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Ep. 161 - Building a distinct and memorable brand voice - Justine Wentzell-Chang
54 Plays1 month ago
Happy Woo Wednesdays!
If you want to build a lasting brand you have to lead with your values, and messaging is at the foundation of not just communicating those values, but putting them into action. This is what you will learn today on Get A Heck Yes!
Justine Wentzell-Chang is the founder of Red Balloon Station where she empowers culture-changing, community-lifting, and equity-driven BIPOC + woman-owned businesses with strategic and impactful copywriting, brand storytelling, and messaging strategy.
Building a distinct and memorable brand voice to help you stand out in a crowded market and find your people/help your people find you:
1) Take time to determine and understand your Brand Archetype
2) Intimately know your Ideal Customer Avatar and use their language
3) Dig deep to know and define your core values and conviction codes
4) Be specific about what makes you different from your competitors
Connect with Justine
https://www.instagram.com/redballoonstation
Connect with Carissa Woo
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Transcript
Introduction and Free Sales Audit Offer
00:00:00
Speaker
Engagement season is coming up in two weeks. Wedding professionals, if you want to get high paying clients and struggle with sales, book a free call with me. The link is in the show notes. I will audit your sales process. Hurry and book this call before this offer is gone. I love sales.
00:00:19
Speaker
So today, Justine Wenzel Chang, I met her at Mesh in Redondo. She's my friend now. She gives us a spoonful of strategy and empathy to make your words convert in the most delightful and genuine way. Today, she is going to help us build a distinct and memorable brand voice to help you stand out in a crowded market and find your people and help your people find you. Enjoy this episode.
Meet Carissa Wu: Podcast and Wedding Creative Focus
00:00:50
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. I'm your host, Carissa, and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all. I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise, some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:01:18
Speaker
time hacks because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey. I hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon!
Empowering BIPOC and Women-Owned Businesses
00:01:41
Speaker
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Get It Heck Yes with your girl, Carissa Wu. I have my friend, Justine Wentzel-Chang, in the Get It Heck Yes house. She is a founder of Red Balloon Station, where she empowers culture changing, community lifting, and equally driven BIPOC and woman owned businesses with strategic and impactful copywriting, brand storytelling, and messaging strategy. Welcome, Justine.
00:02:07
Speaker
Thank you. Hello, everyone. I'm excited to be here. I'm so excited. did Me and you met at MeSH coworking space in Redondo Beach through our friend, or actually Jill, our friend Jill here is doing me attorney law. She was telling you about me, right? And then we like- Yeah, literally like the day before I was like, oh, you need to meet my friend Carissa. And then I was at mesh and you were taking photos. And I was like, wait, are you Carissa? I don't know how it just like, it clicked and I was, it was crazy. That's so ironic. I was probably wearing like a Carissa Woo jacket or something.
00:02:47
Speaker
Well, I am so excited to have you on. Tell the heck yes audience briefly who you are. ah Well, yes, I'm Justine Wentzel-Chang and deep down I am a storyteller, a word nerd. I'm a lot of things, but also a mom and about to have another one. Yes. Second one. um ah I'm an activist as well, so I'm all over the place, but i I'm just living life trying to make the most of it.
00:03:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah, congratulations on your second pregnancy you with another little boy.
Justine's Multicultural Upbringing and Family
00:03:24
Speaker
Your son is so adorable. Thank you. And I'm excited to see your cover on the Rivera. Oh, yeah, I'm curious to see which photo they chose. I'm sure it's a beautiful one. Well, let's get started to like back in the day. What were you like growing up? Where are you from? What were you like as a kid? Anything about your parents you want to share?
00:03:46
Speaker
um Well, I'm from Torrance and born and raised here. And then um I had a very ah happy childhood in general, um you know, like immigrant family. I loved growing up in this multicultural community um and actually didn't really appreciate it until I moved to Nashville.
00:04:09
Speaker
ah Which is like, I always joke is in a way more culture shock than like going to Russia, which I've been i've been to Russia as well. um but ah But you know, we grew up going to the beach, very close to family. I loved actually, I grew up in like a gated community and my grandparents lived in that same community and my cousins also. So we like all lived close together. um And yeah, i just I was very active like in the community, Girl Scouts, group doing theater, like all of it. So um i love I love the South Bay and moved back to be close to my parents so they could babysit.
00:04:51
Speaker
like So when did you, oh, I mean, I was going to say go Torrance, you know, me yeah but when did you move to Nashville?
