The Ying & Yang of Branding & Marketing Strategy

The Two Way Street of Doing Everything

Welcome to the third part of the trilogy about branding.

Today we are focusing specifically on marketing your brand & logo creation.

I want to start this loveletter with a analogy of my approach creating a logo. It may seem a little distant, but you will get the art of it. I trust you will.

Imagine you are navigating through an unfamiliar forest, equipped with only a compass and a map.

In this journey, the compass represents your short-term strategies: — quick, immediate directions that keep you moving.

The map on the other hand symbolizes your long-term strategies: — providing a broader perspective of the terrain ahead, guiding your ultimate destination.

Just as a successful expedition requires both a compass for immediate decisions and a map for overarching guidance, so does the art of marketing your brand demand a delicate balance between short-term gains and long-term vision.

— & you can literally translate this to most aspects in life.

There is the short term solution to things,

& the long term.

Ideally, you apply both strategies to stay in balance.

And the same approach can be applied to logo creation.

A logo is the face of your brand. It's the first thing people see, and often, it's what they remember.

A logo touches on every aspect of your brand & what it represents - your company's values, its mission, and its vision for the future. It's a shorthand for everything your brand stands for.

— A logo is the planning seed form of everything your whole plant (brand) is becoming.

“Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws.”

― Confucius

We know this through Psychoanalysis. Your dreamworld is made out of pictures. The subconscious of the human works in visualization.

Symbols are a more universal language than words.

— If you have a drivers license, you can theoretically drive anywhere in the world, because you understand the signs.

whereas language has to be learned one by one. Symbols are a more universal language, in which our understanding is rooted deep within the subconscious.

According to Carl Gustav Jung (psychoanalyst), a symbol does not represent something acquired from the personal context, but is an emotion-colored message from the collective unconscious.

It is the language of the psyche with which it tries to convey the unknown, through symbolism or archetypal, to the consciousness.

And now I come to my point:

— Within Logo creation there is the same dichotomy going on.

As a designer who has been deeply interested in the works of psychoanalysis and how the subconscious works, I have observed that good logos touch something.

It goes beyond the logical: “oh, this looks nicely done.”

A good logo resonates within the archetypal makeup of an individual, or collective;

it triggers an “emotion-colored message from the collective unconscious.” as Jung described.

Something that has been dreamed about, was set in stone. This symbol has been linguering in peoples minds for ages. — The collective agrees, that this is what it represents.

& the good thing is, you can reverse engineer this process.

Just have a look at facebook’s logo.

It has been linguering in peoples minds for ages.

That’s why I leveraged the hell out of this opportunity to create a personal brand logo for myself that reminds people of the facebook logo, of course with some more elements. But the base style and ratios is the same.

My logo is an interesting case.

— I wanted to brand my legacy.

And it is a good example of how semantics and symbolism can shape your brand. My logo consists of certain elements:

• Heart:

Because I pour heart into things (that’s why my newsletter is also called loveletters)

• double t:

Stands for my initals Tarkan Turan, tt, which you might have’t noticed but the second t is upside down.

• Saturn:

Saturns symbol is incorporated within the double t where the second is upside down. Saturn is representative of work ethic, the challenges & hardships of life. It represents the number 8 (or infinity) which is my life path number in numerology)

The top cross, which is symbolic of the culmination of matter as well as the function of a intense focus. The second component of the Saturn icon is a crescent an element which it signifies receptivity & sprit.

The cross over the crescent says: matter over mind. The other way around, with Jupiters symbol, crescent over cross; is mind over matter.

• the heart is placed on the t-cross:

that’s a design gimmic. The heart is an extension of the t.

• the heart points to the top right with its peak:

This is resonant with the symbol of mars, which points to the right top as well. The symbol for Mars (♂) is often linked to the shield and spear of the Roman god of war, Mars (equivalent to the Greek god Ares). This symbol represents both the planet Mars and the male gender in astrology and alchemy.

