so you’re the
Adventuress
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!
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.
A Brand Archetype?
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.
So without further ado, LET’S DIVE INTO HOW TO MAKE YOUR BRAND ARCHETYPE WORK FOR YOU…
03
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.
02
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.
01
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
Adventuress
to be the
YOU’RE AT YOUR BEST WHEN:
You're on the edge of the unknown - mapping new territory for the people following in your footsteps. Give you a blank page, an open brief, or a flight out of the country and you come ALIVE.
YOU’RE DRIVEN BY:
The absolute conviction that there's always a better, bolder, more interesting way - and the restlessness that won't let you sit still until you've found it.
YOU LIKE TO:
Push boundaries, be self-sufficient, travel, write your own rules, and make your own path.
WATCH OUT FOR:
Novelty addiction - always starting, rarely finishing. Leaving your clients behind when you've already evolved three pivots ahead. The constant itch to burn it all down just because you're bored. And the mistake of treating your personal growth path as your business model before it's road-tested.
Famous ADVENTURESSES
Marie Forleo
Sophia Amoruso
Elizabeth Gilbert
Aminatou Sow
And…
The woman in your industry who launched something genuinely new and made everyone else scramble to catch up.
The Adventuress
as a business owner
ABOUT YOU, THE ADVENTURESS:
YOU’RE SELF-DIRECTED AND SELF-MOTIVATED.
You value your autonomy highly. In fact, it’s probably one of the fundamental reasons you started your own business.
While other people struggle to get motivated, you’ve got all pistons pumping and all cogs cranking. (Though it might come naturally to you, many other archetypes would KILL to have your sense of ambition and drive.)
You can use this knowledge to your advantage: if you’re struggling to get motivated, it’s a pretty good sign that the path you’re currently on is not in alignment with your true Adventuress self.
AUTHENTICITY IS YOUR JAM.
You’re a seeker. And one of the things you’re seeking more than anything else is your truth.
Sometimes this can lead you to ‘chop and change’ between projects a lot – you start something, realise it doesn’t fully align with your truth, so you drop it like a hot potato to try something else. You’re fearless in the pursuit of following your heart, and you’re a master of the quick pivot.
YOU’RE INNOVATIVE AND HAVE LOADS OF IDEAS.
You’re an ideas person – you have no trouble coming up with new paths to take and new options to try, and you want to give everything a go.
But sometimes, this can be a burden – especially when you don’t know which direction to choose or where to start… which can lead to frustration, and can leave you feeling powerless and ineffectual.
SOLUTIONS INCLUDE:
Understand that just because you’ve come up with an idea (even if it’s a fan-fricking-tastic one), doesn’t mean you have to take action on it. Especially if it detracts from your current project.
Start a ‘Not for now’ list. Every time you get an idea that doesn’t fit within your current mission or schedule, capture it on a ‘not for now’ list, and revisit it later. Make peace with the fact that you can’t do everything at once.
Break your projects down into bite-sized chunks, and celebrate each time you tick one off your list. (Building this sense of achievement and progress into your work patterns can help you stay focused on your current project.)
YOU HATE FEELING TRAPPED, BORED OR LIMITED.
You have a tendency to always think the grass is greener on the other side, and you get antsy when you feel hemmed-in.
As a free spirit, you like to feel as though you always have choices, and options. Too much rigidity (whether it’s in your schedule, your offerings, or your focus) can dim your flame and make you feel crapola.
Luckily, one of your superpowers is seeing forks in the road where others see only a straight path… so a renewed sense of excitement is always within reach.
Your Superpower: Your lived experience IS the curriculum. You don't teach theory - you teach roads you've already walked. Clients follow you because you've already been where they want to go.
Your Visibility Gap: You move so fast your audience can't keep up. They can't invest in a destination they can't see yet. Slow down long enough to document the journey - the "I'm figuring this out too" content is what makes people trust you.
Revenue Sweet Spot: Online courses, retreats, experiences, cohort programs. Anything that GOES somewhere. Structured adventures with a clear outcome and a beginning, middle, and end.