Journey Through Law School and Passion for Storytelling
00:05:01
Speaker
um This was in during law school. I would actually, I was in law school out here, um but I would drive across the country every summer to intern there um and then move there thinking I was going to stay there.
00:05:18
Speaker
But it was just a little too slow for me. And it's funny because um my husband's from Paris, so like really in the city and considers me like not a city girl. Like he's like, you're a so suburban girl, but not a city girl. And I sometimes take offense to that. But like Nashville is it's a fun city, but it's still very much a small town and thinks small town. So Um, it's changed a lot though, since I i was last living there, but it's still like, it just moved slowly for me. And I was like, I need to get things done. So bye. Was cold what the culture shock like no agents?
00:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, i like the experiences I had were very interesting, like people, like friends that would tell me, oh, I was surprised when I first met you and you didn't have an accent. Or like, yeah, yeah. um And but it's like,
00:06:19
Speaker
I never experienced like sort of like volatile um racism out there. It's more just like people weren't aware. Like I'm pretty sure there was one time I was out at a show and hanging out after we're like waiting for friends or something. And I think there was a family there and they asked to take a picture with me. And I was like, why? Why? left me now says like Either they think I'm like Lucy Liu or, or they, I'm just like the first Asian they've ever met.
00:06:49
Speaker
I mean, same as Hermosa Beach because people are coming from all over. They're like, where are you from? I'm from here. No, where are you from? Where are you from? Yeah, so it was definitely very eye-opening just because it's also like we're all in the same country, but it's so different. And that's what I loved about driving across country every summer. I would take, I tried to take a different route each time.
00:07:18
Speaker
There were times I did take the same route just to get there quickly, but um but like you just see so much and meet so many different people and you know, it's it's interesting, is what I can say. you Yeah, thank you too. Do you want to um become a lawyer?
00:07:36
Speaker
I, so I actually went to law school not necessarily wanting to be a lawyer. I kept my mind open to it, but I didn't want to practice necessarily. Um, and so when I was in law school, that was when I was like, okay, either I'm going to go to entertainment. Cause like I said, I grew up doing theater and love the arts, um, and storytelling. yeah Um, but, uh,
00:08:04
Speaker
But I wasn't sure I wanted to be in the entertainment business because I thought the business is just like so corrupt, so crazy. And that's what led me to Nashville because I had always had a love for for country music, interestingly enough, through my grandfather, who's from China. But that's a long.
00:08:20
Speaker
story and so it was like in law school I was like okay I have three years to figure out what I'm gonna do after because there's no more educate I'm not not going to any more schooling after this so it's either entertainment business or like go work for something like the UN um Because I've always been passionate about like social justice issues and humanitarian causes. um And I figured during law school would be the good would be a good time to test out the entertainment business and decided maybe Nashville would be less corrupt than Hollywood. and so Plus I'd always wanted to go, so I went and fell in love with the town.
00:09:00
Speaker
with the industry because it's just, it is truly a storytelling town, like the best songwriters in the world, um some of the best musicians in the world. So I didn't go though to practice law. I like interned at a music publishing company first, um not doing law. I think that confused a lot of people though, but yeah Yeah, a little bit more. Let's do you ah dive a little bit more into like, becoming an activist and like social justice. Did it stem from Girl Scouts? I'm curious, because I was in the Girl Scouts, what my daughter is. And it's all about philanthropy and community. So where did this stem from?
00:09:41
Speaker
um It's just something that's always been a part of me. I don't know if it's from like seeing my family, especially one of my aunts. she you know like When Hurricane Katrina happened, she went to build houses for folks. and um I also grew up very influenced by Princess Diana, I think. so like Seeing all her humanitarian work really inspired me as well. and I just saw that, okay,
00:10:10
Speaker
um Like, to get really real about business and stuff, I was like, okay, you have to make money so you can like do more good stuff. Yeah. Oh, I love that. I love Princess Diana as well. Let's talk about okay, so entertainment industry, what was that like? And then how did you kind of get out it out of that and then lead it into like your business?
00:10:33
Speaker
Well, okay, so when I left Nashville, um I decided, okay, it's too slow. I need to go do something with my life. Funny enough, I had a mentor who's still like a really close friend. He kept telling me not to move to Nashville after law school.
00:10:49
Speaker
He's like, you need to be at l LA. But I was like, no, I'm moving to Nashville. And then six months after I moved like permanently, or what I thought would be permanently, I was like, yeah, i I do need to go back to LA so I can actually get some real stuff done. So when I came back, I just kind of applied for different jobs. When I was in law school, I was in the Entertainment and Sports Society. So I already had connections to the entertainment industry.
