Closing Sales and Shifting Opinions [Part 2]: Principles For Branding Your Online Business With Authenticity

In Part 1 of Closing Sales and Shifting Opinions, I talked about branding. Specifically, I wrote about what a brand is, what the elements are, and how it can be used to promote progressive agendas like this Nike ad. In Part 2 of this series, I go a little bit deeper by explaining how to brand your online business authentically, and why that should matter to you in the first place.  

Let's start with the why. Here's the full story.

A little while ago, I decided to update some of the brand messages for Legally Bold. As I began to educate myself on messaging methodologies, something that has been bothering me about the online business industry for a while came into full view.

I realized that there is a tension between the values that the online business industry espouses and what they are really signaling just below the surface. 

On its face, the industry feels like the progressive entrepreneurial community of my dreams. Online entrepreneurs speak earnestly about values, giving back, freedom…