Unforgettable Brands | Charlotte's Playbook For Confident Marketing

✨ Hello, I’m Fran, your NLP & Business Coach. I’m exploring a wide range of business ideas and money-making paths, with practical takeaways you can apply.

In this episode, I’m interviewing Charlotte.

Charlotte shares her go-to strategies for crafting bespoke branding, boosting premium visibility, and communicating with clarity and confidence.

You can connect to Charlotte in the following ways ⬇️
https://www.instagram.com/refinedesignltd/
https://www.refine-design.co.uk/

If you’re ready to elevate your marketing and leave a lasting impression on your audience, this conversation is for you. Tune in and transform your brand into something unforgettable.

* As a coach, I listen without judgment, understanding that others views may differ from my own.

#nlpcoach #nlpcoaching #creativity #inspiration #transformation #businessgrowth

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 1:51 Why The Marketing Vault Exists
• 5:34 First Impressions And Visual Alignment
• 8:05 Messaging, Energy And Strategic Visibility
• 10:30 Building Confidence Without Burning Out
• 12:24 Brand Voice, AI And Authenticity
• 14:10 Grounding Identity Before Design
• 16:30 What’s Next For Charlotte
• 19:15 Hosts’ Creative Paths And Focus

Transcript

Fran: 0:00

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Melancholy Coaching Podcast. I'm Fran, your host and NLP coach. Join me as I interview inspiring business owners and self-improvement seekers about their experiences whilst delving into personal development, motivation and strategies for overcoming challenges. Let's ignite our creative potential together. Hello and welcome to Melancholy Coaching Podcast. I'm Fran, your NLP and Business Coach, and I'm honoured to introduce a motivational guest, branding and marketing expert with over six years' experience and a passion for helping business owners show up confidently through bespoke branding, premium visibility, and unforgettable presence. With her bold strategic approach, Charlotte builds scroll stopping brands and empowers you to market with clarity, consistency, and confidence. Charlotte, welcome to the show. Hi, thank you. Lovely to be here. Thank you very much for accepting my invitation to come on because we actually met at an in-person event, didn't we, in London? Yeah, run by an amazing lady called Kaylee Greenacre. So we we met at that and just decided that you know we'd be a good fit for talking to each other on this podcast. Part of your um your bio is awesome, by the way, and part of it's a bit of a tongue twister for me.

Charlotte: 1:27

So I know, I know.

Fran: 1:31

It's that word, there's there are certain words that I really struggle to say, and one of them's strategic. Isn't it? Yeah. I know. Um right, so the way this works is I've got a couple of questions for you. Um we'll have a chat around that if that's okay with you. Oh, spire away. So I'm gonna go straight in with that I know you're the founder of a membership. So what inspired you to create the marketing vault?

Charlotte: 1:56

Oh, I love this question. So when I was first starting out in business, I did actually come across like some other memberships and some other programs and things that I joined. And while they were beneficial and I did learn the things, what I kind of found was that I didn't really feel as though I was being treated as a person. I felt kind of more like a number because even though, yes, I learned stuff, there wasn't a sense of community there, and there wasn't a sense of the idea that the person running it kind of was really invested in what each individual was doing and supporting them in a bit more of a bespoke way. So, what I really wanted to do was to ensure that business owners who are either, you know, starting out or maybe they've been in it a while, but are just looking for that guidance and support. I wanted to really create something where they could come into a community and they could come into a space where not only would they obviously learn things, but also I would give them that bespoke strategic support through Slack. So they can literally come at me and message me, you know, anytime with all their questions, whether I'm looking at their social media, their website, landing pages, branding, whatever it is. And they are reassured in the sense that they're getting that bespoke support for their business alongside the general kind of knowledge and advice. And I really just wanted to create it because when I was starting out, it just didn't exist. Like, you know, you could learn things, but I just didn't feel like I was being supported in a way that was actually moving me forwards. So that's why I created it. It was more because it was a problem that I had when I started out, and I didn't want any other business owner to be put in that position and to feel like a number, you know, wanted them to feel like a person.

Fran: 4:03

So yeah, no, I I hear you on that. I just want to say there's absolutely no judgment for the way that other people do things, run things, run their groups, run their businesses. That's entirely up to them. What we can do is take any lessons and learnings from that. So obviously it didn't quite suit your needs, so you can take the lessons and learnings from that, move it forward, and you've created then your own membership. Of course, absolutely.

