Are you launching your brand soon? Then this complete brand launch checklist is for you. But before you read on, I want to ask you a question ⬇️

If you asked your brand to do a pull up right now, would it hold up? Or would it fold? Obviously your brand won’t actually be able to do complex strength training — but it should be strong enough to hold up against the 5-year mark that a lot of small businesses fail to surpass. And that all boils down to having a strong brand foundation.

Your brand foundation is the guiding force of everything you do — from your brand positioning and values to your mission, vision, and personality. It needs to be rock solid so everything you do after is consistent and clear with your goals.

Ironclad branding makes your more memorable, more trustworthy, and sets the groundwork for long-lasting positive results. Without a strong brand foundation, you won’t leave a lasting impression on people, won’t stand out from your competitors, and won’t make a dent in your dreams.

You’re starting this brand for a reason — so best do it right!

In this blog post, I’m going to get into the essential checklist items you need to cross off before launch day. So grab your highlighter, and let’s do this!

Section 1: Defining Your Brand Foundation

The first think on the brand launch checklist is defining your brand’s foundation. Alright so boom, imagine someone is landing on your website for the first time. They’re probably weighing a couple other options, and want to learn more about you and why you’re a brand worth choosing. So they go to your About Page, looking for your “it” factor. What will they see?

Obviously your mission and vision statement should be on there. But how to craft it — that’s the difference between a stale, generic statement and a dynamic, memorable one.

Your vision statement is your dream on paper — where you aspire to go, and hope for not only your brand but also your target audience. You can start with a template like this: We see a world where [target audience] can [solution & dream they have that they want to achieve]

But for the love of all that is good and holy, DO NOT STOP THERE. Really think about why you’re starting this brand. Sure, it could be because you want to secure the fattest bag ever — but surely that’s not the only reason.

I started Storytella Studios© with no idea what I wanted to be — but I’ve always been a pro-Black creative, and I consider myself an ally to all marginalized communities. After working my way through the first couple years of my business, working in corporate, and educating myself about the market, I knew that I HATED writing for billion-dollar companies that couldn’t care less about me or my people.

But the Aunty next door? My bestie making a fire product? Your local artisan who’s too shy to talk about their AMAZING work? That’s who I wanted to write for, and elevate however I could.

So my vision statement would look something like: To help women-owned and BIPOC small businesses revolutionize the world by giving underserved consumers more of the products and services made for them, by people like them

Your mission statement is a concise explanation of why you exist and describes your purpose, intention and overall objectives. Basically, how are you making your vision a reality?

Again, you’re not just setting up CRMs for female founders, or offering efficient and quality nail services to the Bay Area.

Pare it back to why you’re doing this in the first place. So a starter template like “We’re on a mission to change [problem] and achieve [vision] by [actions you’ll take to get there]” becomes “Destabilize performative marketing and products that pander for the sake of a buck by helping women-owned & BIPOC small businesses stand out, connect with their people, and sell their stuff. With brand voice & messaging development, compelling & conversational & culturally-relevant copywriting, and attractive content marketing. ”.

You also want to identify your core values, which can connect you with your target audience — especially if you value the same things — foster trust, and make your brand identity stronger.

It also helps you stand out from your competitors, guides you with every decision you make (from the products you offer to your brand partnerships), and can even attract employees, freelancers, or contractors who believe in the same things you do.

There are so many to choose from, but here’s a list of 200 brand values to make it a little easier for you

200 Brand Value Examples

Abundance	Discovery	Hard Work	Popularity
Acceptance	Discretion	Harmony	Positivity
Accessibility	Diversity	Health	Potential
Accountability	Dreams	Heart	Power
Accuracy	Drive	Heroism	Precision
Activeness	Duty	History	Pride
Adaptability	Eagerness	Honesty	Privacy
Adventure	Ease of Use	Honour	Productivity
Affection	Economy	Hope	Professionalism
Ambition	Education	Humility	Progress
Appreciation	Effectiveness	Humour	Purity
Approachability	Elegance	Imagination	Quality
Attention to Detail	Empathy	Impact	Recognition
Balance	Empowering	Individuality	Reflection
Beauty	Energy	Innovation	Relationships
Belonging	Engagement	Insight	Reliability
Bravery	Enjoyment	Inspiration	Resilience
Capability	Entertainment	Integrity	Resourcefulness
Care	Enthusiasm	Intelligence	Respect
Change	Entrepreneurship	Intimacy	Responsibility
Charity	Environment	Intuition	Safety
Clarity	Equality	Joy	Satisfaction
Cleanliness	Evolution	Justice	Security
Collaboration	Excellence	Kindness	Sharing
Comfort	Excitement	Knowledge	Simplicity
Commitment	Exhilaration	Leadership	Sincerity
Communication	Expertise	Learning	Skill
Compassion	Exploration	Liveliness	Speed
Confidence	Fairness	Logic	Spontaneity
Connection	Faith	Longevity	Stability
Consistency	Family	Love	Strength
Control	Fame	Loyalty	Success
Cooperation	Fascination	Mastery	Support
Courage	Fearlessness	Mindfulness	Sustainability
Craftiness	Firmness	Motivation	Talent
Craftsmanship	Fitness	Neatness	Teamwork
Creativity	Flexibility	Optimism	Thoughtfulness
Credibility	Focus	Organization	Tolerance
Curiosity	Freedom	Originality	Trust
Customer satisfaction	Freshness	Partnership	Truth
Customer-centric	Friendship	Passion	Understanding
Daring	Fun	Peace	Uniqueness
Dedication	Generosity	Patience	Unity
Dependability	Genius	Perception	Value
Determination	Genuineness	Performance	Variety
Devotion	Goodwill	Persistence	Virtue
Dignity	Gratitude	Personal development	Vision
Diligence	Growth	Playfulness	Warmth
Directness	Guidance	Pose	Welcoming
Discipline	Happiness	Polish	Wonder