00:11:15
Speaker
um and eventually landed a job that was really a perfect blend of creative and business. um And one of the things I said from the beginning was like, I want to learn to be a deal maker.
00:11:30
Speaker
So I did sort of use my legal background and like became the deal maker for our department, which was acquisitions and co-productions, which means um in a sense, it was kind of like two jobs. But one part of it was buying movies to distribute um some finished, some not finished.
00:11:49
Speaker
And then the other part was really more the creative stuff, which is like producing, developing, um making the movies. And so I really loved both. um ah I got to use my like left-right brain and I think naturally I have very much an active left-right brain, like both sides of my brain. um Definitely lean a little more creative, but I just i love you know the strategy and the business and all that and like figuring out ways to grow. so Ultimately, when I left, the reason part of what i or part of the reason that I left was because the part of the industry I worked in was very niche.
00:12:30
Speaker
um There's a lot of TV movies. um And at the time, it was not very diverse. and it like um Unless you're making like Disney movies or like kids movies, which I did do some, those were a little more diverse but still more performative diversity. yeah yeah um And then a lot of like the Hallmark movies and Christmas movies and stuff, which I do enjoy. um And funny enough, like to fast forward just a little bit, I am actually writing those movies now too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. um But I'll get to that later. but um
00:13:09
Speaker
But at the time, like those movies, you really weren't allowed to be diverse. And a lot of men were writing the women like these women-driven stories. and I would get frustrated because I would see these like terrible stereotypes. And like it was just very eye-opening to why um We have so many issues of portrayals of women, yeah women and people of color. And so that's why like my business now is focused on um uplifting BIPOC and like women-owned businesses. um But yeah, so when I left that plate that that studio, I was like trying to figure out what I was going to do next, was not thinking about starting a business.
00:13:51
Speaker
But someone I knew through entertainment randomly asked me to do social media for a luxury skincare brand. And that's when I was like, oh, as I was doing it, I was like, oh, this is really fun. This is just like storytelling for brands. And I loved it because with that particular brand, too, they were very sort of sustainability forward. So it was really interesting researching the like ingredients and like the science behind the ah the the products and even the natural elements of it. so um That's what sort of catapulted me into copywriting. and From there, I just kept going. um
00:14:37
Speaker
and ah yeah I was freelancing for a while. um until I had my son in 2020. And then I took like what I thought would be maternity leave, but then like COVID hit and and and just like couldn't get the clients back. So I had to like figure out what to do with my business. and um that's when I got more focused on like who do I want to serve and like actually taking copywriting classes yeah um because I was good at writing and I was you know doing great work for the clients I previously previously had but I hadn't actually like studied copywriting. Interesting. Yeah so it took 2020 for me to really like
00:15:24
Speaker
Sort of form Really what red balloon station is now I mean and even then it's gone through a bit of an evolution of like more focus over the past year um Again like with who I serve and continuing the mission and Pardon this short interruption, but guess what? I have a new program. It's for all wedding professionals. It's called The Triple Threat. We redo your brand messaging, the homepage of your website. Part two is we do all your marketing. we
00:15:59
Speaker
create a beautiful brochures so you could start getting on Prefer venue vendor list and we do all your sales so we actually make you a sales presentation leading your client to the heck yes so you get paid. I have a free 20 minute demo training. It's only 20 minutes. Go to my Instagram at Carissa Woo.
00:16:22
Speaker
and DM me the word DEMO. I will send it right over. It's how to get 10 to 15 quality leads in your inbox per month. Enjoy, guys. Krista Wu is a LA-based wedding photographer who's actually turning business coach. She helped me grow and change, and I'm so proud to call you coach.
00:16:45
Speaker
tell us how you're feeling. Like I want to just know a little bit more about your thoughts. It's beautiful and you're you're awesome. It's beautiful. I'm speechless. I just like the fact that it feels like myself. like i can I feel myself when I see this. Oh man. Well, you got me pumped and excited for this. Carissa, thank you.
00:17:06
Speaker
But interestingly enough, like the idea for Red Balloon Station was not originally a business.
