Successful personal branding should be a simple task to accomplish. All you have to do is know who you are. But who are you, exactly?
In the age of digitalization and ever-present marketing, people are attracted to individualism.
Influential individuals leave their mark on history by successfully marketing their ideas. Others are satisfied with doing what everyone else does.
As Catriona Pollard – author of “From Unknown to Expert” – puts it: “Personal branding is how you market yourself to others”.
We urge all the bloggers in this era to look in the mirror and ask themselves: What do you know about who you are? And if you don’t know enough, put your hand on that mirror, and start studying what makes you, you.
After all, there is no longer any doubt that everyone has their own online personal brand. The question is whether you want to make something out of it, or not.
If you let others shape who you are, how are you any different from the rest? You need to create and nurture your own powerful identity in the online world.
You shouldn’t try to satisfy everyone with your branding. It will never get you anywhere. All you will manage to do is create an amalgam of ideas that confuse your audience.
Imagine that one day your favorite blogger is writing about the subject you love. Then, they start writing about tanks and military airplanes. The day after that, they quit blogging and started selling apple pies.
Who is this person? What do they do? Nobody knows because they don’t have a strong personal brand. They mold themselves after what seems fashionable in the short-term. That is not the sign of someone trustworthy and knowledgeable.
If you create your own style, you will attract like-minded individuals from all over the world. These are the people that will spread the word about what you hope to achieve.
The questions that arise from all this are the following:
All these questions (and more!) will be answered in detail in the following pages.
We understand that nowadays, getting your “quick fix” of information is crucial. That’s why we have to-the-point listicles with essential information at our disposal.
As such, we have outlined a few main advantages of cultivating your online personal brand. You’ll get an idea of what you can expect from the information that follows.
Here they are, in no particular order:
You might have noticed that a large part of these benefits involve a relationship of some kind. You cannot survive without some form of networking in this era.
It’s important to keep creating fruitful connections if you want your personal brand to be “out there” at all times.
What you need to remember is that you don’t network by trying to sell your brand. Rather, you need to listen to what others have to say and find those with similar ideals to yours.
You still need to keep in mind that you’re not molding yourself after others. You’re just finding out who shares your beliefs so that you may partner up and flourish together.
First, we need to come back to the starting idea: Finding out who you are. Believe us – it’s much easier to find partners if they know who they’re dealing with from the start.
But how do you create the abstract concept of “who you are” in a digital format? There are numerous variables to take into consideration.
Every tidbit of online information that exists about you creates your personal brand.
To create your “personality trademark”, you need to understand how to use that information to your advantage.
We all have accounts on a broad range of online platforms. Social media in the 21st century has become a necessity in the same way electricity has in the late 19th century.
These platforms create the most accurate representation of ourselves – of our conscious and unconscious desires. Facebook remembers everything you’ve liked, shared, viewed, or posted.
The whole idea is that you need to be consistent in the creation of your online alter-ego. You need to model your social websites to show only the information you want the world to know about you.
When you create your social page, like, follow, or +1 anything you consider relevant to your subject matter:
That is the first step to creating a valuable network of like-minded individuals.
What you also need to remember is that anything negative about your brand must go. As we mentioned, social platforms remember everything you post and share.
You need to make a conscious effort to sculpt your online presence. Everything that could negatively affect your image should be avoided and swept under the rug.
You wouldn’t believe how quick spicy information travels around the web. “Any publicity is good publicity” only really applies to already-established market leaders.
Unless your personal social media profile is private, go back and edit anything embarrassing!
We know you’re proud of your graduation photo or that goth phase you went through in high school. But let’s be honest – the Internet will not be as understanding.
Speaking of embarrassment, that information is also present and indexed on Google.
You might not have known this, but according to Forrester Research, Inc., 93% of online experiences start with a search engine.
And who has the most famous search engine? Exactly.
Creating your personal brand on Google can be a daunting task if you don’t know where to start. There are two goals which you want to achieve with this process:
How do you achieve the above? It all comes down to chiseling your online presence as we mentioned at the first point.
