Personal brand shows your expertise, values, and personality. It gives you an advantage over traditional sales and marketing. When someone wants to use your service or buy something from you, they want to know who you are and why you’re the right person to help them. If people like and trust you, they’re much more likely to do business with you.
A personal brand is your biggest long-term asset in today’s digital world. It makes everything easier and more effective.
When you establish credibility, people start to see you as an expert. You build an audience that trusts you and wants to hear what you have to say.
A personal brand becomes an effective marketing channel you own. You don’t need to pay for ads or rely on someone else’s platform. It’s yours, and you can use it whenever you want.
At the end of the day, marketing is all about getting attention. If you already have an audience of 10,000, 100,000, or even a million people, you have something powerful you can leverage for any business you start.
That audience becomes an asset you can use to promote your services or start new projects whenever you want.
So, let’s look at how to build a personal brand that attracts the right audience, positions you as an authority, and opens doors to new opportunities.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Personal Brand?
- Why Is It Important to Build a Personal Brand?
- How Building a Personal Brand Can Benefit You
- What Kind of Personal Brand Do You Want to Create?
- What to Start With to Build a Personal Brand Online
- Use Your Achievements to Build a Strong Personal Brand
- How to Know When You’ve Built Your Personal Brand
What Is a Personal Brand?
A personal brand is the way you present yourself online and offline. It’s the combination of your skills, values, personality, and the story you share that makes you stand out from others.
Think of it as your reputation or how people remember you. Your personal brand shows what you’re known for. It’s what makes people choose you over someone else.
To build a strong personal brand, you need to be clear and consistent about who you are and what you stand for, so people can trust and connect with you.
Why Is It Important to Build a Personal Brand?
Building a personal brand is important because it helps you stand out and attract better opportunities like high-paying clients, partnerships, public speaking gigs, and more. People who are known for their expertise often become thought leaders in their niche and make an impact by sharing their experience.
Also, if someone wants to learn more about you, they’ll simply Google you. What they find often becomes their first impression of you.
When you build a personal brand online, you can often manage how to position yourself so that people will see you as an authority they can trust and want to work with.
How Building a Personal Brand Can Benefit You
Building a personal brand helps you highlight what makes you unique and valuable. Here are some opportunities people gain when they build a personal brand:
- Attract more clients or get a better job
- Become #1 in your market
- Gain recognition in your industry
- Increase your revenue
- Become a thought leader or influencer in your field
- Build greater credibility
- And more
Building a personal brand opens many doors, but to make the most of it, you first need to get clear on your direction.
What Kind of Personal Brand Do You Want to Create?
Before you start creating your brand, ask yourself some important questions to define what you truly want to achieve and who you want to connect with:
- What brand do I want to build?
- Why do I want to build it?
- Who is the most important audience I want to reach?
- What do I want to be known for?
Try to choose a specific niche where you want to be known. Kevan Lee suggests asking yourself:
- What is the one thing people say you’re really good at?
- What are your passions and interests?
- What do you read about most online?
- Will you still be interested in this area six months or a year from now?
At the end of this exercise, pick one to three areas to focus on for your personal brand.
Kevan Lee found that though he had many interests, these questions helped him focus on writing tips and resources – his true passion.
“When I first started thinking about personal branding, I had a lot of varied interests—writing, social media, email marketing, magazines, journalism, sports, productivity. These questions helped me realize that my natural tendency was toward writing tips and resources. I’ve since narrowed my focus there, thanks to the help of these questions.” – Kevan Lee
Once you have defined what you want to be known for, you can start being strategic in building your personal brand so you can become an expert or thought leader in your industry.
What to Start With to Build a Personal Brand Online
An online personal brand is how you present yourself on the internet. It includes the stories you share, the content you create, and how you interact with others. It’s the digital version of who you are and what you stand for.
To build a strong online brand, start by choosing the platforms you’ll use to share your message.
It’s tempting to try to be everywhere at once. You want to be on every social media channel, blog, podcast, and more. However, that often leads to spreading yourself too thin.
Instead, pick a few platforms where your target audience spends their time and concentrate your efforts there.
Here’s what to prepare to build a personal brand:
Why you?
Create a short elevator pitch about yourself. You can use it to introduce yourself and as a BIO on all your profiles across different platforms.
Write down your “Only I…”
A powerful way to define your personal brand is to ask yourself: What is the one thing only I can do? Then, complete the sentence: “Only I…”
This simple exercise helps you focus on what makes you truly unique. It’s about identifying the one thing you do differently or more effectively than others.
For example, you might say:
“Only I can take complex ideas and turn them into stories people remember.”
Or
“Only I combine strategy and creativity to help brands stand out.”
When you get clear on that one thing, you create a strong foundation for your brand. Everything you share (your content, your tone, your projects) can reflect this core idea. This is how people start to recognize and remember you.
If you don’t know what sets you apart, you don’t really have a personal brand. You have to stand for something to stand out.
100 words about you that reflect your personal brand
Write key points about who you are and what you do. This is your bio that can be helpful for journalists if you give interviews, publish articles, or do guest posts.
Include what you do, your major achievements, and top publications. You can adjust it by adding or removing parts as needed. The key is to show people that you are a credible expert they want to listen to.
You can also use this on your website’s “About” page.
Resume
If you work for someone, a good resume is part of your personal brand.
If you are an entrepreneur, you can showcase major milestones in your business to highlight your growth.
Online profiles
To build your online personal brand, you need a website and social media accounts. Get a website with your name and create accounts with the same name on major platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and others.
