Personal branding is all about figuring out who you are and how you want to project your image. Use these tips to help identify what you’re really all about.

Consider what makes you different

When determining your niche, you should think about what makes you different from other brands out there.
Identify your primary product

Think about what you have to offer others, whether it’s a service, resource, or special ability.
Find out what your talents are

Consider what your talents are, what you’ve been recognized for and what you’re better at than most people.
Think about how others identify you

Take a look at your brand attributes and confirm that your brand matches what others would say about you.
Do something remarkable

Instead of playing it self and sticking to what you know, do something that’s worthy of taking notice.
Identify your core values

Share what really matters to you in order to identify what your core values are.
Be unique

Don’t feel like you need to copy another person’s brand. Be unique and stand out.
Think about your passions

Identify the things and ideas that you love, and identify your passions.
Ask colleagues and friends to sum up your professional image

Get a true reflection of what you’re all about by asking others to define you.

Creating A Message

Follow these tips to find out how you can share the personal branding message you have created.

Physically make a message

Write a paragraph and tag line that tells your story and emphasizes your specialty and talents.
Share your message

Once you have your message, be sure to actually share it with someone.
Be authentic

Don’t create a message that’s about someone else: be true to yourself.
Control your message

Don’t be too many different things to too many people. Stick to your primary message and focus on that.
Find your target audience

Consider who you really want to be talking to, and use your target audience to define what kind of presence you want to create for your brand.
Know your audience

Think about to whom you’re directing your personal brand, and communicate your messages appropriately.
Be yourself

Let your personality shine through and show the real authentic “you.”
Use the right vocabulary

Communicate with your audience using the right words from the industry so you can show your understanding of what’s going on.

Credibility

Use personal branding to establish yourself as a trusted professional in your industry with the help of these tips.

Be useful

In everything you do, take a moment to consider how you are being useful to others.
Live what you say

Have a trustworthy, transparent, and educated voice to build your credibility.
Be trustworthy

Be careful not to offer anything you can’t provide, and deliver on what you’ve promised.
Believe in your brand

Commit to and invest in the ideas that support your brand.
Create a portfolio of successes

Showcase your past work, get testimonials, and do whatever you can do show off how great you are.
Find and share great content

Create a buzz around your own personal brand by finding great content and sharing them with others.
Create a visual hook

Find a memorable visual hook that people will enjoy and remember you by.
Find out what other leaders are doing right

Find the experts and leaders in your profession, and see what they are doing to promote their brands.
Cultivate a personal style

Select clothing that represents you and makes you stand out from the crowd in an attractive way.
Be a leader

Lead by helping people, and use leadership to grow your influence.
Get featured in the media

Find opportunities to be featured in the media, possibly creating even more opportunities for exposure and credibility.
Show your confidence

Don’t be arrogant, but be sure to project confidence so that others will be comfortable with you.
Contribute to Q&A sections

LinkedIn, eHow, About.com, and lots of forums offer opportunities for sharing your expertise.
Be a speaker

Much more effective than just attending, speaking at events shares the opportunity for showcasing your expertise.
Be consistent

Make sure your resume, LinkedIn, and Facebook are all saying the same thing.
Win awards

First, do work that’s worthy of awards, and be sure to apply for awards in your field. This can bring lots of recognition and credibility to your personal brand.
Take a writing class

The way you write has a major impact on how you are perceived, so take a writing class to make sure you’re getting it right.
Stay on top of trends

Educate yourself and stay on top of newly emerging trends in your industry.
Back everything up with proof

Share objective proof to back up broad statements, using numbers, dates, statistics, and more.
Toot your own horn

Publicize awards, achievements, and anything else that’s remarkable so that people actually know about it.

Efficiency

Keep personal branding from taking over your life with these tips that will help you streamline your efforts.