This imagery not only connects to the god Mars's role as a deity of war but also symbolizes aggression, action, and masculine energy.

The arrow pointing to the right and upwards suggests an outward thrusting force, indicative of the assertive and outwardly directed qualities associated with the planet Mars and the archetypical masculine.

— What is my relationship to mars?

Well, I am an scorpio ascendant & sun. So my co ruler planet is mars. And my mars happens to be in Leo.

Mars in Leo feels very strong and masculine

“Mars (in Leo) in Relation to the Dense Physical Vehicle: Mars in Leo will strengthen the physical vehicle. These indications are accentuated when the planet in the sign under consideration is also the ruling planet (as it would be, in this case, if either Aries or Scorpio were rising). Leo, via the Sun, is always connected with strength and vitality.

Mars and the Sun are the two principally masculine indicators among the ‘planets’ (even though the Sun is not really a planet). “Blood rushes” to the heart and the immediate circulatory system connected with it. This may increase the strength of that organ, or bring difficulties and high blood pressure through an over-concentration of force.

This is symbolism that is deeply tied to my personality, purpose and journey. — and now we come back to the two way street of doing things.

You can either design a logo the depth & way I just described, or the short term solution of “let’s make something shiny and hip”.

You get my point?

Watch Your Steps!

— the allure of the short-term gain versus the commitment to a long-term vision.

the temptation to prioritize immediate results over long term success can lead businesses astray, leaving their brand's potential unfulfilled as f***.

The risks of a one-sided strategy are clear: focusing solely on short-term tactics can lead to a volatile brand reputation, where trust is as fleeting as the trends that carry it.

On the other hand an overly rigid long-term strategy without the flexibility to adapt to market changes can leave a brand feeling outdated and literally creating no revenue.

The question is now, how do we avoid falling into the same trap?

How do we make sure that our brand not only captures attention but retains it, grows with it, and builds a legacy?

Well, we spoke about obiding to the guidelines in our last loveletter “Create a Good Brand Identity within minutes”

& here we will go on about marketing your brand with balance & strategy.

The Two Way Street of Marketing Your Brand

The principle that most western brands have understood, but the eastern world has yet to figure out, is that long term brand building & reputation is an art form that has an immense ROI(Return of Investment)

By using paid advertisement to get quick revenue in, you are partly at the cost of sacrificing trust within your potential audience. Paid advertisement has huge amount of benefits. You invest money into it, and it gives money back in terms of direct revenue.

Of course, only if your landingpage is good.

That means, you have a decent funnel; copy, headings, subheadings, structure, high value offer, irresistible intrigue, identifying their problem, provide a solution, show credentials, detail the benefits, social proof, a little bit of scarcity, give a powerful guarantee and then the call to action.

Look at this genius example of Saby Subry’s Landingpage for his book about sales

All that above is a way to create a landingpage that turns visitors into customers.

But you can also do the same thing with long form content, legacy & trust building.

there are two ways of doing the marketing and sales, which represent polar opposite strategies. They are both still usable at the same time, which I would also recommend doing.

There is Short-Term, Revenue-Driven Marketing:

• attention marketing
• aggressive sales techniques,
• promotional offers,
• and advertising campaigns designed to capture quick wins and boost sales figures quickly

and Legacy-Focused, Value-Providing Long-Term Brand Building

In contrast, this strategy is the marathon runner of marketing. It's about creating a lasting legacy and deep-rooted value for the brand over time.

This approach involves:

• crafting a strong brand identity,
• establishing trust and credibility with your audience,
• and providing consistent value through quality content, products, and services.

The goal here is not just to make a sale but to build a community of loyal customers and advocates for the brand.

This method may take longer to show financial returns, but it lays the foundation for sustainable growth and enduring success.

Establishing Your Presence with a Newsletter, Blog or Personal Website

The thing that I am doing right now. I am talking to you & providing value while sharing the learnings that I am digesting along the journey. This is a win/win; because in perspective you don’t pay a thing to read this.

