I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
2 types of content to build a memorable personal brand
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Hey [FIRST NAME GOES HERE], How do you stand out and build a memorable personal brand? Something I talk about a lot is the idea of “teaching everything you know”. You don’t have to be an expert to teach. People are seen as experts because they teach. And there’s always someone one step behind you who can learn from where you are. But if all you do is teach and create how-to content, your brand will lack soul and people won’t connect with you as much. A good way to think of the content you create is to separate it into two categories: Teaching and storytelling.
Creating content that solves people’s problems is one of the fastest ways to grow an audience. I recommend that you make “content for search” the majority of what you share. Somewhere between 50–75%. Start by thinking about the problems people have and what they search for. Create content that helps people solve those problems. But for your remaining content, I recommend storytelling. Share your personal experiences. This doesn’t necessarily have to be something like a vlog (although it could be). It might just be a talking head video, podcast, or written newsletter issue. When it comes to connecting with an audience, they’re looking for a human element. If you’re wondering, “What does my personal experience have to do with the topic I focus on?”
You might be focused too much on the tactics and strategy and undervaluing the impact your personal story can have.
People connect with people and they resonate with stories. Stories help humanize you and give those who follow something to relate to. When they hear about your experiences, they will imagine themselves in the scenarios you describe. Sometimes this is precisely what makes them believe something is possible. If you’re someone who tends to prioritize the practical over the emotional, it can be easy to forget that stories can actually make people feel more connected. Something that might help you make the mental shift is realizing that hearing your personal experiences will help people get even more out of your educational content. Here are some of my own examples… Teaching:
Storytelling:
Too often, we think about our product as just a product or our content as exclusively educational. While it’s true that people often buy to accomplish a task or specific goal, the best brands think about experience. The stories you tell can make what you talk about, sell, or what you’re known for feel even more appealing. Additionally, stories spread. A memorable story is going to make someone much more likely to tell a friend about you. Lastly, when it comes to storytelling, I recommend telling stories only you can tell. This is a great defense against not only your competition but also AI generated content. What are the experiences you’ve had that are unique to you? What can you provide uncommon insight on? Teaching what you know is one of the best things you can do, but when you combine it with storytelling, that’s when you truly create a memorable brand. PODCASTHow to Turn Your YouTube Channel Into a $100,000+ BusinessGrowing on YouTube is hard. It’s no wonder 90% of YouTubers fail. My guest today was making random videos, and then she found something that went viral. In this episode, I sit down with Jo Franco, a self-made entrepreneur who transformed her passion for travel and languages into a successful business venture. Jo offers her well-developed strategies for expanding on YouTube, ways to escape the limitations of sponsorships to achieve genuine financial growth, and her effective cold outreach approach. Hear us discuss:
Watch or listen to episode » KIT FEATUREPersonalize emails with Creator Network referral dataThis is a nice, new Kit feature: Personalize emails based on who recommended your subscriber. When a new subscriber comes in via Recommendations, you can now use a liquid tag to mention that referrer by name. You can also display entire sections of exclusive content for subscribers recommended by a specific creator. Now you can customize your welcome sequence to remind people how they got on your list—an effective way to reduce subscriber churn. Learn more about how to set this up » X POSTLessons learned from losing 50lbsI was inspired by this candid post from Brent Beshore where he shares his personal journey of losing weight from 252 lbs to 199 lbs. He shares the lessons he learned from understanding calorie deficits to the importance of lifting heavy and including protein in your diet. He also touches on the importance of mental framing, such as quitting negative self-talk and seeking support from a community. Have a great week! —Nathan P.S. Want to be a guest on my podcast? Apply here » |
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
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