After you’ve done that, you need to develop a unique value proposition that differentiates you and makes you or your products attractive to your customers.

To do this, you need to do extensive competitor research to find their strengths, weaknesses and opportunities — and yours, as well.

Your strengths — whether that be a feature of your offer(s), your expertise and experience, your unique approach, your mission or your brand story — are the foundation of your positioning and how your people will get value from that.

So when it’s time to craft your positioning statement:

Get clear on who you are, who you serve and what they’re going through, your why, and the value you bring to your target audience	Write down everything that makes your brand and offer(s) ICONIC	Include a brief descriptor of your target audience and what they need to solve their problem, how you’ll help them do that, what makes you different from your competitors, and why people should believe you (a.k.a. proof)	Keep it brief, unique, and memorable

Positioning Statement Starter Template

For [your target market] who [target market need], [your brand name] provides [main benefit that differentiates your offering from competitors] because [reason why target market should believe your differentiation statement.]

Examples:

Coca Cola: “For quality beverage seekers, Coca-Cola offers a wide range of the most refreshing options. Each creates a great experience for customers when they enjoy a Coca-Cola brand drink. Unlike other beverage options, Coca-Cola products inspire happiness and make a positive difference in customers’ lives, and the brand is intensely focused on the needs of consumers and customers.”

• Target Audience: Quality beverage seekers
• Their Need: Refreshing beverages
• How The Brand Will Meet Their Need: A wide range of the most refreshing beverages
• Their Unicorn Factor: Coca-Cola products inspire happiness and make a positive difference in customers’ lives
• Proof They’re Credible: ❌ (but they have market leadership going for them so…)

Apple: “Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.”

• Target Audience: People
• Their Need: Personal technology
• How The Brand Will Meet Their Need: Software platforms and breakthrough services with seamless experiences across all devices
• Their Unicorn Factor: They’re a market leader and innovator
• Proof They’re Credible: Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

Slack: “Slack is the collaboration hub that brings the right people, information, and tools together to get work done. From Fortune 100 companies to corner markets, millions of people around the world use Slack to connect their teams, unify their systems, and drive their business forward.”

• Target Audience: Businesses
• Their Need: Connect with the team, unify their systems, and drive business forward
• How The Brand Will Meet Their Need: Bring the right people, information, and tools together to get work done
• Their Unicorn Factor: A collaboration hub
• Proof They’re Credible: Millions of people around the world use Slack

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Section 2: Understanding Your Ideal Client

Second item on the brand launch checklist: understanding your ideal client. To really know your ideal client like your hairline — because let’s be real, we don’t look at the back of our hand that often, but we do watch our hairline like a hawk to see if it’s receding — you need to do a few things.

I wrote a whole blog post about this, but the basic gist for you is to do:

• Market research & voice of customer research — you can do secondary research, conduct a consumer survey or interview (p.s. I have a free resource with 90+ consumer research Qs you can steal), or doing social listening on tools like social media or in-person events
• Get all their demographic and psychographic information sorted
• Flesh out their behavioural patterns — like buying behaviour, how they spend their time online and offline, and decision making styles
• Really understand their pain points and desires

Once you’ve done all that, you can build your ideal client avatar!

Ideal Client Avatar Formula

[Name] is a/an [archetype]. They are a [identifier; e.g., business owner] making [annual income; e.g., $500k per year] in [where they’re located; e.g., the U.S.], and they want to [achieve a main goal; e.g., start making $1M every year].

[Name] [how they live; e.g., work completely online, communicating with their small team via email or Slack. When they’re not doing that, they’re picking their kids up from school or creating content].