Red Balloon Station's Evolution
00:17:14
Speaker
I had this idea for Red Balloon Station years ago before I ever became like went out on my own. And it was always meant to be a storytelling hub. and just like It's interesting how it's come about because it's um it's It's still a storytelling hub, but it's just so different from what I envisioned before. um So it's, i I love just the way life kind of leads you to where you're supposed to go. Wow. I want to ask you so many more questions. ah Hot topic due to time. Yeah. Yeah. It's like a really good one and it's perfect for all wedding pros and everyone that has a business. What is your hot topic, Justine? And why is it so near and dear to your heart?
Crafting a Strong Brand Voice and Messaging
00:18:00
Speaker
My hot topic is building your brand voice and messaging strategy. Um, this is something I work a lot on with clients and it comes down to building, being able to build like impactful and long lasting, um, businesses and brands. Um, because like, as you said, um, or as you said in my intro, like I, you know, I support,
00:18:29
Speaker
BIPOC and women entrepreneurs, particularly those who are very impact-driven, equity-driven, and like community here to lift up the community. um And to do any business, like it all comes down to messaging. like Your messaging is the foundation of everything, right?
00:18:49
Speaker
yeah um So yeah, so I'm very passionate about that because building your brand voice is more than just like figuring out your tone and like how you sound it like the work I do with folks. I recently just ran a, my first group challenge and like we had like tears in the group and like laughter cause it's really deep work. Um, it's almost like therapy a little bit cause you dig into your values, like really deeply dig into your values, your brand story. Um,
00:19:21
Speaker
like what your purpose is, like your your mission, your vision. um So I love doing that work because it's like, it helps you build that deeper foundation, that longer lasting foundation and like really know what you're going to say and confidently say and like how to talk about your business, how to grow your business. um But it's also just so insightful and like with my clients,
00:19:47
Speaker
you know, they're all doing just amazing things. Even like, you know, if someone's a web designer, like they're still very mission driven. And so being able to help them carry out their mission and like have that ripple effect of positivity, that's what really drives me. And that's why I love like building brand voices and the messaging strategy because Again, it all comes down to it like, you can't run a business without knowing how you're going to communicate, right? Yeah. Oh my God. Okay. So that was all so good and well said.
Understanding Brand Archetypes for Communication
00:20:20
Speaker
Take it away with tip number one. Okay. So tip number one is, um, to really take your time to determine and understand your brand archetype. I don't know if any of you have done any of that work or heard of archetypes, but like,
00:20:41
Speaker
To know your brand voice and develop it, you need to know who you are deep inside, right? And the archetypes come from um ah this idea that the psychologist car Carl Jung came up with that like we all kind of embody certain archetypes like the lover, the hero, the rebel, whatever. um So I do that foundational work first with with folks when we do build out the brand voice. um And it helps inform who you are as a brand and embodies your values, but also how you communicate because like
00:21:22
Speaker
With your brand archetype, I don't believe that you will ever truly change how you communicate as that brand archetype may evolve. But it's like um there's a story I heard about Nike and I forget. So Nike is your classic hero archetype. But there was one campaign they did where they decided to try out a different archetype and that that campaign failed. like It did not do well because people don't recognize them. right so yeah Knowing your archetype is one of the first things we do because it really guides who you are, what you say, how to like communicate in the world.
00:22:00
Speaker
What would be your archetype, do you think, just so I could kind of wrap my head around it a little bit? Yeah, yeah. So mine is actually, and what I usually do is identify a primary and then a secondary archetype and maybe a tertiary. So Red Balloon Station is the caregiving magician with the magician being the primary archetype because the magician is all about having impact on the world.
00:22:25
Speaker
um it's a Um, there's this wheel of archetypes and I have one like on my blog and I can share it with you sometime, but like you'll see like, it's like they're 12 main archetypes. Some people have gone and like developed further sort of sub archetypes of each one too. So there's a little more if you do your research, but the main ones are at their 12 and it's divided into four sort of quadrants. And so some of them fall into the same general category of like,
00:22:56
Speaker
core values and stuff. but um But yeah, so Red Balloon Station is the caregiving magician because we are here to make an impact. But I i chose um i chose and feel that the caregiver is our second um secondary archetype because we're all about servicing our our um our our clients.
00:23:19
Speaker
um and Just to show you like the the impact of knowing who the archetype is, like initially, i I got my archetype wrong because you can go online, find different quizzes and stuff. I've done a few and I get different ones sometimes. just but originally yeah Originally, I thought my archetype was more like the rebel hero because we're very much leaders.
