The Undeniability of Personal Branding

The sheer importance of Personal Branding in Business

Here's the thing about personal branding: It's not optional. Through the introduction of the creator economy we will forget the old-school, flashy internet tricks.

— It's about being real, doing real work, and showing who you are.

The creator economy is the digital marketplace where individuals leverage their unique skills, interests, and content to build personal brands, engage with a global audience, and monetize their creativity directly.

And you are participating as a consumer in this industry if you are following at least 1 creator on a platform like instagram/tiktok

Here are some facts about the creator economy:

General Creator Economy Statistics

• The estimated worth of the creator economy is $104.2 billion.
• The creator economy market size is expected to double by 2027.
• The creator economy has 207 million content creators worldwide.
• The industry has 200 million active content creators.
• The creator economy has over 2 million expert content creators.
• Shopify is a leading company supporting the creator economy, with an annual revenue of $5.2 billion.

from: 2024’s Creator Economy Statistics That Will Blow You Away

These are some numbers, right?

And if you would apply the 80/20 Pareto principle, you would guess that the dichotomy of consumers vs creators on the internet is roughly like so.

But no.

it’s roughly 1% on the internet that are creators. The consumers are 99%

Read more about it here: Participation Inequality

So it’s a hard reach and a long way to go to say that everyone should have a personal brand and be a creator. But you don’t have to be a creator to have a personal Brand.

Your personal brand is like your foxtail in the digital world. It follows you around, whether you like it or not. It's about making sure when people see that foxtail, they get the right idea.

And if you really want to know the true power of having a personal brand, watch this video by my beloved mentor Chris Do: How To Succeed As A Personal Brand In 2024 (Why Others Fail)

The thing is, you leverage your services with your representation. — if you are a webdesigner, of course you should have a nice website for self promotion

You don’t have to shoot Youtube videos about how to do it, but that would leverage your skills even more.

You can also just be a service provider — a freelancer.

You are Falling Short if You don’t get this Right

The sheer importance of intentional personal branding in a world where you're constantly being evaluated, both online and offline.

Let's get one thing straight: whether you shout it from the rooftops or whisper it in the shadows, you've got a personal brand.

You can be passed over for a promotion, not for lack of skill or hard work, but because, in the eyes of those calling the shots, you are practically a ghost.

— Nobody knows about you.

Then there is the guy, not even as good as you, but everybody knows him.

He may have an audience, or just carved out his visual identity.

Maybe he just has a website & you don’t.

People, when they think about him, have a clear picture.

— & he get’s the job, even though you are better.

Here's the deal: in the game of careers with a competitive market, being good just doesn't cut it anymore.

Everyone's good.

What sets you apart is your personal brand — the you that you choose to put out there.

Your reputation is what people think you're about, based on what they see.

Your personal brand? That's the story you want to tell, the values you parade, the colors you choose to paint yourself with.

It's about making yourself seen, but in a way that's true to who you are and where you want to be heading. And in the end you are best off when your reputation and personal branding both match.

Building your personal brand is about getting real with yourself;

• figuring out what gets you out of bed in the morning,
• what skills you're proud to shout about,
• and what dreams you're chasing. — It's about marrying those truths with the image you project outwards.

"Your personal brand is your reputation. And your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career."

— Gary Vaynerchuk

In today's digital age, a personal website can be a game-changer. With most employers sneaking a peek online before making their picks, having your own corner of the internet where you control the narrative can make all the difference.

It is not so much about getting a job. It's about carving out your space in the world, making a mark that's unmistakably you.

Here's the thing: not every place is going to be right for you, and that's okay.

It's better to stick to your guns and wait for a fit that celebrates who you are, rather than twist yourself into knots trying to fit into a mold that's not meant for you.

Been there, done that, and trust me, it's no fun playing a part that's not written for you.

Remember: this is about getting ahead in the game & forging a path that's true to you, about becoming a character that you're proud to play, day in and day out.

Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work on crafting a personal brand that's as authentic and compelling as you are.

Articulation: Defining the Core of Your Personal Brand

I. Define Your Purpose

Identifying your North Star: What direction guides you?

This is about having a clear vision. No worries, you do not have to have figured it all out yet.

