Mischief Maker?
so you’re the
YOU MIGHT HAVE KNOWN THIS ABOUT YOURSELF FOR AGES, OR IT COULD BE A TOTAL SURPRISE.
Either way, before we dig into the specifics of what this means for you and your business, I want to give you a quick overview of what an archetype actually is…
Woohoo! Good for you!
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An archetype is universally familiar character or situation that transcends time, place, culture, gender and age. It represents an eternal truth.
- John Howard-Spink
Basically, an archetype is an element of the human experience that’s so universal, we all relate to it without even thinking.
These archetypes are deeply embedded in our psyches – so much so that we’re often not even aware that they’re influencing our thoughts and feelings.
That’s when you consciously anchor your brand to one of these deeply embedded universal themes.
AND WHY (THE HECK) WOULD WE DO THAT?
Well, when your brand is in alignment with who you are as a person – i.e. your true archetype – your business starts generating momentum and attracting customers on a level that previously seemed unattainable.
It’s also a way to get your brand to do all the heavy lifting for you – so that you can show up as your true self, and start making the kind of impact (and income) you want, without feeling like you’re pushing a big-ass boulder uphill.
A Brand Archetype?
So without further ado, LET’S DIVE INTO HOW TO MAKE YOUR BRAND ARCHETYPE WORK FOR YOU…
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Your archetype is part of a family.
Your archetype does not define or limit you. Rather, it’s a lens that can help you better understand yourself and the people who are attracted to you and your work.
It can also help you avoid common challenges that may crop up, and help you feel less alone in your struggles.
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There are HEAPS of different archetypes.
More than 60 in fact. But broadly speaking, they can be broken into 12 ‘families’ – The Adventuress, The Mischief Maker, The Lover, The Sage, The Alchemist, The Creatress, The Girl Next Door, The Queen, The Badass, The Heroine, The Pure Heart, and (of course) The Nurturer.
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You can have more than one archetype.
In fact, most of us do. You’ll usually have one main archetype that serves as your primary category, then some secondary and tertiary ones. We’ll be delving into your primary archetype today.
A few quick facts…
What it means to be
the Mischief Maker...
YOU’RE AT YOUR BEST WHEN:
You’re lightening the world; slinging joy into dark corners; living at the edge.
YOU’RE DRIVEN BY:
A deep-seated yearning to play, to be funny, to make people laugh, and to turn things on their head.
YOU LIKE TO:
Feel the energy that comes from people reacting with your work. Be original. Distract people from the mundane.
Your Archetype family
Famous mischief makers
Tina Fey
Writer, Comedian, All-round Funny Lady
Amy Poehler
Writer, Comedian, All-round Funny Lady
Samantha Bee
Writer, Comedian, Host of ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Hamish Blake
Radio Personality, Actor, Comedian
Jon Stewart
Writer, Comedian, Former host of ‘Last Week Tonight’
The Mischief Maker
as a business owner
ABOUT YOU, THE MISCHIEF MAKER:
YOU’RE ORIGINAL AND YOU LIKE MAKING THINGS.
You’re highly creative – in fact, it’s very common for those with a primary Mischief Maker archetype to have a secondary Creator archetype.
You like putting your own spin on things and reinventing stuff. You also enjoy pushing boundaries and turning the status quo on its head.
YOU REMIND PEOPLE THEY HAVE A CHOICE…
You choose to bring humour, wit and lightness to situations where it might not be expected. By living your life this way, you remind others that they too have a choice; that they too can choose joy.
YOU’RE NOT ALL FROTH AND BUBBLES.
It’s a misconception that Mischief Makers are only about fun and frivolity. Though you’re a light-seeker, you’ve also got a serious, contemplative side. Many Mischief Makers use their playfulness to illuminate very serious issues. Samantha Bee and John Oliver are great examples of this – as comedians, they bring humour to serious news stories, and are able to highlight the absurdity of current affairs in ways that serious journalists cannot.