Interact effectively

Give yourself a time window for interaction so that you don’t spend all day networking and using social media.
Determine where to invest your energy

Building a brand is a major undertaking, and there’s only so much you can do in a day. Think about where you really want to invest your energy in brand building.
Be brief

State your value quickly and in bite sized chunks, or you run the risk of droning on and becoming forgettable.

Online Presence

Maintain an online presence that reflects who you are with the help of these tips.

Own your domain

Register your name or unique URL to project a more professional image.
Have a great website

Your website is still like a virtual lobby, offering a jumping off point for your entire online presence.
Learn about SEO

Search engine optimization might sound a little scary and daunting, but in reality, it’s actually quite easy, as long as you’re creating quality content. Taking the time to do SEO right can make all the difference when making your brand stand out.
Keep your personal and company brand separate

Establish yourself as a person, rather than a company, so that you don’t limit the power of your personal brand. This is especially helpful if you may not be with the company forever.
Be a polite emailer

Check your grammar, etiquette, and writing skills so that you’re communicating like a professional.
Pay attention to your email address

Your email address offers a significant opportunity for building your brand, especially if you use your real name.
Do your best to lock down your name online

Whether you have a common name or an unusual one, put out as much quality content as you can, with your name one it, so that you can better control your online presence.
Find out where you are online

Do a Google search to check in on your online presence to see you you’re doing and if you need to make any changes.
Monitor your online brand

Carefully keep an eye on what is being said about you online, and make corrections as needed.

Networking

Get connected and establish your brand with others by following these tips.

Find relevant people

Seek out the recommendations of colleagues, check out Twitter, and more to find relevant people that you should be connecting with.
Join industry associations

Meet up with people who can help you build your brand and career by joining industry associations.
Be generous with your time

Take time to do charitable work and go beyond the call of duty.
Say yes more often

Accept more invitations and go to more events, finding opportunities and taking advantage of ways to explore and experience.
Have business cards

Even if you don’t have a job, create business cards with your contact information to share with others who want to contact and remember you.
Do your research

Before any networking event, be sure to know who is going and what will be discussed so that you’re well prepared.
Be accessible

Let people know you’re out there, and that they can reach you on a regular basis.
Don’t miss out on events

Attend conferences, seminars, and other events to get out there and shake hands and meet other relevant people.
Ask for testimonials

Ask other people to recommend you for your expertise, and then be sure to publish what they’ve said about you.
Be an active alumni

Make the most of where you went to school by joining the alumni association and taking advantage of networking events.
Show support for others

Be passionate about helping other people when they need it.
Learn how to introduce yourself

Be ready to communicate who you are with others, concisely sharing the answer to “Tell me about yourself.”
Get connected with passionate people

Find other people who live passionately, and get together with them regularly for inspiration.
Take guest blogging opportunities

Extend your reach beyond your immediate network by taking opportunities to guest blog and share your expertise.
Promote others rather than yourself

Instead of spending all your time promoting yourself, take the time to point out what others are doing really well.

Job Hunting

These personal branding tips are especially relevant for job hunters.

Work for free

Your experience is worth its weight in gold, so when it comes to getting a job, any past experience can really pay off, even work you’ve done for free.
Create a value statement

Highlight your values and strengths to get the attention of a hiring manager.
Put your resume online

Add social features, photos, and more to your photo by putting it online.
Quantify your results

Prove your value by showing quantified outcomes.

Social Media

Follow these tips for great ideas in building your personal brand through social media.

