- You don’t need to be great to start, but you need to start to be great
- Remember: everyone has personal brand. It’s just your reputation.
- Your personal brand isn’t about being selfish… it’s about having security.
- Figure out what you want to be known for. This goes beyond your current job.
- Don’t hesitate to bring your whole self to whatever platform you create content on. Show up as the real you (it makes it more fun).
- What do you stand for? Figure out 2-3 hills you would die on (within your niche). Focus on that you passionate about, and that you enjoy talking about.
- The best content creators know how to say the same things in a 100 different ways
- Do unscalable things at the start – respond to DMs, respond to comments, respond to emails, go on podcasts. Get yourself out there, and don’t shy away.
- Document your ideas. The more you document, the more ideas and content you have captured. You’ll never run out of material if you make it a habit to document, screenshot, and record.
- Come up with 3-4 content pillars. You can stray from these, but this is the core of what you talk about. That align with the hills you would die on. Mine are: How to grow on social media, The importance of Media for B2B, and The importance of hyping up other marketers.
- Consistency beats brilliance, when brilliance isn’t consistent.
- Play the long game because most people won’t. You’ll outlast them. There’s power in patience.
- Reverse engineer what the best do. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just innovate upon it. Study and perfect your craft (because we can always grow and get better).
- Nobody can be you. So learn what the best do, but don’t copy them because then you lose your competitive advantage.
- Pick a channel where your audience hangs out. Dominate 1 channel at a time. Don’t be average on a bunch of channels. (LinkedIn is my favorite because of the organic reach (I’ve been posting daily on LinkedIn since 2019, and I’ve started to now focus on Twitter as well.)
- Active listening:
- Read comments
- Read comments on posts that other people in your niche posted
- Read DMs
- Read email responses
- This will help you write content that people actually want to hear.
- Tell your story because nobody else can.
- Personal branding is all about helping. Not selling.
- Invest in a professional, current head shot. It does wonders.
- Don’t bring others down to bring yourself up. That’s selfish and messed up.
- Give yourself milestones to hit that motivate you. Keep score, and get your head in the game.
- Your day job is not your personal brand. It’s 2 different things.
- Be upfront with your boss (if you work at a company so it’s not a surprise to them that you’re posting online – that said, you should work somewhere that you are supported if possible – don’t settle.)
How to make a great Instagram profile picture
We all know how important first impressions are. Your Instagram profile is no different! Regardless of how a new follower finds your account, your profile picture sends a message about your brand, your personality, and your values.Sure, if you’re posting for a large corporation, your profile picture will likely be