Nobody Comes in to Motivate You, You’ll Have to Get Up Yourself | Kezia Israel, MBA - Verbal Identity Strategist - Founder of Kizkopop

Kezia, a verbal identity strategist, talks about the importance of verbal identity in branding and how it shapes a brand's communication. She explains that verbal identity encompasses the linguistic component of branding, including the brand's voice, tone, and personality. Kezia emphasizes the need to develop a solid foundation of voice and tone before diving into verbal identity. She also shares her journey of transitioning from graphic design and brand strategy to focusing on verbal identity. Kezia provides insights into how she helps clients find their verbal identity and the common mistakes people make in branding. She also discusses the connection between personality, values, and verbal identity, and the importance of consistency in brand communication. In this conversation, Kezia and Elisabeth discuss self-motivation, tackling to-do lists, and the challenges of sales in freelancing. Kezia shares her strategies for staying motivated and productive, including creating a daily agenda and prioritizing tasks. They also discuss the difficulties of sales and finding the right clients. Kezia emphasizes the importance of building relationships with clients and using social media to showcase expertise. They also touch on the influence of Kezia's entrepreneurial grandmother and the intangible traits that contribute to success in entrepreneurship.

Learn more about Kezia and Kizkopop Instagram: instagram.com/kizkopop Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/keziaisrael Website: kizkopop.com Support the Freelance Blueprint Podcast

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Keywords verbal identity, branding, voice, tone, brand personality, brand communication, visual identity, copywriting, self-motivation, sales, freelancing, productivity, motivation, clients, social media, entrepreneurship Takeaways

• Developing a solid foundation of voice and tone is crucial before diving into verbal identity.
• Personality and values shape how a brand communicates and should be reflected in its verbal identity.
• Consistency in brand communication is key to effective branding.
• Self-motivation can be a challenge for freelancers, but creating a daily agenda and prioritizing tasks can help stay productive.
• Building relationships with clients is important, and social media can be a powerful tool for showcasing expertise and attracting warm leads.
• Sales can be uncomfortable for many freelancers, but finding the right approach and positioning can make the process easier.

Chapters 00:00 Intro

01:23 About Kezia

02:00 What is Verbal Identity?

04:48 How Kezia Transitioned from Visual to Verbal Identity

06:54 How to Learn About a Topic to Gain a Skill that's not Common

09:26 How to Evoke Emotions Through Words

09:51 Getting the First Verbal Identity Client

11:17 Repositioning Oneself as a Freelancer and Entrepreneur

14:31 Coming Up with a Name for Your Business

16:21 Common Mistakes with Branding and Verbal Branding

19:25 At What Stage Should Freelancers Look Into Personal Branding?

22:33 Kezia's Process of Creating a Verbal Identity Strategy

24:28 Self-Motivation for Freelancers

28:11 Starting a Business Straight Out of University

29:44 Learning from Mentors and Sources Online

30:20 How to Sell When You Hate Sales

32:32 Outsourcing Sales

34:01 Bad Experiences After "Being Sold to"

36:11 How Kezia Gets Clients Despite Disliking Sales

37:44 Dealing With Clients Who Don't Know What They Need

41:16 Getting Inspired by an Entrepreneurial Grandmother

43:47 Can You Get Someone to Want to Work With You?

45:15 Learning from Chris Do: Your Content Needs to do the Heavy Lifting

47:19 "Selling" on Social Media

49:49 Final Freelance Blueprint Questions

52:06 How to Connect with Kezia

52:40 Outro