Charlotte: 4:27

And like I'm not one to like, you know, the membership and the programs that I were in were brilliant. As I said, I I learned a lot, but I think for me personally, as an individual, that was just the thing that I could have had, you know, would have benefited from. So you could then I thought if this is something that I feel that I need, then there's probably going to be others that are gonna that as well. So yeah.

Fran: 4:49

And it makes good business sense as well, because if you're thinking of creating your own business, starting your own business, or you've got one already, you look for gaps, you look for gaps in the market, and it's quite often based on our own experience, isn't it?

Charlotte: 5:02

Absolutely. Like I think, you know, anything, even when you're like creating your business, it's to do with either like obviously a problem that you've experienced yourself or it's from like a passion that you've got and stuff like that. And I think if you can solve, you know, if you can identify and solve your own problems, it's gonna, you know, it's it's gonna support other people as well, you know.

Fran: 5:23

Yeah, because you can hold to your hand out and then help the next lot of people along. Yeah, makes absolute sense. Love that. Thank you very much. All right, so that leads me nicely on to my next question for you. So in today's crowded market, what are the first, we go for the first three. What are the first three elements you optimise to boost premium visibility for a brand?

Charlotte: 5:45

Oh, there's several things. So, first of all, it's when you're looking at a brand, you're obviously going to think about the first impression that is created when anyone comes across you. And obviously that will be through your visuals and how you're showing up. So I always optimise and work on with people, firstly, you know, visually and graphically, is everything clear? Is it aligned with who you are as an individual? Does it relate to your ideal client and your ideal audience and what it actually attracts them into your world? And also, you know, does this actually differentiate from your competitors? You know, why is your brand different visually and graphically, but also with your values, your energy, and how you're showing up? So the first thing I'll you know optimise and look at is obviously all the visuals. And then once we've kind of cleared all that up, it's all legible, it's all clear, it's you know, attractive on the eye and draws people in, we'll then start looking at obviously their marketing, their messaging and their energy and kind of how they're projecting that across. And then once we've looked at those things, it's then really about okay, so now we've got, you know, we're showing up in the right way, we're bringing in the right kind of people. Well, how do we actually, you know, magnet magnetize that and maximise on that visibility? Well, we then focus on strategic, you know, marketing methods. So obviously showing up online, social media, email marketing, optimizing our website, but also actually focusing a lot on creating connections. So whether that's either on the ones, yeah, I'm I'm very much about you know creating connections, you know, I'm all about collaboration over competition. So it's about, you know, can we go to a networking event? Can we join an online networking group if that feels more comfortable? But I always sort of work with my clients and see, you know, where are they currently at with their confidence right now and be like, okay, so you're you're feeling sort of here, but you want to be up here. What steps can we take to slowly increase your visibility, but in a way that isn't going to make you literally want to run away and hide, you know, let's get you built up to that confidence stage as we work through and break down little nuggets of visibility that we can do. So I, for example, some of my clients have, you know, they've grown massively in confidence since working with me, but you know, they the thought of showing up on camera for them was absolutely overwhelming. So we sort of would strip that back and you know, be like, okay, well, keep how about doing a voiceover first, you know, over a video and and getting your confidence with that and then practicing it to yourself before, and then actually when you have recorded a video, rather than just re-watching it, just post it out anyway, because you know, even the way I like to sort of reframe it is that if it can benefit one person or inspire one person, then you've done your job, right? It doesn't matter what you think of it, it's what everyone else thinks.

Fran: 9:00

It's it's to do with the intention behind it, isn't it? So people right at the beginning of their journey there with with their branding journey or their business journey, and they're feeling not very confident and stuff like that, like you've just mentioned. It's what's the intention for actually posting online? What's the intention of getting their voice heard or their, you know, and if it's to help one person, five people, ten people, and then it grows and grows, then you know that's that's so I get it. So from a strategic point of view, there are there are different kinds of access points as well, depending on people's levels already. And so from what I'm hearing is you would look at the overall continuity of their their their messaging and their business and their their visually, but also the voice of it.

