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.
5 reasons to build a personal brand
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Hey Reader, Have you been considering building a personal brand but never seem to get around to it? Part of the reason may just be that it feels like too much work. But it may also be because you:
If you recognize some of these thoughts, you’re not alone. My goal with today’s issue is to inspire you to start. Here are 5 reasons you should build a personal brand: 1. Increase your influenceA strong personal brand can help you increase your influence and become an authority in your space. You have a unique story, and sharing your journey and perspective through different forms of media (written, audio, and video) will make you memorable. A personal brand is a bit more intentional than a reputation. Reputation forms naturally based on what people think of you—though what people think may or may not align with the personal brand you want. Crafting a personal brand is something you intentionally control. You can shape how you want to present yourself to the world and how you want people to remember you. 2. Create opportunitiesWouldn’t it be nice if, instead of chasing down podcasting and speaking opportunities, people came to you? When you have a strong personal brand, this is exactly what happens. Imagine waking up every morning to new opportunities. Instead of begging for others to choose you, your job is now deciding which opportunities to say yes to. In fact, you have so many, you mostly say no. Eventually, you hire an assistant to do so for you. When you walk into a room, the group may be strangers to you, but you’re no stranger to them. You open your mouth, and people start taking notes. Everyone wants to work with you because they feel like they know you. 3. Gain a competitive advantagePeople don’t follow companies, they follow people. When what you offer is similar to a competitor’s offering, people will choose to do business with you because of who you are. All things equal, they will hire you to solve their problem because they know you. People make buying decisions emotionally and justify them after the fact with logic. They will choose your company because of the personal connection they have with you. They believe in your mission because they connect with your story and the journey you’ve shared over the years. This is why founder-led growth is so powerful. 4. Find people who’ll promote youWhat if every time you published a new video, article, or podcast, you knew you had a dozen people who would share it? What if any time you had an idea for a new business venture, you know that if you posted about it, you’d have people lining up to partner with you and make it a reality within the hour? Imagine anyone you want to meet being a single connection point away from someone you know. There isn’t a person you want to meet that someone in your network couldn’t introduce you to. You have collaborators, partners, and people cross-promoting you without asking for anything in return. This is the power a personal brand affords you. 5. Connect deeply with an audienceA personal brand doesn’t have to be an overly complicated thing. It can be as simple as:
When you do these things, you will build an audience of people who will follow you from one thing to the next. Even if your current venture fails, most people in your audience will follow you to the next thing because they’re interested in you. They’ve bought into your story and they want to see what happens next. An audience is one of the most powerful forms of leverage you can have. It’s the key to getting everything you want in life. An audience of true fans is also a strong insurance policy against ever going broke. Personal Brand FoundryYou’re an expert in your industry but not a regular content creator. You know you could be leveraging your personal brand, but even though you say you want to take it seriously, deep down you know you’re never getting around to it. At least, you haven’t so far. Years have passed since you initially had the idea, and in that time, you’ve watched your peers build their audiences while you’ve stayed in the same place. You’re tired of not making progress. You know if you only started, the results would compound over time. But it’s just too much to think about. You wish you could outsource it all. Only, how can you outsource the building of your personal brand when your personal brand naturally involves… you? Ideally, there was a team that could handle all of this for you. Not some course that teaches you how to do it yourself—you already know that’s never going to happen— but an event you could attend that turns your minimal input into maximal output. If only you could sit down with an expert interviewer who thoughtfully asks the right questions and turns your answers into all kinds of different assets (written, audio, and video) that you could post for months to come. Something like a two-day event that yields half a year of content. I have good news: This is exactly what I’m hosting with the Personal Brand Foundry. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, click the link below for more information: PODCAST$1M Guide: How I’m Scaling a Content Business to 7 Figures in 2025In this episode, I coach Paula Pant, founder of Afford Anything, on actionable strategies to grow her business to $1 million by the end of 2025. Paula opens up about the significant challenges she’s faced, including a $600k+ drop in revenue since 2020. We work together to craft a blueprint for overcoming these obstacles. We cover:
Watch or listen to episode » CONVERTKIT (SOON TO BE KIT) FEATUREControl the duration of your subject line A/B testsA/B test your subject lines with new flexible durations directly in your Broadcast Email Editor. Choose from 30 to 240 minutes in 30-minute increments to find out which subject line resonates best with your readers. This new feature gives you:
Try it out the next time you write your newsletter! If you’re looking for inspiration on subject lines to test, check out: 10 styles of email subject lines the pros use » VIDEOThe Matt Rife Interview: Netflix's $25M ComedianComedian Matt Rife makes an appearance on Jon Youshaei’s podcast to talk about how he made $25 million, how Dave Chapelle saved him $700,000, crowdfunding his first stand up special, and more. It’s been fascinating watching Matt blow up in the way that he has. I also just love watching John, because he's such a detailed interviewer. It’s clear he does a tremendous amount of research beforehand—and his production quality is always top notch. Have a great week! —Nathan P.S. There's only 10 spots total in the Personal Brand Foundry, so if you're interested you should apply right away. |
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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