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In just over a year, I’ve seen the incredible opportunities that building a “personal brand” has gifted me.
I’ve been asked to be part of podcasts (like this one and this one), plus a few more that aren’t out yet!
I won a fully sponsored spot at Canyon Ranch’s Beat Burnout Retreat worth $7K+. While I applied, I have no doubt sharing my story and documenting my life/career journey helped contribute to me being selected.
And, I was recently reached out to by a CNBC reporter who was interested in featuring my story (so exciting!).
When I was working my full-time job, I would scroll on social media and see big-time creators “make it”.
But I doubted that I would be able to do it myself. I hadn’t been consistent with posting online before, so I wondered how I could find the discipline and overcome feeling cringe before hitting post.
That’s why this newsletter is dedicated to some of the lessons I’ve learned after posting consistently for over a year.
1. Address the core problem
When I thought about what was stopping me from showing up authentically online, it was the fear of being seen.
While I had figured that this was the case, I didn’t really work on overcoming this fear, which meant a lot of my content in the beginning was safe. And if you don’t address what’s going on underneath the surface, it’s easy to be inconsistent because old stories keep popping up.
Questions to help you overcome your fear of being seen:
When was the first time you felt like you couldn’t share your POV freely? How old were you? What happened?
What did you need in that moment? Maybe it was reassurance or support that your opinion was worth sharing.
How can you give yourself that today?
Who would you be if you didn’t have a fear of being seen?
2. Get into the practice of hitting publish
You won’t know what you want to talk about in the beginning and that’s OK. I believe you just have to get into the practice of posting and then see what resonates.
A new change in your workflow is going to feel hard at first but once you incorporate it into your weekly routine, you’ll get used to it.
How to get into the practice of hitting publish:
Put time on your calendar and stick to it
Schedule your posts, so you forget when they were about to go live and aren’t nervous about hitting the publish button
Find a small group of friends or others with similar goals to keep you accountable
3. Don’t focus on a perfect design
I tend to get lost in perfecting how things look, and I spent a lot of time figuring out which fonts, colors, and vibe I was going for, but I didn’t let a defined brand identity stop me from posting.
My brand look and feel has changed a little over time and one day, I’ll invest in a brand designer to help me revamp my brand identity and a photographer to take professional photos but for now, what I’ve created for myself is doing its job.
How to design a starter personal brand:
Write down the words you want people to describe you with (e.g. approachable, fun, inspiring, etc)
Pick a primary and secondary color and two fonts to start that embody those adjectives
4. More people lurk than you know
Once you start growing your personal brand, there are a lot of “lurkers” who you might have never met with 1:1 that reach out to you because they saw a post that resonated with them.
How to prep your socials for lurkers:
Instagram: Share an “About Me” and “How to work with me” post + update your profile description to share how you help
LinkedIn: Add featured posts to help you collect emails, like a lead magnet or newsletter, and update your About Me to share how you help
Final thoughts
Many of the opportunities I got last Fall was because of the groundwork I laid last Spring. It will take some time, but if you keep at it long enough, I can almost guarantee you’ll see results.
Your turn
What opportunities have you seen from building a personal brand?
P.S. If this newsletter was helpful, I’m hosting my next workshop with Maven next Wednesday, April 8, which is all about building a personal brand as a multi-passionate person. Hope to see you there!
✨ Weekly Feels
I’m living in Mexico City for the month and went to a friend’s wedding this weekend.
For this past year, I’ve invested less in the more material things, like new clothes and getting my hair done.
But for special occasions and since I’m here in CDMX, I’ve been splurging more. I got a blowout for the wedding I went to this weekend. I bought a new dress (still <$100 though)! I found a beautiful necklace that went perfectly with it, too.
And honestly, it felt good! When you work for yourself, it’s easy to neglect yourself and put your business first, but this was a reminder that it feels good to look good sometimes.
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