You want to create your online brand, so start thinking of yourself as one. Yes, that sounds dehumanizing, but it can actually have the opposite effect.
Let’s do a mental exercise: Think about how you’re already famous. People talk about you on every corner. What is your name associated with? Think of one subject that describes your mind-share.
Concentrate on that subject as your brand descriptor. It will be easier for your ideal readers to understand your area of expertise.
Next, you’ll want to manage your digital footprint better. This includes both social media and search engine presence:
Google and others index all this information, so that is where you need to make a change.
The easiest method of gaining online reputation is to have a clean slate in search engines.
After all, nobody is going to trust your fitness blog if they find one of your pictures in which you were overweight – not without an “after” picture to go with it.
But most don’t go beyond that first step, and you’ve lost potentially loyal readers – all because of this small detail.
Use the following keywords in your searches:
Create a table in which you write down everything you deem irrelevant or damaging to the idea you want to push with your personal brand.
You’ll need it for later when you’ll be working on improving your image.
Your Google snippet is the best tool to promote your personal brand on search results pages.
Don’t believe us? Let’s try some examples. Try googling “Amazon” or “Facebook.” If you prefer a more “human” result, google “Seth Godin.” We’ll wait.
As you can see, they all have a very detailed and professional looking snippet. People always take it into consideration when looking for authoritative figures.
Regular Internet users might not know how easy it is to use the feature. Sometimes, they will believe it’s automatically generated based on how “important” you are.
The thought process goes something like this: “Wow, this person/company seems necessary. Google generated this neat sidebar filled with information just for them!”
Okay, maybe they aren’t quite as excited as we made them out to be. But you still shouldn’t underestimate the impact this feature can have.
So, how do you manage your personal snippet? By using WordPress plugins, of course.
For example, Squirrly’s SEO plugin lets you edit the JSON-LD Structured Data on your site. That allows you to add the snippet information for both you and your company.
You can check out this tutorial if you’re interested.
The Starbox author bio plugin also lets you add your Google Publisher link on your site meta. It will allow Google to read the data on your site better and create your snippet.
If you only have one main account on each social media site, this will be easier than it sounds. If not, well, we feel for you. Here’s what you need to do:
Now, you have a clean profile. It may feel empty at first. But, luckily, we’re going to explain how to create a positive perception of your profile in the following lines.
Making a great first impression with your profile is the same as selling a house. Without great curb appeal, potential buyers will most likely skip the visit altogether.
How do you make a good first impression, you may ask? Easy. Think of it this way: What’s the first thing you see on a person’s profile?
If you don’t have one, your profile is considered less trustworthy. People like to see a human face instead of a default Facebook “human outline”.
After doing all that editing to your social media and Google results, it would be a shame to not build your profile correctly.
Some of you might like to use cute graphics, impressive scenery, or a quirky photo of you as a profile picture.
However, a professional photo is preferable. That is unless you’re a graphic artist, photographer, or comedian, and want to highlight your trade. Make it welcoming by showing a warm smile. It creates more trust between you and your viewers.
To improve your image in the eyes of the public, you might want to invest in a professional photographer. People want to associate with those that look professional.
Take care of your style of clothing, your hairstyle, and everything related to your appearance. It will have an immediate effect on how well you market yourself.
Don’t be afraid of seeking professional services to give you the style you need to win people over.
The second thing you should concentrate on is the personal info you give out. That stands out in a profile as it is usually situated around the profile picture.
Never be tempted to give away personal information too readily. As soon as you gather any modicum of fame, the risk of identity theft will skyrocket.
If you want to share your location, make it general. Give only your city or region name. Create your own business phone number if you want to have one on your profile. Giving out your personal number could spell trouble.
Usernames and profile names can be a good way of making yourself known. Let’s face it – some people have names that are impossible to pronounce.
Why not create a catchy username to go with your profile? Or maybe use initials. Just make sure not to use things that could detract from your image.