I get to order my thoughts & journal & systemize my content,

could also be used to create a product, because it is already written.

Plus we establish a relationship of trust, where I provided value over a long period of time, where you think “oh now this guy has a product, he has given me so much already I have to give this back.”

— it’s called “goodwill marketing”

I am then publishing these episodes also on my website.

For everyone who visits my page to see that I provide value on a constant basis.

This is the general shift into the creator economy in a nutshell — sleasy, slimey & pitchy sales techniques are done with.

They will still be used. And don’t get me wrong, learning the basics of sales is still important. Some psychological rules are applicable for ever.

— but creating trust is more important than ever.

Showcasing Your Work Through Portfolio Marketing:

Sharing your work on platforms like Behance, Upwork, and Dribbble is for displaying what you've created; it's a smart strategy for getting your name and skills out there.

These sites are where potential clients and collaborators hang out, looking for talent just like yours.

By consistently posting your projects, you not only build a portfolio but also demonstrate your expertise and style.

It's direct marketing to those who value design and are willing to pay for quality. Think of it as your digital showroom — the more you show, the more you're likely to catch the right eyes.

Long form Content (Trust & Authority)

Long form content is usually content that is longer than 5 minutes. Youtube videos would fall under that category. But Newsletters like these are also longform content.

Many say that longform content is dead because the attention span of people are get shorter and shorter.

— What I have heard is that you get to decide which kind of audience you attract.

What I also heard, from the best of the best, that long form copy will never die.

Of course, people will not read the whole newsletter,

but the more you write: the more overall surface area for potential interaction there is.

And of course that copywriting should not be a bunch of nonsense. Every word should be placed intentionally.

But back to the topic — long form content is king.

You can hierarchically structure your content strategy in a top down approach, so that you don’t have to do anything twice. You can make short form content out of your long form content.

Long form content is important to establish trust & authority within the space you’re creating in. It shows that you know about the stuff you are talking about and people tend to trust your advice.

And it also draws back to the principle of goodwill marketing, where you provide value on a constant bases and build a legacy. People will be more ready to buy things from you because the ratio at which you are trying to sell vs. when you provide value for free is way more trustworthy.

And as said, they feel like they owe you because it is a steal (don’t tell that that you are earning money with youtube ads).

But many people stick to short form content solely, and I am not here to condemn that. It’s all about personal preferences and lifestyle design choices. Of course, also having the right systems in place. The 2 Hour Writer course by Dan Koe helped my immensely with that.

Short form Content (Reach & Growth)

Utilizing short-form content on platforms like Instagram and Twitter(X) for engagement and brand visibility is key.

— How do you get people to draw their eyes on your long form content or platforms? You would appreciate a growth strategy.

The short form content platforms act as the top of the sales funnel so to say. They draw people in to your content with little breadcrumbs.

And if they get to decide to like you, and maybe even work with you, they can because you are making it easy for them.

I have been diving into the structures of sales funnels lately and I can’t say enough how much sense these make. You make it easy for the consumer to get work with you on many different layers of the onion. That is a good user experience (UX) at it’s core.

Feedback Loop

Another aspect of short form content is the revolution that happened in regards to the feedback loop. Back then, writers & authors had to write for years, release their book & then probably have to wait for years again before some feedback data is gathered. — this is not the case anymore.

The internet is a good testing field for content, because the feedback loop is so short.

And once you get the hang of it, it will stick.

I am still waiting on my turn on that one. But I imagine it like muscle memory. It takes years to develop the muscle mass, but it’s easier to maintain it.

Craft Your Own Strategy

Now you got the general gist of how to approach your marketing strategy. Of course, marketing is way more than that. Still this episode gives you a good general overview of the two main roads to take in todays digital world.

You have to chose which is best for you.

Kiss Kiss,

Tarkan