They’re [personality trait(s); e.g. mission-driven, hardworking, the human equivalent of a warm hug], and they want [what they want from you/themselves; e.g., to get more fulfillment from their work and really feel like they’re making a positive impact].

[Name] wants to [achieve big goals; e.g., write a book, launch a podcast] and [how they’ll make that happen; e.g., they’ll be a perfectionist to a fault].

[Name] [their big values; e.g., advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and wants the products they buy to give them a lot of bang for their buck].

Here’s mine, for reference ⬇️

Meet Rumi, a is mission-driven, outspoken, cares about their community, and values quality and communication — from the people they hire and from themselves. Rumi could be a man, woman, or not conform to any gender — and they could be white, Black, Brown, or another person of colour or marginalized group. They’re a small business owner with a small, but might team, bringing in $100k-$1M+ in revenue per year — either with digital products, physical products, online programs, DFY services, or all of the above. They want to get to/keep making 7+ figures, and know that their copywriting is a big factor in that — but they’re busy, and don’t have time to do it themselves or pass it off to their existing team. They have a lot of goals — launching a podcast, writing a book, optimizing their online presence for search engines and more.

Grab my Comprehensive Brand Voice Guidelines Workbook to craft your complete verbal brand identity >>>

Section 3: Crafting Your Brand Messaging

Another thing you have to check off your brand launch checklist before you cut the ribbon on your grand opening is to craft your brand messaging, and that involves a few things.

#1: Develop your brand voice and tone

Your brand voice is how you verbally represent your brand’s personality and imagery, and should always be constant. For example, a yoga brand would have a light and playful brand voice to match its personality, values, and imagery.

However, your brand tone of voice is the emotions and mood you verbally communicate, which can change depending on what you’re talking about and where — but still keeping the brand voice clear. For example, the yoga brand would be more serious in a sponsorship deck to potential investors than in an abandoned cart email to a potential customer.

A distinct and consistent brand voice can:

1. Make you more recognizable and help you stand out
2. Allow you to attract more of the right target audience, and create strong authentic relationships with them
3. Make you more money in the long run

So you’ll want to work with a copywriter to establish your brand voice and tone, or grab a resource to help you do it yourself.

Next ⬇️

#2: Create your brand story and personal narrative

Your brand story is like a behind-the-scenes look into why you exist.

It’s not just the chronological events that led you up to this point in business, because not every life moment is relevant.

Your brand story explains the motivations behind your mission, shows your brand personality and brand voice, and rallies the right people to your cause.

Your brand story should dive into:

• A little personal story about you/your team that connects to what you do in business today
• The problem you saw in the market
• What you chose to do about it
• When things started to pick up speed in your business
• The moment you realized you were making a difference
• The moment you decided to keep the momentum going

I always like to use Rebundle as an example because their brand story is just SO DAMN GOOD. Their story is all about making itchy scalps while wearing protective hairstyles a thing of the past for Black women. To make sustainable synthetic braiding hair better for our scalps while also being better for the planet.

#3: Articulate your offerings clearly

What purpose does this service serve? Does it help people get clear skin? Break the $30k barrier in their next launch? Or get a new set of nails in less than 45 minutes?

Does it solve a functional need (like a setting spray needing to keep makeup in place), an emotional need (like a new set of nails making me feel like a human again), or a social one (like a beautiful customer experience making you look like a more legit business)?

Who is this product or service for? You might think it’s the right fit for everyone, but that might not be the case — my 50-hour Copy Retainer service, for example, is best suited for experiences business owners with a lot of copy needs and someone on call to get them done, while my 15-hour Copy Retainer is better for budget beginner business owners that want to get one really important thing done.

Also, what problem does this service solve, and what’s the benefit of it? How will it make their lives so much better that they should shell out their hard-earned money?

Compare the features of your service, and the overall service, to others in the market. How does it hold up in value and price? Find your strengths and weaknesses, and then you can get to the next part: describing the service.

Identify your service’s key features, focus on the benefits it provides, and make your descriptions clear, brief, and specific.

And to really validate what you’re saying, use social proof to support you — like testimonials, case studies, success statistics, etc.

Grab my Comprehensive Brand Voice Guidelines Workbook to craft your complete verbal brand identity >>>

Section 4: Designing Your Visual Brand Identity

Item four on the brand launch checklist: designing your visual brand identity. I’m not an expert on this, but after working in corporate for over 2 years and collaborating with brand & website designers for my Storytella Studios© clients, I know enough to say how important your visual brand identity is.

This should always come after developing your brand foundation & messaging — but, ideally, you want it to happen around the same time.

You can either have a copywriter-brand designer team up, or hire someone who does it all. If you’re doing the former, you should look for copywriters that have a network of brand designers they regularly work with, and vice versa.

