5 Things I Learned About Building A Personal Brand on LinkedIn That Proves It’s Not That Easy
I’ve been working on my personal brand for 6 months now. I started in January 2023 and I relied heavily on advice from other creators who’ve already made it big in the LinkedIn personal branding scene.
One common thing they say is that building your personal brand is exciting but it’s not easy.
- The first step is always the hardest.
- You have nothing to lose.
- You’ll keep improving along the way.
I agree.
These are the usual stuff we read online that pumps us up to embark on our new journey of investing in ourselves.
But I want to dig deeper and share 5 things I learned in the past 6 months that proves building in public on LinkedIn is not as easy as it seems.
The ‘personal’ in personal branding isn’t final.
When you’re building in public, you don’t have just one brand. It evolves over time.
Who you are on Day 1 is different from who you are on Day 1,4784.
6 months ago, I talked about remote working on LinkedIn. Now that’s a far cry from my content right now which is targeted towards freelancers who are craving for a rewarding and profitable career.
Not only did I find the content I’m happy to continuously create, but I also gathered a small tribe of freelancers who enjoy hearing from me.
So when you’re building your personal brand, remember to keep your doors open to change. Don’t worry if you’re feeling that your identity is suddenly changing. It’s a good sign.
You’ll write for hours before you learn to write in minutes.
It’s pretty funny how you might end up spending 3 hours writing content daily to reach your 4-hour workday dream.
My first few LinkedIn posts took me 1–2 hours each to write. Now I write and schedule a week’s worth of posts in under 45 minutes. And the secret behind this is to write, write, and write.
You might be a crappy writer today, but you’ll get better in time as long as you keep writing.
If no one’s told you this, building a personal brand requires a significant investment of your time and effort. It involves consistently creating and sharing valuable content, engaging with your audience, and establishing your authority in your niche.
Before you find your flow, you might find yourself
- spending 2 hours writing a valuable post
- commenting on top creators’ posts past your bedtime
- and spending a few more minutes promoting your authority
So before you master writing value-packed posts in under 5 minutes, accept the possibility that you need to dedicate hours to get there.
Consistency is easy to promise, but hard to do.
‘Consistency is key’ is basically word vomit right now. Everyone says it, but does everyone actually do it?
I admit this is something I struggle with. It’s hard to stay consistent when your personal life gets in the way (family events, vacations, mental health).
Building a personal brand needs your consistent effort over an extended period, not just when you’re starting out. It’s never a one-time task to help you gain followers for the first few months. It’s more of an ongoing commitment so you can stay visible, credible, and relevant.
- A consistent brand message helps people decide if they resonate with you.
- Consistent posting schedules make you predictable in a good way.
- And a consistent online presences makes you reachable.
Remember that you need to keep showing up when building your personal brand. Otherwise, inconsistency will slow your growth.
There’s no ‘one best way’ to stand out.
And I’m saying this because everyone says you have to stand out and be unique when building your personal brand. Otherwise, you’ll be like everyone else.
But how exactly are you supposed to stand out, right?
Well, there’s no one best way to do that.
- I made a bright and gradient personal brand color.
- I edit my ‘about’ section at least once a month.
- I create content that targets freelancers.
But somehow, I still haven’t found the perfect strategy to be that go-to person for freelancers on LinkedIn.
It’s hard to stand out because you’re one tiny fish in the sea of creators.
You have to be self-aware to find your unique voice, your niche, and the expertise you can offer. If your audience craves for your content and thinks about you first among other similar creators, then you’re on the right track.
Some people will be low-quality connections.
These are LinkedIn accounts you must avoid while building in public.
They send you personalized messages telling you how your content resonates with them. You feel touched and accept their invite.
But they’re also the same people commenting lame stuff on your post:
- “Let’s connect”
- “Interesting”
- “Great share”
I used to have twice the number of connections on my list but I weeded out the people whose names don’t ring a bell in my head. I did this because my content gets pushed out to people who I’m connected with. If they don’t engage with my content, I consider them a dead end.
So before you start accepting all your connection invites, evaluate if they’re value-adding to your community first. It’ll save you from stunted growth.
Glad you made it here :)
Building a personal brand on LinkedIn is both thrilling and rewarding. But it’s important to acknowledge the challenges that come with it.
When you’re aware of the problems that might arise, you can prepare and come up with possible solutions.
Remember to:
- Embrace the evolution of your personal brand
- dedicate time to refine your writing skills
- maintain consistency (very crucial)
- explore ways to help you stand out
- and foster meaningful connections with like-minded people.
Most of all, don’t ever forget to enjoy! It’s no fun building your personal brand if you’re not loving the process.
If you enjoyed this, I think you’ll love My Secret To Working Less Than 5 Hours Everyday As A Freelance Researcher. It’s the story where I spill my 4 secrets to keeping a supportive system in place.
