Top strategies for conscious branding with Eva Gajzer.
The following interview is a transcript excerpt from The Heallist Podcast episode. Listen to the full audio version below and subscribe to get notified of new episodes.
Join host Yuli in a thought-provoking episode as she engages in a conversation with Eva Gajzer, the founder of Oneness, a strategy and design agency focused on empowering conscious leaders and businesses. With years of experience as a brand visionary and a full mesa carrier shaman within the Q’ero lineage, Eva knows what it takes to foster positive change. Now, she’s turning her attention to helping startups and healers shape their story and create authentic experiences for their clients. In this episode, we’ll dive into the polarizing topic of personal branding and identity for healers, giving you the tools and insights you need to thrive in your business.
Why is it important for healers to have a brand and image?
Eva Gajzer: The number one thing is trust. When you create a great brand, you want to be perceived in a beautiful and consistent way when someone thinks of you or feels you in their heart. A well-executed brand establishes a sense of who you are, how you talk about yourself, and presents a cohesive visual identity. This includes having a beautiful design, great imagery of yourself, a logo, a color palette, and typography that allows your website, newsletter, social media, and other touchpoints to have a consistent look and feel. It's essential to present yourself coherently and authentically to your audience, just as you wouldn't want to appear as different personas to different people.
Yuli Ziv: It's just so refreshing to bring this deep spiritual connection into the business world because for so many years, for so many decades, we were kind of just running on high, especially anyone who ever worked in advertising and with big, large-scale brands. You were just running on this autopilot of canned messaging and things that sell, and you kind of figure out the formula. Coming in from a completely different side, and as you said, leaving your ego aside and truly working to help people uncover their essence, it's just much needed right now in all kinds of branding, not just for healers.
Eva Gajzer: We have a lot of work to do. It's why I perceive the work I do as being a healer, as it allows me to help many businesses do even greater work and create deeper connections. By putting myself in this position, I can help so many more people by working with just a few businesses. We can touch the lives of many and support them to bring in more light and truly help people wherever they are, through whatever the business is. Whether it's fostering a greater connection to nature, through a business or to art, or simply doing energy work, there are so many different types of businesses that we work on.
What are the key elements of a great brand?
Eva Gajzer: These are some key elements of the brand that I feel are really important for any healer to have. It can be challenging for healers because they're dealing with the other 99% of reality, which may not be their primary focus. That's why your business, which is growing and serving so many people, is vital, as it empowers healers to focus on their magic while providing the support they need to strengthen their presence. Our process can be a significant help for even well-established teachers and healers, as it allows them to benefit from a supportive brand to enhance their work and reach.
Yuli Ziv: That's exactly the mission and the hope. Coming from this world, I totally get it, and it is a process that takes time, probably six to nine months, or even more because you are changing your own perception and habits, and how you operate. The transformation happens because you have to become that identity; it has to be a part of you. You have to fully embody whatever you're creating. It's a process, not something you can just dream up one day and wake up as that brand. It's an evolution.
How to get started with your brand strategy?
Eva Gajzer: I'm always going to start with research. You need to know where you fit into the landscape. There are probably a number of like-minded healers out there, or we can call them businesses. It's really important to take a look at how they strategically brand themselves with their writing or copywriting, along with their design.
Then you could even look at their marketing tactics. We work with human design as a big part of our research process. All that is going to give you a sense of who you are, and your magic. Then from there, I recommend really figuring out what's the mission? What is this mantra, this gift that you're going to give to the world, to your audience, by doing this work? It's important to get very clear on that. Then think about what makes you unique. Getting that human design chart is really going to help. You want to look at your incarnation cross, your channels, your north and south node, depending on your age.
From there, there are a lot of different components of our brand strategy. But people can do the research and figure it out. Essentially, what's the gift you're giving to your audience? How are you doing it differently? How are you doing it unique to you? What's this legacy? What's the big picture? What does success look like? What are your values? What is your philosophy? What do you stand for? Figuring out what those pillars are, or what those value words are, those are really important.
Then from there, that should inform what your design is going to look like. What does your logo look like? Is it really soft, warm, and fuzzy? Or are you working with more of coming in and working on the darkness? I've had clients across a range that are healers. It's like there are certain healers that are working with different types of modalities, and their intentions are different too. You really want to be able to show up, aligned with that frequency. Are you using a serif font or sans serif? What is your color palette? What are your colors, really thinking about the chakras?
There's an incredible book that I'm just wrapping up by Annie Besant, called "Thought Forms." There's a lot of talk of color in that book. It talks about the energy of color. You might need other graphic elements to begin to convey that story, especially if you have packaging or create goods.
Also, having solid photography is very important. There needs to be an investment in photography. Your story's going to evolve. You may have a different photo to convey a different concept. That's the focus of that month. Then you want to perhaps use social media or not. You're going to use these mediums, and it's important to show that on a website too. If you can, show what that environment looks like when you're working with someone, because it's going to help someone visualize that. It's going to help convey the story. I also recommend, with photography, showing the hands. Get some get a few close-ups of the hands. You want to show different elements of things. You want to have photography as a story.
