Branding and Trademarks!

Welcome to the Slutrepreneur Business School blog, where we teach you how to be a badass boss in no time!

Today’s Lesson: Branding and Trademarks

Let's start with Branding!

Branding is going to be the key to building your audience and your success. Having a solid branding strategy is imperative for your new business. Things that go into creating your branding can include everything from color schemes, to consistent and flexible graphics, to planned themes you focus on, and all the way to trademarks. When creating your branding, be sure to keep it creative and in line with the vision you have for your business.

 Let's take a real life look at a previously used Slutrepreneur branded promotional graphic. 

This promotion:

• Indicates a clear target audience
• Gives detail information and where to follow through at
• Draws in current audience members with the branded logo
• Utilizes similarly branded colors throughout the promotion

If you're a little lost on where to begin we suggest looking at a brand that you currently follow in your own life or one within the same field you're entering. What colors have they chosen and how are they utilizing them, how often are they posting, where all can their logo be found on their content, and how have they gotten creative to make their branding unique to them? This is also a great time to sit down and do some research. Did you know that different colors subconsciously tend to give off different vibes? Remember, Google is your daddy and a great place to dive into learning some new information and gaining some new skills. 

Some of you may be thinking one thing when it comes to creating your logos and brands....what about the Slutrepreneur's that may not have as strong of a skill in art and design? Don't worry! There are several platforms, like Fivrr and Upwork, where you can find freelance designers and branding specialists who are ready to help. Remember, starting a business is a lot of work and sometimes there will be areas like graphic design or logo creation that may be out of your realm of expertise. Yes, a lot of times you may take it onto your self to learn how to do whatever "it" is in that moment, but you've always got the option to outsource work to someone who's an expert in the field. 

What exactly is a trademark and why should I care?

A trademark is a symbolic graphic, word, or phrase that is legally bonded with your business. Businesses and content creators can attach a trademark to protect their easily recognizable branding they have associated with their company, products, and creations. For example, let's say your brand uses a logo with a blue train on everything to mark that it's your company/brand. If you don't have your logo trademarked someone else could come into the same field as you with similar branding and confuse your audience members as to who is whom. 

The legal protection of having your trademarks in line can be very helpful when it comes to situations where your competition may be branding themselves similarly to you. It ensures you have the right to take legal action against someone you believe is trying to copy you. 

Trademarks sound like a really great idea! How do I create and register one?

Before you head to submit resignation for your future trademarks, you will want to visit this website to ensure that no one else has already registered one similar to the one you're attempting to. Once you’ve verified the trademark, you can follow the steps on the website and apply to register yours. This process may cost you a few hundred dollars, but the cost of having your work protected, greatly outweighs the headache of plagiarism, as business expense. (Pssst....don't forget that your business expenses can be written off on your taxes. *wink wink*)

Time to get to work!

We hope this helped answer some of your Slutrepreneur Business School questions and get you pointed in the right direction on where to start when it comes to branding your business and getting your trademarks registered. Make sure to add your email in the slut merch shop to be notified when new blog posts drop. 

Happy Branding Sluts!