Carefully consider which tools you want to use

If you can’t effectively use a social media tool, there’s little point to having it at all. A poorly managed social media presence can be worse than not having one in the first place.
Listen up and stay in the loop

Don’t be one sided: be sure to listen and respond to what others are saying.
Fill out your profile completely

Fill out all of the information fields to promote everything important about yourself.
Go out and find new followers

New followers will find you, but you can build your presence much faster by seeking them out yourself.
Listen first

See what others are saying on social networks, and even set up Google Alerts to listen in on how social networks are working before you get started with them.
Engage and interact

Participate in the back and forth of social media, engaging with others and interacting with content.
Create multiple streams

Be ubiquitous, creating an online presence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more, as many as you can reasonably maintain on a regular basis.
Be adaptable

Social media is constantly changing, so always be ready to adapt to new developments with a consistent approach.
Don’t forget videos

Video projects can pay off in a big way and offer a great way to really showcase your brand.
Manage and optimize your social media systems

When creating your social media accounts, set them up so that they can be automatically updated, pushing to your blog, home page, and more.
Stay interesting

Don’t just set up social media and walk away: keep things interesting by writing, sharing videos, photos, and more.
Curate content like it’s fine art

Think carefully about how you share links, news, and resources, curating your content like a museum director might select works for an exhibit.
Use the same profile photo

Make your online presence easily recognizable by using the same profile photo everywhere.
Use a consistent name, too

Build recognition by using the same name in everything you do online, preferably one that is close to your actual name or profession.
Schedule regular posts

Stay on top of your online presence with scheduled tweets and blog posts, so you always have something new to share.
Think before you Tweet

Be careful not to write anything that’s embarrassing or offensive, or anything you wouldn’t get away with in any other professional setting.
Keep everything PG

Be careful not to post anything you wouldn’t want your grandma (or potential employers) to see.
Point to your social media presence elsewhere

Promote your social media presence everywhere, on your website, blog, and even email.
Bring offline relationships online

Ask your “real life” friends if they are on Twitter or Facebook.
Blog your voice on the web

Blogging is a great way to find natural traffic without too much marketing effort.
Don’t give away too much personal information

Be careful not to over-share information or be inflammatory when building your brand.
Make some accounts private

If you feel the need to share things online that aren’t professionally appropriate, be sure to make those accounts private.

In fact, it’s not for you if:

• Money is so tight you’re living paycheck to paycheck
• You’re not in a position to take a risk – with your business, your career or your “status quo”
• You can’t focus on learning right now
• You’ve got it figured out, and don’t need any help from us

Now don’t get us wrong, we know there are a zillion other good reasons NOT to take steps to increase prices, referrals and visibility.

We just can’t think of many…

Should you change your mind, the link is here.

Until we meet again…

Michelle & Jessica
(The saddest) Co-founders & “She-lebrities” at The Personal Branding Institute

Recently, I was home in Chicago doing strategic marketing work with one of my clients. While there, I joined my grandparents for dinner at a fancy restaurant called “Ivy.” It generally goes without saying that my mom and her father will fight for the bill when we eat out together. But not this time. For the first time in my life, I picked up the tab.

I’ll never forget the look on Granddaddy’s face as I signed the check. His big Texas grin was ear to ear. I could practically hear his heart beating with pride from across the table. It wasn’t about the $267. In my Grandaddy’s eyes, the gesture was purely symbolic: His oldest grandchild had finally “made it” as a businesswoman.

Money, on its own, isn’t worth fighting for. What’s worth fighting for is that look on my Granddaddy’s face when I spent $267 on his Filet Mignon dinner.

It’s the utter shock and gratitude of 20 women farmers in Burkina Fasso when I threw down $120 to buy them a donkey that will increase their crop yield and ultimately help them send several more of their children to school.

It’s the tears in my best friend’s eyes when I bought him the $350 sexy black dream guitar that he couldn’t afford.

It’s the bear hug my daddy gave me when I bought him a $4,500 trip to Mexico.

It’s the adrenaline and pride surging through my own veins when I spent $2,341 on a diamond ring…for MYSELF.

“Making it” isn’t about money. It’s about the pleasure of spending money on all the right things. It’s about following your passions without thinking twice. It’s about creating jobs and paying people what they are worth. It’s about traveling the world to surround yourself with brilliant forward-thinking human beings. It’s about having the resources to fulfill God’s purpose for you on this planet.

