Hello and welcome to the Smart Beauty podcast. I'm your host, Viola Levy, beauty journalist
and founder of copy-led branding agency, Smart Beauty Creative. We're here to create your
brand voice and craft the story behind it. This episode is part two of our series on the
Smart Beauty method. In the last episode, if you managed to catch it, we spoke about
how we're different from the traditional agency model, how our process is a bit more
efficient and more streamlined. So please do go back and listen to that episode if you
haven't already. So today I'm going to be talking a bit more about how we work and why
we're different and our immersive workshop method, which I feel is a lot more exciting
and productive and benefits the client better. So to briefly touch on the last episode, I
spoke about how the retainer model creates a very drawn out way of working, where there's
time lags where you're constantly chasing each other for updates. So the client is being
nagged by the creative, the client has a lot on their plate, and it's just one extra thing
on their list that they have to manage, which isn't ideal because as you know, running a
business, everything can change and lots of unexpected things can crop up and suddenly
your attention is diverted elsewhere. So the way we work is with a workshop model. It starts
with a 90 minute zoom session where we discuss what your main issues are, how you want your
brand to be represented, what your values are, your key content pillars and other copy styles
and brands that you admire. And after that, we send a 10 page document summarizing our
discussion together with our recommendations. And then we move on to one of our packages.
So the 90 minute session can actually be booked separately. And the cost of that is then redeemed
against one of our packages, or you can book it together. So after that, we'll arrange
either a one or two day immersive workshop and spread out over the course of a week.
So that's either on zoom or in person depending on your location. And within those days that
you've booked with us, we can be flexible as what you'd like the outcome to be. But
our general recommendation is to go through your tone of voice, your brand story, founder
biography, things like your brand mission, your tagline template copy for product descriptions,
blog posts and social media posts. Now you won't be creating that with us, you won't
be doing the work with us, we'll have done all of that work already. What we'll basically
be doing is talking you through what we've created. And you will be giving us feedback
in real time, crafting it and honing it in real time in order to get to the place where
it needs to be. So you're at the heart of the creative process, which is much more immersive
and fun for the client. And it's better for us as creatives, because then we can communicate
the reasoning behind our creative decisions. And both sides will have much more clarity.
And I think with the immersive format, it's just far more productive, you can focus all
of your attention onto this one project, and then you're done. And then you cross it off
your list. It's not one extra thing that you have to then deal with. I think it's a bit
of a common misconception that in order to create a piece of work that everyone is happy
with, the project needs to go on for as long as possible. And you need as much time as
possible, because what ends up happening is that life gets in the way, other business
matters get in the way. And you're just not as fired up and enthusiastic about the project
as you were at the beginning, there's a diminishing rate of returns. It's better to strike while
the iron's hot and get all of the creative work done while you're still focused and fresh
and enthusiastic, as opposed to trying to fit it in with budget meetings, everything else
that running a business entails, you can just take one or two days of your time and really
get everything that you need in those two days. Now, obviously, we weren't the first
to pioneer this workshop model. Agencies are waking up to the fact that this is a much
better way of working. It allows better communication between the client and creative. So by the
end of those sessions, you should emerge excited about your brand copy and have everything
you need to get going. Now, we also offer what we call root touch up services, where
we have check ins. Rather than a retainer model, you can book check ins sporadically,
which is a morning workshop where we go through everything and make sure that the copy is
still on track and hitting the mark and ensuring that all of the recommendations that we went
through are being implemented. So you can book those sporadically, or you can book a
package of quarterly check ins. So you've basically got our support all year round. But
I'd say our main point of difference is that everything feedback and edits are discussed
with the client in front of us in person, which I think is much more efficient and better
than countless emails flying around or us sending you what we've done with zero context,
zero explanation, requiring you to go off and have a look at it. So basically giving
you homework that you don't need. It's much better to have everyone there in the room
or on a zoom call discussing it all in real time. So yes, that's basically in a nutshell
how we're different and why the smart beauty method I think is a much more effective way
of working and producing really great creative work that the client is 100% on board with
and enthusiastic about. And I hope that this has inspired you to learn a bit more about
us and what we do. Feel free to book a free discovery call. The link will be in the show
notes. And that's basically a 15 minute call where we can chat through all of the challenges
that you're currently facing with your brand and see if we can help see if it's a good
fit. You can also email me at hello at smart beauty creative.com with any questions or queries
and we can chat a bit further. While I think the traditional agency model still has its
place, I think this way of working is more dynamic. It's more efficient and it allows
for like I say better communication and for much more client involvement. It puts the
client at the heart of the process. Everything that we create, it still feels like it has
your imprint on it throughout. It still feels like you that is basically at the heart of
what we do. Because I've spoken with other brand founders who say they worked with an
agency who went off created this amazing vision for their brand but didn't reflect what the
client wanted. The agency just went off and were very creative but didn't really deliver.
