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Howdy,
Happy Friday. Every week, I show up in crowded inboxes with insights on living a fulfilling creative life.
This week, I'm talking about 2 words that many are sick of by now... PeRsOnAl BrAnDiNg.
If this is your first time reading, you're welcome or I'm sorry -- Sign up here if you'll put up with this in your inbox every Friday :)
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What You're Getting Wrong About Personal Branding
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Everybody has a different reaction to the words "personal branding".
Some think it's icky.
Other may just think it's tacky.
I do too. But honestly, that reaction is more about the dialogue around it and how it's a buzzword used by creators focused exclusively on growth and profits.
Whether you like it or not, everyone has a 'personal brand'. Especially if you're going out of your way to share your art, writing, or thoughts with the world.
Elements of our work stand out and become recognizable to those who know us. These are 'brand' elements that contribute to your work becoming familiar.
And it's not just an online phenomenon.
Anybody have a friend with a weird laugh?
A co-worker with clunky shoes in the office?
A kid with a joke that they love to repeat?
These are all elements of who they are that become immediately recognizable over time.
But when it comes to "content creators" and the online game, many us have personal branding all wrong.
It's Not About Who You Want To Be
Too much personal branding advice focuses on what we want to be instead of embracing who we already are.
Personal branding works best when you bring your full self to it. If you're just following other people's personal branding advice, you're forgetting the "personal" part of it.
You don't need to be entirely unique.
You don't need years and years of experience.
You need to be yourself, unapolegetically and completely.
That doesn't mean putting your entire private life on display (That's way too far, and typically unfair to the family and friends around you!)
It means not pretending to be more than you are. Show up to your work as your complete self, and you'll grow into more than you ever imagined you could be.
Who Does This Well?
Here's 4 examples of creators who I see doing this extremely well.
Not so you can use their tactics, but to see how personal they make all of their work.
(Hint: None of them talk about their "personal brand". They brand their work by creating WITH their personality.)
Christine Trac
Follow Christine on Twitter
No matter what she Tweets, there's engagement guaranteed.
She's not playing status games, or following every best practice. She's showing up as herself, treating people well, and being entertaining. People LOVE her for it.
It's not Christine deciding to make that her brand, it's just her.
John & Hank Green
Subscribe to the Vlogbrothers on YouTube
The Vlogbrothers, Hank & John Green, are my favourite creators on the internet.
They started on YouTube in 2008, and since then have parlayed their success into several endeavors in publishing, education, and commerce.
They both found they had enough, and so for the last several years every single project they launch is directly supporting charity with 100% of their profits.
They don't play status games with their work. They use their work to improve the status of others.
Justin Moore
Follow Justin on Twitter
Justin Moore is a sponsorship coach for influencers and creators. And he operates with unmatched energy. It's good vibes only whenever Justin is on-screen.
He shows up as himself every single time. High energy, bad jokes, and an obvious passion for what he's working on.
He has made a ginormous difference in the lives of many creators who have been able to transform their sponsorship income into a sustainable business.
Maria Popova
Read Maria Popova's Blog
Maria Popova is the creator and writer of The Marginalia (it used to be Brain Pickings).
I’ve always been impressed, intimidated and jealous of her writing. She has been astonishingly prolific and has never compromised the quality of her insights for the sake of growth or appeasing to a wider audience.
She’s not recapping books.
She doesn’t share the ‘top 3 learnings’ from an author.
She simply reads beautiful works of writing and is naturally and authentically inquisitive about it. Resulting in some of the most insightful reading on the internet (And some of the most popular).
The Truth About Trust
If you want your work to be trusted and recognized as YOUR work, you have to put yourself into it.
You don't have to hyper-optimize a personal brand and fabricate your presentation.
Building trust with an audience means trusting yourself to be enough. The more you try to perfect your 'brand', the higher your chances of being branded as inauthentic.
~ Anthony
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Stick these to your monitor. They're worth checking out.
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Bonus: Soundtrack for writing this week's newsletter was the new single from Hozier on repeat: Swan Upon Leda
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Enough InTake. Time to Create.
Use what you learned here, and go create something spectacular.
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