Branding Marley - Creating a Brand

Attempting to summarise what Marley Betts is all about. Hang on... What the heck am I all about?!

Err... okay, here's where I'm going to summarise what the Marley Betts 'brand' is all about. But WHY?

Who cares about creating a brand and what it is all about, right? Yeah, I thought so too, but after some recent feedback, I have been encouraged to think about my target audience again and what my work is all about. I have been very reluctant to restrict myself to one writing genre, so I most definitely want my brand to be flexible, non-restrictive and encompass all of my random and impulsive creative endeavours.

Cool. Good start.

On the flip side, what I have written in the past is definitely:

• Contemporary

• Women's Fiction

So, my brand should be modern and feminine - focussed on women.

That part is easy.

Now, I also like to think that my writing has been a little bit

• Earth/Nature loving and respecting

• Spiritual/philosophical
  

Messy, imperfect, creative, and colourful - tick!

It cares about the stuff that matters.

What else do I want people to think of when they think about 'Marley Betts' the brand?

I want it to be:

• Empowering

• Colourful, and

• Imperfect

Yes! Now we're getting somewhere.

I want it to be for all the:

• Women desiring genuine, deep connection

• Messy mums (who adore their kids but still hover either side of the burnout line - Hello Mum Feelz)

• Real women (without Insta-perfect lives)

• Creative thinkers

• The quirky, introverted, book-loving overthinkers

And here's where I go, "Yeah, that sounds great, but how do I use that?"

Answer:

• Rebranding, and

• Writing with purpose - for those people

So, I'm starting to get a bit of an idea of what I am all about and who I am writing for, and you may notice a little rebranding as we move forward.

Things are going to get a little bit more colourful, fun, creative and imperfect.

How exciting!!

This blog post has pretty much been just me sharing my thinking. It has no agenda, but if you like books, check mine out HERE.

Much love,

Marley x

Pondering 23 of Life's Big Questions

Some (not all) of the big questions that I have been thinking about lately - from God and ghosts, to social awkwardness and honey drips.

Dripping honey bucket = sticky mess

• Was the living Jesus really the son of God? And is he up there wondering whether it was worth dying to save us? Surely he's up there just constantly rolling his eyes.

• How do I stop my bucket of honey from dripping on my pantry shelf? The simple answer is to not buy the buckets and instead spend more on the squeezy thing

• Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? In the words of Nelly, "It wasn't me"

• Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side isn't really an answer. It's the equivalent of, "because I said so." Where was she going?

• Why do I keep doing the things that I don't want to, while not doing the things that I do want to do? Ugh (Paul's books are my favourite)

• Why am I so socially awkward? Double ugh (Is it all in my head, or am I genuinely as socially awkward as I feel?)

• What happens when we die? No, really

• Are there ghosts/spirits? Can our deceased loved ones really watch over us? Are we being watched all of the time? Wouldn't the spirit world be getting kinda crowded? Do they fight over who they get to watch that day?

• Why do red M&Ms taste the best? and why do they even bother making brown ones?

• How do I sell more books? Seriously

• What damage is my parenting doing to my children? Sorry, kids

• How many ants are there in the world? A lot

• Who murdered the dude in Larrimah? I love Australia (If you haven't seen Last Stop Larrimah, then I highly recommend it)

• Is there anyone who genuinely never picks their nose? Really? And does it actually increase the risk of dementia?

• How much longer do we have until WWIII? This is one of the huge and genuinely terrifying questions knocking around my head these days. What does our future hold?... hang on...

• What does our future hold? Better. Atomic bombs? What will my kids experience?

• Why do we keep killing our planet? (see above question) How is money ever more important?

• Is Trump going to get reelected?

Errr

• Is midday 12 am or pm? I always forget

• Do our dreams mean anything? Coz some of mine are a little weird

• Should I bother calling someone to finally stop the split system from dripping on the carpet whenever we use the cooling? Or are the three buckets against the wall just fine for the 10 days a year we actually use it? And why is this my second question about drips?

• Public, private, or home school?

