Three Benefits of Personal Branding
Personal branding has nothing to do with the number of followers you have, or your engagement rate, whether you’re featured on Forbes or have a fancy logo.
Someone asked me this:
When I think about creating a business around my strength (creative design and art sculpturing) I always think about how people can actually find me and why would they hire me when there are so many other artists out there? Through my commitments, I can’t really go out to network too much, so I am considering how to create a reputation by only communicating online. I’ve seen many artists put their work and process online, but they are years ahead of me. How can I stand out from the crowd?
Before I start talking about the benefits of personal branding, let me share what I responded.
This was (part of) my answer:
Stop comparing yourself.
It’s natural to look around yourself and compare your journey and your progress with those of others
Stop looking around and putting yourself down by measuring your results on others who have years ahead of you in the game. It’s frustrating and simply, kills your creativity.
Comparison kills creativity.
You are creative at heart, meaning what is in your heart you express through your design and sculpturing. Living over there in your dream world of creative genius is both a wonderland and a chaotic roller coaster dark cave. It's exciting but frightening.
What you are actually asking is - how can you build the brand that speaks for both you and your art without you being at every gallery opening and art event to showcase yourself.
It’s called personal branding.
Does personal branding matter?
To make it short. It does.
Whether you are an artist, a lawyer, or a writer, personal branding is the only way to ensure that your skills, passions, and personality are communicated to potential customers before they even meet or interact with you.
Your personal brand is your reputation. And your reputation is the speechless elevator pitch of your expertise.
Communicating what you’re about, what you believe in, and what you provide to others is key. Without communication, we don’t exist.
You will hear me say this many times, but this is a personal branding mantra you have to engrave in your brain:
People who talk about what they do are more successful than people who are better at what they do but don’t talk about it.
- Sina Port
So yes, personal branding matters. Branding is what will make your competition irrelevant. Branding is what will attract the right opportunities, resources, and people into your life.
Three benefits of personal branding for your career
Especially for freelancers and aspiring entrepreneurs, personal branding is crucial to not only compete but get rid of your competition. What you get wrong about innovation is to think that you should do everything completely differently than everyone else. It’s okay that your offer is not unique. But that’s why you need to build your personal brand because that ensures your uniqueness, no matter the product or service you offer.
Expose your expertise to potential clients
The way you show up online, whether that’s in your “digital home” (your website) or your “digital table” (your social media channels), determines how potential clients view you before they even speak to you.
Without talking about what you do, people won’t notice you and your work.
Personal branding enables you to showcase parts of your work without having to go through the process of calling up or personally offering samples of what you create. The exposure of your expertise and your products speak for you.
By putting your artwork on your website, regularly updating your blog with your work and a story related to its creation, starting a youtube channel and documenting your process, or giving short IG how-to videos on different art designs you are creating for fellow creatives.
Grow your reach organically
Remember a time when you had to ask people to do something for you - the way sales often feels like - awkwardly pushy and in-your-face? Now, don’t get me wrong (selling well actually doesn’t feel like that, but just for the sake of imagination).
That’s the opposite of what personal branding does for you.
Branding feels natural. Or when your sis tells you - cute jacket and you just say - got that from Zara, you should check it out it’s on sale right now!
It feels natural, not pushy. Because you don’t have to go to people, they come to you!
With regular content on your website and engagement and exposure of your craft through social media, people have the chance not only to find you but follow you and contact you directly to collaborate, recommend, hire or buy from you!
Have a mind space of your market
What I mean by mind space is this:
Think about your favorite items of all time. These little things hold a space in your mind, a feeling that you identify with doing it (relaxation, sweetness, refreshment, or a feeling of elegance). It could range from your favorite chocolate to that favorite TV show from your childhood or mall you enjoy visiting. With seeing that sign or that logo. It's a space that the brand occupies in your mind.
Personal branding makes you occupy a space of your target market's mind!
You are THE person to contact when managing project XYZ because all you talk about is your expertise with XYZ for the past five years. You are THE solution for their website design because you are the creative mind that fits their goals.
It’s also something that differentiates you from the others in your field and it’s based on what makes you unique. Think about the energy you have, the way you speak, your experiences, the different strategies with which you approach your work.
Finish the following sentence:
I am THE _________ (your job/title/service) for my markets ___________ (problem/need/desire), because ____________________________(what makes me stand out, the feelings you evoke).
Choose what you want to be known for and then position your personal brand in this mind-space.
Be clear on what you want to be known for and then go all out to communicate that message to your target market.
And never forget:
What your brand reflects is 100% up to you!
But to be truly successful, you have to be you fully. Not 20% of yourself, but clearly and authentically share your craft through your true personality. The balancing of communicating that professionally vs personally is your choice depending on the clientele you aim to connect to. Because being 100% yourself doesn’t mean showing 100% of your life. Personal branding doesn’t equal personal life. It’s about what you want to be known for. And further: What you want to be known for the sake of growing your career or business.
The only way to succeed in personal branding is by being you fully.
Want to know how to start your own Personal Brand? Grab my FREE go PUBLIC framework here.
