How to Build an Authentic and Profitable Personal Brand
You already have a personal brand — no matter if you want it or not.
If you want to make money online but refuse to build a personal brand, you don’t understand what branding in the 21st century is about.
Most people think branding is about colors, logos, fancy websites, and perfectly edited Instagram pictures, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
Believe it or not, you already have a personal brand, even if you’ve never published a single piece of content online.
Just by being born and existing, you have a personal brand because people have opinions about you. According to personalbrand.com, a personal brand is defined as the following:
“A personal brand is a widely-recognized and largely-uniform perception or impression of an individual based on their experience, expertise, competencies, actions and/or achievements within a community, industry, or the marketplace at large.”
Of course, the importance of your personal brand grows by the size of your audience, but even as a student, you had a personal brand because your classmates, friends, and enemies had opinions about you.
Once you understand this basic rule, the question isn’t whether you need a personal brand or not; it’s how to do it in the best possible way.
I’ve spent the first two years as an online entrepreneur wasting my time learning about every existing social network and digital marketing strategy.
I felt overwhelmed and anxious, and I failed because I couldn’t put any of the “strategies” into practice.
I saw picture-perfect Instagram feeds, flawless websites, stunning freebies, and thought that’d be the only way to build a profitable online business.
But I was so wrong.
Today, I’m making over $250,000 in profits per year by running an online business that lights up my heart and allows me to live life on my own terms.
And I’m ignoring all the conventional branding and business advice.
I chose to be authentic, effective, and fast instead of perfect. My Instagram profile is basic, you might find mistakes on each of my landing pages, my designs aren’t created by professionals, and I don’t even have a personal website.
But I don’t need any of those because I chose the path of authenticity and created a solution-oriented business.
My customers happily pay me because they receive the results they desire, not because my website looks cute.
If you want to stand out, succeed, and grow a digital content creation business, your personal brand should be authentic, genuine, and value-driven.
Most people don’t understand that personal branding isn’t about manipulation or self-staging. It’s about attracting people who’ll love to hear from you and work with you. At least that’s what it should be.
Most importantly, personal branding is about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and what you want to achieve and change.
20-year-old me had no idea what she was doing and what kind of business she wanted to build. Neither did she know what kind of value she could bring to the table.
Today, I know exactly why I do what I do, whom I can help, and what the value of my services and products is.
If I could go back in time, I’d reject all the conventional branding advice way earlier and instead focus on value and authenticity.
The money is in the *Why*.
If you’re a content creator or entrepreneur in 2021, the odds are high that your message or product isn’t unique.
Most topics and niches are saturated, and there are more creators than anyone would need. But most people don’t understand that this isn’t necessarily negative.
Decades ago, French author André Gide stated the following:
“Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.“
The harsh truth is, most of your content and ideas won’t be new or unique because other people have probably shared similar information before. But there might be someone waiting to hear that same message from you.
There are thousands of middle-aged white men who teach others how to manage their money and become financially free. But a single mum who’s struggled with anxiety and financial problems for her entire life might not trust the typical financial guru.
She might want to learn from a woman with similar experiences who found her way out.
A lot of people ignore how important context is.
As a creator, you need to know for whom your content is and why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Without passion and context, you’ll either do a bad job or burn out.
There’s no chance you’ll build a sustainable, profitable, and truly valuable content creation business if you don’t know why you’re doing it in the first place.
You don’t need to be unique to build a successful content creation business, but you need to care.
You need to get clear on why, other than for the purpose of making money, your company or brand exists and scream it from the rooftops.
As Simon Sinek famously said:
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. If you talk about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe.”
And trust me, working with people who believe what you believe is wonderful.
Nobody wants to hear how great you are, how many clients you serve, and how much revenue you make.
Focus on how you can create an impact and change the lives of your prospects, not on what you did in the past
Tell us which problem you see in the world and how you’re trying to solve it.
What are your fundamental beliefs? What’s your philosophy? How does your worldview look like?
My fundamental belief is that you can break out of patterns that used to be “normal” for you.
You don’t need to live like your friends or family members. You can be bold, dream big, act fast, and build a life full of freedom, abundance, and choices.
You can create an extraordinary life, even if you start at zero.
That’s what I did and what I’m communicating and teaching. It’s a core message you’ll see in almost all pieces of content I publish.
I know that this message might scare or discourage some people. But I don’t care because I only want to reach and impact those who’re ready for change and feel attracted by my message.