• Novated lease or buy outright?
  

Which of life's big questions have you been pondering lately? I'd love to know!

Love, Marley x

36 Reasons Why You Are Awesome

You are just so incredible. I bet you don't believe me, so I am going to give you a list of reasons why you are so darn special. Just try to argue with me (I dare you).

Hugs are the best!

36 Reasons Why You Are Awesome:

1. You have a body. It breathes and sweats and has a beating heart. You are a miracle.

2. You have feelings. Feelings help you to experience life in 3D. Feelings are awesome.

3. You can touch things and interact with your environment. You can plant a tree, pick up rubbish, and give and receive hugs.

4. You have an imagination. Imagination lets you live in places where you are not. How special!

5. You have people who care about you. Sometimes your feelings get in the way of realising this fact, but you do anyway. I care about you (honestly, I do).

6. You have access to the internet. What a great resource you have at your fingertips that can help you learn and interact.

7. You have choices. You can choose what to wear. You can choose to make a phone call, apply for a job, be kind, or lie down on the ground.

8. You can sleep. Sleep helps you remember things and takes you to other worlds. You can live a million lives in your dreams.

9. You can do nice things for people, like smile at them, cook them dinner, or offer to help them carry their groceries.

10. You can make people feel good about themselves. Compliments are nice.

11. You can make someone's day. You could do a nice thing for them and say something to them that makes them feel good about themselves (you may even have the ability to change someone's whole life!)

12. You can show yourself love and speak to yourself with kindness. This can make a big difference in how you feel and how you experience life.

13. You can read. You are reading this right now. You are so clever!

14. You can learn from your mistakes. This is important for awesomeness.

15. You can forgive people and choose not to draw attention to their mistakes or embarrassments.

16. You can educate yourself. You can take a course, ask questions, scroll on the internet, or read a book.

17. You can choose to not say things. Often this will help to ensure that you don't offend or upset people, which is awesome.

18. You can play games. Like Trivial Pursuit, noughts and crosses, thumb wars, hookey, peek-a-boo, or Barbies.

19. You can make food appear! By either cooking it, going to pick some up, making a phone call, or sometimes even just by expressing your desire to have it.

20. You can give people gifts, like time, or presents. People like gifts.

21. You can listen, either by using your ears or reading people's words. You can then make people feel heard and understood.

22. You can pick your nose, cry, burp, poo, wee, and/or vomit. This keeps you healthy and is amusing to small children. Your body is an incredible thing (that is a bit funny sometimes).

23. You can slow down or speed up your breathing. This can help to calm you down or pump you up.

24. You can get outside in nature. Being outside in nature is amazeballs. You should totally do it all the time.

25. You can be creative. You can think creatively, decorate a cake, draw a picture, choose your own adventure, fingerpaint, knit, fold your clothes in a different way, or make a dress out of an old towel. Creativity is awesome.

26. You can nourish your body with good food and water, sunshine, body lotions, rest, and all of the things it needs.

27. You can blink. This stops your eyeballs from drying out. That would be bad.

28. You can feel music. For real.

29. You can set mini goals for yourself and then feel awesome when you do them. Like, today I will get out of bed, or tomorrow I will get dressed. Or maybe this afternoon I will eat a piece of fruit, or put away the washing.

30. You can set big goals for yourself and work towards them. It is always good to have something you can work towards.

31. You can organise something that you can look forward to. Maybe a dinner with friends, a family holiday, a movie night, or a house cleaner.

32. You can wear hats, scarves, and clothes. They can make you feel different ways. They can make you smile, draw attention, or help you blend in.

33. You can get around. It's cool that we aren't stuck in the same place.

34. You have grown and your body is changing. We're lucky to be alive and getting older.

35. You have free will and can choose what consequences you are willing to accept.

36. You have a fight or flight response that helps to keep you safe.

You are awesome. I love you.

We are so fearfully and wonderfully made. What an incredible mess of functions, feelings, and miracles we are!

I think you are awesome. Keep it up.

Love, Marley x