3 Brand-Building Tools I'm Trying in 2025
The tools a brand strategist uses to brand her own business
Hey there. A quick note: as of 1/3/202, none of these companies are sponsors. These are tools I’m genuinely interested in trying and want to share the results of my experiences with you.
Edited on 1/21 to include affiliate links (noted with *)
Last year, I hit a turning point.
For the first time since starting my business in 2020, I decided to spend real money on a service designed to help me grow. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you’re anything like me, you know how hard it can be to part with cash when you’re running a one-person show.
I’ve always clung to my savings—saving for what, exactly? I couldn’t tell you. But after a slower-than-expected 2024, I realized it was time to stop spinning my wheels and start investing in tools and processes to help me reach more people while simultaneously building my brand and brand authority.
If you’re a Brand Burnout reader, I’m guessing you’re in a similar spot. Maybe you’re looking for ways to grow your business or just trying to crack the code on how to build a brand that works for you.
Do I have all the answers to building a successful business? Nope (proof of concept).
But I do know this: you can’t grow without first recognizing your shortcomings.
For me, that’s been my reluctance to invest in tools (or really anything) that can make my life easier.
But first, have we met?
I’m Jamie Cox, brand strategist and founder based in Nashville, TN. I publish content all over the internet, but mostly on Substack and LinkedIn.
Here are a few ways you can support this Brand Burnout and work with me:
Become a paid subscriber: You’ll get exclusive tips with each article, weekly prompts and questions to help you build your brand, and a monthly playlist.
Book a brand workshop: I offer workshops for creative communities and high-performing teams.
Pick my brain: Get feedback and move your brand forward with my Brand Quick Fix sessions.
Build a brand: My Brand Kickstart and Brand Intensive services will help you build a brand so you can get off the marketing hamster wheel.
You’ve heard the saying, Work smarter, not harder, right? Well, I’ve been grinding harder for the last five years, and now it’s time to step into my smarter era. Here are the tools that are (hopefully) helping me to do just that.
Senja
Senja* is a platform designed to simplify collecting and sharing customer testimonials. It helps you collect social proof so you can, in turn, build trust with your audience. Senja lets you showcase written and video feedback which you can easily share across the web to boost your brand cred.
Why I’m Trying It
I’ve developed and shared lots of differentiation frameworks to help you set your brand apart. But I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes differentiation is easier than we make it out to be.
When it boils down to it, my clients are looking for two things: to build their brand and to find someone they trust to do it with or for them.
I hope that Senja will help me build more trust with my audience and differentiate me as a trustworthy brand partner.
I started using the platform in December and have already simplified my Brand Quick Fix off-boarding process to help me gather more testimonials and feedback. The platform is easy to use and scraped existing testimonials from my LinkedIn, Google My Business, and website.
🔥 P.S. Leave Brand Burnout some love in Senja to try it out! 🔥Investment
I am utilizing Senja’s Starter plan* and paying $290 a year (option for $29/mo). I started using their free tier, but quickly hit their testimonial capacity. By upgrading to the Starter plan, I’m able to collect unlimited testimonials, use my own branding, and more.
How I’ll Measure Success
I plan to measure success in a few different ways including client adoption rate and impact on conversions.
Client Adoption Rate
Can I get my clients to leave testimonials in Senja? I’ve struggled to gather testimonials in the past, but Senja’s writing and video prompts make the process more structured and intentional.
Impact on Conversions
Track how often potential clients reference testimonials during discovery calls or consultations.
Add an (optional) field to my lead forms to ask what influenced a lead’s decision to reach out.
Monitor whether clients who leave testimonials are more likely to:
Return for additional services.
Refer others to my business.
Warm Welcome
Warm Welcome is a sales platform that helps you build connections with potential customers through personalized messages and video content.
Why I’m Trying It
There are lots of video platforms out there, but I chose Warm Welcome because I wanted to integrate a video bubble into my website (after seeing how Omsom uses video on its homepage) to showcase my sparkling personality. ✨
My brand is meant to be fun and anything but boring. I want folks to immediately understand that when they land on my website. Warm Welcome helps me do that in a highly engaging way.
