As a website copywriter, I cannot begin to explain the immense value of having a website home that is uniquely yours.

And I love being a part of the process for other creatives who are redefining their brands to step into the fullness of their new vision. Believe me, it’s so fulfilling. But over the past year in the back of my mind, I was eager to finally step into my new vision. That is — whenever I discovered what it was.

Now, with so much excitement and giddy feels, I’m happy to introduce you to the new and improved Rekindle! Funny story. This rebrand took place a year and a half earlier than it was planned. In several ways:

1. I wasn’t planning on a new custom website
2. Even with a new custom website, I wasn’t planning to update my visual branding
3. And even with a website and updated visual branding, I wasn’t planning for new brand photography

All of which happened faster than you could say — well — rebrand. This blog post is a bit vulnerable in that it shows how over the past year many shifts have been made and my business has felt fluid. But what I’ve realized is that business is all about holding your dreams with an open hand and sometimes allowing your intended path to reveal itself.

That being said, let me break the wall and share the story behind Rekindle’s rebrand:

I knew what I was shifting away from, but I wasn’t sure what I was shifting towards.

Mid-2020, thanks to an incredible mindset session with Jamie from Rising Wolf, I discovered it was time to make the leap and move away from social media management entirely (and from a retainer-model business), even though I was terrified. At the time, most of my work was social media management and I would do copy projects when I had extra space in my calendar. 

Over time, it wasn’t serving me anymore and I needed to focus on what I loved most: copywriting.

Side note — A huge thanks to Brandee Gaar for helping me navigate this transition with clarity. I firmly believe success depends on the connections and the gratitude of those willing to help with open arms. I would not be where I am today without her support and guidance.

So beginning in January 2021, I launched a new brand identity by the incredible Kelsey Erin Design. Because I was officially shifting away from social media management, I needed to show an official mark of my transition. Even though I was absolutely confident with moving away from social media management and confident I wanted to lean into copywriting, I had no idea what that would entail. So in regards to my website, I opted to take the DIY route through Squarespace.

Quite honestly, it wasn’t even a full website. It was a landing page. Yet for the majority of 2021, I managed to book incredible projects and work with amazing clients with something as simple as one page of copy. 

That proved to me the power of copywriting and how important it is to nail down your messaging first before taking it to life with beautiful design.

When I transitioned to focus on only copywriting, I thought everything would get easier. But I still had so many questions. 

I began to show up confidently on social media to share tips on copywriting, connect with other fellow copywriters, and begin to build my authority. It felt incredible and absolutely where I needed to be — without a doubt. So what was the problem?

Even though I focused my efforts on copywriting: I was still coming off as a generalist. Because there were so many kinds of copywriters. 

Launch copywriters, email copywriters, quiz funnel experts, sales page experts, branding strategists, personality-packed copywriters, the list could go on and on. 

For me? I wasn’t sure where I quite fit. However, I found the whole idea of being niche within a niche was so interesting. It was almost as if I was looking into a microscope and discovered an entirely new world of organisms I didn’t even know existed. That’s when I began to understand what people meant when they said the riches are in the niches. And it’s absolutely true. The more I niched on my services, the more I grew my business.

Website writing and brand positioning began to rekindle the spark in me around why I started business in the first place. 

Since day one, my goal has always been to tell other people’s stories. And reignite the passion in them that started it all. What I quickly discovered was that writing websites and helping with brand positioning was exactly that. 

The more I wrote websites and brand messaging guides, I began falling in love with the process of hearing their stories, hearing their client’s stories, and bringing to life the essence of their brand in ways they couldn’t articulate before. 

Because for them, it meant the start of a new chapter full of opportunities. So being a small part of that? Absolutely priceless. 

When I discovered this was what I wanted to be known for, I knew it was time to invest in elevating this vision to the next level. I got the OK from my accountant and took the steps to make it happen — enlisting my dream designer.

