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What would you say is the first step in creating a more inclusive business?

I think the first step is thinking about what it feels like to be in someone else’s shoes. You could pick anything. A different race, body ability, physical impairment or income bracket. Try to think about what it might feel like to hear certain things you see in the news, social media or read and try to figure out how would this person feel if they heard that. Or look for one of the things you might have that puts you into a marginalized group and use that as a catalyst to understand why it might feel exclusionary to someone else.

What kinds of little steps do you feel like people can start to take to step into being more inclusive within themselves?

I think reading books is helpful. The Beauty Myth helped me. Reading about what beauty is and how it’s all something being sold to us. Telling us that we’re not enough. We’re not thin enough. We’re not young enough. Selling you some potion and a lotion to fix that. These are things that it’s all for marketing and making money.

want to hear more? Listen to Rhodesia’s podcast now >>> www.inclusionrevolution.co

listen HERE

5

ways

to connect through

copywriting Imagine genuinely connecting with your audience through copywriting?

The best news is you can. Because if you can talk, you can write copy.

It’s that simple.

“Listening is more important than talking.”

I got told this as a child, and it stuck with me for life. Because if you truly listen then what you say will count so much more.

And every good conversation starts with listening. Why? Because people want to get heard. Don’t you? I know I do.

So what does this mean for copywriting?

Copywriting is having a chat with your readers. So when you write, do it in a conversational and friendly tone because your audience will feel you’re hearing them, connected with and included.

Conversational writing is more inclusive Think about your audience. Could they have a learning disability? English may not be their first language. Or, perhaps they’re not interested in big words and long sentences. A conversational tone is more inclusive.

You speak in a conversational tone. So how do you write in it?

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1

BE CLEAR, SHORT AND SIMPLE. People don’t want to read a thesis because they can’t be bothered. So to keep your writing conversational be specific with your words. Use short sentences. And use simple words.

Hint - if you’ve used big words, try swapping them for simpler ones.

Participate - Join us. Who the heck says “I utilised my blender last night” Umm… no one ever.

2

USE INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE The most powerful word in the English language is you. Because it’s inclusive, makes people feel special and it’s friendly. Oh, and it’s dam persuasive as well.

3

USE CONTRACTIONS Your solution to a friendly writing tone. Because no one says, I am going to the shops. You say I’m going to the shops.

4

LEAVE GRAMMAR AT THE DOOR So you can drop your writing overwhelm and transform your brain into a copywriter’s mind.

Do you speak grammatically correct? Nope. I know you don’t. Because I don’t. So think about how you speak and write that way.

But don’t get too carried away. Because you still need correct spelling and know the difference between there, their and they’re.

5

ASK QUESTIONS Why? Because questions keep your writing engaging. Like a conversation with someone (your reader), they feel included and compelled to listen (read on.)

How many questions have I asked you so far?

Remember, if you write in a conversational tone, then your audience will feel connected with, included and listened to.

want to read more?

Check out Discover Your Brand Voice HERE

www.contentlydriven.com

Hi, I’m Gemma

DO YOU REALLY NEED A

rebrand Um... I think so... kinda... maybe?

A big part of being in business is learning to listen and follow your intuition, that gut instinct. Chances are, you know something is missing in your branding but you just can’t put your finger on EXACTLY what it is.

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