A Short Guide on Personal Branding for Introverts
I was talking to a friend the other day and he was complaining about how he sometimes gets overwhelmed by the subject of Personal Branding. Why does he have to have a Personal Brand? Why can’t he just be himself? Why does it have to be too much work? Why? Why? Why?
We laughed and I shared with him that Personal Branding doesn’t have to be nerve-wracking, daunting or too much work. Some introverts like myself and my friend actually think this way. But here’s the thing, some of the most powerful and authentic Personal Brands I know are introverts. They did not sell their souls to build their Personal Brands.
Here’s a short guide on Personal Branding for Introverts.
Why Personal Branding?
I teach creatives, entrepreneurs, freelancers and employees that we are living through one of the greatest opportunities of our lifetimes. We are living through the Creator Economy and the 4th Industrial Revolution. Anyone, anywhere that has access to the Internet can build wealth, communities, impact and use it for whatever they want. But if you’re trying to get a better job, advance in your career, get better clients or just build a business one of the ways to do so is to take advantage of this greatest opportunity of our lifetime: building a Personal Brand.
Not cultivating your Personal Brand is costing you a lot; a lot opportunities, advantages and money. Here’s the thing, you already have a Personal Brand. You are either intentionally cultivating it or letting others cultivate it for you.
How about you take the wheel of your life and start telling your story, showing your work and documenting your journey? And that’s exactly what Personal Branding is. It’s not about the following myths/misconceptions most introverts seem to have about Personal Branding.
Myths About Personal Branding
People with Personal Brands are living fake lives:
This is very far from the truth. I understand also that the internet is filled with scammers and posers. But that doesn’t mean that people cultivating their Personal Brands are fakers.
People with Personal Brands Are Loud:
This one’s funny. I tell my students that the people with the loudest voices are not always the people with the right voices. To build a Personal Brand, an authentic one, you don’t have to lose yourself. You don’t have to be like the loudest extrovert you know.
“I’m too old for this”:
Whether you’re 19 or 90 years old, as far as you want to make some progress in your career or business, then you should be intentional about your Personal Brand. Most people won’t care as long as they’re getting some value from you. You’re not too old to build your Personal Brand. This is a silly myth!
Some other myths are:
- You have to be famous to have a Personal Brand
- Having a Personal Brand makes you narcissistic or selfish.
- “My resume will speak for me”
There’s so much more myths/misconceptions that I dispel in my free masterclasses and strategies for building your Personal Brand. You can sign up here.
Building a powerful and authentic Personal Brand is building trust. You build trust by telling your story, sharing your work and documenting your journey.
Tell Your Story
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” — Oscar Wilde
This is how to build a Personal Brand, you tell your story. If you don’t tell your story, someone else is going to tell your story. You should be in charge of your own narrative. Besides the world deserves to hear your story, not sharing it is a bit selfish or self — centred. I’m not asking you to become a Reality TV star. What I’m saying is you can share the story of where you’ve been, where you are now and where you’re going to. These things help build connections and ultimately trust.
Show Your Work!
“Make stuff you love and talk about stuff you love and you’ll attract people who love that kind of stuff. It’s that simple.”
― Austin Kleon
The above quote from Austin Kleon really helped shape how I saw Personal Branding. It really is that simple. When you start sharing stuff you’re working on. People get drawn to these stories. Whether you’re building a career or a business, sharing or showing your work will invite people into your journey and processes. This will position you as an expert or thought leader, and guess what happens next? Progress! Dear Introvert, start showing your work!
Document Your Journey
Here’s the thing, people get overwhelmed with the idea of being “content creators”. They think that have to literally create every piece of content to tell their stories or show their work. To a degree yes, but here’s what I mean by documenting your journey. You document your journey in written, audio or visual form or a combination of all three. Don’t create your journey, show it! This was also mind-shift for me because I stopped being overwhelmed by the creation process but started creating by documenting. Dear Introvert, document don’t create!
Kill Fear!
Lastly, as simple as that heading is…kill fear! Kill fear of judgement, of perfection. Imagine what you would achieve if you kill fear. A lot!
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Dear Introvert, I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll create. If you want to be part of my community where I continually share details like this for free, join us here.
