Why build a personal brand
A strong personal brand might be the single greatest thing you should be focusing on today.
This letter is for anyone who struggles with building a personal brand. Whether you’ve attempted it in the past without success or are just asking yourself right now “Why do I need a personal brand"?
I came off bold right from the start with a statement like “A strong personal brand might be the single greatest thing you should be focusing on today.”
I meant it!
Are you a creator without a personal brand or maybe you’re a career individual who’s stuck in a job with no room to grow personally or monetarily?
You’ve been struggling for what seems like forever to land a gig, receive a promotion, or get hired for your dream job.
It’s not for a lack of trying.
You grind and grind and grind with all of the same results.
What if I told you that you could increase the surface area of your luck and you could do this by committing to only a couple of hours per week?
When I was in the trades working as a journeyman lineman I loved my job.
It checked all of the boxes for me.
- Heights
- High voltage electricity
- Global travel
- Work outdoors
15 years into it I had to make some decisions for my family and I switched to an office job. For me, it was not enjoyable.
If you love the office environment and that’s your calling, AWESOME! Not my thing for various reasons.
- Limited room to grow
- Always having someone else control your time
- Daily commute sucked
- Can’t control the people you’re surrounded by
- Stuck at one salary with a bonus that was out of your control
I knew that I had to make a change but I didn’t know what to do so I decided to start a podcast and make content for the internet.
I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know what gear I needed, how to record or use the editing software, and I didn’t even have any guests lined up.
I decided to just start anyway.
I gave every spare second I had to build my brand.
It was a personal brand even though I ran it under a different name.
It was essentially just me.
My face, my voice, and my ideas were being shared with the world through the podcast and social media.
I built the podcast and its social media accounts to hundreds of thousands of downloads and thousands of followers.
I built a personal brand and now:
- I had influence.
- I had recognition.
- I had opportunities now, a ton of opportunities.
Read my first letter if you want to hear more about my story. (Start Here: My Story)
All of this is because I decided to make content for the internet.
Fast forward 3 years I sold the podcast and remained the host with a great salary and a job I love to do every day.
This happened because I made content and built a personal brand.
A personal brand can free you of a lot of your problems.
It can bring opportunities to you instead of you having to go to them.
Instead of selling yourself, you start marketing yourself.
That’s the difference.
When you sell, you have to go to everyone else.
When you market, they come to you.
With a strong online presence, you can demonstrate authority in the industry or craft you represent.
People will perceive you as a subject matter expert and they will come to you with opportunities.
You will have an audience and a network at your fingertips.
Think about whether you’re trying to land a better position or get a creator gig, or monetize your knowledge on a topic.
You need an audience to do that.
Over the last few years, I’ve been helping people grow their digital presence by coaching them and guiding them with systems and tools I’ve learned along the way.
Here are 5 pieces of advice to help you overcome some of the problems you may be having with starting your own brand.
These are things that I learned the hard way so I hope you get some value from them and don’t have to go through the struggles that I did.
1. Embrace Vulnerability: Authenticity is powerful. Sharing personal struggles and triumphs can create stronger connections with your audience.
2. Identify Key Themes: Focus on the universal lessons or insights from your story that others can relate to, such as resilience, growth, or transformation.
3. Start Small and Iterate: Begin by sharing small parts of your story and refine your messaging based on audience feedback.
4. Focus on Your Unique Angle: No two stories are the same. Your experiences and perspective make you stand out, so highlight the aspects that are uniquely yours.
5. Position Yourself as the Guide: Frame your story in a way that shows you’ve overcome obstacles and can help others do the same.
Bonus: Celebrate Imperfections: Perfect stories aren’t relatable. Show your humanity and how your imperfections have shaped your journey.
Try these tactics out in your content and let me know how it goes.
If you liked this letter and want to grow your personal brand and online presence keep a lookout for my complete personal branding course coming soon. (ryanwlucas.com)
Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and X for more free value.
That’s all for now. Thanks for your support and we’ll talk to you again in the next one.
Cheers,
Ryan