I always say it is at least important in which direction you are going, and I love the comparison of the idea of floating in space:

Imagine you are in space. No objects near that pulls you into it’s gravitational force. Now you want to get to this specific star. — Thats your north star You would never know what happens along the journey. You do not even have to know.

But what’s important is the direction which you are going to. If you push yourself a few degrees off goal(the north star), the movement you created towards the goal with be miles apart. Because there is no gravity, you just float towards it endlessly. You missed the north star about 2 degrees,

and that can happen easily. So how can you be precise with this?

Well, you focus on the quality of the north star, not the journey ahead.

The north star is the synthesis of the values that you embody. Write this list down!

I value:

• good, nutricious food
• health
• movement
• being on time
• regenerative practices
• precision
• sophisticated design
• simple solutions for big problems
• sustainability in everything I do (example: how do I workout in a way that I will workout forever?)
• natural remedies & natures way

And if you would put this list together, you can vaguely say that regeneration is my north star. It is because every bulletpoint can fall under that term.

As a personal anecdote: I wanted to work with regenerative farmers, because I know the sheer importance of regenerating our soils.

This is a huge rabbit hole where almost all problems of todays age come together. It could not only be metaphorically, but quite scientifically precisely be the root of most of our challenges that we face as humans.

That was my north star. I want to work for a company that executes regenerative practices. Every other Job opportunity that I got, I declined.

I am not saying you have to torture yourself to be as idealistic as me, I do agree that this hyper fixation also made life harder.

But the more happier I am now. Writing about the topics I already love writing about. No bending, no twisting to fit into a box.

And I got this job because I have Internet presence. My writings are out there, accessable for everyone who shares my values and also for those who don’t.

It’s like a natural filter. Value fit, or no value fit. Instant regocnition.

Saving me tons of energy.

And what made me say yes to this opportunity was that I had my north star in place. You do not have to know it in detail or put it in words precisely.

But your heart knows what it wants and needs — more here: 8 Ways to Fix Your Lack of Courage

And if you are not clear about any general direction;

articulate your worst nightmare!

Writing the antithesis to your dream outcome will help you realise what you actually want a bit more.

From there on, you can start articulating your dream outcome.

If you have a rough picture of your dream outcome, you can also carve out your north star

How does that work? let me give you one example:

I don’t know what I want in life — You don’t have to know

I wouldn’t mind being an employee, but I hate full time! — that’s a good articulation

My biggest nightmare is to work so much that I forget myself — that’s the nightmare

So your nightmare is full time.

Now, your dream outcome means part time.

Your life of choice is dedicated to serving a company or being self employed, it does not matter to you, but it has to be part time.

With this dream outcome, you can carve out your north star now.

You north star is the direction you are going.

Why are you only wanting to work part time?

— articulate the philosophy behind it!

Make the employer see that it makes sense and stay true to yourself.

It could be formulated like:

“I am busy working on personal projects at the same time.

I dedicated myself to be autodidact, I am aquiring all the skills I need to satisfy my soul and grow along. I have quite a few recreational hobbies.

I need a part time job because a secure income on the side while having enough time to work on myself is crucial for the direction I am going in.

If I would have a full time job, I would have no time and creative juices for myself.

If I would just work on myself, I could not learn how to provide a service and could not sustain this gradual succession towards realizing my dreams financially.”

That’s it!

Carving out the why is not complicated but requires you to sit there and actually articulate.

The first time is the hardest.

Afterwards, you will find more and more ways to describe it in different situations (like when you are applying for a job).

Writing out the why behind your north star is crucial and rewarding.

— And the foundation to creating your personal brand.

II. Audit Your Personal Brand Equity

Write down what you have done so far in your resume.

See it as it is. This is your brand equity. The skills you aquired and the experiences you have gone through.

Now, if we take this a step deeper, we go from surface level “job description” to your actual skills. What is the things you get applauded for the most? In what areas are you seen as a “natural”?

Where do you see things, where others can’t see shit?

There is a reason you feel a way about certain topics and skills of yours.

Every human has a unique set of skill stacks

— You are the only human that has this combination of skills on this earth

And these passions, skills, hobbies or insights can be whatever.

• maybe you are a cook, but also like to software engineer.
• maybe you are a farmer, but also an investor
• maybe you know about lifestyle science, but also about product design
• maybe you like the entrepreuniral lifestyle, and you are interested in sewing
• maybe you are an interior designer with a knack about herbal medicine

And these are only combination in pairs.