YOUR PURSUIT OF PLAY CAN SOMETIMES MAKE PEOPLE THINK YOU DON’T CARE.
When you’re always trying to inject joy into situations, it can piss some people off… or make them think you’re not taking things seriously.
Sometimes this might be true, sometimes not – only you know the truth.
YOU CAN BE FLATTENED BY FOMO.
When your inner compass is permanently searching for what’s going to be the most fun, it can lead to you being scared to commit to a project or idea… “I can’t say yes to that – what if something better comes along?”
This fear of missing out can turn into a one-way ticket straight to Procrastination-Ville: you don’t want to commit to one thing, so you don’t commit to ANYTHING.
TO AVOID THIS OBSTACLE:
Ever heard the tale of Buridan’s Ass? There once was a donkey who was dying of thirst and starvation. Right as things were getting dire, he stumbled into a yard and saw a bale of hay to his left, and a bucket of water to his right. Because he was SO hungry and SO thirsty, he didn’t know which to choose first – should he eat or should he drink? He couldn’t figure out which one to pick, so he ended up dying smack-bang in the middle of the two, paralysed by indecision… What a dumb ass!
This fable teaches us that choices are rarely binary – saying yes to one thing doesn’t mean it’s a permanent no to everything else. You CAN do everything… just not all at once.
As the classic self-help book says, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. Sure, it’s scary to commit to something. But you owe it to yourself as a business owner and a grown-up to sit with that fear and work your way through it.
FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THINGS CAN FEEL TOUGH
When you’re knee-deep in the “messy middle” of a project, it doesn’t always feel good. In fact, it can feel downright crappy. As a fun-seeker, this can sometimes manifest as flakiness – never finishing off projects, and always flitting from one idea to the next when things get hard.
SIDESTEP THIS PITFALL:
Build routine into your workday. Rather than waiting for inspiration to strike, develop the habit of sitting down at your desk at a certain time each day, even if you’re not quite “feeling it”.
I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.
- William Faulkner
ABOUT YOUR PEOPLE:
Like moths to a flame…
The types of people who are organically drawn to you, as a mischief maker, value lightness, irreverence, originality, and novelty.
What this means for you:
You’re allowed to have bold ideas. To be a little cheeky. To think outside the…cubic parallelogram.
It’s okay to do things differently. Who says an invoice / blog post / coaching session needs to be done a certain way? Write your own rules!
It’s okay to be yourself in everything you do, because the right people will find that irresistible. (And those that don’t probably aren’t a great fit for you anyway.)
KNOWING WHAT YOUR ARCHETYPE IS ALLOWS YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU’RE PERCEIVED BY OTHERS, HOW YOU CAN WORK WITH YOUR NATURAL TENDENCIES (NOT AGAINST THEM),
AND HOW YOU CAN CREATE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN YOUR INNER TRUTH AND YOUR OUTER WORK.
How to weave the Mischief Maker Archetype into your branding
ABOUT YOUR MISCHIEF MAKER BRAND
WORDS THAT WILL TURN YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS ON INCLUDE:
FUN JOY LIGHT PLAY PLAYFUL CURIOUS IRREVERENT ABSURD NEW SHOCKING INDIVIDUAL INGENIOUS FRESH JOKING HILARIOUS CONTRARIAN HUMOUR ORIGINAL IDEA MAKER ANTIC CHILD-LIKE QUIRKY NON-CONFORMIST LAUGH ADVENTURE WHIMSICAL AMUSING DARING SMART SAVVY SASSY NOVELTY REAL AUTHENTICITY BRIGHT GIGGLE WITTY CLEVER HULLABALOO CRAZY JOY
Don’t be afraid to weave the above words into your About page, your Home page, your bio… anywhere where people are looking to find out more about you (and by extension, themselves).
Mischief Makers are also irreverent – you like to buck the status quo, add some cheek, and embrace the unexpected. In a copywriting context, this might mean using some slang (or even profanity, if it’s on brand) to connect with your customers.