Now…for the actual rebrand and the beautiful people behind it. 

Web Design

Back when I was considering to start my own business, a good friend of mine — who interestingly enough is now a business owner herself — Beholden To You — and the design maven behind my lead magnet, 5 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Website Copy in An Afternoon — introduced me to Macey Miller. Macey is the owner of Be Bold Design — someone who leads a business by her values similar to mine and is a beyond talented web & brand designer.

She was the first person I was introduced to when I joined the online space. At the time spending $1000s on a website felt foreign. So I made a vow that whenever I was ready for the process, I would without a doubt go to Macey. 

Several months later, we even had the privilege of working together as I managed her social media back when I still offered that service in 2020. So it felt like a beautiful full-circle moment to confidently fill out her lead capture form back in July of 2021. She did a beautiful job capturing the essence of the original brand identity I had but refining it to capture the clear vision I had for Rekindle moving forward.

The Photography

This one was a pleasant surprise (and one where I found a new friendship I wasn’t expecting!) Kate from Kate Taramykin Studios actually lives in my local area and we bonded over our mutual faith and love of Ashlyn Carter. I wanted to reach out to make a new friend (because I loooove meeting people in the local area) and turns out she was actually considering reaching out to me because she wanted to build a portfolio for more brand photography. 

Like I said, I wasn’t planning on new photography and I truly loved the photos I had from another good friend of mine, Kristin from Anchor & Odyssey that she took back in December of 2020. I’m so grateful for them because they helped me create an elevated visual brand for most of the year! And as a bonus, were featured in most of my podcast features over the past few months of 2021.

But I figured with having clarity on my vision and the chance to immerse myself in a full brand photography experience, I thought, why not?

She did an incredible job breaking up my imagery into three storylines: The Brand Storyteller, the Copywriter, and the Old Soul. I never thought I would enjoy wearing fuzzy socks on a brand shoot so much! And I’m obsessed with the beautiful imagery I’ll get to use over the next several months. 

The last and of course most important element of the rebranding process was the new message. Aka the copy:

The Copy 

If I were to boil down Rekindle’s message into one word, it would be connection. Connecting with the elevated version of your brand. Connecting with your mission. But most importantly, connecting to your people. 

In one way or another, we long for connection. And my hope is to draw in those who believe in business growth through genuine connection.

So many times I’ve had people come to me with beautiful website copy and simply tell me that it didn’t resonate with them or their audience anymore. This goes to show that your message shouldn’t be only selling your services. It should be selling your approach, philosophy, and outlook on the world. 

There were some parts of the copy I wanted to keep from my original page that seemed to resonate with many inquiring readers. The idea of freshly poured coffee with a friend over brunch. A smoky fire pit with my husband and golden doodle.

These are things that truly speak to the essence of me. But I took it a step further to make the argument that a fulfilling business, no matter what that looks like to you, starts and ends with connection. 

I also added a sense of quirkiness to my copy. I don’t consider myself a witty copywriter. And I’m ok with that. I’d rather say things simply, but with passion. 

However, I wanted to share a bit of who I am, authentically. Some of which I’ll admit is a bit silly! You’ll find that mostly on the About Page if you’d like to read there. 

Oh and writing your own copy? Not easy. That’s why I’m so thankful to Belinda Weaver (courtesy of her Confident Copywriter Membership) and Prerna and Mayank from Content Bistro — two incredible copy coaches — who helped me refine my message until it felt right. 

This is just the beginning…

It’s funny. So many people build hype around a rebrand without considering what comes after it’s all said and done. For now, I’m reaping the benefits of this new transformation and continuing to serve clients that trust me with their vision. 

I hope that by reading through the copy, you’ll feel the warmth, love, and intention that went behind the message and feel inspired to connect with your audience (and your work!) in more ways than you realize are possible. 

Thank you to all the names above (and so many others) who were directly or indirectly part of this rebrand. 

Here’s to new beginnings,

–Kat