In case you missed it, we're on a branding quick here on the blog as I'm going through my rebranding this month. Last week we talked about Branding & Client Gifts, the week before that we talked about Why Inspiration Boards are important, and this week we're going to talk about branding items worth investing in.

You could get EVERYTHING branded. No joke. If you can think of it, someone out there can do it. While that can be totally awesome, it can also be completely overwhelming and can often influence us to spend money on things we may not even use.

So how do you know what to get? Other than your website and social media, what other items do we actually need branded? And even further, as a small business, how do you spend those essential, yet small amount of branding dollars?

Truthfully, it could be nothing. Perhaps you're perfectly content with stopping right there. Perhaps you want ALL OF THE THINGS. Unfortunately, that answer differs from business to business and how we relate to our clients. However, I'm going to try to help by talking about the things I find useful, time-saving, and just plain pretty.

Business Cards | Now I know this seems pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised by how many people don't get them or upkeep their orders of them. While there are tons of different ways to hand out your information, Business Cards are the steady favorite because they are quick, easy to hand out, and pending the kind you get, cheaper of some of the things you could get printed.

Stationery | As someone who writes notes a lot, branded stationery is important to me. I always have both blank flat and folded cards in a drawer in my office that I can quickly snag I need them. I have some with just my logo, and some with my contact info too pending who I'm writing to. And I love matching colored envelopes to my brand to give it just an added touch.

Stationery Photo by Abby Hudson Photography

Stationery Photo by Hope Taylor Photography

Brand Style Photo by Hope Taylor Photography

Postcards | Since I fill a lot of online Etsy and Shop orders, I get custom postcards printed with my logo/branding on the front, and a little note thanking my clients on the back. For the longest time, I used to hand write a thank you note, but it just took SO MUCH of my time. I had to think of what to write and what to put, it took time to actually write out because when it comes to my handwriting I'm a total neat freak, so I'd end up rewriting it like 5 times and spending twice as long writing a note as I would actually filling the order. So now I order a large stack of postcards, sometimes I'll sign my name, and just throw it in there with each order. It saves so much time and energy.

Brand Stock Photos | Whether it be stock photos purchased from Etsy or Creative Market or SC Stockshop, or photos taken specifically for you and your brand, I am a HUGE believer in stock photos. I use mine ALL. THE. TIME. I use them on my website, on Facebook, on Instagram, on my blogs...literally everywhere I can. They serve as a great 'palette cleanser' for lack of a better term on my Instagram. If I need a nice filler to cut up busy photos or have a good topic but no photo, that's where I use my brand stock photos. And I'll use the same one in 3 or 4 ways by cropping and zooming in so it doesn't look the same (with the photographers approval of course!).

Here's the original photo:

Here are three ways to use it!

Brand Stock Photo by Hope Taylor Photography

One Client Gift Item | And lastly, I'm taking it back to last weeks topic a little bit as far as branding and client gifts. While a full on gift box may not be in your budget, perhaps one simple gift that speaks to who you are as a business owner and person. Things like a simple candle or your favorite snack or maybe even a Koozie is all you need. And you can add your own branding by a label or ribbon, making it a cheap yet nice extra gift.

Branding Items You Should Invest In

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