The Copy
Adventure and authenticity are your (gooseberry) jam. And your community is craving those qualities from you.
So rather than seeking to follow trends, or imitating the looks you see online, take the time to delve within and figure out what genuinely resonates with you on a heart-and-gut level.
The Look
AS the mischief maker, YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF DRAWN TOWARDS LOOKS THAT UTILIZE:
The Feel
ie: The Customer Experience
A massive part of branding is how your customers feel whenever they interact with you – whether that’s through a random email, a visit to your website, or as a paying customer.
As a Mischief Maker, the people who are attracted to you want to avoid boredom. So do everything you can to make your customers’ experience as fun and new as possible.
THIS COULD INCLUDE THINGS LIKE:
Bring a sense of fun to mundane processes. (Who said on-boarding clients has to be boring?! How can you inject some fun into your client questionnaire?)
Find playful gifts to send your clients after wrapping up their project. (Pencils with swear words on them? Harry Potter journals? Cheekily-shaped chocolates? The sky’s the limit!)
Customise the copy at every customer touch-point to inject a little light (e.g. don’t just use the default templates offered by your Email Service Provider or website theme). Things to think about: Your opt-in box, confirmation email, welcome email, receipts, invoices, email footer, autoresponder, etc.
you now know:
What your True Brand Archetype is and why it’s so important to your online presence.
Why you’re motivated by some things… and totally turned off by others.
How to amplify your natural strengths (and avoid the common pitfalls that keep so many Mischief Makers stuck).
And how to use your archetype to ignite your brand and attract your ideal customers – specifically through how your website looks, what you say on it, and how you make your customers feel.
Your next steps…
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Take action.
Commit to taking ONE STEP today to bring a little more of your true self to your business. (Can you quickly revise your bio to include some key words? Can you spend five minutes creating a Pinterest board of visual ideas? Or can you tweak one part of your customer experience to make it more *you*?)
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Get some Brand Therapy.
What if you could cross ‘Get clarity on X Branding problem’ off your never-ending to-do list in just 60 minutes?
Get your most frustrating “how do I….” question answered to solve the burning (marketing and brand-related) problem that’s keeping you up at night.
No fluff, just honest, no-bullshit advice with company Founder, Ellissa.
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Let us create your brand.
Come check out our Branding Packages and elevate your online presence from ‘eh’ to enviable with the help of our creative team.
Share your results
with your friends
I’m the
Mischief Maker
And proud of it!
Did you enjoy the quiz?
Invite your friends to take the quiz to find out their Brand Archetype
Thank you so much
For taking the Brand Archetype Quiz!
Fist bumps to you, friend, for daring to play bigger, aim higher, and dig beneath the surface.
Over the coming weeks, I’m going to be popping into your inbox with more insights as to how to make your brand archetype work for you, so keep your eyes peeled!
‘Til next time,
- ELLISSA
Want to Dive Deeper?
SCHEDULE A 1:1 BRAND ARCHETYPE CALL WITH BRANDING EXPERT ELLISSA, AND GET CLEAR ON WHAT HAVING THIS ARCHETYPE ACTUALLY MEANS FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS.
(As well as a bunch of other tangible, implementable and strategic advice)
HERE'S WHAT IS INCLUDED:
60 MIN ONE ON ONE BRAND STRATEGY SESSION WITH ELLISSA - On this one-hour call, we’ll get to the heart of who you are, the look and feel you’re going for, and where you want to be in 6 months. Use this session to pick Ellissa's brain on your Archetype and get clear on where to focus your energy.
BRAND VISION MOOD BOARD - We'll create a mood board just for you based on your Archetype and Business, including a colour palette, font selection and style/image examples to get the right vibe for your Archetype. Use it for a DIY job or put into a brief for your designer.
15MIN WEBSITE REVIEW (RECORDED) - We’ll review your website and let you know where to focus your energy ASAP and quick tips for tuning into your Archetype Strengths.
For just $297
(+GST for Australian Residents)