How I’m Going to Promote My Personal Brand in 2021 by Writing
And how I’m going to make sure my new year's resolution will stick by setting tangible and sustainable goals
I want to start writing more. I’m new to writing but I enjoy having a voice and express myself.
A new year means new goals and visions for the future. After a though 2020 with a global pandemic, it feels nice to think about a hopefully brighter future. For 2021 I have multiple goals. One is related to writing. I want to spend more time promoting my personal brand. As a data scientist, It is important for me to get more out there. I want to keep challenging myself and follow core data science trends.
My 2021 goal: Promote my personal brand in 2021 by writing
This new year's resolution is quite vague. Difficult to measure success or failure. Does it depend on quality, quality, followers, or claps? Many options are possible.
I know myself. To succeed in something I need to set tangible but sustainable goals. I need to decide on how I want to measure success.
I’m going to track my success through quantity. I want to publish every other week in 2021 = 26 posts.
This goal may sound unambitious. But for me, it’s important to get into a good rhythm. I want to feel intrigued to continue to publish in 2022 and onwards.
How I will publish 26 posts in 2021
To reach this goal for 2021 I need to make a clear routine. This will help me keep coming up with new ideas and be creative. Having a clear vision will make me structure my thoughts even further. I wish to write in the field of data science. This is my area of expertise and where I get most excited about new trends. With the field decided let’s move on to my key focus points to reach the goal of 26 posts in 2021.
Focus Point 1# Keep a notebook to write down headlines or topics
I experience having thoughts about topics and headlines in my head constantly. When in the shower, cooking food, or scrolling through social media I think about writing. This is both a blessing and a curse.
I have a constant flow of ideas for new topics and headlines. In 2021 I will keep a notebook to write down thoughts and ideas whenever they pop up.
Currently, I have around 20 draft stories in my account. Most are just headlines or bullets to form a story. I want to continue to practice this in 2021 to ensure I never run out of ideas.
Focus Point 2# Speed Writing is the Way Forward
Speed writing is perfect for me. I easily get distracted if something comes up. This is a big constraint on my writing. I need to jump into my creative bubble and stay there for some time to be creative. I need no distractions.
With speed writing I allow myself to stay in the writing bubble for one hour at a time. After this time I take a 10 min break to regain my strength.
Within the first hour, I often look for ideas online or create bullets to build the story in my head. Next hour I write. I write as much as I can without being critical to my writing. Then another break before going back.
My brain often works faster than my hands on the keyboard. I let my thoughts flow without being critical…
Focus Point 3# Edit Once Right Away
Practicing speed writing is a synonym for spelling mistakes. I often go too fast. Some sentences might not even make sense in the first draft. I need to keep myself on a short leash.
…but as a consequence, I need to edit the story right away.
I have found great resources to improve my writing after the first edit.
- Grammarly — a great free writing app
- The Hemingway editor— a great writing editor. Highlights e.g. readability, sentences hard to read, and simpler alternatives
Focus Point 4# Edit Again After a Couple of Days
After a couple of days, I read the post again with a new set of glasses. Asking myself key questions.
Before publishing I ask myself: Does the post cover one clear topic? This the message clear? Who will read the post? Will the reader find the story interesting?
After ensuring the post clearly answers the questions above I publish. Simple as that.
Focus Point 5# Accept Some Posts Will Be Crap
I’m a big realist so let’s face reality. To make a killer post every time is impossible. This is the consequence of a quantity success metric.
I know this and I’m going to accept it.
The most important for me is to keep publishing. Feedback and critique will only make me improve my writing.
Concluding Thoughts
This article highlights how I will use 2021 to promote my personal brand by writing. As this is a very vague goal and difficult to measure I decided to quantify it and make it tangible. My very tangible goal for 2021 is to publish every other week.
To ensure my new year's resolution will hold I have listed five focus points:
- Keep a notebook to write down headlines or topics
- Speedwriting is the way forward
- Edit once right away
- Edit again after a couple of days
- Accept some posts will be crap
These points will be crucial to reach success. My measure of success might evolve throughout the year. I might become more quality-minded. This first quantitative milestone was chosen to set up a routine and a constant flow of posts. This must be the key goal to ensure a stream of creativity. I need to have something written down to actually be able to edit and continue to improve my writing.
What are your thoughts? Do you see any additional focus points I should include? What are your new year's resolutions for 2021? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section.
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Thanks for reading!