Make it fun, not immature. Don’t promote illegal things such as drug abuse. And don’t let your profile name give out negative vibes. You don’t want people sharing your name in a negative way.
Last but not least, your fans will want to know something about you. It all ties in with what we wrote about individualism at the beginning of this piece.
You don’t need to give them your life story. Nobody likes a braggart. Plus, most social media bios don’t have much space which you can work with. So, make good use of the space you get.
Something short and sweet will do. Think about your passion. Write about a (realistic) dream of yours. People look for like-minded individuals all the time.
Now that you’ve created the dream profile, it’s time to actually market your personal brand.
By getting other people to do it for you, of course. Word of mouth, or rather, “word of keyboard” is the principal driving force of any online marketing scheme.
Connecting with people is the best way of building your personal brand and getting your name out there.
When people know you, and what you can offer, they are more likely to do business with you or recommend you to other people.
Social media is the most efficient way of spreading the word about you, your business, or your passions.
You need to know how to take advantage of each social media channel that is relevant to your cause. It’s no use having ten social media accounts if you’re only ever going to use two or three of them.
Understand where your ideal audience hangs out. It is an important first step to marketing yourself in a time-efficient manner.
For example, if you work with fashion or photography, Pinterest and Instagram are your most likely candidates. Designers and home improvement people will also have a very good time on those channels.
In any case, before we get to improving your social media, there are a few more aspects to figure out.
The About section on your personal website is one of them. Since you will link this section on every social profile, it should look its best. Let’s start, shall we?
In the “First Impressions” section, we talked about how your bio is useful to give your fans an idea of who you are.
Unfortunately, you didn’t have much space to work with. Your About page gives you that luxury, but you should still use it as efficiently as possible. Here’s what you need to do:
That last step might confuse some of you. What do you include on an About page if not your deeds? Creating a compelling bio is more complicated than slapping together some rewards you received and some jobs you did.
Here are a few pointers in the right direction:
If you’ve listened to the advice from the beginning, you maybe did some introspection. You found out who you are and what you stand for.
People want to flock to a cause, and any good cause has some values behind which people can stand.
Tell your readers what circumstances brought you to this point – your professional life, maybe something personal. Something borrowed, something blue. Okay, we exaggerated in that last part, but you get the idea.
People love stories, make them love yours.
If you’re running a blog, you’re probably doing it to provide a service to someone. Do you want to offer useful information? Curate existing data and provide it to your readers in a digestible format?
Whatever it is you’re doing, tell your public how you can help them.
It’s no use making promises if someone is not there to support your claims. Everyone says testimonials are overplayed but don’t underestimate their effect.
If you don’t want to go down that route, tell the story of a fan or client who sent you an appreciation message. You show your audience that it’s not just about you.
Speaking of appreciation messages, don’t forget to include your contact details! People like it when someone is approachable and open to discussion.
Don’t let your readers feel lost. Think of it this way. You’re done reading an excellent piece about crêpes Suzette, and would like to read more articles or recipes from the author.
If they don’t have a proper call-to-action, how will you know where to find out more? Remember that your bio is part of your personal branding. Guide your readers to the next step with a call-to-action.
When all’s said and done, you need to remember the following:
We’re almost done with the bio part of your personal brand! There’s one more section you should take advantage of, and that is the author bio section.
You might not give enough importance to this part, but it definitely has an impact on your readership.
It’s how Cracked.com writers like Adam Tod Brown got their fame outside the website.
Not everyone will read the About section on your site after they’re done with your article. But they can’t help but notice your author bio at the end of it.
This small section helps give a human face to your content. It also helps you build up credibility if you consistently put out great content on a site with multiple authors.
People like to learn about those they find interesting. It’s why you probably check the Wikipedia pages of your favorite movie or TV stars.
Not only that, but you have to look at the act of reading an article as an interaction between two people. The more you know about the author, the more you trust them.
