How to create a memorable brand outside the box with Dana Kaye

When you think of branding, the first thing that pops into your head might be color palettes and logo designs – but if you’ve been hanging out here for a while, you know that branding is much more than that. Building a memorable brand requires a solid business foundation, a commitment to building strong relationships, and delivering a top-notch service – a path today’s guest has walked more than once.

Dana Kaye is the founder of Kaye Publicity and Branding Outside the Box. After hustling as a freelance writer and swimming coach, Dana’s business was born when she was asked by a fellow writer in the publishing industry to help promote their debut novel.

Since then, she’s helped dozens of writers bring unique, compelling books to market. More recently, she’s taken all she’s learned building her business and started up a secondary company, Branding Outside the Box, an online resource for entrepreneurs to learn how to become more memorable and make more meaningful connections.

Dana has a treasure trove of knowledge about building a business and branding, and she shares tons of her experience with us in this episode. We talk first about how she built her book publicity business off the back of her freelance writing career and love of learning. Dana shares how her business has evolved, how she builds and maintains her standout brand, and why she’s excited to share her branding knowledge with other entrepreneurs at Branding Outside the Box.

We also talk about the importance of carving out time to explore the topics and ideas that are tugging on your curiosity so you can continue to innovate and move your brand forward. We also discuss online courses and why it’s important to build a business that’s in integrity with your personal values while also making you a great living. And Dana wraps everything up by telling us about her conviction that all people have to capacity to have careers and lives that are truly fulfilling.

What Mastery means to Dana:
Honing your craft and skills to the point where you can do it over and over again and yield the same results.

Turning point:
Just one?! I've had several turning points:

1. Realizing I was a terrible manager and needed to learn how to hire and lead if I wanted to grow my business.
2. Becoming a parent and having a hard stop on every work day.
3. Realizing that adding zeros to my bank account wasn't making me happier. In fact, it was making me more miserable. So I decided to pivot towards getting more time over earning more money.

Dana’s Core message:
To run a thriving business, you must be KNOWN for your core values and services, and a memorable personal brand provides that foundation.

Focus on real, human connections over vanity metrics and general marketing tactics.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• How Dana built her publicity business after working as a freelance writer, reclaiming her love for books, and fostering plentiful connections in her industry.
• Why she decided to start her own business instead of take a more traditional job in publishing.
• How Dana maintains the energy for her many creative and entrepreneurial projects.
• Why she thinks that e-course creators should be more mindful of testing their methods and ensuring their content is truly applicable for all buyers.
• What Dana’s learned about creating a memorable brand in her ten-plus years of business.
• How she attracted a whole new customer base thanks to her book about how to build a brand around your book launch and boost your sales.