Use Your Personal Brand To Make More Money
Whether selling products or applying for a job, your personal brand is significant in building an impression and gaining people’s trust. Invest in your personal brand, and the money will follow. Let’s find out why!
Whether selling products or applying for a job, your personal brand is significant in building an impression and gaining people’s trust.
Invest in your personal brand, and the money will follow. Let’s find out why shifting your strategy and focusing on your personal brand can help you earn or make money.
Are You Selling Products or Yourself?
If you said “products,” read on to find out why this way of thinking is flawed.
Many people seeking to make money online have spent all their time strategizing how to market products. They find a product from their niche markets, such as frugality, blogging, or fitness. Then, they sell that product as an affiliate marketer on an affiliate site.
And that’s it! The brand is all about the product. It doesn’t have a personality that people connect with or a company that shares the same goals. When you focus on marketing your products alone, there’s nothing remarkable about it. You’re simply selling a product just like other marketers.
This strategy doesn’t lead to big money.
For many online marketers, personal branding goes only as deep as whether they have a high seller rating on Amazon.com. They think all customers care about is whether you package or ship quickly and don’t rip people off.
Even affiliate marketers make this mistake about personal branding. People leave their sites as soon as they click on a link. Potential clients buy the affiliate product elsewhere instead of purchasing the product directly from you.
To make more money, you need to sell yourself first. People need to know who you are or the company behind the product.
Let’s look at how you can make more money by developing an excellent personal brand online and offline.
What Is Personal Branding?
Personal branding is building a brand identity for you or your company. It is selling yourself to the public and taking responsibility for how you present yourself. When you establish your personal brand, you align it with your values and career goals.
Developing a personal brand through an online presence is vital for anyone who wants to take their career or business to great heights.
According to a survey for U.S. recruiters, 75% of HR departments “are required to search job applicants online.” And 95% of recruiters believe the job market will continue to be competitive.
This shows the importance of cultivating a positive online persona. If you’re not noticeable, you’ll be neglected by recruiters.
78% of employers think your online presence needs to be work-appropriate. You might lose your chance of getting hired simply because of your social media profile!
Remember, your online reputation informs people whether or not you’re an expert that can be trusted. This means employers judge you based on what they find online and potential customers are bound to be just as influenced.
How Can You Take Control of Your Public Image?
The internet and social media make it easier for people to learn more about you. Improving your personal brand can give you an edge as a business owner, a subject expert, or a job hunter.
According to a survey by The Harris Poll in 2020, 71% of hiring decision-makers believe that a candidate’s social media profile needs screening during the hiring process.
Position yourself based on how you want others to perceive you. Social media allows you to rebrand yourself as a serious professional, quirky tech-savvy Twitter fiend, an investor passionate about AI trading platforms, or whatever else you think will help you in your job interviews.
Have a Facebook profile that conveys a positive personal brand. It may help you to get a job and allow you to negotiate better pay since you’ve showcased your expertise online.
Furthermore, when you start a company, your personal brand is more than just the “company.” It assigns a “personality” to your company and the products that your company sells.
Personal Branding: Becoming An Expert
At some point, you might want to start a business and be your own boss.
Who decides who an expert is? In business, nobody.
In the science world, it’s people who make important discoveries and lead groundbreaking research (but even they have to market themselves within academia).
In business, you become an expert by sharing your knowledge about a specific niche with the audience who needs it the most. You take the expert/professional title seriously.
If you act like an expert and build a personal brand around a distinct industry, you increase your credibility with people who will encounter your brand. People will trust that you are an expert.
What Is an Example of Personal Branding Done Right?
A lot of digital marketers know Neil Patel. He is a digital marketing expert and entrepreneur who practices what he preaches. His blogs are great resources for digital marketing, SEO, and more. These are some of the things that make him credible.
You’ll see the orange color scheme, smiling face, and bald head are a big part of his branding. He looks confident in every photo, blog post, or brand image you’ll see on his website. Not only does he come across as trustworthy and successful, but he’s also recognizable!
What Does Personal Branding Mean to Your Business?
Now that you know what makes a personal brand great, what’s next?
- First, building your credibility isn’t limited to social media and blogs. Once you have branded yourself an expert, try your best to deliver your promises to your customers. Trust from customers is a huge deal for businesses. If you can’t fulfill your promises, they may doubt your expertise.
- Being an authority in your field helps you find and retain clients. People take what you say about your area of expertise to be true. They also give you chances because they believe in your knowledge about your specific field.
Once you have established yourself as an expert, clients don’t second-guess your decisions. Use this advantage to charge expert rates.
- Personal branding leads to more opportunities. It’s beneficial for starting a business or collaborating with people on projects. When you create good branding, people will remember you and look for you when they need someone with your skills.
- Once you establish a likable and trustworthy personal brand, any product you sell reflects that expert “personality.” The products can be paid podcasts, online courses, services, coaching sessions, eBooks, or digital or physical products.
These are the ways to sell more products, grow your company, and become a lasting brand and money maker.
Final Thoughts
Your personal branding speaks for your skills. It’s a factor for recruiters to hire you and for customers to trust you.
If you want to grow as a person and an expert, you need to show your best to the public. Clean your social media and curate posts online to show your great potential and professionalism.
Try your best to create a memorable personal identity and attract opportunities.