Picture this: Someone on the street wants to tell you about a type of bubblegum that cleans your teeth. You’re interested in the subject, but you don’t really trust a stranger to tell you about it.
The same principle applies to article authors that only show you their name at the end. No info, nothing to make you feel that a real person wrote the piece. They might as well have attributed the column to Walter White.
Even if you don’t share your blog with one or more authors, you can benefit from a well-written author bio. Just like in the case of social media bios.
Here are the tangible benefits of having one:
When somebody’s finishes reading one of your well-written pieces, the general idea is that they will crave more.
Your author bio can include a link to a list of all your articles. Or, it can have two or three titles you know will get attention.
Other viewers might be interested in collaborating with you, or have you do a guest post on their own blog. Or, maybe just have you write some fan mail. Either way, your author bio can include all your social media accounts for quick communication.
An author box plugin is especially useful for your guest posts. Who knows, the readers on the host’s website might be interested in your work.
Site crawlers and search engines only care about your robots.txt file. It takes real people to actually read your content and spread the word about it.
We are all drawn to beauty, more than anything else. Having a cool-looking author bio will increase the chance someone will check out your info and other content.
Besides, if you don’t make your bio stand out, what makes you think people will read it?
How do you add one to your posts or on subpages on your domain? There are two methods you can do it. Three, actually, if you count widgets separately.
Personally, we’ve noticed that setting your bio at the end of the article gets much more attention. If you think about it, any reader accessing your materials won’t start reading your author info first. They’ll dive straight into the article.
Some sites have bios so stealthy you don’t even notice it is one for a few seconds. People think it’s part of the article and continue reading. It feels a bit like cheating, doesn’t it?But hey, getting people to read it in the first place is a victory in itself.
If you don’t want to learn how to code, our recommendation is to use Starbox plugin for WordPress.
It works for both the beginning and the end of your articles. That helps if you have a website design that puts the spotlight on your bio in the beginning.
Starbox will be integrated into your User Profile page. It is here that you (and other authors on your website) will need to add their info and social media links.
One thing you need to watch out for is old signatures. If you use Starbox, every post on your website will now have an author box. It turns awkward if your posts have both your signature and an author box, so you need to go back and delete all of them.
On the other hand, you can also include Starbox as a shortcode in your WordPress widgets. Simply use the
You can get the Starbox plugin from the WordPress plugins section. Here’s a link, so you don’t have to take the time and search for it.
You can watch a YouTube tutorial on how to install and use Starbox, here. [insert Starbox YouTube tutorial link]
If you’re old-fashioned, you can view a step-by-step guide (with pictures!), here. [insert Starbox image tutorial link]
Well, now you can include your very own author info for improved traffic. But what do you even write in this section? The bio isn’t the same as the one on your About page.
We don’t want to leave you high and dry on this one, so we’ve prepared a handy guide.
As we mentioned above, you shouldn’t confuse your About page bio with your author bio. They’re two different kettles of fish.
For one, your About page was written in the first person. You should write your Author bio in the third person. Why?
Another differing factor between the two descriptions is this: Your About page included the “you”. Your moment of glory has its dedicated page. Give someone else a chance!
Your author bio should be about the readers. Establish yourself as an author that helps others with your work. People like to be selfish, so if they see it’s all about them, you increase the chances of a click-through to your content.
Make sure to include what it is you do, though. If you’re a cook that happens to blog, explain that you’re good with recipes. That establishes your credibility in the field.
Depending on what kind of publication you run, you might not want to be too personal with your description. People want to find out more about others … but not THAT much. Consider what’s appropriate for your blog style, or keep it professional.
And since we’re talking about marketing your personal brand here, don’t forget the call-to-action! Just as your About page included one, so should this bit of info.
Think of what you want your readers to do when they see your author bio. Do you have a book out? Include its Amazon page. Want them to read the rest of your blog? Include a link to it. There’s no shortage of possibilities.