My advice to you: Ferociously chase money.  Shamelessly promote your talents. Build your personal brand so you can unabashedly ask for more than you thought you were
worth. Why? Cause you’re a badass. Period.

And I am able to do all of it simply because I’ve developed a strong enough personal brand that attracts business – the RIGHT business – to me on a regular basis.

What are you doing to develop your personal brand? If you’re ready to kickstart your sales, take a look at our Make Them BEG Monthly Membership.

It works. Promise.

Love,

Michelle & Jessica

Recently, I was home in Chicago doing strategic marketing work with one of my clients. While there, I joined my grandparents for dinner at a fancy restaurant called “Ivy.” It generally goes without saying that my mom and her father will fight for the bill when we eat out together. But not this time. For the first time in my life, I picked up the tab.

I’ll never forget the look on Granddaddy’s face as I signed the check. His big Texas grin was ear to ear. I could practically hear his heart beating with pride from across the table. It wasn’t about the $267. In my Grandaddy’s eyes, the gesture was purely symbolic: His oldest grandchild had finally “made it” as a businesswoman.

Click here to read the rest.

Love,

Michelle & Jessica
Co-founders & “She-lebrities” at The Personal Branding Institute

We had intended for it to be about 20 minutes, but we got on a ROLL because the questions were SO GOOD and we wanted to deliver a lot of value. The actual video turned out to be 45 minutes!!

Here you go

Here’s what we cover:

• Where do I start?
• Am I the only one with no clue what to charge for my work?
• Aren’t you afraid people will steal your brand or steal your work?
• What do you think of “perceived value” pricing?
• How do you choose your target audience?
• It takes money to make money. How do you break that cycle?
• If you have multiple interests, is it wise to keep them all?
• What time frame is required to actually create a strong personal brand?
• What’s more important: The business brand or my personal brand?
• What’s the one big thing I can do right now to get a quick win?
• Do you have to be aggressive to make and launch your personal brand?
• How do you do gigs and build your reputation simultaneously?
• Should I ask my mentor to be my partner?
• What is the best source of source of support?
• How do you brand yourself if you work for a firm that you don’t own?
• How do you brand yourself when your work is dry? (i.e. law)
• Is this an ongoing process?

Remember, if you’re ready to JUMPSTART your progress, enroll in The Personal Branding
Institute “Accelerated Learning Program” – we have a risk-free trial offer for 60-days that if you don’t LOVE it, you can cancel and get a refund at any time.

The investment? 2 payments of $47! That’s it. Click here to enroll.

Love,

Michelle & Jessica
Co-founders & “She-lebrities” at The Personal Branding Institute

So now it’s time to tell you how to take it to the next level… if you’re ready.

Click here to continue…

Here’s the replay link

Yes yes, we ARE INDEED awesome.

Michelle & Jessica
Co-founders & “She-lebrities” at The Personal Branding Institute

You got it. Register here to watch “Work & Play, Every Day: How to Build A Lifestyle Business.” (Free, we might add.)

• If “I work too much” or “I’m too busy” or even “I have no life” are phrases that you think or say often, then this webinar was designed with you in mind.
• If you read the 4-Hour Workweek but are still working 60-hour weeks, then this webinar will help you see why.
• If you’re committed to having a better life than you do today, then this webinar will inspire you to do it, and show you how.

Again, here’s that link. Register here

Michelle & Jessica
Co-founders & “She-lebrities” at The Personal Branding Institute

Why? Because the biggest challenge with service-based small businesses is that MONEY is tied to HOURS – which means your TIME is usually the biggest constraint on your earnings.

If you’re barely breaking even, or if you just want to stop having to work so hard for every dollar you earn, then you need to think about how you can REMOVE YOURSELF as the constraint. Interested in learning more? Awesome, we’ll send you some tactics over the next few days…

Onwards and upwards!

Michelle & Jessica
Co-founders & “She-lebrities” at The Personal Branding Institute