I love to bake, but it can be humbling. I usually like to try recipes that require me to make things from scratch, which, not to brag, turns out pretty well most of the time!
But last weekend, I was craving something sweet but feeling lazy and didn't have much time before The White Lotus was starting. So I threw in a batch of slice and bake chocolate chip cookies... and somehow burned the entire tray. There's a lesson in there somewhere. I haven't figured out what it is yet, but if you do, let me know.
This preamble is to say that I have a genuine personal interest in baking and I love baking content from actual professional chefs, so I was so excited to meet Beacons creator @bakeitwithmel in person at our NYC Creator Housewarming Party a few weeks ago!
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I learned that Chef Mel is the founder of Bake it with Mel, not to mention a two-time Chopped champion, previous Parisian bakery owner, and cookbook author. (Um, talk about a multi-hyphenate! ⭐️) We chatted a bit about her content—her goal is to make professional-level baking accessible and enjoyable for everyone (even newbies like me).
In addition to baking and making content, she sells recipes available for digital download. Plus, she also sells premium baking kits and mixes that come with pre-measured gourmet ingredients and all of the tools you need, so all bakers (no matter what your level) can create impressive desserts without the annoying parts of the prep work.
(To which I say: this would have been the perfect substitute for my burnt slice and bake cookies. I'm planning to order either 90s Brownie Cookies or Cake My Day for next week...)
Here's what she was most excited about: she's also expanded to virtual classes! Her idea behind these is that they can be incredible team-building experiences. Everyone who attends gets a full baking kit with all of the ingredients and tools you need, so everyone can have a super easy and fun group activity.
In these virtual sessions, she guides the group in real time to bake their own delicious pastries—which is honestly a very sweet way to do a team building exercise. She does these kinds of events for corporate groups celebrations, or even just groups of friends who want to do something fun together.
What I love about Chef Mel's work is that she's found so many creative ways to expand upon her content and grow her business. It's super inspiring to me, and I think can be really inspiring to other creators, too.
If you think outside the box, there are so many ways you can engage your audience both online and offline. There are product lines you can build, classes you can teach, activities you can lead, and communities you can build. And sometimes, just seeing what other creators are doing is the perfect inspiration.
Not to mention, she has a beautiful and creative Beacons page: beacons.ai/bakeitwithmel. I mean... look at that CTA. You know I'm clicking that. |
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This week's feature update is slightly unsexy but highly useful—I promise! We just rolled out brand new platform settings for your account this week (Badum dum tss! 🥁) What this means is: |
Check it out—you might discover some improvements you can make on your page that you didn't even know you could do! |
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👉 Btw, have you check out our Canny feedback form? You can submit feature requests for us to build here directly. We look at this every day! |
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what about the power of visuals more broadly? When it comes to marketing and branding, the power of a good visual is almost priceless.
As a case study, and in keeping with this week's sweet theme, I'd like to present my friend's bake shop: Michette Bakery in Boston.
I was thinking about Michette recently because I'm going to Boston next week and I'm already thinking about what I'm going to order when I'm there. While I was browsing the website, I was struck by how much the visuals convey about the brand. |
There's something so cozy, comforting, familiar, and whimsical about what these images communicate about Michette's brand that would be much harder and clunkier to convey in any amount of copy.
This topic has been very fresh (🍞🥖🥐 get it?) on my mind lately too, because we're currently working on a big update to the Beacons website. I won't say too much now, but it's made me think a lot about the power of visuals in communicating brand values.
It's given me a lot of appreciation for seeing brands doing this in a way that appears effortless, but that I know requires a ton of work and strategy.
And on that note—I want to shout out our own design team at Beacons, Mica, Mandi, and Max. They're the incredibly hardworking, creative, and strategic minds that are shaping the visual identity of Beacons's product and brand every day. There's so much that goes on behind the scenes in their work so that ideas can be communicated seamlessly through visual experience. |
What are some of your favorite companies or creators with great visual branding? |
Beacons is going to SXSW in Austin, TX this weekend! Or, more specifically, Neal is going to SXSW—make sure to look out for him if you'll be there!
He should be fairly easy to spot. That's because yesterday, we decided we want to make Neal a tee shirt with a giant QR code on it.
Showing this is going to be embarrassing after I just talked about the power of good visuals, because frankly it's just not good. But efficiency superseded aesthetics in this case because time was of the essence, so I frantically sent this sad Figma file to several print shops in Austin, Texas, along with a plea. |
Huge shoutout to both Pork Chop Screenprinting and Big Frog, who both responded right away to my manic quote request and provided amazing options for getting shirts super easily and efficiently with a turnaround of just a day. I appreciate you guys so much—it was the best customer service I could possibly ask for!
If you're in Austin and want to get any sort of custom clothing printed, whether it's for an event, a party, or just for giggles, I highly recommend checking out both of these print shops. They went above and beyond!
And if you'll be at SXSW this weekend, give us a shoutout! 🤠 We're excited for what is shaping up to be a very fun weekend. |
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PS: For the brand marketers who will be at SXSW this weekend, we're hosting a small, exclusive brunch on Sunday morning. Lmk if you want to come, and I'll send you the info!
Have a great weekend! |
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