If you’re still not sure what to write, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Just for you, we’ve curated some great examples of author bios fit for all sorts of bloggers, including:
Besides these, you also get a few examples from a variety of online marketing experts. Feel free to peruse the list, here. [insert link to list of author bios]
Maybe the muses will inspire you to write your own great author bio!
Whew, that was a long read. But wait, something got lost along the way. Didn’t we mention social media a few pages ago?
Without further introductions, here’s how to optimize the social media channels you use.
Much of what you need to do was included in the “Evaluate and improve your social media presence” sub-chapter. There are three more things we should mention:
Since Facebook acquired Instagram, we’ll include its guide right after its parent company. Besides connecting your two accounts, here’s what you need to do:
LinkedIn is your online resume, so tailor it like you would an actual job application. It also helps if people can look you up effectively, so don’t neglect the SEO.
When people look you up on Google, your Twitter profile is usually what pops up in the top results. Use the professional photo we’ve been nagging you about.
If you’ve written your short author bio, you can use an alternate version of that on your Twitter account.
Don’t like Twitter? Tweet once about which social networks you’re active on. People will find you more easily.
For those that do, here’s how you establish your personal brand on the network:
If it’s relevant to your personal brand, you can create a YouTube account. Use it to upload videos of your work, vlogs, and other related videos.
Make sure you upload a video containing your personal brand in the title and description. It works very well for SEO since people can find you in the Google Videos section too.
Vimeo comes in a close second, so don’t be afraid to claim a profile for yourself. Add all the relevant information you’ve used on your social media profiles. Start adding videos showcasing your personal brand.
Tumblr is more successful with the fashion and Millennial crowds. Claim your personalbrand.tumblr.com subdomain and start uploading. Your bio page can be customized to your liking, as it is open HTML.
Add everything you want people to know about your personal brand.
Quora is a site where people can ask for your expertise. You can also actively seek out questions in your field and answer them.
Your Quora profile also ranks well in search results pages, so make sure it is as complete as possible. Follow relevant topics to your field, and also be on the lookout for thought leaders. It will show people what you’re interested in.
That is one of the simplest ways you can link someone to all of your social accounts. It also shows up in search results.
Take over your link in this format: about.me/personalbrand. Upload a cool photo of you or your subject matter, and insert your social links.
Flickr is a high-ranking site when it comes to photo SEO. If people look you up on Google Images, it’s not surprising to find your Flickr profile.
You can use this to your advantage. Set up your account as with any social media, and include your relevant links. Make use of the photos on the profile to promote your personal brand.
Social media meets website building. After you create your site using their tool, you can connect with professionals in your area.
Talk about your domain of activity and share ideas as they come to you. You might even be the forerunners of the next big thing.
Your online personal brand will be an integral part of who you are. Create a complementary relationship between the real you and the online “you”.
Don’t create a sham. If your fans will ever want to meet up with you, they wouldn’t like to find an entirely different person.
Your message and the image you create of yourself should be consistent across platforms. Learn how to get your social platforms to complement each other.
Remember that every post you make should be something you actually enjoy or find interesting. Don’t share things just because you want to fit in with the cool kids. Become the cool kid yourself.
And since cool kids get talked about all the time, monitor mentions of your name online. Use a service such as mention.com to track and reply to them with relevant information.
Just make sure not to overfill your schedule with too many profiles. If you remember what we said in the beginning, you should learn where your audience hangs out.
Don’t create social profiles just for the sake of it, unless you just want to link your active channels there.
One thing to remember if you do this is to keep information about you as general as possible. That means no numbers that might change (e.g. “10 years of experience”).
If you don’t plan on refreshing your profiles regularly, the least you can do is make them as timeless as possible.
As an ending idea, remember to offer proof of your professionalism. If you brag, show your public that you put your money where your mouth is. Any time you make a broad claim, include the numbers and data that back it up.
Hopefully – no. We’re definitely sure this eBook has helped you find out more about yourself. It will serve you well in creating a personal brand that will capture the minds and hearts of many.
