Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Adjusting your image
• Part 3 of 4: Promote yourself
• Part 4 of 4: Long-term success
• Tips
• Warnings

A "personal brand" is synonymous with your reputation in many ways. It refers to the way people see you as an entrepreneur, or as a representative of an idea, organization or activity. Are you a genius? An expert? Are you reliable? What do you represent? What do you stand for? What ideas and notions come up when people hear your name? If you have a personal brand, people will recognize your name, know what you are working on, what you have to offer and what you are trying to achieve. This article will help you create and improve your own personal brand.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Adjusting your image

1. Don't try to get publicity all the time. Yes, bad publicity also exists. Sometimes bad situations can make you look stronger; but often your reputation will be destroyed. You want people to take you seriously and have a clean reputation. Don't perform risky publicity stunts to get people's attention or do bad things. If something bad does happen, work harder and more actively to rectify the situation. People who overcome bad publicity can because they have a strong foundation of good publicity to start with.
2. Determine your core values. How do you want potential customers and clients to think about you? Because your personal brand is built from the thoughts, words and reactions of other people, it is determined by how you present yourself publicly. You have control over that yourself. You can choose how you want people to see you, and work to convey that image publicly. People are the easiest to identify with important values, so start promoting your core values ​​as soon as possible. Are you the type of person who puts ethics above everything else?
3. Become the best. If you want to sell an expensive watercolors course, you need to be seen as an authority in that field. If you want to work for high-end designers, they will have to see you as a catwalk talent with a professional attitude. Every good brand is about expertise. Nike markets itself as an expert in high-quality, fashionable sportswear. Jeremy Clarkson (of Top Gear) is an automotive expert. Even if you are not looking to market your advice, you should give the impression that you are incredibly good at what you do.
   • Keep learning and keep updating your knowledge, especially if your expertise is related to the online world. The web changes monthly and changes drastically. If you were an "expert" two years ago but have not updated your knowledge, then you are no longer an expert.
4. Market your personality. In fact, personal branding is nothing more than selling someone your personality. You have to think carefully about HOW you behave. You will need to have a recognizable personality so that people quickly feel like they know you personally - even if they've never met you. Your transfer style should be as unique as any other aspect of your personal brand. This does not mean that you have to sit down and think of ways in which you can be as different as possible. If you are not actively imitating anyone, you will stand out.
   • Are you friendly and unusually enthusiastic, like Stephen Colbert? Are you witty and sharp, like Eva Jinek? Are you confident and committed, like Jesse Klaver? Hopefully none of them. At least, not in exactly the same way. You want to be yourself, not someone else.
   EXPERT TIP

   Communicate openly and continuously with people. Embrace this age of social media and allow everyone into your life. Keep a blog or website that is all about you. It doesn't matter if this isn't your first priority, maybe even your second, but it gives people a place where they can build a stronger bond with you.

5. Network constantly. Try to create relationships with as many people as possible. Constantly try to find out what you can do for people, and what other people can do for you. Make a lot of friends, and make sure that those friends are as diverse as possible and are really busy with something. Next time you need an expert or help with a project, you'll know exactly who to call.
   • You really have to do your best to get to know people: learn their real first and last names, and remember details about them. This will change the way people perceive you (as someone who is kind, sincere, and considerate) and leave a good impression on the people you speak to. The people who know you best and who feel strongly connected to you will talk about you to others - this is how your personal brand will become stronger and stronger.
6. Find your allies. Look for people with an audience you would like to speak to, the bobos and the big names. You want to penetrate their closed circle.Comment on what they write, follow them on social media, help them when they ask for help, write a guest blog on their website, etc. Not only will you be able to learn a lot from these types of people, but they are also people who make you a top testimonial when you finally start marketing your product, who can retweet your links to thousands of other followers, and share the best opportunities with you.
   • That said, don't constantly bother them or ask them for favors more often than the other way around. If you are helpful and not bothering, these influential people will remember you. Think of it as a long-term process. You will not become best friends with these influential people in a week. That will take months. Try to use non-intrusive forms of communication. If you want a reply back, don't post your comment below their blog; you have email (and possibly Twitter) for that.
7. Communicate even when you are not communicating. If you only have time to answer a quarter of all the emails you receive, why not put it (with an apology) on your Contact page? The biggest source of negative feelings in these situations is disappointment. Make it clear that you intend to behave in a certain way, but that you are not always able to do so - that way people will have no right to be disappointed.
   • Put an F.A.Q. on your website, where you deal with frequently asked questions and messages.
8. Let people see you. People need to feel like they know you, especially if your online persona is your most important business. In order for them to feel that way, they need to be able to see you. This means that you put photos and, if possible, also videos on your website. Have some nice passport photos and portraits shot for your website. Opt for great action shots, so that people can see what you do best. Take the time to make some YouTube videos to explain what you do and what you are working on. With this you invite yourself into people's personal space.