00:23:42
Speaker
but like trying to do things differently, um which is the rebel part. But I realized like the rebel wasn't really coming out naturally in my voice. And and it's partly because like that's more my clients. My clients are the ones doing different things differently. I am the one like helping them, serving them, and wanting to take care of them. So that's why. Sorry, long winded answer.
00:24:05
Speaker
No, I mean, this is actually the first time I've heard this. I wish we oh yeah i wish I could go deeper, but if anyone's like more interested, just reach out to Justine, yeah yeah link in bio, but take it away with tip number two. Okay. Tip number two is to and intimately know your ideal customer avatar. So same thing, we figure out the customer avatars. um ah archetype but also we like what I like to do is build out a profile for each client avatar because you want to speak to one person, even if you might have different audiences.
00:24:39
Speaker
In general, you have one person that you want to speak to because that makes your messaging more specific and direct and you can like build that immediate, more deeper connection. If you can envision who you are, like we give them a name, a photo, and it might be like, it might be like whoever is your favorite client, like that might be your, yeah.
00:24:58
Speaker
That might be your ICA, but really like knowing deeply because it's one thing to know yourself, right? But then when you communicate, you have to know who you're speaking to because who you're speaking to also affects how you communicate. right like Even with my parents, I communicate differently with them um just from like a cultural difference, language difference perspective.
00:25:23
Speaker
um but yeah so knowing tip number two is then knowing intimately who your ICA is. Yeah, I'm thinking of my way by bride and groom on Saturday. Shout out to Oh, yeah, Megan. there They're just so cute. But I just think of her like jumping up and down like the whole day just so energetic. And they're just like, true extra extroverts and love to travel and EDM concerts and Ray. Yeah. And like, that is my girl and guys. I'm like, just envisioning that whole day and like the interactions and like her personality. Yeah, they got a band is going crazy and like, yeah, speaking to her as like when I write my social media posts. Yeah, exactly. Well, um say like a wedding pro.
00:26:09
Speaker
um is trying to make their avatar right now. like Do you have any tips and tricks for them to to do that? do i do Do they just start like journaling, answering questions, thinking about their... Yeah. I mean, I have a worksheet that I give to my my clients, but the like most basic is like who are they? like what to the to the point of like where you're knowing like the details of their age, there um what their household looks like like, are they married with kids, pets, no kids, um their salary, um because that also like who like that informs who you're targeting yourself as c clients right um or as businesses.
00:26:49
Speaker
um their like their job what's What's their job? What do they do? um And then also like their daily lifestyle. Do they wake up and like do yoga and like go for a beach walk or something? are they like um What do they care about? like Not just um their values, but also like causes that they care about. um What are their fears, their challenges, their deepest desires, their dreams?
00:27:19
Speaker
all of that to really like know, you want to know them like your best friend, basically. Yeah. I'm excited to share with you all about our first Get A Heck Yes sponsor, Seventeen Hats. I've been using this CRM company for over a decade and I've been referring them to all my frienders for all this time. I always know when I'm going to get paid and most importantly, I get paid. So here is a question. What is holding you back? What's keeping you from finding success as a small business person?
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Speaker
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00:28:23
Speaker
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00:28:47
Speaker
So is this going to help when writing your website copy, your blog post, your Instagram post, your newsletters? How does it all tie in together? Yeah, absolutely. be effective with any of your messaging without knowing these pieces. so So you really need to know who you are, you need to know who your ICA is, and you need to know your values. like Truly, truly know your values. I feel like a lot of times people kind of think, like okay, I kind of know my values, but doing the deeper work and like what we do is take it a step further. and
00:29:20
Speaker
um like figure out your conviction code, so like what your values look like in action. Because if you just say, these are my values, but you don't actually live up to them, people don't see them or know them, then it doesn't mean anything, right? Yeah. Can you do an exercise with me right now to kind of dig over into my values, just because I've always been so curious about this topic?
00:29:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. so like do you know Have you thought about your core values? like I usually recommend picking like four to five at first. Yeah, I think I know them in life, but then they always sounded a little bit too generic to me and I felt like every value is my value. Because I did the Brittany Brown, I've always listened to her and it's all about values and my therapist is like, pick your values. I'm like, I just want to talk, you know. But I was curious, but it was always like, um I'm really into like, friendships, that's definitely one, but that ties into family. um I feel like, you know, beauty, so like health and fitness, but that seems very like standard. um And I think like definitely career, I'm a career one.
