Branding Your Work is a Hilarious Cruel Punishment from the Gods

Start here if you're SPINNING trying to start a new project (enter: THE REMEDY)

I’m starting a new personal project, and it’s reminded me that BRANDING YOUR WORK IS A HILARIOUS CRUEL PUNISHMENT FROM THE GODS.

How hard is it to come up with a brilliant brand name? Right?

It can be really, really easy to phone it in and just go with something like, “Stephanie’s World.” Please do not go with “Stephanie’s World.” Not only is it of high top sneakers from the 90s (oh wait, those are cool again!), but it takes a lot of money / time / anger management classes to market a name that nobody understands at first glance. That’s like starting a pizza shop but calling it “Larry’s Salmon.” Or worse: “Elevate.” Why is everyone elevating everything? Honestly, any name that includes words like: Summit, Peak, Venture, Elevate, Integrity, Horizon, Legacy, or Solutions deserves to be sent to Branding Jail with a lifetime sentence of Comic Sans.

So anyway. *swirls coffee* I’m starting a new personal project, which means I’m starting a new newsletter, because this is where all projects should start: by thinking on the page.

I know it’s tempting to want to put up the website.
Start the Shopify shop.
F*ck with Instagram.
Make really ugly logos.
Make more really ugly logos.
Buy extra-thick business cards that don’t fit into any wallet.
And put the proverbial business cart in front of the proverbial business horse.

That’s a typical approach. You go out, set up a shop, and then try to get people in the door.

MEH! Not my favorite. I’ve already got an ulcer thinking about it. This is when it gets really hard because every Etsy shop owner on earth—for example—is trying to figure out how in the gin bottle to differentiate themselves from every other Etsy shop on earth.

There are SO many lovely Etsy shops. And SO many lovely Shopify stores. And SO many (lovely, lol) competitors. How do you stand out from the crowd??? 🎯

(Especially if you are selling breast-milk-flavored toothpicks like these guys. I mean, SO MUCH COMPETITION.)

But—whatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatif…

You started with the people.
You gathered them together around a shared mission.
And then offered your work as a helpful tool on that shared mission?

This is the difference between:

A Product-Led Business (🛒 “Build it and pray they come.”)

and

A People-Led Business (🎤 “Make friends first, then sell them stuff that aligns with your shared worldview”)

One starts with a product. The other starts with a point of view.
One says, “Here’s my store!”
The other says, “Here’s my story.”
One puts business cards in the mail.
The other puts meaning in people’s inboxes.

And I can promise you—the latter is always going to be the best route for creators like you and I. Because you don’t have millions of dollars in ad spend like big corporations to market your stuff; you need to use your point of view to market your stuff.

Turns out?
Your weird little brain is the budget.
Your taste is the billboard.
Your personality is the brand.
Your email list is the marketing department, PR firm, sales team, and vibe check—all rolled into one.

And this is the magic of starting with editorial instead of inventory. You’re not just trying to sell someone a thing. You’re inviting them into a worldview they want to be a part of.

Alas!

The very first step when launching a new project—at least, from the weird little brain of Ash Ambirge—is to stop overthinking it, and start talking about it, instead.

In other words: start a newsletter, you magnificent goblin.

And stop overthinking what it should contain!

The point is not to make an airbrushed magazine (ew), the point is to have a journal of ideas. How much nicer is it to think of it that way, as a journal of ideas? You don’t have to ~HaVe All tHe AnSwErS~ like a posh British aristocrat, you simply need to be willing to show up and explore one big question that matters to you.

The question you pick is the theme of your newsletter.
It’s the mortar that will hold everything together.
It’s the thread that will bring cohesion to your ideas.

A few examples: