Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide For Digital Marketers
Did you know that personal branding goes hand in hand with selling digital products like e-books, courses, SaaS, etc.?
First off, let’s define it. A personal brand is what defines how others perceive you. Typically, it consists of your personality, reputation, skills, values, and knowledge.
The concept of a personal brand can be relevant to both online and offline worlds. Today, however, we’ll focus on what it means to have a personal brand online and how it ties into your digital product business.
Think of a personal brand as your logo – what you are known for as an individual.
Actually, I have a better idea; here are some real-life examples of successful personal brands.
Steve Jobs was known for his minimalistic style yet an incredibly genius and creative mind that flowed into innovation and perfectionism.
Gary Vaynerchuk is respected for his boldness, belief in hustle and happiness, and unapologetic no-BS approach.
Luke Belmar has positioned himself as a self-made, modern, financially savvy entrepreneur with a heavy emphasis on personal development.
Can you see how each of the individuals mentioned above has something in common yet has a unique and identifiable personal brand?
Let’s dive in further so that You can be one of the successful real-life examples, too!
How Can Marketers Use Personal Branding?
Marketers and info product business owners can use personal branding to showcase the human side of their business, position themselves as an authority figure in their niche, and build trust with their audience.
Establishing a trusting relationship between two people (the brand owner and the consumer) is much easier than between a business and the consumer.
People are always looking for a connection with someone who aligns with their values, views, and interests – a personal brand helps you establish just that.
How Can Personal Branding Contribute To Lead Generation And Client Acquisition?
Personal branding can boost lead generation and client acquisition by attracting the right people and building trust with them. A personal brand will attract warm, inbound leads, which are much easier to turn into paying clients than those that need to be “chased.”
Here are some more details on how personal branding can supercharge lead and client acquisition.
- Creates A Memorable First Impression: A personal brand ensures that people remember who you are after the first interaction.
The content you produce with your personal brand hooks, engages, and resonates with your audience so that, down the line, they know exactly who you are, why they like you, and why your product or service is the only one that makes sense. - Attracts The Right Clientele: A personal brand is similar to a lighthouse in an ocean, signaling to others who you are, what you stand for, and how they can benefit from you.
The audience that resonates with these factors will automatically be drawn to this lighthouse, and you will not have to make any additional effort to find people to market to.
You will already have warm, prequalified leads who want to know what you have to offer and are open to investing in your products and services. - Builds Trust: Before people buy from you, they need to know you, like you, and, most importantly, trust you.
Sharing your journey, wins and losses, and giving people insight into your life while also offering consistent value creates connection, familiarity, trust, and credibility before you ask them to pull out their wallets. - Turns Content Into A Lead Generation Machine: Every post, video, reel, or podcast that showcases your expertise and shares a part of who you are can hook potential subscribers, clients, or buyers.
- Opens Doors For Even More Opportunities: A recognizable personal brand can open doors to partnerships, collaborations with other creators, brand deals, and more, all of which boost your revenue.
All these opportunities then fuel one another, and your personal brand becomes an unstoppable force for lead generation, client acquisition, and additional income streams, which is the ultimate end goal.
How To Create A Strong Personal Brand?
When creating a strong personal brand, your goal is to craft a unique, authentic identity that resonates with your target audience (TA) and delivers value. Your personal brand is your online image of who you are and what you stand for.
Here is a step-by-step guide for you to get started with creating a strong personal brand for yourself:
- Do Your Research: Research the people who are already doing it. Take note of what you like and don’t like about their approach. Notice everything: from the content they post and the topics they mention to camera angles, lighting, body language, background music, and so on.
Research how their audience reacts to their posts. Read the comments and notice how many people have engaged (or not) with their content.
Doing research on different people in different niches can also give you an idea of how you want to position yourself online. Try to learn from their successes and mistakes. - Define Your Identity: Figure out how you’d like to be perceived by others – what you stand for, what you feel comfortable sharing, what you’re great at, and who your content would engage and benefit.
Remember, your personal brand is a combination of your skills, personality, values, business and personal life, and purpose. - Understand Your Audience: Your personal brand needs to resonate with others, specifically your target audience (TA) – that’s the only way it would be beneficial to have one.
Understand what your target audience talks about, what they get inspired by, what their pains and dreams are, and what they are looking for from the people they follow or engage with.
Define what you and your audience have in common. This will help you kickstart your content so that it resonates immediately.
Understanding and speaking your audience’s language automatically makes you relatable. - Tell Your Story: People need something to connect with and relate to. They want to see that you’re human and that your life story is at least somewhat similar to theirs.
Share your journey – your wins, struggles, how you started, what brought you to where you are today, and any other adjacent facts from your life that will help people see similarities between you and themselves.
(Tip: you can either share your real story or you can craft one up but don’t lie too much – because it might become too difficult to keep up with everything you’ve made up…😉) - Deliver Value: Your story should be delivered strategically. While sharing your journey, don’t forget to include things people can learn from. Deliver value, share insights, and include information that would improve their lives.
Free, valuable, and actionable content is how you can build trust and authority – this way, your audience can view you as the expert in your niche and not a sleazy salesman. - Remain Consistent: Craft your story and content in a way that is easy for you to follow. Stick to your original story, your values, and the way you present yourself.
Staying consistent with your story and your values is what will drive your personal brand and keep your audience.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t change, evolve, or try new things. You can, but do so strategically. It has to flow with your story – make your audience believe that the changes are all part of it. - Post On Relevant Platforms: This should be common sense, really. If your audience hangs out on Instagram, post on Instagram. If they prefer discussion-type platforms, Reddit and Discord are your go-tos.
- Stay Authentic And Never Stop Growing: The first bullet point of this section encourages you to research individuals who already have a personal brand. It is important to learn from them but never copy what they’re doing.
Your content can discuss similar topics and follow a similar strategy, but it should ultimately be distinguishably yours. Phrase things in your own words, add your vibe and energy and include topics, stories, props, and other unique aspects.
Side note: I believe having two separate identities online and in real life would be too much unnecessary work and stress, so avoid trying to be perceived as someone you’re not.
Technically, yes, it’s possible to have two separate lives. However, you risk facing problems down the line – lying and deceiving people will catch up to you one way or another.
Maintaining them can get messy for you, your business, and your loved ones.
Instead, save yourself the headache and remain yourself. Show your life and your journey, share your personality, and let people connect with your authentic self.
It’ll be much easier to maintain a balance between your online and offline persona, even if it happens to experience changes throughout time (‘cause every one is bound to change and evolve as we move through this life journey).
Common Mistakes To Avoid In Personal Branding
Having a personal brand can bring many advantages to your info product business; however, when done wrong, your business can suffer and potentially never recover.
So, what are some things that can cost you your reputation and business?
Lack of authenticity, deceiving stories, things that sound too good to be true (because they usually are), focusing on sales vs delivering value, low-quality content, and inconsistency.
Avoiding these pitfalls will ensure that your personal brand remains relevant, engaging, and trustworthy, which will retain your audience, bring in new people, and improve your lead generation and client acquisition and retention.
Closing Remarks
Personal branding is all about shaping how others perceive you. The perfect personal brand is a balanced mix of your journey, personality, values, and expertise.
Think of a personal brand as your online image and reputation. It is what distinguishes you from others in your niche, what builds trust and connection with your audience, and what positions you as an authority in your market.
Personal branding doesn’t just help you promote and sell your info product or service; it sells you as the expert and opens doors for opportunities that can take you and your business to the next level.
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– Steph
