How to Create a Killer Personal Brand

Imagine you’re standing in a warehouse packed with other freelancers in your industry. You’re all calling out your own name, trying to get attention from potential clients. As you yell and yell, your voice becomes lost in the roar. How do you stand out in a situation like this? 

You build a personal brand. The Internet is that warehouse, and all the other LinkedIn profiles and mediocre websites are the other freelancers yelling over you. With a personal brand, you can stand out from other freelancers while reaching a larger audience and building a solid reputation for yourself. 

Why Build A Personal Brand? 

Building a personal brand is paramount to give your audience an idea of who you are, your personality, and your skills. 

A convincing and original personal brand will separate you from competitors and will make potential clients and customers feel like they already know you. 

A Digital Home: Your Website

Having an excellent personal brand doesn’t just mean posting content in random places. You need a strategy, useful tools, and an appropriate platform. 

Building a website is a great first step. You’ll be easily discoverable on Google, especially if you use SEO well. It also provides potential clients with a place to learn who you are, what services you offer, and contact you if they are interested in working with you. 

Looks Matter: Your Aesthetic

To ensure that you are distinguishable from others in your industry, create a memorable logo. Keep it simple and direct so that customers can instantly understand who or what to expect. 

Keep your aesthetic consistent across all platforms, content, and communication you publish. This aesthetic is how you will develop a sense of familiarity with new and returning clients. 

Choose brand colors that make sense with the industry you are working in and your work ethos. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, favor pastel colors rather than dark tones.

Pick a Medium

In the space of twenty years, we’ve transitioned from forums like MySpace and MSN to 360-degree platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, where you can do anything from sharing content to finding customers and promoting your personal brand. 

Pick a few platforms that best show off your skills and talents, rather than trying to be everywhere at the same time. This saves you from putting out mediocre or unclear content as a result. 

Instagram is a highly visual platform, where beautifully crafted grids with aesthetically consistent photos and artwork will surely stand out. 

If pictures and visual art are not your strong suits, but you’d rather lose yourself in the intricacies of language, a blog is an excellent platform to showcase your writing. 

While we can’t all be rich and famous vloggers, YouTube remains one of the best platforms to showcase your video and editing skills. If done well, video is by far the most immediate, engaging, and entertaining type of content.

Provide Value

It would be useless to have a killer personal brand and amazing communication if you were directing it to the wrong people. Be clear about who your target audience is and keep them in mind at all times. 

Make sure you consistently create valuable content for your audience. With anything you create, do, or share, ask yourself the question, “How will this help, benefit, or improve my audience’s life?” 

Useful content communicated clearly, and to the right people will position you as a trusted expert in your industry, helping your personal brand to outshine your competitors. 

While it’s not at all easy, especially in the beginning, crafting an original, consistent, and engaging personal brand will definitely increase your audience’s engagement, make you more trustworthy, and help you stand out among the multitude of brands out there. 

It’s always a good idea to have a second set of eyes look over your strategy for a personal brand. Connect with fellow freelancers and digital nomads at Nomads Embassy for valuable feedback and support.