00:30:29
Speaker
Um, and then probably the third one is or the fourth one. I don't know. So help me out here. Okay. Yeah. So just like thinking of your brand, like I would say your personal values will inform your brand values, but they not aren't necessarily the same. So unless it's like tied into your business, which it could very well, it could be, but like take like your first one, like friendship and family. And I can see that a lot because Especially as a wedding photographer, right? Like it's all about family. Yeah um and just having known you for the last few months, I feel like Friendship is very key because I think a lot of people come through to you through like referrals and stuff, right? Like I know you through Jill and um and so what I would do with that though is think deeper like why
00:31:19
Speaker
does it matter to you? And we ask this question, why? like This is why it starts to feel like therapy and also a little bit like I'm like a five year old asking you questions because it's just why, why, why? And i ask we ask why until, this was not my concept, but I read this in a book and I'm forgetting um I'm blanking on the title and author, but um the basically you want to ask why until the answer sir is like death. Like you can't ask any why anymore, you know, like because life is too short or something. or um So like why does friendship and family matter to you so much? And then when I mentioned the conviction codes, when you take it to that deeper level and really
00:32:03
Speaker
put into action what your values are is what does family and friendship mean to you at the company level, um at your client's level? Like what does it mean to your clients and how does that value impact your clients? So like from two sides, but also the community, like What does that mean from Carissa Wu's business? like What does it mean? How does it impact your your community? But what does it mean to your community, like to to value friendship and family? And something you might think about is like to make it more specific. like You can always have those single word values, but like to make it even more specific, it is think specifically what
00:32:50
Speaker
family and friendship mean to you. like Sometimes I try to come up with like a like one line or for Redbone Station, one of our main values is empathy. and We say empathy is our superpower and then I like define why. so yeah so That's what I would do with your values. I feel like if I were to use it for coffee it's like oh because friendship and family is my core value then I'm creating a community and then everyone's becoming friends like all the people that went through the triple threat program they're all friends and they even yeah
00:33:26
Speaker
um like Zoom meeting together and they like edit their videos. And I've always been like that connector with friends, a lot of people meet through me and I'm not the jealous type where I get mad where they're hanging out without me. It's so cool to hang out, like it makes me feel like I planted that seed. So that that was a really good exercise. I love that. Oh, I'm glad.
00:33:49
Speaker
um Your last tip, tip number four, and then I'll ask you follow-up questions. Okay. So the last tip is to be specific about what makes you different from your competitors because there's this saying, um for example, from the storytelling perspective that there's really only six stories in the whole world.
00:34:12
Speaker
So your story is not that unique, but your perspective is what makes you unique, right? um Like me as a copywriter, there are hundreds of thousands of copywriters out there, right? You could pick any copywriter, but what makes you specifically unique to what you do um and what makes you different? So I like, as part of like building the brand voice and messaging strategy,
00:34:39
Speaker
I always ask my clients to think of like three things that truly, truly make you different. And you want to think deeply and specifically like one of the most common notes I give to anyone, whether that's in copywriting or screenwriting is be more specific because the more specific you are, the more you will be able to connect directly with your ideal client. Um, cause then they feel like, Oh, she really knows me. She knows my,
00:35:08
Speaker
pains, my challenges or where I'm going. um So specificity is key. And I think that does sometimes take work with someone else. Even like for me doing my own work, i my business coach has helped me a lot in like realizing, oh, where I can be more specific too. We just need that, you know, extra brain or outside eyes to to see like, does this resonate? Does this make sense?
00:35:33
Speaker
um is it? clear Let's give some examples. So for me, like, I would say in the wedding world or photography world, you'd be like, Oh, like I shoot film or I do boudoir. I am I'm an expert in black and white, or I dance my whole life, so I know animals, or I'm an architect by trade, so I'm really into architecture. So um how would you like take maybe those examples and like dig even deeper, and then how would it relate to copywriting and then getting bookings? Yeah. ah Is architecture really your background?
00:36:08
Speaker
no i'm sorry is that you just do that out yeah how was on this podcast and he was oh architect and like i bring that in yeah <unk> and Yeah, because I would say like, I love the differentiators that people don't expect, right?
00:36:21
Speaker
like like Even for me, and it's maybe not the most unique thing, but it's not common. You you have a copywriter with a legal background and like specifically my legal background and entertainment background combined. right so like The architecture um differentiator I really love because that brings a new, a fresher perspective and a different way of looking at photography.