Part 3 of 4: Promote yourself

1. Make sure you have a website. Everyone has a website these days. If you want to be taken seriously in the business world, a website is essential. Create a website that more or less serves as an extensive resume, showing what you can do and what you have already done. You don't have to be a professional if you want to make a nice website. Create a Tumblr account and point it to a unique URL, or use free website templates from services like Wix.
   • It is wise to post a blog on your website in which you talk about your ideas and the latest developments in your industry. This shows employers that you take your work seriously.
2. Be present and active on social media. Social media play a vital role because they allow people to feel that they really know you. Make sure all your social media accounts show your first and last name. When employees or contractors visit you, those accounts will show - so make sure your posts are relevant and good.
3. Choose a unique business card. Business cards can still be incredibly useful, even in this digital age. But you will need a business card that catches the eye. Choose a professional and unique business card. There are many sites that sell these tickets online, and where you can adjust the tickets yourself. And usually that is not as expensive as you think! Create a business card that no one will forget!
4. Get professional photos. You want people to get a picture of you and feel that they really know you as they peruse your website. There's no point in looking like a faded wannabe with a blurry photo of you on your last vacation (complete with sunglasses and Hawaii shirt).
5. Put a lot of time into what you look like. When we spend a lot of time on how we look, we are propagating two things. First, we promote that we take our professional endeavors seriously. Second, we promote that potential customers are worth doing our best and that it's worth impressing them. Dress appropriately for your industry, wear clothes that fit well and are flattering, keep your skin looking healthy, and have a good haircut.
   • Sometimes this means updating your style a bit, or stepping out of your comfort zone a bit. That's fine! Change is good and will help you start a new chapter in your life. Try to find a way to make this style more "you" and everything will be fine.
6. Have a good biography written. You may need to hire a professional for this. When we write about ourselves, we tend to write about things that are important to us; and not about things that are interesting or valuable to others. It is therefore wise to call in a little help. How your biography reads will depend on the formality of the industry and your personal brand, but a little humor and an ounce of humility will always do the trick.

Part 4 of 4: Long-term success

1. Create your content. A strong personal brand is not going to be of much benefit unless you have valuable output to tie in - great services, a great blog, a great app, great public conversation skills, or whatever. You should spend as much time creating your "stuff" (be it blogs, videos, or art) as you spend making contacts.
2. Bring about change. You must be an active force in your industry. You will have to be innovative and make a significant contribution to your industry at all times; if you don't, your personal brand will bleed to death over time. Find out what your role is, what you do best, or what no one else does, and find ways to steer the industry in a different (and better) direction.
3. Let us hear from you. Take every opportunity to give speeches and present your work. When meeting or discussing with people, take the initiative and speak up. People should be able to see and hear you. You will have to take an active role in the events of your life.
   • Just make sure you ask other people for their opinion and that you appreciate it too. Other people should feel like they are part of your success.
4. Keep your brand up to date. You don't want people to see you as a dated, boring one-day-fly. It doesn't matter how good your content is, if you don't keep renewing yourself, you're going to get old-fashioned and stale. You can't live on one idea forever. Keep adding new layers to what you represent.
5. Look at it in the long run. See your personal brand as an investment: your personal brand has the potential to survive longer than you. While the projects you are working on can be sold or canceled, your personal brand will persist and hopefully add value to any new projects you create. People will continue to follow your brand from project to project if they feel connected to it. When you launch new projects, your personal brand has the potential to ensure that you never have to start from scratch again. If you are considering staying in this industry for the long term, a good personal brand is invaluable.

Tips

• You don't have to be big to be great. There are a lot of so-called "A-List" bloggers and web personalities who have pretty bad personal brands (relative to the amount of followers). This may be because of the way they behave and interact with people outside of their blogs (arrogant) and how they communicate clearly what they stand for (basically just "rip off money from people like you"). There are also people who do not have such a large audience, but do have a personal brand that is bigger than what they have built. Their personal brand is an excellent platform that they can use to make their projects bigger and better.

Warnings

• Never be a hypocrite. Do not do things that do not fit your personal brand, or things that you are not in favor of. Don't post failures in your area of ​​expertise. It is not a problem if you make a mistake with something new, because you are not trying to be an expert in it. That is the difference. If you go wrong with things that you are good at, then you are probably not very good at it. The exception to this rule is when your failure becomes known, regretting all your best efforts. If this happens you can try to explain the matter; if you don't, you will appear misleading. It is better that people hear from you that you have made a mistake than from someone who does not necessarily support you.