Shaping compelling narratives to create a personal connection
Yuli Ziv: You just gave so many great ideas! I want to emphasize something that is super important: having photos in action to help people visualize what a session looks like. A lot of healers tend to default to nice, friendly-looking shots, but in this day and age, people are still wondering about some of those modalities. They still have no idea what they're signing up for. Providing more information can walk them through that session, even if you're seeing them in person. How does the office look like? Will they be sitting down or laying down? What will be around them? What is going to happen?
Yes, we want to offer mystical experiences, but not everyone is up for those unknown surprises. People want to know as much as possible about what you do and how you work. It's just so important to propel this field forward. The more professionally-looking, friendly, and inviting visuals we put out there, the more people will feel comfortable trying some of those modalities and techniques.
Eva Gajzer: It's about creating a connection. That's what a brand is. Photography is a powerful way of doing that. You'll need to use it in most things you put out into the world. It helps not only you but also all healers. You're helping people get more comfortable with a new experience, making it less new in the future. It becomes a way of life that we’re seeking alternative support.
Most creatives and healers are more open than accountants or those in insurance. Creative people say, "Yes, let's do it. Just go for it." I did a healing for a photographer during a shoot. It changed everything, like lightning in a bottle.
Selecting a brand name for practice
Eva Gajzer: This is a huge challenge that often arises for folks. Someone will be mindful of ego and may not want to use their name. But they haven't necessarily thought about what that will do in the future. It creates a tremendous amount of work. When you decide not to use your own name and choose a brand name like "Vanilla," you not only have to create that whole brand and business, but you also have to create your personal name. That's a lot of work.
I like to push back on people and do some hand-holding, work around using their name. How can we get comfortable there? Because that's what's best for you. If you're creating a healing art studio or method, then absolutely, we need another name. But in most cases, for a healer, they should use their own name, especially when starting out. People take on so much, wanting to create a brand with a specific name, but we really need to start with the first few years, building you up as a thought leader in this space. Based on how that goes, consider creating another entity. This is a very important area to face and look at, and we can use the ego in a positive way by using someone's own name if that's the best decision for them.
The extension of the brand into social media
Eva Gajzer: Social media is a very hot topic. It's something we really have to be wary of where it's going and what's happening. I would highly recommend, if we're talking about sharing marketing tactics and touchpoints, to first and foremost work on your newsletter. Having actual email addresses and connecting with your community is number one. If you haven't done the exercise yet of going through your Gmail account or whatever email service you're using, make sure to add everyone's first name, last name, and email address to your address book. This is the number one way of having a client book you, not through social media. Your main focus should be getting people to sign up for your email address, especially if you're just starting out. Be very thoughtful and use your intuition to determine which social media platform is best for you. You don't need to be on all of them or a bunch; focus on doing one very well.
Pick a platform based on statistics and how the audiences are breaking down. For example, if you want to look at Instagram, see who mostly uses it and ensure it aligns with your target audience, the people who come to you for sessions. There's probably a core audience you want to think about, typically those experiencing Saturn Return, Uranus return, or Chiron return, which typically occurs in their late 20s, around 40, and 49-50 years old, respectively.
As your age group grows, you'll grow with your audience, so it's essential to ensure your chosen platform aligns with the people you want to reach. Dig in and make sure those people are present; you want a history of successful engagement. Personally, I'm a little wary of TikTok due to various reasons that many people are already aware of and can research. Be thoughtful when deciding to use it.
I'm not a huge fan of social media, so I hire people to figure out strategies and teams to execute them for clients. We focus on training them with the foundational principles of branding and effective strategies. When it comes to growing your audience, newsletters are the best way. There's a whole process to achieve that, and I strongly recommend delving into all the research surrounding it.
The expansion and scaling process
Eva Gajzer: Well, it's going to start first with what's the history. It's important to look at, and hopefully, you've been keeping track of how your revenues are coming in. You know, money is energy. Clients have been hiring you in a certain capacity, and you have X amount of sessions per week or month, along with your pricing. You really want to have a good sense of what that looks like. If you don't have it, don't worry; start now to gain a clear understanding of your business financials.
You should be able to think about this in various ways, especially for healers. There's a certain way of supporting individuals, then groups, and finally one-on-one sessions. Additionally, you could consider offering downloadable educational materials that you invest in creating to add value to your services.
Take a moment to think about your business from different angles. Research what other like-minded healers, teachers, and guides are doing. Get a whiteboard or some paper and start to dream about what your business model could look like. Make a map and include all the different offerings you'd love to have. Then, get realistic about what's possible for you this year, this quarter, and the next. Avoid overwhelming yourself and think of sustainable growth. You want to be able to maintain your presence for all your one-on-one clients while exploring new opportunities.
Another way to scale your business is by partnering up with one or two people to host an event or workshop. It could be on Zoom or in person, which will help you grow your audience. Test it out and see if you enjoy this approach, as it may not be for everyone. Remember, collaboration is essential for audience growth, and you don't necessarily have to find someone doing exactly what you do. Have fun exploring different possibilities!
