Are you tired of client's not finding you online? Your visual content probably needs a revamp! Melissa LeMay tells us how to use Canva to create a recognizable and memorable brand. Mélissa is a Canva Certified Creative and Content Strategist who loves to work with solopreneurs. She helps them achieve their visual goals easily (and fast) and saves them 10+ hours every week by creating custom Canva graphics! After being in sales and customer service for over 15 years, Mélissa pursued her desire for more freedom by starting her own business. Born creative, she loves designing different graphics for her clients and coming up with the right solutions. With her strong background in customer service, helping other business owners to succeed is what she's passionate about. Mélissa loves calligraphy, dancing and travelling but home to her and her 3 silly kids is Ottawa, Canada. First Phase Melissa was a salon and sales manager in her 9 to 5. There was a moment in time that really triggered her desire to leave the 9 to 5 to have freedom to be available for her kids when they needed her. Second Phase Melissa's first attempt was to consult in the salon industry. She became a salon management coach. It was a difficult start because she wasn't well known in the industry. However, she was determined to make it work and was able to make the same income that she made in her 9 to 5 job. She found her clients by tapping into her existing network. Melissa started small, as is often necessary for entrepreneurs. Networking online and hiring a business coach were two additional resources she used to grow her business and gain clients. As time went by, people started to notice the graphics Melissa was creating for her own business content. She started creating graphics for her clients and then realized, if people are asking for this, there is clearly a need. Melissa then slowly transitioned into the graphic design and became a Canva Certified Creative. Canva for Creating Visual Content Canva has a community of creatives who test their designs and tools. This is now an invitation process but at the time, it was an application process. Melissa now creates Canva graphics for solopreneurs for use online. She creates the templates and then her clients can edit the graphics as need as their brands or businesses change. Canva is a fabulous tool. You can do brand editing with the free version, but you must have the paid or pro version to manipulate fonts. Melissa works with her clients to create graphics that are brand specific and help engage and create an emotional connection with their audience. The Benefits of Using Visual Content for Branding Brand colors are a strong component of a brand and necessary to create and convey the message of the brand. Having brand colors helps with consistency and staying on brand. It is easier to be recognized when you have consistence with brand colors and having them prevents confusion. Likewise, having branded colors saves time. You don't have to guess about the colors you are going to select every time you create or use a graphic. In addition, consistency across social media platforms is so important. Having branded graphics can help with this. The Benefits of Having a Niche for Identifying your Ideal Clients It's really important to identify who you are serving and how you are going to serve them. Melissa niched down to only work with solopreneurs. Specializing has helped her business grow and has simplified her processes and consolidated her offerings. Melissa works with solopreneurs who are primarily female and business coaches. Graphics are one of the easiest and first things that business owners can outsource. Delegating is very important and can make your business run more efficiently and saves you valuable time to focus on your expertise. Book Recommendation Blue Fishing by Steve Simms Favorite Quote "Just Do It" - Nike Learn more about Melissa and connect with her: Website: www.graphicmaven.ca Instagram: www.instagram.com/graphic.maven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraphicMavenShop/ Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/graphicmaven LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graphicmaven/ Learn more about your host, Robyn Graham, click HERE. To learn about The Brand Insider by Robyn Graham, click HERE. The Etsy Shop

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