You don’t have to use all of them right away, but reserve them before someone else does. You might use them later, and this protects your brand name.
Once you have your accounts, fill out your profile information. You can use the details from the “100 words about” section to write a short bio for your social media profiles that highlights what you do.
Professional photo
Your profile photos on your website and social media should show your professionalism. An iPhone selfie doesn’t count.
Get a professional headshot that will be your recognizable face across all platforms. You can even have it taken with a background in your brand’s colors or wear clothes that match your brand’s colors.
Testimonials and recommendations
Instead of only talking about yourself, share what others say about you. Ask clients, partners, or mentors for testimonials and recommendations. Be ready to give recommendations too. It helps build relationships.
Case studies and examples of your work
Show your portfolio and projects. When you write case studies, try to tell a story that explains the problem, how you solved it, and the results you achieved.
It’s even better if you include a testimonial to show what others think about your work.
Articles and publications
Writing about your topic for popular magazines or websites boosts your credibility. Use both online and offline publications to build trust.
Printed publications are still valuable and can reach audiences outside social media.
However, if you build your personal brand online, focus more on internet publications. They are easier to access and will help you grow your authority faster.
Look for magazines and sites that accept guest posts. Write articles, comment on others’ posts, and give interviews.
Use Your Achievements to Build a Strong Personal Brand
Your achievements are proof of your skills, dedication, and impact. They help you build your personal brand faster and position you as a thought leader in your industry.
When you showcase them the right way, they become powerful tools for building trust and credibility.
Here are the achievements that will help your personal brand stand out:
Showcase Your Projects
What you have worked on is a big part of your brand. Your projects are your portfolio. They show your skills in action.
Make people talk about your projects by organizing events, publishing articles, or launching a podcast. All of these efforts help draw attention to you.
These can be client projects or personal ones you’ve created to showcase your expertise.
All of these bring attention to you. Those can be projects that you worked on with your clients or your personal projects.
Here are some creative ways to use personal projects to build your brand and even start attracting high-paying clients:
- How to Get to Know Your Target Audience Better and Establish Credibility with It
- How to Become One of the World’s Leading Experts by Interviewing People
Write a Book
Write an ebook or printed book. You can sell your ebook or offer it for free in exchange for email sign-ups. Your book should give real value, making it a strong part of your brand, not just another book online.
Tim Ferriss shares a useful guide called How to Write a Bestselling Book This Year.
Jeff Goins wrote about his experience launching his book The Art of Work: What I Learned from Launching My First Best Seller
Get certificates and awards
Certificates and awards show that you are an expert in your field. They also increase your credibility and boost your social media presence.
Get certificates by completing courses or training programs. Both paper and digital certificates are valuable.
Look for opportunities to get awards and earn recognition in your industry. This could include awards from competitions, community honors, or acknowledgments connected to your projects.
Certificates and awards from respected, well-known organizations add even more value to your personal brand. Display them on your website and LinkedIn. Mention them when you want to make a good impression.
Become a top-rated expert
Getting featured on industry lists is a great way to gain extra exposure. But the best win is to become top-rated. It gives you a strong advantage over your competitors.
Look for Top 10, 50, or 100 lists in your niche. Here are a few examples of lists you can get featured on:
Become a public speaker
Public speaking is one of the most powerful ways to build your personal brand. Speaking opportunities help you reach new audiences and build credibility quickly. They allow you to showcase your expertise, tell your story, and connect with people on a personal level.
When people see you on stage (or on screen), they remember you not just for what you know, but for how you made them feel.
Being a speaker also opens doors to other opportunities: media interviews, collaborations, guest writing, and more. It’s a clear sign that you’re confident in your message and committed to your mission.
Speak at:
- Conferences
- Special events
- Forums
- Webinars
- Podcasts
- TV
If you’re just starting out, look for local meetups, online events, or industry panels.
If you’re already an experienced speaker, look for bigger events in your field or even apply to become a TEDx or TED speaker.
Here are some resources that will help you use public speaking to build your personal brand:
- How to Become a TEDx Speaker: The Ultimate Guide
- Everything You Need to Get to Public Speaking to Build Your Brand
- How to Start a Speaking Business
How to Know When You’ve Built Your Personal Brand
First, you build your brand; then your brand works for you. There’s always room to improve or expand. But keep coming back to your original questions: “What kind of personal brand do you want to create?” and “What do you want to be known for?”
You’ll notice your personal brand is growing when your achievements start to align with your brand goals.
Signs you’ve succeeded:
- People mention you as an expert
- People write about you and your business.
- You win awards and top ratings
- You make more money
- You have many followers, readers, and subscribers
- You feel it yourself
Keep sharing your vision and passion through social media. Connect with people who share your interests. Collaborate with influencers and grow your community.
As Guy Kawasaki said:
Focus on social media, not advertising. Many companies waste away millions of dollars trying to establish brands with advertising. Too much money is worse than too little because when you have a lot of money, you spend a lot of money on stupid things like Super Bowl commercials.
Brands are built on what people are saying about you on social media, not what you’re saying about yourself. People say good things about you when (a) you have a great product and (b) you get people to spread the word about it. – Guy Kawasaki
Building your personal brand takes time and effort. It’s not just what you say about yourself, but what others feel and say about you.
It’s based on what they hear from friends, what they find online, the content you create, how you interact, and the ideas you promote.
If you want to be an expert in your niche, post and share mostly about your topic. Your social media actions shape your brand, so be clear about the brand you want and create a strong vision for it.
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