Every time, I come across an exceptional business, I can’t help but start to place them on the Marketing Alignment Archetype Grid. 

So, about a few days ago, when I ran across this post from *Jenna Soard in my feed from a private Facebook group we both belong to - I stopped in my tracks and started to geek out on her brand. 

Jenna and her brand “You Can Brand” presents as a compelling creative truth guide (she also a great personality brand example). Compelling Creatives have their pipelines driven by their cutting edge ideas, their talents and skills. Truth Guides, as you recall, market a path for their folks to become empowered and for them to choose what is the best solution for themselves. 

Read on to see how Jenna Soard totally slayed every Compelling Creatives’ “get-shit-done” dilemma. 

Jenna Soard aka “ Miss Jenna “ needed a way to organize her day, her to-dos and her mantras so she could get her shit done.

The problem she faced is what so many of us visually sensitive folk face - we NEED something beautiful to inspire us to get our shit done. #prettyprincessproblems

So, damn it, she figured out a way to make it happen. 

All this was rather done fortuitously. 

The night before last she discovered the free Google Keep app and started play around with. 

What she stumbled upon and shared set a private FB group on FIRE (like 156 comments and 151 Likes within the first 24 hours).

Little did she know that she created the perfect pipeline for compelling creative truth guide. 

Let’s break it down and see how she did it. 

The first thing that happened was that Jenna solved a problem for herself. In her own words, Jenna “is a complete sucker for amazing design” #JennaWeAreRelated. She needed a system that was intuitive to the way her brain works and yet makes her creative muse happy. 

So, she design hacked Google Keep and made it her own. 

TIP #1 - Create what you want to see in the world. Don’t see what you need - make it. 

Next, she shared her Google Keep To-Do hack with everyone she knows. 

TIP #2 - Share your discoveries and “secret” tips that make your life and business awesome.

Now, the next steps Miss Jenna did comes from experience. Miss Jenna is a seasoned badass business owner and understands the value of leveraging her brand and growing her email list. 

So, if you’re just starting out or haven’t done what I’m going to outline below - no fear. Just start with where you are. 

Depending on where her brilliant and creative mind tackled first Miss Jenna did all of the following:

She wrote a blog post and even made a FREE high resolution tutorial video about it. Could she have turned this into something that could be a paid product? I’m going to say yes. Maybe not a $2500 program but one around $25 - $49? Absolutely. Audience members who identify with being a sucker for amazing design and have struggled with finding a project/life management tool will snap this up like I snap up glittery puffy stickers. 

Again, Miss Jenna has experience under her belt with putting together video tutorials and awesome blog posts - so don’t beat yourself up if you do this yourself and it doesn’t look as pretty as hers! Keep creating and you will get there! 

TIP #3 - Show your audience what you’ve been working on. Better yet SHOW/TEACH them how to do it themselves. Nothing endears you and BUILDS TRUST like helping folks out. The point is to be generous with the sharing of your tips and tricks. Remember you are solving a pain point and angst-inducing problem for them. 

Now comes in the strategery part (aka: the part that scares most creatives and business owners). Miss Jenna created a brilliant way to not only serve fellow business owners and her audience BUT she also designed a way to grown her list and make them a sweet offer they can’t refuse. 

How did she do it? Read on.

Like many smart businesses, Miss Jenna knows the value of growing her email list. So, while she wants to give and serve, she also knows that collecting email addresses is a great way for her newfound audience to get to know her. 

TIP #4 - Yes, you should start to collect email addresses. Yes, it is a smart business decision. Yes, really. No, you won’t turn into a sleazy, spammy marketer unless you want to. No, my hair is not fake. Understand that email list building is a critical part for most customer pipelines. 

In order to grow her email list, Miss Jenna has to offer a reason for folks to want to be on her list. What did this gorgeous mind come up with? A FREE graphics pack for YOU to prettying up your own Google Keep. And these aren’t like second rate free graphics - these are gorgeous “I feel pretty, oh so pretty “ kind of graphics. They are feminine, whimsical, and uplifting. Very much like Miss Jenna’s brand. 

TIP #5 - Give them a sweet reason to give a damn about being on your email list. But make sure what you’re giving makes sense too. 

Miss Jenna uses the robust email marketing beast Infusionsoft (to deliver her emails) and Leadpages (the landing page to collect emails). 

Every “touch” in her customer’s journey is on point and on brand. The copy, the transactional emails (please confirm your subscription/here are your downloads) to her welcome/invitation page (check out her Launch Your Brand Academy) all seamlessly flow together. You get a very clear sense of who she is and what she’s all about. 

Now remember (again) that Miss Jenna is a seasoned business owner - so she has had time to figure out what software works best for her and the way she wants to run her business. I recommend that you (say it with me now) start with where you are now. Running on Mailchimp and Instapages? Awesome, stick with it. 

TIP #6 - Get your email systems set up. 
TIP #7 - Don’t be afraid to set up your landing page with the call to action to sign up. Don’t be afraid to put your opt-in box front and center asking folks to sign up for your sweet thing from #5

Lastly, Miss Jenna took her serving even one step further for sheer awesomeness. She created an offer. She let her audience and new subscribers know that she can create custom Google Keep graphics just for them. For a nominal fee you get to choose the style you want with your brand colors and voila! Custom graphics. For folks who don’t design, don’t want to or who can’t draw shapes to save their lives, this is such a wonderful way to give them a better experience. 

TIP #8 - Make them an offer that does the heavy lifting. Make it easy for folks to say “Hell yeah. I want that sweet deal”. 

The final steps of her pipeline are pretty straightforward. 

She uploads her video to YouTube and posts her write up on her blog. 

TIP #9 - Do the actual admin part. Or have your VA do it. 

Miss Jenna shares it on her social media platforms and I’m assuming her main email list too. 

TIP #10 - Get the word out. Tell people what you did. All that uploading, posting and linking, won’t do you any good if you don’t share it with your audience. 

Well, there you have it folks. A gorgeous example of a Compelling Creative Truth Guide pipeline. 

On a final note: I hope Miss Jenna’s story and her creative solution-ing (not a real word) inspire you to go forth and discover your own creative pipeline. 

Learn more about Miss Jenna and her awesomeness here: http://www.youcanbrand.com/

(*Note: Miss Jenna is not a client of mine. Nor do I receive any special treatment/kickbacks/kittens/cupcakes for writing about her, her brand, or her business. I just think she’s pretty fucking rad and hella smart. #girlcrush)