When I got started in my home business back in 2011, I had NO idea what personal branding was. I also had absolutely no idea what I was doing, so I failed forward hard! No one told me that building online was different than building online. Nor did I realize that social media was for marketing, not selling. So here I was posting a ton of salesy posts, and being that dreaded sales person I never wanted to be. 

And you know what? It wasn't even brining me any results! I was still out doing home parties and tradeshows to create results, and than showcasing these on my social. There is a difference. Now all my results come 100% from social media. But it didn't happen overnight and I certainly didn't do it alone. I had to invest both my time and money into learning this important skill and that's when I learned about the power of attraction marketing and personal branding. I've never looked back.

Why is personal branding important?

There are a number of reasons why this is such an important strategy for your business but there are a few that stand out. I'm going to teach you how to determine your personal brand so you can get the same results in your business.

• How would it feel if you had qualified prospects reaching out to you instead of going to google?
• How would it feel if you could set yourself apart from your competition and have people wanting to work with you?
• How would it feel to be able to bring in hot new leads on auto pilot who are excited to hear from you because they trust you and what you have to offer?
• How would you like to be able to scale and grow your brand and diversify your income opportunities?

What is personal branding?

Personal Branding is not about your colours or logos, or having this perfect presence online. No, definitely not. It's about what you want to be known for and how you want to position yourself at the go to expert. When you have credability, you're the one asking the questions. Your content helps you  overcome objections before they come up. It also conditions your audience on how you operate and they'll be excited to get started because they know what they can expect. 

Your brand will evolve over time, so don't overthink it at the beginning or think you need to have it all figured out. You don't have to be an expert to create content. You just need to take people on a journey. My best content comes from my activity. Everything I learn and experience through my daily method of operation, I use to create content because I know someone in my tribe can benefit from what I've learned. Learn implement and teach is a philosophy I developed a few years ago. This is a strategy I've been implementing consistently to grow my visibility, credability, and provide value for my peeps.

When should I start using personal branding?

Immediately! So many people falsely assume you have to have a huge audience to get started, but you don't. Your visibibility will compound over time when you take action on actively and passively marketing yourself. Last year I had 0 followers when I created my new Instagram account, and now im almost at 9k.But it's not about the number of followers, it's about how you serve the audience you have. And when you focus on service, the numbers will grow as a result. You won't have to worry about algorithms updates, or staying on top of every new feature that launches. Nothing replaces creating value and building relationships. To be quite honest...if you aren't serving the audience you have, what makes you think you deserve to have more followers?

Determine your personal brand

Now it's time for you to decide on your 5 pillars. What are  5 things that you love to talk about that represent you and what you would like to be known for? I will give you an example. Here are the pillars I am sharing andn weaving into each piece of content I create...whether it's a post, video, or in my stories. 

1. Health and wellness
2. Time freedom & leverage
3. Social media & systems
4. Family  
5. Travel and lifestyle

Creating Consistency and conditioning with your personal brand

Next you want to put together a schedule to condition your audience on what to expect from you. This is going to help keep you accountable and consistent, but it's also going to have your audience looking forward to your content. Decide on some themed days of the week for your lives and your posts and pick a time of day where you will share.

Build a story bank of your own personal experiences or experiences of customers and team that you can share with your audience.

• I save testimonials and stories in an album on my phone. These are fantastic  for building social proof and showing your audience that what you do is working and that they can take your word to the bank.
• Remember,  its not about what it is that you're selling, but about what it does.
• Your content should be benefit driven, and about your audience's needs, not  your own needs.

How to sell without selling, using your personal brand

When you create your content, it should be 80% value and 20% promotion. Yes you do also need to promote what you sell so people can learn how to buy from you. When you create promotional content always think about the next step for your audience.

• Think about your goal. What is the next step you want them to take?
• What type of content can you can offer that is congruent to that goal?
• Your call to action is the step you want them to take.

And than weave a story into your content that your audience can relate to that is congruent to your offer and speaks to their pain points and needs.

• Tried everything
• Overwhelmed with options
• Nothing worked, wasted a ton of time and money
• Wasn't sustainable
• Doesn't have time for complex plans

Congruency, consistency, and and conditioning are key in your personal branding strategy. This might not all come together in the beginning as your're figuring it out, but with practice you will get better. Success loves speed and messy action. So if you want to go fast, make sure you check out my recent article on using Facebook Live to boost your visibility and engagement. Click Here

Personal Branding Mindset

• Be true to your brand. Keep your posture and speak with certainty. This comes with practice. But know you are the professional and you're the one holding the gift.
• Always be weaving your story into your content to be relateable and think about the next step you want people to take with you.
• Stick with a system and be consistent about implementing your daily method of operation.
• Don’t let other peoples opinions deter you from your purpose and showing up authentically. You cant please everyone!
• Connect with the people who engage with your content and have real conversations
• When you hear a need, ask them how serious they are about solving that need. If they say they are serious, tell them you might have a solution and would they be open to hearing more.

Attraction marketing works best when you are connecting with other humans. Not just posting and waiting for people to come to you, especially in the beginning. Don't wish for it, work for it. And make sure you have a prospecting and closing system in place so you're not generating leads you don't know how to convert.