Content That Works: Real-time exploration. Bold predictions. "Here's what I just discovered" dispatches. You don't need to have it figured out - people follow the journey, not the destination.
Never be limited by other people’s imaginations.
- Mae Jemison, Astronaut
ABOUT YOUR PEOPLE:
Like moths to a flame…
The types of people who are organically drawn to you, as the Adventuress, are looking to you for authenticity and a sense of adventure.
What this means for you:
Share your journey – your audience want to hear about it and soak up some of your infectious Adventuress energy.Paint the picture for them of what’s possible. (Not everyone has your faith and vision, and your audience are craving reassurance that change IS achievable.)
Break the mould. Quirk it up. Communicate your truth freely, in your own style. (Your audience detests mind-numbing stereotypes as much as you do.)
Don’t worry if you don’t always have your shit together. It might be hard to believe, but your audience loves how much of a free spirit you are. (So you can stop feeling ashamed of your ‘chop and change’ tendencies… Hallelujah!)
It’s okay to be your true self 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.)
Close the Visibility Gap
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.
ABOUT YOUR ADVENTURESS BRAND
How to weave the Adventuress Archetype into your branding
The Copy
Words that activate your ideal clients - weave these through your About page, bio, website copy, and content.
EXPLORE · DISCOVER · UNCHARTED · BOLD · FRONTIER · FREEDOM · ADVENTURE · JOURNEY · EXPEDITION · POSSIBILITY · LIMITLESS · PIONEER · WANDERER · TRAILBLAZE · UNTAMED · WILD · VENTURE · LEAP · ROAM · BRAVE · HORIZON · QUEST · IGNITE · NEW · ESCAPE
Write like you're texting from somewhere interesting. First-person, present-tense, kinetic. Dispatches from the field - "here's what I just discovered," "I've been thinking about," "this changed everything for me." Use "imagine," "what if," and "have you ever?" to pull readers into the journey with you. Avoid dry, over-polished prose - your copy should feel like only you could have written it, from only where you've been. Imperfect authenticity beats perfect performance every time.
The Look
Raw, lived-in beauty. Natural textures and wide-open spaces - maps, worn leather, open roads, passports stamped and re-stamped. A palette of dusty terracotta, forest green, warm ochre, and sun-bleached neutrals. Film grain and motion blur.
Photography that looks like a moment captured, not a moment staged. Nothing too precious, too manicured, or too safe. Your brand should look like it's been somewhere.
AS the adventuress, 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.
Every touchpoint is a brand moment. Here's how yours should feel:
Make the very first interaction feel like the beginning of something — an onboarding that creates genuine forward momentum, not just a welcome email.
Use names and specific remembered details. Write to them as a co-adventurer, not a managed client.
End every phase with clear next steps — "here's where we're headed." The Adventuress experience should always feel like it's going somewhere, not circling.
THIS COULD INCLUDE THINGS LIKE:
-
Send a creative (or crazy!) gift to your clients when you wrap up a project together – perhaps a personalised travel journal or an inspiring wall print.
-
Personalise as many of your customer interactions as you can – use their name, take note of personal details, show that you care.
they also enjoy when you do something unexpected, like:
Create moments of genuine surprise - an unexpected resource, a bold idea they didn't see coming, a result that exceeded the brief.
Avoid over-systematised, corporate-feeling processes. Your clients chose you specifically. Keep the human at the centre of every touchpoint.
Now You Know:
What your True Brand Archetype is and why it’s so important to your online presence.
How to amplify your natural strengths (and avoid the common pitfalls that keep so many Sages stuck).
Why you’re motivated by some things… and totally turned off by others.
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…
let’s get
ARE YOUR READY TO STOP BEING EVERYONE’S best kept secret?
visible
(visible. we wanna get visible. Let's get into VISIBLE.)
CHAMPAGNE TASTE ON A BEER BUDGET?
Squarespace and Canva
Templates
Feminine Templates designed for Impact and Conversion.
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