Since starting my business, I’ve known that 1:1 conversation is my superpower in sales. This platform helps me emulate that experience with new website visitors while also fielding potential questions and providing follow-up communications about my offers.
Investment
The main feature I wanted from Warm Welcome was the video bubble, so I purchased the professional plan for $288 annually (or $24 billed monthly). This plan offers unlimited video bubbles, video emails, auto follow-up, interactive videos, and more.
How I’ll Measure Success
Warm Welcome’s CRM-style communication tools make tracking the success of this platform within my business pretty straightforward. I plan to measure:
The number of conversations initiated via video.
Conversion rates from these conversations.
Video impressions and plays to identify which offers and services resonate most with my audience.
Throughout the year, I’ll continue to update videos as I gather new information about my audience’s frequently asked questions and interests. This understanding will also help me develop my broader business strategy and develop new services and offers that fit my audience’s needs.
Beehiiv
Beehiiv is a newsletter platform designed to help creators grow their digital businesses. Beehiiv offers more email marketing tools and fewer social media features and has been known to help folks build more sustainable and scalable newsletters.
Why I’m Trying It
That’s right, everyone. I may be getting pushed down the ~*algorithm*~ for sharing this, but I am considering migrating Brand Burnout to Beehiiv.
I’m thinking about jumping to Beehiiv for better growth, more monetization opportunities, and—as many others have cited here on Substack—fewer social media features. Bonus—the design functionality in Beehiiv is much more my speed.
I’ve been considering Beehiiv for a while because of their ad network which will help me develop sponsorships for my work. If I can get the platform to pay for itself, then I’ll be a happy camper.
Investment
For the features I need, I’ll be investing in the Scale tier at $34/month (or $408 billed annually). This includes a 30-day free trial, so once I’m ready to make the move, I’ll start there.
Despite the cost associated with the platform, I hope to save money. Because Beehiiv offers automation workflows, I can successfully replace Flodesk and move both Brand Burnout and my email marketing efforts via my business newsletter to Beehiiv.
I haven’t committed to Beehiiv yet, but plan to make a decision in February after I dig in a bit deeper on functionality and features. As a subscriber, you’ll be the first to know what I decide!
How I’ll Measure Success
One of my 2025 goals is to reach 100 paid subscribers for Brand Burnout. This will be my largest measure of success, but not the only one. I’ll be measuring:
Subscriber Growth
Track overall subscriber growth, both free and paid, to assess the platform's ability to support Brand Burnout's expansion.
Aim for my 2025 goal of reaching 100 paid subscribers while also growing the free subscriber base to widen the funnel for paid conversions.
Audience Engagement
Monitor open rates, click-through rates, and overall engagement to determine if Beehiiv’s design and functionality improve how my audience interacts with Brand Burnout.
Cost Savings
Determine if Beehiiv allows me to replace two Flodesk accounts, consolidating my email marketing efforts into one platform and reducing expenses.
Revenue Generation
Utilize Beehiiv’s ad network to:
Cover the platform’s $408 annual expense.
Generate additional income to support Brand Burnout’s growth.
Workflow Efficiency
Assess if Beehiiv’s automation workflows reduce the time spent on email marketing tasks, allowing me to focus on content creation and audience growth.
Sharing Tool Usage and Updates
I’ll be sharing regular updates with paid subscribers on the tools I’m using to grow my business and brand. Here’s the (tentative) plan:
Monthly Updates: Each month, I’ll feature tool usage insights within a Brand Burnout article, keeping you informed on how I’m leveraging these tools to improve my processes and grow my audience.
Quarterly Video Updates: Every quarter, I’ll share a deeper dive, giving you a more comprehensive view of how the tools are performing and whether they’re meeting my goals.
Behind-the-Scenes Content: Throughout the year, I’ll offer occasional behind-the-scenes peeks into how I’m using these tools in real-time, along with any lessons learned along the way.
Want to get the updates? Consider becoming a paid subscriber.