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You’ve focused on identifying your business’ brand, but when’s the last time you gave serious thought to your personal brand? Having a personal brand isn’t solely for celebrities and social media content creators. These days, professionals are also creating public personas, and for good reasons: Building a personal brand can help you stand out among peers, your competition, and create trust with new audiences.
If the idea of shining the spotlight on yourself—and your accomplishments—feels a bit awkward and “not your style,” we hear you. But, focusing on causes you care about and sharing your unique story can make the practice of marketing yourself more genuine and impactful.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to build a personal brand, why it can strengthen relationships with clients and customers, and how it could lead to financial gains.
What is a personal brand?
When you think about creating your personal brand, think about:
The image you want to project
How you want others to describe you
The impact you want others to feel after you leave a conversation
Topics you’re passionate about
How you spend your time when you aren’t working
Consider how you’ll weave these into a public-facing persona. If you’re an animal lover, maybe your pets make appearances in your videos. Or, if you’re all about sustainability, your eco-friendly lifestyle might be part of your story.
Customers want authenticity—they want to know the real person behind the business. It helps them feel more connected to you and makes them more likely to be loyal to you and your professional brand.
A personal brand can also help you stay relevant for the long haul if and when your business changes, if you work with a new company, or when you have something new to share in your industry. Your audience will follow you because they feel like they know you, what you stand for, and your work.
How to build a personal brand
Creating a personal brand is all about how you want to present yourself publicly, whether that’s to an audience of subscribers or followers, potential clients, or customers of your business.
1. Outline your brand story
Set aside time for brainstorming. What’s your story? What challenges have you overcome? What is it about your personal journey that your audience would resonate with? Ask your family, friends, and colleagues what comes to mind when they think of your personality, style, and who you are. Are you the joke-teller, the straight-shooter, or the empathetic listener? Use these insights to shape what you want to convey.
2. Do market research
Identify who you want to speak to, what they like, who they’re following on social media, and how others in this space talk to their audiences. This might include following some LinkedIn influencers or content creators on Instagram, or studying how influencers in your professional niche create content and present themselves to the world.
3. Invest in professional photos
Your visuals matter—from the photos you post on your website and social profiles to the graphics, typography, brand colors, and logos you use. Once you’ve identified what your brand looks like, find a photographer who can help you achieve that. Look for brand photographers or lifestyle brand photographers who post images that have the look you’re going for.
Think about details like outfits, hair and makeup, lighting, props, background, and even the accessories that communicate your message. It doesn’t have to be complex—if you want to focus on what you do or a more relaxed environment, try to capture photos of yourself at work.
4. Start posting on social media
Building a personal brand will be an evolving endeavor. Post consistently on platforms where your audience is active, and engage with them through comments and messages. Use analytics to determine what’s working and tweak as needed. Make sure all of your social media brands have the same look, feel, voice and tone while building your personal brand.
Examples of personal branding
Here are some examples of how personal branding can make you and your business stand out, no matter what type of business you run.
A sleep specialist might have a supportive, calming personal brand focused on educating their audience. They might post helpful videos on social media and send out a weekly newsletter sharing tips for better sleep. That one-to-one communication and a consistent look and tone will establish their personal branding.
A personal trainer may want to build trust in their fitness expertise and weave in their experiences getting fit in small apartments. They might share daily workout videos designed for small spaces. This unique and personal approach could lead to classes or an app for followers or brand deals and speaking opportunities.
A startup co-founder who feels strongly about sustainability could make that part of her personal storytelling. She could share how she applies those values at home, at work, and while traveling. She could share her opinions on the latest sustainability developments and policies. This creates a public persona for her outside of her work, which could open up opportunities in the future.
How to monetize a personal brand
Having a strong personal brand can open the doors to fruitful income opportunities and passive income streams. Here are a few ways you can make money from a personal brand.
Become a speaker. Becoming known for something in your industry or having a unique take on a topic can help you stand out, and might be what gets you hired for speaking engagements. Paid speakers can earn anywhere from a few hundred dollars at local organizations to thousands of dollars for keynotes, corporate speaking, and live events.
Create physical products. Some fun ways to capitalize on your personal brand could include licensing your name out to a brand as part of a brand extension (fashion designers do this all the time), or selling merch that resonates with the brand audience you’ve built. For example, some freelance creators sell candles that say “Direct Deposit” or “Invoices Paid.”
Write a book. Share your story or expertise in an ebook or secure a traditional publishing deal to build credibility and generate income. Sell it on your website, use it to attract leads, or leverage it to get interviews and build buzz for yourself.
Start a newsletter. Show up in your audience’s inboxes and build relationships with them in their personal email space. Once you build up a strong newsletter list, you can secure sponsors for the newsletters, include affiliate links, and consider premium paid content.
Snag sponsorship deals. Plenty of content creators are making a living through sponsored posts and brand partnerships. Use your platform to team up with brands that align with your values. You might find it helpful to create a media kit for these opportunities: a one-sheet that shows key elements of your brand, social handles, audience data, images, where you’ve been featured in media, and other noteworthy achievements.