Case Study: Sara Berkes' Codebook

One of the first people who decided to go through the Voice Identification Process with me was the lovely Sara Berkes of Sara Berkes Creative. I met Sara in the Quiet Power Strategy program and she’s in the process of rebranding her website, so when she reached out to ask if I was offering the VIProcess yet, I offered it to her as a beta client.

Sara felt like her old copy was bland. It wasn’t really her, and it wasn’t helping her stand out from the crowd. Sara is a designer specializing in creating interactive, branded PDF workbooks for online entrepreneurs. She has a bold aesthetic and bold (uncommon!) opinions — and her old copy and brand weren’t reflecting that at all.

As we went through her Voice Identification Process workbook together, I highlighted a bunch of her bold statements and opinions, but I was also really drawn to the fact that Sara makes a lot of her own clothes and has a strong preference for buying things that are local and/or hand made.

On our call, Sara was enthusiastic about running with the idea of tailoring her brand hook around that idea of handmade, artisan design, and so I finished up her Codebook with that hook in mind.

But then, she was brave enough to realize a few days later that it wasn’t quite right — which is totally OK! We went back to the drawing board and found another hook that totally clicked.

We focused on the idea that her brand is BOLD that she has bold designs and bold opinions. And, as you’ll read below, she knew it was the right way to go when she started fistpumping in the air. 😉 (That’s TOTALLY the reaction I want all my clients to get!)

Read below to learn more about Sara’s experience with the process:

Why did you originally want to do the Voice Identification Process?

I wanted to do the voice ID process because I was feeling stuck and overwhelmed when it came to just thinking about revamping my website copy. I had decided to revamp and relaunch my website and promote my services in a different way, and I wanted to make sure the new site copy felt like “me” instead of like a robot / some random person was writing it. I found that in my conversations with clients, they were often surprised when they encountered my real personality because my website personality was so different.

When I saw your website copy on your own site, I fell in love with it, and figured you’d be the right person to help me with mine. As for what I hoped to get out of it—I hoped to be better able to break through the writer’s block when it came to writing my site copy, and to feel like I had an arsenal of ideas and words to turn to that sounded “right” for how I wanted to portray myself and my business, so when I got stuck, I didn’t revert to just writing what I’d seen others writing.

What did you learn about your brand, your business, or yourself from going through the process?

I learned that I have multiple personalities (well I kind of already knew that one, total Gemini here) but that my pretty strong and sometimes unpopular opinions are what tied everything together.

Up to this point, I’d been afraid of upsetting people or stepping on toes by being true to what I believe about design. But I realized that those opinions are what I can wax poetic about forever, and what I feel most excited talking about. And then, with your encouragement, I realized that those opinions are what sets me apart, and am working on making them pretty front and centre in my new copy.

How did you come to the realization that the first hook (handmade) wasn’t right?

With my aforementioned multiple personalities, sometimes I have trouble zeroing in on how I want to present myself. The handmade ethos is one that really does represent certain parts of my life, and it’s something I love, but when it came time to actually write my copy… it felt fake. I felt like I was putting on some kind of personality that wasn’t really mine and that didn’t really fit with how I wanted to present myself.

I think I believe more strongly in my opinions on design and more strongly in sharing those and giving people another side of the conversation than I do on the handmade stuff. Because what I believe about design, I believe to be eternal truths that are true for everyone—things like “good design makes good things better” (I really really love that, if you haven’t noticed) or “design shapes the way we experience the world” or “if you hire a designer and you don’t know what you want and can’t make decisions, you will make everyone’s life a living hell”.

How did you feel after we found the second hook and new direction?

I felt very excited and like did some fist pumps and stuff and just felt that elusive “click” everyone’s after. It just felt right—and I felt like I was finally being given permission to be that bold, opinionated person, and tools to really help me harness it in a way that’s true to my personality, and also works for my business.

How are you using the codebook while writing the new copy for your site, your design, product ideas, or any other part of your business so far?

The codebook has really just perfectly complemented the design I had already come up with—which I think is part of why when it clicked I knew it. I could just see those bold words with the new site design I’d been working on and it all felt right. I keep the codebook open while I write my copy, and refer to it when I’m having trouble with word choice.

I’ve also completely adopted “good design makes good things better” because I love how simply and easily that captures my whole opinion—I don’t think I could have ever figured out how to say that belief so simply, but you just nailed it!

If the Voice Identification Process sounds right for you…

You can get more information about working with me by clicking here.

And if you have questions about your own voice, I’d love to help answer them in the comments below.

LACY BOGGS, DIRECTOR

Case Study: Sara Berkes’ Codebook