Talks around personal branding are often exaggerated, overreacted, even misleading. There are a bunch of people out there who shout the steps you need to take in order to make it happen. The truth is that you don’t need a manual to create a personal brand. And, on top of that, this should not be an ultimate goal.
There is no clear path, a to-do list with ten checkboxes or a mesmerizing book.
In fact, you don’t want to create a personal brand. What you want, instead, is to be true to yourself while being perceived as a top of mind choice for a certain thing. It can be a product, a service; it doesn’t really matter. You aim to achieve that level where people from a specific industry or niche know that you are an authority. Not the only one, but a benchmark they relate to and find trustworthy.
With everything, you can get closer or not to this goal. There is no clear path, a to-do list with ten checkboxes or a mesmerizing book. Every single action you take (or not) defines who you are, therefore has an impact on your brand as well.
You will know when you created a personal brand. You will feel it, and everything that will happen around you will reinforce this achievement.
In this article, I want to focus on how writing is a piece of the puzzle and how you should create content for your website to reassure your audience that they are in great company.
There are multiple areas to cover when it comes to how you can reinforce your personal branding mantra through writing. However, I will present only those I’m familiar, and I put into practice. No more, no less.
Write the way you talk
I already wrote a stand-alone article on this one. There are plenty of reasons why writing the way you are talking helps you consolidate a personal brand. The main is linked to the fact that authenticity is crucial.
Once you are in harmony with your values and stand for them every time, your blog posts will manage to gather together people similar to you and among themselves. This way, you nurture a tribe that will consider you a reference.
Tip: Check Ashleigh Axios to get a better clue about how she succeeds to be genuine both on her website and during her talks.
Create consistency across all mediums
It’s hard to get, and it usually takes practice, time, and life experience. It’s not easy being consistent when you are 16 years old, even though not impossible (look at the kids today), but once you expose yourself to different scenarios and start to discover stuff (emotions, thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc.) you get more clarity.
Having this clarity, it will be far easier to be consistent no matter the communication channel you use: social media, newsletter, blog, podcast, whatever. It’s just the natural way of a healthy and persistent evolution, that’s why your writing evolves as you do as a human being.
Tip: Tobias van Schneider is one of my favorite example when it comes to consistency.
Express your ideas with personality
It’s important to be true to yourself and to pack ideas on your terms. Use your language, shape your metaphors, find the words that define your inner-why.
By expressing your thoughts in resonance with your personality and style, you increase the level of trust. People appreciate when they sense that an article feels natural and communicates meaning. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you try to copycat others and imitate a voice that’s not yours, there’s no way you’ll create a personal brand.
Tip: If Eric Karjaluoto would start sending me anonymous e-mails, I would still know it’s him behind the scene.
Credibility aka the human touch
Robots can be performant, efficient, always there, but people are the ones who come to the table with something that’s hard to beat: the human touch.
Writing is a great playground to showcase your personal touch and create stronger bonds with your audience. When people feel safe with you and relate to your unique style, it’s easier for them to be loyal and follow you everywhere you go.
Tip: Nguyen Le has such a writing style that makes me feel both comfortable and safe.
Explore a niche you feel you belong
Writing about everything and believing that you can do that properly is nonsense. Therefore, it’s wiser to cover a slot where you think or want to belong.
Be brave and write opinionated articles that say something about your beliefs, your attitudes, and behaviors. Once you do that on a regular basis, you will also gain traction and become an authority. People who resonate will stick because it’s the human nature to belong to tribes and to find the ones who share similar interests and perspectives.
Tip: I have no doubts that DHH fits this category. The way he approaches writing gives me a sense of belonging.
You will know when you created a personal brand. You will feel it, and everything that will happen around you will reinforce this achievement. People will not hesitate to read your articles, buy your products or services. They will support whatever you do because they profoundly trust you. They will tell others about why they should switch attention to your work. They will act like ambassadors without being paid.
Takeaways
- Personal branding is more about a feeling and less about a specific set of achievements. Think about who do you consider having a strong personal brand? What makes those people special? Why did you name them?
- Personal branding is at your fingertips, but it’s not a growth hack strategy. Being you from top to toe, years after years, and creating meaningful stuff will make people notice you. Which blogs do you read regularly? What keeps you interested?
- Personal branding requires to show up regardless of the circumstances. No matter how vulnerable you are, how defocused you might be, people expect you to put the best version of yourself out there. Who are the folks you follow that do that flawlessly?
As I already said, writing should stay at the core of your blogging activity. It’s the most potent gateway to create a personal brand, reach relevant audiences and make a lasting impact in the world.
👉 Now, what keeps you away from expressing your ideas in writing and build a name out of it?
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