00:36:48
Speaker
than other people and like if you can communicate like why that makes you the photographer you are that's that's a great differentiator and it stands out because people will remember oh she she's an architect as well ah yeah yeah that's so good um everyone go hire you. yeah Last question before more rapid fire questions, but like, yeah, what is your best? Get a heck yes sales technique. How do you get your heck yes from your dream client? Okay, I
00:37:21
Speaker
don't feel like there's like a single sales technique. I feel like there's just a holistic approach to how you do things, but its it really comes down to being values driven. like um There's a quote I heard from someone, again, I'm sorry, i I'm terrible at remembering these things.
00:37:42
Speaker
but some I heard someone once say that, like let your values drive your business, not the money, because like the money will come when the value when the values are there. um um but it comes down to like being values driven and really intentionally building the relationships with your clients. um At least for me, that's how my business has grown is like nurturing them through providing value, um stuff that they can walk away with and know how to apply to their businesses. um I host monthly workshops so people get to know me and like
00:38:17
Speaker
know what I can help them with. Um, but really taking the time to like genuinely nurture. So like I talk a lot about email marketing because that's one of my favorite channels. And it's also the marketing channel with the highest ah ROI consistently. Um, and it's like through those, those weekly emails that like you're just being personable, but you're adding value, um, and just engaging with them. So like that nurture part is really big and um
00:38:48
Speaker
Yeah, I would say it's the whole approach and just being yourself. Like you want to attract the people you want to attract, right? I think sometimes we get too caught up in like, oh, I got to appeal to everyone. But that's actually like the worst way to yeah to grow your business. So yeah. I love that. That reminds me, I have to send my newsletter out. yeah yeah i like um One more question before I prepare. Yes.
00:39:14
Speaker
but Tell me like maybe one of your favorite clients client wins or a recent client win that your copywriting has helped them plan clients. Photographers, I am so thrilled to announce my new sponsors Aftershoot, an AI editing company. They do AI editing, unlimited cropping and straightening. I am seriously blown away by the precision and five hours a week I get back in my life.
00:39:42
Speaker
My life is so much better and I literally don't have any more anxiety. It's so crazy. I remember being at barbecues with my laptop because I had to get out of shoot and and that was so stressful, so not fun. And the best part about after shoot compared to their competition is that it's a monthly minimal cost, not cost per image because I am a true overshooter. I could shoot like, I don't know, 3000 photos in an engagement shoot, which is not good.
00:40:11
Speaker
But anyways, using my code in the show notes to get a 30 day trial and 20% off, you're going to get in the software and just go crazy with it. And AfterShoot edits 2.0 just released and they have a lot of new features that you are going to love. AfterShoot, I can't thank you enough for giving me back my time to focus on this podcast. Oh yeah, back to the podcast.
00:40:34
Speaker
I think oh I've had a lot of good positive stories recently. um I mean, just the first one that comes to mind is like someone just posted this on like a ah post that I wrote.
00:40:49
Speaker
But she was just so excited to like know how to confidently um talk about her business yeah um and be able to communicate. Because I think as business owners, we think we know what we want to say about ourselves. But then when it comes to it, and this has happened to me, like kind of stumble over your words. And you're like, wait, am I saying this correctly? Does it make sense? um And just like having that full, so I helped her with her brand voice guide and like a welcome email sequence. and Having that brand voice guide and and messaging strategy, because I like to make sure people know how to use the brand voice guide, is like being able to take the the pieces that we built and immediately put them into action, use them on her website, her email sequences.
00:41:37
Speaker
um and just like be empowered and ready to go. so I think that was a great win because she was like, I i actually feel like confident. I know the stories like because all of us, we have the stories in our our heads and we know the stories, but when you can actually map them out and I have this like five key areas of impactful storytelling that I help clients map map out, so you never have to wonder what am I going to write about or what do I write about? But you have like a strategy. And so, um, that was a good win. And she, I think the other, like the other part of that was that she said like, you've taken a huge mental load off of me and that makes me really happy because I know how hard it is running our own businesses and we're wearing so many different hats. So when you can help someone like feel that relief and just, uh, and feel ready and prepared, that's a great win. Oh, I love that. That's so heartfelt.
00:42:33
Speaker
Okay, rapid fire questions. I don't know if this is so rapid fire, but you you told me in the beginning that you're writing for some like stories now as for a comfort.
00:42:49
Speaker
you said you mean like Like you're full circle, like you're like you worked at a company and like they only Oh, oh you mean because I'm writing the Christmas movies now too. Okay, so but what is that? Yeah, yeah. So like ah my first movie that I wrote came out in 2022 called a big fat family Christmas on um Hallmark Channel.
