Find yourself, Build Your Business
Subscribe to their blogs and make a point to read the content. Don't write like them. Try to identify why their style appeals to you. Here's a follow-up tip and it may sound perplexing. Unless you've had a good amount of experience writing professionally, don't try to write like yourself either. What I mean here is don't try so hard to become the writer version of yourself. A mistake I see far too many make is they put on the writer cap and stiffen up. You try to sound smart. You wind up sounding like you're leading a lecture.
You're better off writing like you speak-when you're speaking to ONE person. Capturing yourself speaking is a great way to get comfortable developing your voice. Don't over-think your writing. Go back and edit a little for clarity. The style will evolve. Your voice will emerge.
As I said, this is a tricky lesson to deliver. If it feels like work, you may not be writing like yourself. Personal branding is largely online marketing. The most valuable asset an online marketer could ever hope to have is an email list-people who have raised their hands and declared, "market to me," or perhaps, "keep me in the loop.
You may be thinking, "Who's going to give me their email address before I have content to offer? I tend to tell my clients the development of your email list and deployment of your email program can indeed wait awhile. But it should be a short while. I suggest after you have published 6 to 10 solid posts and got comfortable with at least one or two social media networks, it's email time. Develop a compelling offer such as an eBook or webinar you're willing to give away and create a landing page where you're able to capture the email addresses of your readers.
I'm forever flabbergasted by companies that either don't focus on developing email lists while building their brand, or worse yet, never plan to. They feel email is old school. Email is the private and mostly trusted medium everyone uses. I rant on this a bit in my post "Email Marketing: Make a point to read the post. And please, join my email list. Like you, I'm building a personal brand. The age of the marketer's monologue is dead and gone. The people behind great personal brands are great conversationalists.
They listen and respond. Please nod your head in agreement now. Only foolish old marketing die-hards believe advertisers talk and consumers listen. You need to encourage it. Consider the following ways to do this:. Once again, I've uncorked a big topic. The post I've recommended is a good starting point. However, the real point is it's time to get onboard with the idea that the only brand you can build when you do all the talking is an arrogant one.
On your path to becoming a revered personal brand, your goal should be to ignite meaningful, brand-adjacent conversations in your community. Of course, there are a variety of ways you'll build your influence as you build your personal brand. I believe I've identified the ultimate playbook for accomplishing this and unraveled how to make it work in "A Community of Authority Equals Influence," an article from my Social Media Today column, Content Marketing Minds.
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In the article I explain how you accelerate your influence by leveraging the authority of other authorities. Every class, club, team, or organization always seems to have "the popular people," you know, the in crowd. Naturally, it feels awkward to invite yourself into it and unlikely to work. However, with social media it's not awkward or difficult and it does work. Your personal brand is reflected in the content you create and share.
Creating content to showcase your expertise must be at the core of your personal branding efforts. Focus on sharing yourknowledge. At the same time, don't fear having a strong point of view. Say what you think. No one values a bland brand. Remember, we're taking about a personal brand. If you want to challenge convention, do it. By taking a stand, you might not appeal to everyone, but that's not the goal. You want to ignite the passion in the right people.
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You'll find your status as an expert will grow faster with bold content and opportunities for interviews, speaking gigs, consulting contracts, and more will come faster and more frequently. The development of your personal brand, and ultimately, your ability to capitalize on it is derived from the connections you make. You, my friend, are a brand.
I've been thinking about you. To learn more, I turned to some personal branding experts and bought some helpful books: Woody" Woodward Branding Pays, by Karen Kang Platform, by Michael Hyatt There's a lot of great information in these books and each author offers tons of great advice via their blog. Here are 5 tips from Michael Hyatt. Create a clear value proposition. A clear value proposition will serve as a framework for all your efforts. Write a compelling brand slogan.
A great way to address this challenge is to distill your value proposition into a slogan. Here are some good ones: Lifehacker's slogan is "Tips, tricks, and downloads for getting things done.
People want to connect with people, not merely brands. Michael Hyatt offers some ideas for capturing yourself in action: Working at your computer Analyzing your client's data Coaching one-on-one Facilitating a small group meeting Recording a podcast Shooting a video Speaking before a large crowd Autographing your book at an event My opinion is the photo that will serve you best is simply you looking into the lens smiling, looking friendly and approachable-with no distractions.
Develop a look for your personal brand with: A professionally designed logo A pleasing color palette A limited menu of fonts Apply the standards you create to everything-your website, business cards, advertising, etc. Here are additional tips from yours truly. I love this one: Dial into the dialogue. Consider the following ways to do this: Host blog comments and respond to them. Build a circle of influencers.
Want to be influential? It's in the job description of the personal brander. There are so many ways you can build authority by forging new relationships. Create "roundup" content that recognizes authoritative leaders and their work. Shake hands and swap business cards at events. But you will also be your own boss.
You can go your own way.
You will get to do things your way. You will bear the brunt of the hurt. But you will also absorb every single perfect drop of glory. Plus, you can work from home like I do and conquer the world while still making it to school plays and soccer games. When your life has purpose you have more energy, you look forward to each new day and you feel fulfilled. Starting your own business allows you to tap into your passion and live life with purpose.
By using the unique gifts that only you have, you improve your quality of life and, in turn, make the world a better place. The biggest regret you'll have is the chance you never took. Don't let fear stand in your way. Let it fuel your determination and propel you forward. Will you fail sometimes? But you will pick yourself up, brush yourself off, start all over again and find yourself to be even stronger. I have been an entrepreneur for more than seven years now. It has not always been easy. I have failed and succeeded and failed again.