Be so good they can’t ignore you.
Most aspiring creators and entrepreneurs make the same mistake: They spend ridiculous amounts of time on the wrong activities.
They spend days deciding on colors, logos, and fonts, constantly update their website, try to be present on every social network, spend hours designing social media posts, and end up feeling drained or even burnt out.
Don’t get me wrong: there’s no harm in having a proper brand and nice logos.
But if your time and financial resources are limited, there’s a “branding hack” that’ll take you way further than any logo could ever do: Being obsessed with giving genuine value.
If you’re delivering great content that goes beyond the ordinary and truly makes a change in people’s lives, you can ignore most conventional branding tips.
Nobody will pay you for having a great website or a picture-perfect Instagram feed. They’ll pay you for the value you create and the change you can make in their lives.
Most creators complain about changes in algorithms and platforms updates all the time, but they never ask themselves if there’s something they could do better.
Of course, you can’t control algorithms, even if your content is on fire. But if you deliver genuine value, your audience will want to see more of your content and ideas. That’s authentic branding.
In business, we often talk about b2b (business to business) and b2c (business to consumer).
The truth is, h2h (human to human) pays the highest dividends. No matter if you’re talking to your high-school bestie or the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, you’re always talking to a human being with fears, desires, and emotions.
While many parts of our lives are becoming depersonalized, the best you can do as a creator and entrepreneur is building human connections and gaining trust.
The internet is crowded, everyone’s fighting for attention, and we’re all busy.
If you want to stand out and build a sustainable and profitable business based on your ideas and experiences, you need to make sure people trust you and appreciate what you do.
Nobody will ignore you if you’re doing a good job.
“Your personal brand is your reputation. And your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career.”
— Gary Vee
Don’t make these mistakes.
While not knowing what to do can certainly be a problem, what’s even worse is making common mistakes.
And what’s funny is that 99% of aspiring or new creators and entrepreneurs I meet are making the same mistakes.
#1 is trying to be everybody's darling.
Here’s the harsh truth: You can’t get everyone to like you. If everyone would like you, nobody would love you.
“What’s the difference between liking and loving?” you might ask. Here’s my favorite explanation:
“When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily.”
Sure, you don’t want anyone to hate you, but hate becomes inevitable if you have a strong message and a big reach.
Ignore all the naysayers and haters and focus on those who need your help.
The second biggest mistake is inconsistency paired with impatience.
We all want quick results with low effort, but luckily, that’s not how life works.
If “succeeding” were easy, everyone would win. The truth, however, is that it takes time and effort.
You don’t build an audience or income by showing up occasionally.
You wouldn’t expect your boss to pay your salary if you’d only show up every now and then, so why would you expect the same practice to work on the internet?
After spending almost half a decade as a digital entrepreneur, I’ve not seen a single creator who failed because of algorithms or a lack of originality.
If someone fails, it’s because they’re inconsistent, impatient, and entitled.
They believe they deserve to get more eyeballs on their content, but they don’t make a consistent effort. Instead, they complain in Facebook groups and tell everyone how great their content is and that they should be reaching more people and making more money.
Don’t be that person.
Be the one who delivers genuine value, shows up every day, and deserves to be seen.
Last but not least.
Those who fail to build an authentic and profitable personal brand often try to be present everywhere. They have Facebook pages, use Instagram, create a podcast, constantly update their website, and create a profile on every new social media platform that pops up.
All they want to do is staying relevant and up to date, but the truth is they end up feeling frustrated and ineffective.
And most importantly, you can’t be authentic if you’re trying to be present everywhere.
As long as you’re running your business as a one-person show, you should focus on few places and genuine relationships with your audience.
Once you can hire support, you can expand to more platforms and repurpose the content you’ve already produced.
Nobody can beat you at being you.
You don’t have any competition when you’re 100% authentic, living your truth, and sharing a genuinely valuable message,
Many people might have a similar message, but they’re not you, and that’s your superpower.
Embrace the fact that not everyone will resonate with who you are and what you do. Ignore the masses and focus on the few people you can support through your content.
Success in business is way more flexible than most people believe.
Forget “business as usual” and build an empire that allows you to play to your strengths and have fun during the process.
That’s the new way of making a fortune while making an impact.
Interested in building or scaling your online business and creating freedom? Download my 6-Figure Online Business Framework for FREE.