Charlotte: 9:46

Absolutely, because it's you know, we need to obviously visually attract people, which I'd be quite surprised, like you know, the gaps that I see like literally day to day with that kind of stuff. And then sometimes it's just slight tweaks, but also, yes, like absolutely the the marketing, the messaging, you know, the brand voice as well is so important. And you know, making sure that even if we're if people are using elements such as you know, AI and things, for example, to write their content, it's like, well, okay, sure, it's a it's a great tool to get started, but how can we then actually make that sound like you? And what can we do to reframe that? Because I've actually got clients as well that do struggle with you know wording things, you know, maybe they've got dyslexia and things like that. So no AI will help with that. But it's like, okay, we've got the base now. How can we actually adapt this into your brand voice and work on that together?

Fran: 10:42

Yeah, so so it's tools and resources.

Charlotte: 10:44

Yep, I love it.

Fran: 10:46

Right, I'm gonna I'm gonna keep going with this. So we've got another one for you. This is this one's based on advice, okay, from you personally. So, what advice would you give to a business owner who feels overwhelmed? So just you've bought some of that into it already, but they're feeling overwhelmed by branding, yet they know it's essential for growth. So, what's a piece of advice that you would give them?

Charlotte: 11:08

Oh, okay, I love this. So I would start by literally just before you even start looking at colours, fonts, visuals, messaging, before you look at anything, I would just center back to and think about okay, who are you as an individual? And just think, you know, how do you actually want to be seen? So rather than thinking, oh, about you know, actually putting everything together, like your actual logos, brand, actually writing content, before you do any of that, think about who am I as an actual person, you know, am I maybe bubbly, am I friendly, am I an introvert, an extrovert? And how do I actually want to be seen by my ideal client and what might actually welcome them into my world? So, for example, if I talk about my branding, I like to, I've got some mix of different sort of brighter colours and darker colours, and then the way I like to sort of show up is sort of a little bit friendly, bubbly, approachable, but also professional. So it's kind of when you know who you are as a person and how you want to be seen, that's the first like little step. Rather than getting into like the specifics, focus on that first because once you've got that now'd and you can literally, it's like you know, literally your identity, it's who you are, it's and your branding is it's literally your superpower. So, you know, if you can get like the foundations right, then once you once you know that everything else will become so much easier for you.

Fran: 12:45

Sounds like the grounding as well, isn't it? So initially feeling overwhelmed, that's a really lovely and gentle way of just getting somebody grounded first, you know, before their heads spinning off about but what does my logo look like? It's not the most important thing initially. It's let's ground you and then work from there.

Charlotte: 13:04

Yeah, exactly.

Fran: 13:06

I think I like that.

Charlotte: 13:07

I think that's why as well. Like so many people kind of think that you know, with branding, it's just you know, okay, my messaging and it's my obviously logo colours and stuff. But actually, like if we strip it back to the roots, it is actually who you are and and what you stand for and your and your values. And and that's why whenever I work with anyone, whether I'm supporting them, you know, in my membership or one-to-one with you know, sort of consulting them on their branding, or whether I'm actually physically redesigning their brand for them, that's why it's always about being strategic and asking those deeper questions first, because I can make anything look nice. But if it's not got meaning behind it and it's not going to resonate, then it's pointless.

Fran: 13:56

So it would have no substance, would it?

Charlotte: 13:58

Absolutely.

Fran: 13:58

It would have no substance to it, yeah. No, I completely understand that. What I'm curious about now is because I'm a curious little being, is what's next for you? So what's next for you, Charlotte?

Charlotte: 14:10

Yeah, I love this. What's next? So I'm working on, I've got some loads of ideas like for next year of different things that I want to do. I won't go too much into detail, but I'm I'm working on an insane, like really low-ticket offer that's going to support business owners who maybe aren't quite ready to jump into working with me on a deeper level. It will support them with setting up all of their social media the right way, all of their marketing the right way, and it will give them tools and templates that they can go and use rather than feeling like they're sort of starting from scratch. So that's something that I'm working on at the moment. And also just sort of continuing to build and grow the business because I do currently have a day job, like loads of people who know me know this. Like, and you know, I'm very much aware of the juggling act between building and growing a business while having other responsibilities. So eventually, obviously, you know, the goal is to just do the business, but until then, it's just a case of following those baby steps to obviously increase visibility, continue supporting my clients. There's loads of things that I want to do, like I'd love to run like an in-person event and things like that, but it's definitely going to be probably on the vision board for next year. I'd like obviously we're, you know, we're we're at the moment.