If potential clients don’t have a brand designer picked out, I always send them some suggestions with various design styles so they can pick and choose!

For your visual brand identity, you’ll want to:

• Choose colours that reflect your brand personality — all brand designers will know about colour theory (e.g. ‘blue’ brands are typically associated with trust, professionalism and calmness, so it’s a popular pick for finance, healthcare and technology companies). Experienced brand designers will know how to transcend the basics, though
• Select fonts that complement your brand
• Create a logo and brand elements (illustrations, brand packaging, etc.)
• Develop brand guidelines for consistency

Section 5: Building Your Brand Presence

Next up on the brand launch checklist: building your brand presence. Your brand presence is like your personal style — how you present yourself and take up space in certain spaces. This can include:

A professional website that converts

Your website copy and website design should work together to convey your message, communicate your value proposition, and sell your services while you sleep.

Core social media profiles

Depending on what you found from your research and what aligns with your brand identity, you should narrow down the set of social media profiles to show up on — Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, etc.

Essential brand assets

This could include business cards, presentations, and more. You want to stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.

Setup email marketing and templates

Email marketing is THE GOAT marketing channel, so you’ll want to make sure they’re sitting pretty when it’s time to send your first email.

Section 6: Creating Your Service Packages

Where are we on the brand launch checklist? Oh: creating your service packages. If we just looked at the action of your service — for example nails or website copy — anyone can do what you do. It’s how you package your service that makes a difference.

How can you best meet client needs with your service package? Again, going back to my Copy Retainer, I made this package because after a while I noticed how much easier it would be for my clients to just have me on speed dial to write copy when they need it.

Another thing that better served them: the price. My Copy Retainer package is much more cost effective than my premium packages, and I strategically priced them that way because I wanted more retainer clients that could give me stable, consistent income. So how can you price your services strategically?

After that, you have to create service descriptions that sell, then develop client onboarding processes that make everything seamless and enjoyable for your client. I have a bunch of workflow emails that send to my client from the moment they fill out my application form to the moment I send them their off-boarding testimonial form (here’s where I got the template for those workflow emails).

Section 7: Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy

Okay, we’re almost through with the brand launch checklist, I promise! Now, we’ve arrived at the pre-launch marketing strategy stage — where you want to get your people amped out before you open!

You’ll want to develop a content strategy to build authority — so working with an expert will be ideal, especially if content strategy isn’t in your wheelhouse. Included in that scope is a email marketing, so you’ll want to build an email list before launch. You can do that by offering a gift with subscribing, adding consumer research respondents you found during the research phase to your email list, and more.

Leveraging networks and partnerships is also a vital part of any pre-launch marketing strategy, because you can widen your net and reach more of your target audience that way.

And creating anticipation with a strategic launch timeline — I’d say about 8 weeks before you launch — will get people excited so by the time you finally do launch your brand, they’re chomping at the bit to book you.

Section 8: The Launch Plan

Final item on the brand launch checklist: the actual launch plan! You’ll need to create your launch announcement strategy beyond just saying “WE’VE LAUNCHED 🥳”. And develop launch content across platforms — social, email, and more.

By this point you should’ve secured initial testimonials or case studies so other people like your reader can validate every claim you make, and be able to handle inquiries and consultations during launch — working with an operations agency before launch is a good idea so you’re squared away for this.

Conclusion

I cannot stress enough how vital it is to have a strong brand foundation, so pay close attention — and extra time, if need be — to this part.

But we’re not done yet! Because now that you’ve launched, you have to keep that momentum going post-launch.

Bonus: Post-Launch Brand Building

By this point, I’m sure you’re already booked out months down the line and have a waitlist that’s out the door. But if you’re a new brand launching for the first time, chances are you don’t have much client feedback about your services and packages, so you’ll need systems in place for collecting that feedback.

I, for example, send an email to my clients during the off-boarding phase thanking them for trusting me, recapping their project, and asking them for feedback — giving them options to choose how they do it: with questionnaire, or recording a 2 minute video testimonial.

Beyond that, you’ll need strategies for refining your brand based on market response. After rebranding in 2022 to clarify my audience, I started booking more projects with my ideal client: Black women. But I serve ALL women, and BIPOC — a fact which people forgot, when I got messages inquiring if I “write for white women”. I had to retrace my steps and figure out my messaging so I didn’t alienate a big chunk of my target audience.

Finally, you’ll want to build long-term brand authority in your niche — that could be with a referral program, setting up a community, offering rewards points, etc.

And there you have it! A complete brand launch checklist that I’d give to any inquiring client about to launch their service provider business.

Make sure to grab my Comprehensive Brand Voice Guidelines Workbook to have the verbal part of your brand foundation covered.

And for all your copy needs, I’m your girl! Inquire for 1:1 copywriting services here >>>