brand spotlight: The Foreword
Not usually on the receiving end of the questions, writers Arabella Peterson & Lilith Hardie Lupica are the brains and hearts behind The Foreword. I spoke to these two lovely ladies after a quick headshot shoot that we snuck in just before London lock down. They share little gems of brand building wisdom and discuss the resurgence of email newsletters, but ones that “you actually want to open”.
So, tell us about The Foreword?
The Foreword is very much a pandemic baby, born out of COVID-related stress and anxiety. It started as a way for us to channel our energies into something creative and tangible that gave us a purpose during those long days inside but has developed into something quite special.
Put simply, ‘The Foreword is a weekly newsletter featuring career and life advice, recommendations and insights from people you admire, want to know or don’t know yet’, in which our weekly guests end their interview by nominating our next feature. It’s like interview chainmail but this is an email you actually want to open. We wanted to help others connect while creating a resource that answered career(ish) questions that were haunting us.
Our Instagram has become an extension of our newsletter, where we’re able to feature more incredible people, interesting concepts and subjects as well as cool brands, books, etc.
Basically, The Foreword started as a newsletter-first offering but has grown into a supportive community.
How would you describe the brand aesthetic and is this a reflection of your own personalities?
We'd describe it as fun, vibrant and unpretentious. I hope that's a reflection of our personalities, ha! While we love clean, muted, minimalist branding, that will just never be us. We're both suckers for cute colours and design. From our bright colour palette, bold typeface, brand shapes and signature smiley-face, our brand looks like the inside of our heads, and the contents of our text chain (think lots of: 🤪, !!!! and xxxx). We envisioned it looking like something nostalgic from our childhoods with an updated twist.
Three words to describe The Foreword's tone of voice?
Supportive, positive, friendly.
What makes The Foreword worth mentioning?
We like to think that by allowing the direction of the newsletter to be directed by its guests, it's more relatable and democratic. We don't know where the newsletter is going to go, who is going to be featured or what advice they might give, and that means we can offer our readers a scope that we might generally not have access to.
It can be interesting to peek into the life of a celebrity, but everybody has a story, and we have so much to learn from “everyday” people doing fascinating things. I think it’s a bit of respite from how heavy social media can feel at times. Of course, we engage with important topics, but it’s generally a very lighthearted and fun space. We try to ensure that our content is practical and balanced while staying true to our aesthetic and tone.
Self-directed content can naturally lend itself to nepotism, so by letting our guests guide the way, it opens up a new world to us and our readers.
The Foreword has grown rapidly over the last few months. What would you say the key is to grow a successful brand?
Know your audience. Understand where they’re living on the internet, what they’re engaging with and what they are eager to learn. Treat them as equals and reach them as such. We’ve had a lot of success because we made it a priority to focus on fun, relatable content that’s also really good looking but, crucially, we’re covering topics that resonate and offer a relatable perspective and real tools to help people.
Being flexible is also critical; if something doesn’t work, that’s ok! Move on and keep adjusting and testing.
The Foreword's concept of getting each guest that you're interviewing to nominate the next is pretty ingenious. How many people and countries have you passed through now?
Thank you! We’ve interviewed 17 people and they’re all incredibly different and insightful, it’s amazing to track where it started and where it’s going. So far we've featured musicians, calligraphers, marketing directors, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, chefs, dancers and more from Australia, New Zealand, The US, France, Brazil and Japan.
What does the future of The Foreword look like?
Bright! What feels so special about The Foreword is that it could really develop or grow into anything. A podcast or IGTV series, even something more tangible like a journal or sticker set—anything is possible!
Some worth mentionings...
Other platforms or brands you're loving at the moment?
Women Who, Sad Girls Club, Scarlet and Hoste!
Favourite email newsletter, other than The Foreword of course?
Worth Mentioning is pretty great ;) also, Matilda Goad’s The Dispatch!
Favourite business/brand/marketing tool or app?
For content creators who don’t have the means to hire a designer or do a course, Canva is the best thing ever invented! (we totally agree!)
Sign up to The Foreword newsletter here (you won’t regret it) and follow @the.foreword on IG for quality content.
Headshot by Claire Posthuma (Personal Brand Headshot package)
