5 Tips for Creating a Personal Brand without Selling Out

Everyone has a personal brand. Whether you are a CEO, freelancer, entrepreneur, or artist, you have a personal brand to maintain. Sometimes, trying to develop that brand will seem like shameless self-promotion and you will feel like you’re selling out.

Charismatic businessman doing personal branding online

There are ways to create a personal brand without betraying your values. Here are five tips that will help you do so.

Be Active Online

How you appear and come across to others online significantly affects your personal brand, so it is important to establish an online presence. One of the easiest ways of doing so is by creating social media accounts for your business. Make sure to have consistent information on all your accounts and connect your accounts across all platforms.

However, don’t just rely on your social media presence. Create a site that your customers can check out. Creating a business website gives you full control of how you want your brand to be portrayed online. The more people see you online, the more accessible you will seem to them.

Iron Out Your Narrative

When it comes to creating a personal brand, a lot of things fall out of your control. One thing you do get to control is your own story. Through it, you can connect with your audience, turning them into potential buyers as they learn about your goals, background, and motivations. Your story is a crucial asset when establishing a personal brand. Examine yourself and the path you’ve taken, and find the parts that you think are important for others to hear.

Storytelling to client
photo credit: Kennisland / Flickr

Tell Your Story through Content

Now that you have your story ironed out, start producing content that reflects it. Write about ideas, discoveries and experiences that can be valuable to your readers and your personal brand.

This doesn’t always have to be done through writing. You can reach others through a vlog, podcasts, social media, or visual imagery. If you consistently put out content that your target market cares about, their attention will be focused on you.

Join the Right Communities

Join community

There are bound to be people with the same passion as you. Connecting with them will not only make them aware of your brand, it also gives you an opportunity to learn from them as well. Seeking out the right communities is essential to your growth. It should be your aim to contribute value to these communities, and not just be there for self-promotion. Learn from others and let them learn from you, and both you and your brand will continue to grow. You can find others through sites like Reddit and Facebook, or you can use platforms like MeetUp to get in touch with people offline.

Lastly, Be Yourself

How stressful would it be to build a brand around someone who isn’t “you.” You would have to say certain things, act a certain way, dress in a certain manner, even though you don’t support it. You should be a reflection of your brand. Be true to yourself and why you started the brand in the first place. Coming up with a fake persona can be exhausting as you have to shape and mold what you do to an idea of something that isn’t even you.