BKLYN Commons
BKLYN Commons
Central Brooklyn’s #1 Innovation Hub & Coworking Space, Run for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneurs
Services: Brand voice guidelines, website copy, blogs + articles, email newsletters, information decks, flyer + ad copy, content writing information sessions
What I Did:
At the height of their operations in 2016, BKLYN Commons expanded to two coworking locations in Brooklyn, New York, and was serving over 600 entrepreneurs throughout New York City. Then, the pandemic hit and the coworking space, run by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, had to reinvent themselves. This pivot meant offering a new wave of services including: virtual events and educational opportunities, virtual memberships, and ultimately downsizing their Bushwick, Brooklyn location to focus on the members at their pilot location in Flatbush/Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn.
Staying true to their values, I was approached by BKLYN Commons when they realized I was local to their neighborhood. After discussing the brand’s copy and content writing needs, we decided that BKLYN Commons needed a content overhaul—beginning with the foundation of their brand voice and rebuilding the content within their coworking empire from the ground up.
Their goal was to create a consistent brand voice across multiple platforms including: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, promotional advertisements, blogs, email newsletters—and of course, their website. The team wanted to ensure that new staff members and coworking members, as well as members of the community, felt seen, accepted, and comforted by the presence and mission of BKLYN Commons: providing entrepreneurs and small business owners access to flexible, community-driven workspaces.
“Lindy helped us find our voice as a brand. She pays attention to the details the define the values of our innovation hub and writes in a way that exemplifies our mission. She’s made building and streamlining our content easy.”
- Johanne Brierre
How it Worked:
Discovering the voice of BKLYN Commons was our first step. The team filled out a unique discovery packet, detailing their mission, values, and goals. Then, we dissected their answers to create their brand voice guidelines. These guidelines enable new staff members to understand and write in the voice of BKLYN Commons, regardless of their familiarity with the brand. Creating a warm, welcoming, collaborative, and communal voice was their ultimate goal—and we succeeded.
The brand voice guidelines are included in their Internal Team Deck, which we collaboratively developed to be used as a training manual for new staff members. This detailed, branded deck ensures that new staff members understand the values of BKLYN Commons and the mission they serve.
Today, BKLYN Commons is equipped with not only a solidified brand voice, but a captivating brand presence. Their website has been reconstructed, utilizing Google Ad keywords and phrases to rank on page four of Google for Brooklyn coworking (rising from page seven).
Now equipped with a blog platform, BKLYN Commons publishes four monthly blog articles to their website. The increased use of written content has increased their community visibility and caught the attention of hyperlocal publications. In 2021, I was published as a contributor in BK Reader six times through the collaborative interview series, Straight Out of COVID. This series highlighted BKLYN Commons members and their pivot as small business owners throughout the pandemic.
Each month, BKLYN Commons takes their content one step further by sending two branded email newsletters to their membership community and local partners. The emails receive, on average, a 34% open rate month-to-month (an increase from 25% throughout 2020).
In July 2021, BKLYN Commons x xo, Lindy will be partnering to host the brand’s first content creation information session. June’s topic covers the basics of website building.