00:43:09
Speaker
um Yeah, and that was, ah it was like the first movie for them that I feel like was really rooted in cultural identity is around the Chinese American family. It was actually so supposed to be called My Big Fat Chinese Christmas, but it that was always a working title. like I never expected them to use it, and then they just changed it slightly.
00:43:31
Speaker
yeah um But yeah, so now i'm like you know i still like i I'm writing a couple more movies for them, also just trying to bring diverse stories to them. um I would say over the years, of I've been put more focused on Red Balloon Station, but I love being able to bring diverse and like different stories to screen.
00:43:52
Speaker
um because I think we really need it still. So there are times I get so frustrated with the entertainment industry, though, that I'm like, I don't want to be here anymore. But again, the opportunity to be able to bring these stories um to an audience that doesn't normally get them means a lot to me. And I i know how important it is. So yeah, so that's that's what I do on the side now. Yeah, I mean, that's a good segue. It is your best. um
00:44:23
Speaker
Mom time hack. Mom time hack. Oh, I don't know that I have one because I have ADHD. sir so um i don't i don't know I don't know. I don't have a time hack. and What is your um biggest LinkedIn hack? I'm sure a lot of wedding pros are not LinkedIn. Yeah, I don't know if you'd call it a hack, but LinkedIn has been like a huge game changer for me. um And I would say it's like
00:44:56
Speaker
It's actually being able to do live events. um Even though technically my workshops are on Zoom, I post the event on LinkedIn and they have like LinkedIn Audio and LinkedIn Live, which are not my most favorite, but they're all good ways to really be able to connect with your audience.
00:45:13
Speaker
um and um And I guess you can technically do those on other platforms too, like IG has live, but yeah I don't know, there's something about LinkedIn that's just like, everyone's there for business and professional growth. So, so you know, like you're talking to the right audience. I guess, okay, one little, it's not so much a hack, but one thing I like about LinkedIn is that when you comment on someone else's post, other people in their network or your,
00:45:41
Speaker
and your network, see it. like Even if you're not connected to someone. So that's what I liked about LinkedIn, because it truly is a social connector. Whereas like if you comment on someone's IG posts, no one's going to see it unless people are looking at the comments, right? I don't think I've done LinkedIn in my whole life, so I got to check it out. Yeah. I and i only using it and really learning how to use it over the last year, but it's been a huge game changer, so I spend most of my time there.
00:46:09
Speaker
I love that. what is You talked about email sequences, but what's like oh your best automation hack? Automation hack. um Again, I don't know if this is a hack, but like even just for my recent bootcamp, I give my um clients all like a basic for email sequence, welcome email sequence, because it's important when people sign up for your newsletter that they hear from you right away. right but um The studies and research and stats show that a sequence helps you convert more than just a single automated sequence. So I give them this formula for for email sequence. um You can have longer welcome email sequences.
00:46:52
Speaker
But to start there, and it's one that they can like repeat and recycle and with slight tweaks, so it makes it easier. um But I say like, that's one of the most important things to set up first, because it helps you immediately start yeah building those relationships and letting people know who you are. Yeah, I love that. And then last question before you tell everyone where to find you, but what do you love most about your business?
00:47:17
Speaker
um I love the people that I work with. Like I am so happy over the last year, especially I've really found um I feel like my people and my community and just like finding new ways to like help them grow and like this it it becomes like a ah like I become friends with everyone. I become friends with a lot of my clients. so I love that. and like and Then we work with each other. like you know they'll They'll need copywriting help and I um i need help from other things. so like my My business coach is also a client now. so
00:47:51
Speaker
my but Yeah, my husband always jokes because he hears us on the phone sometimes, and he's like, this is weird. like It sounds like you're coaching your coach. I'm like, no, that's because sometimes like we're on a call because she's my client too now. That's awesome. yeah Yeah. I love that. Well, thank you for sharing. This has been so insightful for me and I'm sure for all the listeners, but where can everyone find you and work with you?
00:48:14
Speaker
um You can find me on LinkedIn, Justine Wensil-Chang, or you can find me um on my website, www.redballoonstation dot.com. I am also on IG. I'm trying to be more active there. um it's ah But at Red Balloon Station is the handle for IG. I am there. I'm just like a little better at LinkedIn. so yeah ah Thank you, Justine. Thank you so much for having me. This was really fun.
00:48:46
Speaker
Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine. See you next time, wedding pros!