I offer two packages for solopreneurs and small businesses: BrandStory and Embody Your Story.

BrandStory

People buy from your company, join your cause, and spread the word because they connect with it.

Your brand story is the mechanism by which that happens. It’s the shorthand, the visual and verbal representation of what your company stands for and what it’s about.

A lot of agencies and writers and designers talk about building a brand identity. I don’t create identities. I create brand stories. Anybody can claim and create an identity. But it doesn’t mean that it’s about anything real. This is a package for individuals, companies, and organizations that are on board with the idea that everything starts with your story—the raw matter that lives in the nucleus of your brand.

Through my BrandStory process (generally a two-to-four month process), I tease out the matter of that nucleus, put it into real terms that people can relate to, and then write your web site, based on what we’ve discovered. We’ll work together through a series of interviews and exchanges back and forth. The end result is that you’ll have the essence of your brand mapped out, and your web copy complete.

What It Includes:

• A completed BrandStory document: the story of your brand, the foundation from which all decisions comes. This document lays out the tenets of your brand, and defines your brand voice.
• Help with company naming.
• Creating a site map (determining what pages you need on your site and how they relate to one another).
• Determining key words.
• Writing all copy for your web site.*
• Writing a design memo (you can give to your designer, or I partner with designers). Includes concepting with a designer for home page ideas.
• Proofing final copy once your site is live (I can make edits for you if site is in WordPress or similar user-friendly WYSIWYG format).

(* I have to have an asterisk here, because I need to a place to explain that I mean a standard amount of web copy on a standard web site. This doesn’t include individual, detailed descriptions of a litany of products (if you’re doing e-commerce), or writing your blog, or writing a bunch of articles.)

If you’re interested, send me an email (judi at judiketteler.com). I’ll send you a little form to fill out, and we can schedule a 30-minute free consult via phone to figure out if BrandStory is right for your company.

Do you still have questions? Take a look at the FAQs below.

BrandStory FAQs

Does BrandStory include designing my logo and designing my site?

No. You would never want to hire me to design anything for you. I do ideas and I do words. Not pictures. But luckily, I work with designers who are amazing. So, I can bring a designer on board to visually execute the strategy we come up with (you contract with them separately). Or, if you have your own designer, that’s great. Or heck, you may even be a designer yourself, in which case, we’ll work splendidly together.

Does it include programming?

This is pretty much a repeat of question #1. You should never let me program anything for you. If I tell you that I can program, I am under the influence of something. But as with designers, I have great relationships with programmers, and we can get your programming all squared away.

What if I don’t like the copy you write?

I’ll rewrite it.

How much does it cost?

That’s something better discussed via phone. I’m really not trying to be all weird and secretive about it, because it’s probably the thing you’re wondering the most. But I only want to share it with people who are truly interested.

What if what I want doesn’t fit into this package?

Then we’ll figure out some type of custom package. This package does work for most companies who are branding for the first time, or rebranding after being in business for a while. But I do a whole lot of different kinds of writing. Just get in touch and we’ll figure it out.

Embody Your Story

Here’s what I’ve found in the branding and copywriting work I’ve done: a lot of companies are so, so good at what they do, but they get all squeamish when they try to articulate that wonderful raw, squishy stuff that lives at the core of why they do what they do. In other words, they’re clueless about their story. They don’t necessarily need someone to lay out every tenet of their brand strategy, or write all of the copy. They just need someone to help them dig into the squishy matter and get some clarity.

That’s what the Embody Your Story package is about. Another way to think of it: it’s the first part of what I do in BrandStory: the initial discovery where you tell me the deep dark company secrets and we tease out the story. With this package, we focus our energies around helping you/your company truly embody your story.

It’s usually about a one-month process (although we can schedule the two sessions further apart). It’s really great for small businesses and solopreneurs who have been in business for a while, but are rebranding because they want their brand to truly reflect the business (they’ve outgrown the generic starter brand).

What It Includes:

• An initial 90 minute deep-dive conversation, where we start to tease out the essence of your story. (You get a recording of the conversation.)
• My (organized) notes about our conversation, with thoughts about your story—including what’s become clear, what still needs clarity, and customized homework for you.
• A second 90-minute follow up conversation. (You also get a recording of this conversation.)
• Access to my self-study course in writing about pages that rock.
• Email support around your brand story for six weeks.
• Credit toward BrandStory, if you decide to do the full branding package.

If you’re liking how all of this sounds, don’t waste more time. Just get in touch! Email me at judi at judiketteler.com. I’ll send you a form, and we’ll schedule a 30-minute free consult via phone to talk about how Embody Your Story can help you in your branding journey.

Embody Your Story FAQs

So, do you write anything for me with Embody Your Story?

Yes and no. You’ll get all of my notes (neatly packaged and organized—not random scrawl). And if you just latch onto something I wrote, hey, it’s yours. Go for it. You can use anything we tease out together through this process as web site copy. It all belongs to you in the end. But no, this package doesn’t include actually writing your web site in any kind of formal way.

So, are you like a coach or something?

Maybe, if that puts it into a framework that makes sense. Mostly what I am is a person who really, really gets story, and really knows how to pull them out (kicking and screaming) from people. I probably can’t help you align all of the other areas of your life, but I can definitely get you clear on your story.

How much does it cost?

I’m just going to repeat the same squirrely answer from above: That’s something better discussed via phone. I’m really not trying to be all weird and secretive about it, because it’s probably the thing you’re wondering the most. But I only want to share it with people who are truly interested.