Branding yourself is arguably one of the most important steps to achieving success as a reborn doll artists. Unless you're able to make a reputable name for yourself, you can't expect people to actively search for your reborns. While they may still stumble across a doll of your here or there on auction sites or trade shows, you generally won't have the same cult-like following that more reputable artists have. The bottom line is that you need to spend the necessary time and energy into branding yourself if you plan on becoming a successful doll artist. Only then will you have people from all over the world eager to buy your beautiful works of art.

Before we start, lets go over what exactly "branding" means and how it's used in the business world. Basically, anyone who sells goods or services (virtual or physical), should use a unique name or identifier for potential customers to find them more easily. For instance, a landscape company would benefit more from branding a specific name like "John Tompson's Lawn Car" than they would by using a generic name like "Georgia Lawn Maintenance." The reasoning behind this is that people will be able to find your specific business easier when they search for your uniquely branded name.

Why Reborn Artists Should Brand Themselves

If you're a reborn artist, whether full-time or just as a side income, chances are can benefit immensely from branding yourself. You have to remember that most doll artists have their own unique way of creating reborns; therefore, customers seek out specific dolls made by certain artists. If a potential customer is unable to find your dolls, then you are naturally going to make less sales. As you work on branding yourself, however, reborn collectors will begin to know and trust your name as a reputable artist, which is something everyone should seek.

Another benefit to branding yourself is that it makes your dolls more easy to find. If someone wants one of your dolls but doesn't know where to look, they can hop online and do a quick internet search. If you spent time putting your name out there, your dolls should show up for them to purchase. Whether it's on auction sites, your own website, classified ads or just directories, you should have your reborns tagged with your branded name for potential customers to see.

Choosing a "Brand"

There are several different ways to approach the creation of a brand as an artist. The easiest and one of the most effective is to simply use your first and last name followed by reborns or reborn dolls, such as "Julie Tompson's Reborn Dolls." It's unique (hopefully), says what your business is all about, and it's straight to the point. There's no mistaking your business for something else, as it blatantly states that you're all about reborns.

Another approach to take when it comes to branding is to create a name without your actual name. The key points to remember is that it needs to be unique and say what your business does (reborns of course). Something like "Pink Ribbon Reborns" would be a simple and easy-to-use name that covers both of these prerequisites. Take your time when choosing a name to brand and don't underestimate the importance of it. A good name will essentially sell your dolls for you, which takes some of the marketing work off your shoulder.

Steps To Branding Yourself a Reborn Artist:

• No matter where you sell or market your dolls, always tag it with your branded name. Doing so takes less than a minute, and it will help grow your customer base in the future. Branding is essential for long-term business, so it's best to start early on.
• Thanks to the internet, branding has now become easier and faster than ever. Get started by creating a Facebook page and Twitter account that's specifically for your reborn business. Even if you don't have any experience using these mediums, you can still throw up a basic page with your branded name and information listed. Include information such as your name, the types of reborns you sell and your contact information. If you sell your reborns on auction sites or at trade shows, include this information as well. The more information you provide for your potential customers, the more sales you'll produce.
• You can take your internet branding efforts one step further by creating your own website focused your reborn business. Ideally, you would want to register "yourbrandname.com" and build a website with your reborn dolls listed. Contrary to what some people may believe, it doesn't cost a ton of money to get a website up and running. You can register a domain name for about $10 bucks a year and purchase a basic hosting service for $7 a month. That's a small price to pay for your own reborn website! If this is all too technical for you, just outsource the job to someone with more experience.
• If you give away clothes or outfits with your reborns, you can add your branded name somewhere in them. Whether it's on the tag or actually embroided letters on the clothes, try to include the name of your business somewhere. If a customer wants to purchase another one of your dolls but can't remember your name, they can simply look at the clothes you gave them.

Keep On Brandin'

It's important to stay positive and not to get discouraged if you don't notice any immediate improvements in the first few months of branding. Like most long-term endeavors, it takes a while before people start to recognize and know your brand. Rest assured, however, that once your name is out there, you'll have tons of new customers. Keep branding yourself using the methods listed above and you'll be well on your way to creating a trusted and reputable name in the reborn doll artists community.