The client partied with a lot of money and didn't really feel like she got anything of
value in return. That's why I think these immersive workshops are so important where
we are all in the same room together and everyone is on the same page. I think that we kind of
bridge the gap between the traditional agencies and freelancers. I'm not saying that traditional
agencies are now obsolete because of this. Obviously some clients and some projects require
the retainer model. But I think if it's something like creating a complete rebrand, if it's
completely overhauling your core verbal strategy or giving your current copy and messaging
and tone of voice a refresh, I think that this immersive workshop model is a lot more
efficient and easier for everyone involved. I think what makes us different from, say,
hiring a freelancer, having been a freelancer myself for a very long time, I know the value
of hiring freelancers. But what makes us different is that a freelancer basically parachutes
in and solves a problem. You're basically saying, right, my car's got a puncture, you
need to come in and just patch that up. Or, yeah, I need to respray my car green. Can
you come in and just fix that little problem or fix this little problem? So we're troubleshooters,
mainly we're problem solvers. And it's a really great skill to have not everyone can do it.
And that's what makes freelancers so amazing that you can just parachute in and solve a
problem. Obviously, freelancing is not just problem solving. You can get drafted in to
work on bigger projects. But the client is mainly driving that relationship. So the client
has an idea of what they want. And then they bring in a freelancer to fix that. So it's
a very flexible way of working. The way we are different is it's not just me, there's
a team of us. And also, we are the ones driving the project. So instead of you coming to us
and saying, I need a tagline, or I just need a blog post, I would say, okay, I think you
need a freelancer for that. That's not really within our remit. And I have plenty of freelancers
who are amazing on my roster that I can recommend. If you come to us and say, okay, I don't think
our copy is working. And I don't think our tone of voice is hitting the mark. I don't
know how we can stand out in a crowded market. I'm not sure what to do. That's where we come
in and say, okay, I've got this package of services that we can offer to give your brand
a complete overhaul in terms of your messaging and your voice and your brand copy and just
to completely revamp everything. This is how it's going to work. And this is how we'll
do it. It's kind of bridging that gap between a bigger agency or a freelancer that maybe
isn't going to give you that top level strategy that you need. But we also offer that kind
of personal service and that flexibility that a freelancer can offer that perhaps a bigger
agency can't. And also, we're better for smaller brands if you're just starting out, or if
you're established and just want a few things to do with your tone of voice. It all depends
really, if you're more established and maybe don't want to hire a bigger agency, but just
want to change the direction a little bit with where your copy is going and where your
branding is going, then that's when we can help as well. Not to mention the fact that
we are beauty specialists. In case you don't already know, I have a background as a journalist
and a beauty editor. I've also worked as a brand strategist and a copywriter for a myriad
of beauty brands for the last 15 years. So I know the industry very well inside out, you
might say. I've seen a lot of brands come and go. So I've seen firsthand what makes
a brand succeed and how a brand can fail. I think having that background for expertise
which involves staying on top of beauty trends, for example, writing about beauty products
in a compelling, engaging way that readers can connect with, sifting through the science
behind certain formulas and translating that into clear, concise, understandable language
that won't make reader who perhaps isn't a scientist switch off. Those are all what
we specialize in and why we are a good fit if you are a beauty brand as opposed to a
bigger agency who work on a number of accounts and perhaps don't have beauty specialists
within their team. I also have a beauty writer who works for a national newspaper, very famous
newspaper in the UK and that kind of environment involves writing copy at breakneck speed.
She definitely knows her stuff and is an excellent writer. So I'm very pleased to have her on
board. I hope that sounds like something that you would be interested in and that you would
be keen to work with us. So like I say, the link to booking a discovery call is in the
show notes or if you want to drop me an email, please feel free. Look forward to speaking
with you soon.
I hope you enjoyed that episode. All links will be in the show notes and feel free to
visit smartbeautycreative.com or visit us over on Instagram to find out more about what
we do. And if you enjoyed listening, please don't forget to rate and review Smart Beauty
on iTunes as it helps people find us. See you next time.