Imagine that last person would be passionate about doing their style of interior design with elements of herbal medicine, and now incorporating his/her third passion into it.

The third passion is about longevity & functionality in fitness.

— How do you incoporate this?

Well. That person would definitely design some wild fitnessstudios.

In the beginng of her careere, she may not find jobs that fit that specification.

— But that is not important

She has her north star in place. Her intuition knows which next project will lead her to the final realisation of her dreams. The dream of designing a fitness studio with a herbal medicine theme.

Let it spark your imagination from here.

— Now think about it: this unique combination is already our niche.

And if we go by the words of Dan Koe, there is no “finding a niche”

You are the niche!

III. Articulate Your Personal Narrative

Crafting a compelling story about yourself in words that resonate with your audience.

Just write your life out in a few sentences.

Be bold, use the writing style of Ernst Hemingway

— this will help you craft your personal “networking pitch”, so to say.

Here is an example of my personal brand pitch:

I'm Tarkan, and I'm a dedicated copy writer & design freelancer and I am helping brands that values align with every cell in my body.

I do what I do by encouraging self-discovery and personal growth.

I am embody spiritual pragmatism.

I am a fitness & movement fanatic.

I live on an island in the atlantic ocean

I'm here to guide you on that journey with my newsletters.

Over the past 3 years, I've had the privilege of working with diverse industries, from tech startups, lifestyle brands to regenerative farmers, and what truly excites me is how powerful collaboration can be.

Right now I mostly enjoy writing well researched blogposts about health and shooting content for my personal brand.

Let's schedule a meeting and discuss what we can do!

read more about how to craft an personal brand pitch and many other pitches: 11 actually great elevator pitch examples and how to make yours

And coming to the next part, after you got the pitch, you would like to describe your brand as accurately as possible to make the transition into visual identity possible.

Of course, you know that brands have logos, colors, specific fonts and rules that the designers have to create and obide to in order to have a stringent visual & tonal brand represntation.

What does that mean?

It is called your Brand Identity

Example;

If you agree on having a funny & delightful tone,

and dedicated yourself to be a neutral voice, without having strong political opinions about things;

— you can’t just start to rant about Donald Trump in the next post.

Keep your tone. And at best you articulate your tone.

This is specifically more important for brands/businesses rather than personal brands. Because personal brands have more freedom to fluctuate in tone.

As an example, here is the tone described for Kasimirlieselotte.de:

“Warm, inspiring, authentic, collaborative, caring, understanding, passionate, enthusiastic and empathetic.”

I use this prompt for every writing I perform in their blogposts or for the content of their commerce pages.

IV. Construct your Brand Character

This is about collecting a set of words to describe your Brand in adjectives

Can look something like this:

(This interview format will be part of my E-book made to create your own Brand Identity without having to research everything.

— it will be a step by step guide to create your own personal branding within minutes)

This part is also where we transition from the realm of words, linear thought and letters into the part of the subjective, creative process.

Using these words to choose colors, fonts and in the end also design a logo that fits.

But more on that in the next episode!

Conclusion: The True Power of Personal Branding

In this digital era, where every click, like, and share tells a story, not crafting your personal brand is like walking through life without leverage.

Thinking you don’t need it makes life harder than it should be.

You might stumble upon some exciting paths, but chances are you'll miss the destinations that truly align with who you are and where you want to go.

Think of intentional personal branding not as a chore, but as a multiplier, guiding you through the professional cosmos towards opportunities that resonate with your core.

In crafting your personal brand, you're not just setting yourself up for professional success; you're igniting a deeper journey of self-discovery and authenticity.

It's a path that demands honesty, bravery, and sometimes a leap into the unknown. But it's also a path that rewards you with a life lived on your own terms, enriched with purpose and passion.

I urge you to keep refining, evolving, and most importantly, living your brand.

Let it be a reflection of your highest self, a beacon that guides you through your career and life's journey.

Remember, in the grand narrative of your life, you are both the author and the hero. Write a story you'll be proud to tell, one that resonates with the essence of who you are and echoes into the legacy you wish to leave behind.

see you next week!

kiss kiss,

Tarkan