Fran: 15:42

Yeah, no, I love that. See, I I haven't done an in-person event as yet, and I've had all the reasons in the world not to do an in-person event. And it's nothing to do with my confidence or anything like that. It's just when you generally, you know, as passionate creatives there's lots of ideas.

Charlotte: 16:02

Absolutely.

Fran: 16:03

You know, there's lots of ideas. So it's sometimes you have to just sit with yourself for a little while, don't you? And just just roll with what you're doing. So that's what I've been doing within my neurolinguistic programming. Um, because fundamentally I'm a coach. And so I retrained during COVID. I've spent 25 years as a carer, uh, which I've absolutely loved. And then during the pandemic, I actually retrained in neurolinguistic programming. So and then I'll kind of blend in the business basics in with that as well. And it's, you know, I could have taken this a billion different ways because I already had YouTube channels, so I do radio dramas on YouTube. I decided, and I'm a Burlesque performer as well, so I kind of I'm with the Burlesque troupe. I decided to, oh, let's let's blend all of that, but actually be a neurolinguistic programming coach. And it's like, but then actually, how do I get my visibility done? You know, when when there's when you can be seen as doing lots of different things, you know, do you just focus on the one thing and that's mainly what people see? And do you know what I mean? So I've been working on that myself. So although yes, I do work with with clients as such, I'm more on a one-to-one basis at the moment because that suited me. This podcast that lots of people are listening to was actually launched this year. So I've got other plans for that just to just to grow it more and um hopefully do an in-person, like in studio one as well, which should be an aim for me. Um to grow my YouTube channels. Yeah, so you know, we've we've got all these ideas, haven't we? And it's just about the path to get there.

Charlotte: 17:37

Absolutely. I think, yeah, I think you're you're completely right in that when you are, when you're a business owner, when you're creative, you know, especially if you're both of those, then you always have like 101 ideas, don't you? Oh, I could do this, I could do that. But I think sometimes you're right in what you're saying. You have to kind of just go with the flow a little bit sometimes and go with, okay, well, this is what suits me right now. So this is what I'm gonna do right now, and I'll just I'll just put a little pin in that other idea until later. But I think an in an in-session podcast would be really exciting.

Fran: 18:11

I'd love to do that. I'd love to do that. It's you know, and I'm refining my own skills and things like that as well. And this kind of stuff works as equally for somebody that's got that one idea, that one thing, you know, that they just they they would want to get started, and maybe there's a multitude of things stopping them. Um and that's where people like you and I can come into it as well, you know, just to help them, help them get going. But I love all of this. So thank you, Charlotte, for sharing your insights and highlighting how authentic branding and marketing can make you, and I'm gonna say unforgettable. It's my favorite. That's that's one of your words, isn't it? Unforgettable. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, it can make you unforgettable. So those for those of you interested in finding out about Charlotte and her work, you can visit her on Instagram, and this is Refine Design Limited or L2D, isn't it? So it's Refine Design L2D, and it's all one word on Instagram. You can find Charlotte. Also, website, so that's www.refinedesign.co.uk and the emphasis on the hyphen because earlier on I wanted to call it an underscore and it's the wrong one. It's a dash, basically. It's not dash in it. I know. And if you're interested in more content like this, be sure to visit www.melancolimentor.com and that's me. Follow us for the latest updates. So the latest um podcasts will go out on there as well. So you can keep, you know, up to date with not only us, but with Charlotte as well. So until next time, stay curious, keep igniting your creative potential, and go and find Charlotte at Refine Design. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much for joining me. I've loved this. It's really interesting. And I feel like this can go like a lot deeper as well. You know, there's so much more that can be said about this. So I'd love to have you back at some stage.

Charlotte: 20:06

Oh, absolutely. 100%. I'd love to come back.

Fran: 20:08

Let's let's go for that studio next year.

Charlotte: 20:11

Oh, yeah. Count me in.

Fran: 20:14

All right, thank you. Bye. Thank you. Thank you for joining me on the Melancholy Coaching Podcast. I'd love you to subscribe for queries or to connect, email info at melancholymentor.com. Until next time, keep igniting your creative potential.