Creating a loveable internet brand is essential for success no matter if you’re building a webshop, blog (like this one) or another type of internet business. You can even be an artist or dabble in data science, but you’ll still need a loveable :heart: Internet brand so your customers have an easier time of giving you money.

Last week we learnt that creating a loveable internet brand takes a bit of effort, and you have to focus on a couple of key aspects that can drastically impact how quickly your brand becomes loveable. Some of them include creating a community around your product and customers, focusing on one particular problem you can truly solve – such as in the case of PayPal.Me, and a few others you’ll find in our “How to Create A Loveable Internet Brand: Part #1”

While we might not be able to explain all the secrets of creating a loveable brand in just one article, we can get you started. Think of this as a quick start guide to get you on track…

Even if you already have an internet brand, you can still make it loveable, but we’ll tackle that in another article.

If you’re just getting started with your interned business, here are the steps you need to follow to make your brand as loveable as About.Me, PayPal.Me or a teddy bear.

Step 1: Remember That Loveable Doesn’t Mean Cute

I was kidding about the teddy bear.

A loveable internet brand can be as “metal” as Iron Maiden and still be lovable in the hearts of metalheads. It doesn’t have to be “traditionally” cute or cuddly!

Step 2: Talk To Customers And Remember – They’re People Too

Making a loveable brand is one of the surest ways to turn your endeavor into success. No matter if you are a law office or a dentist, acting like a faceless corporation will not get you there! Don’t get me wrong, creating a Fortune 500 business is the dream of every startup, but acting like a “corporation” won’t make you loveable! You need to be direct, loveable – human!

What I mean by this is that you have to talk to your customers, while keeping in mind that they are people like anyone else. Even the most “strict” CEO and uptight manager relaxes from time to time, takes off his tie or her shoes – and relaxes, has a beer, has fun, etc.

While the old way of doing business meant sticking to an etiquette that emphasised suits and ties, the Internet is anything but. The largest internet companies, such as Google and Facebook, are the complete opposite regarding culture from the companies of old.

And they have to be.

Would you trust Google with your searches or Facebook with your friends if their brands were cold, distant and weren’t, at least, a little loveable. Few exceptions, such as Uber, that have to be “serious” to tackle a specific industry (such as transportation) just prove that loveable brands can stand out – and get new customers.

Lyft. Pink mustaches. This Uber competitor recently secured a strategic investment from GM, and its users love it because of its image and light touch.

On the other hand, Uber is loveable because it solves a particular problem.

Which brings us to our next point…

Step 3: What’s The ONE Thing You Are Going To Help Your Customers Succeed At

Not two, not three. Just One. Remember when we, in Part #1, talked about how PayPal.Me decided to solve just one problem? That’s your job here!

When you talk to your potential customers about how you can help them, the easiest way to create a brand they’ll find “loveable” is to solve a particular problem. Try to find that one thing that you can tackle. While you could, and should try multiple things, don’t do it all at once. You shouldn’t spread yourself thin focusing on too many things at once.

Instead, make a note of all the things that you’re hearing from your potential customers – and put them into a spreadsheet or document. How can you help? Why do they think you can help with that?

Step 4: The Three Words That Solve Their Problem

A simple thing you can do is ask them to describe why they believe that you can help them in three adjectives or three words. Are you smart, quick and cheap, or are you expensive but reliable and high quality.

Depending on your customers, each can be an advantage or a disadvantage. If the client doesn’t have a big budget, being price-effective will make your brand far more loveable…

Put Your List Into Practice And Brand Yourself Loveable

Now that you’ve done your research and know why your customers might love how you can fix their problems, it’s time to finally make use of that list:

Step 5: Pick A Domain That Fits Your List

Depending on the words that best describe you, you can quickly choose a domain that now makes sense for you. SomethingAwesome.Me, right? While you could, for example, want to use the word “luxury” in your name and domain name, it doesn’t make sense if your customers are price sensitive and want your services to be affordable…

Step 6: You Have a CTA Already

Remember how you found the one problem you can solve for your customers, instead of the thousands of services you can offer? Don’t put a generic call to action on your new website.

Instead, use that one solution as your call to action.

By talking to your customers, you heard exactly how THEY saw the solution you could offer. Instead of focusing on your perspective, you concentrated on the perspective. And people love listening to themselves, don’t they?

Final, 7th Step: Your Lovable Internet Brand Isn’t ‘Fluff.’

As you have seen, creating a loveable internet brand doesn’t have anything to do with image, but has everything to do with substance! Solving a particular problem in a way that your customers will recognise is essential to get you going:

1. Throw “cute” out of the window when thinking about loveable brands;
2. Talk to your customers to discover what makes your brand loveable;
3. Focus on just one of the problems you solve for your customers;
4. Describe the way you solve that problem in just three words;
5. Pick a loveable domain that fits that loveable list;
6. Write your loveable call to action based on your three words!
7. #loveable!

And don’t worry. To make it easier for you to present how to create a loveable brand to your team, we’re going to pack it all into a small presentation. Stay tuned!