There is no singular path anymore, no great idea that doesn’t require promoting, no guaranteed career, no diploma that will ensure success.
The concepts here are not new. In fact, many can be found in blog posts all over the web. You may have even utilized some of these ideas during your journey to where you are today.
What is new is the focus on creating a roadmap to follow, a coach whispering in your ear the things you need to do to set yourself up for success as you choose your own adventure.
This isn’t personal branding theory for marketing geeks. God knows the world has enough of that. This is an actual roadmap for everybody else: the makers and doers of the world.
When it comes to building your brand, it’s a jungle out there. Between blogging, social media, networking, websites, content marketing, landing pages, email, and PR, there’s so much to manage in today’s always-on, always-connected universe.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, student, consultant, artist, yoga teacher, designer, chef, photographer, or retiree, you are a brand with a reputation to be recognized. There’s no reason to leave that to others’ control.
This book was created to help you cut through the noise and guide you to personal success with organized tips and tactics, clearly outlined in every chapter.
We focused on making the book easy to read and beautiful to look at, simplifying complicated concepts to remove the fluff and jargon that often get in the way of an idea being truly actionable and useful.
I have held every “go-to-market” responsibility imaginable in growing four multimillion-dollar businesses from the ground up—in industries as varied as hospitality, Internet security, real estate, and digital marketing. I’ve slept on the floor in the office, in the rental car before meetings, at the airport, and on the mats after cleaning the kitchen.
There is no substitute for hustle, but there is a path that has been well worn by the success of many others before you. It’s The Road to Recognition in the age of digital media.
This road is yours. Buckle up and drive.
Seth Price
Understand your
brand’s all about
the real you
You, my friend, are a brand. Anything other than the real you won’t do. Discover exactly what makes you fascinating. Build your brand on your true strengths and allow it to navigate your road to recognition.
A is for Authenticity
You might think buying this book is the first step in your personal branding journey. Think again. You already have a personal brand. So let’s not pretend you’re about to create it. The best you can do is develop it, ideally, with purpose and passion.
If personal branding is a road (as the book’s title suggests), your challenge is to steer. “Brand” is a tricky thing to describe. In the classic marketing world, most companies try hard to define their brand when, in reality, the market, or more specifically the audience, defines it.
We’ll dive deeper into a working definition in Chapter D, but let’s start with this. The brand is:
The impression formed when the brand’s name is read or said
The sum of the experiences a person has had with the brand
Reputation
How people describe the brand (not how the company, or person, describes him or herself)
All of the above applies to your personal brand. You don’t “spin” your personal brand. You live it. It’s what’s true about you.
When you achieve success with your personal brand, people recognize you as a specialist. For example:
AJ specializes in helping entrepreneurs use marketing automation to sell information products online.
BJ is a life coach who works one-on-one with CEOs to help them avoid burnout and depression from workaholism.
CJ creates personalized gifts for children designed to foster their love of learning.
DJ is an executive who evangelizes ride sharing as a means to reduce car dependence in crowded cities.
Bring who you are to what you do
Who are you? The core of your personal brand is the person you are, the things you believe in, and the gifts you aim to share. Though many of the platforms you’ll use to drive down The Road to Recognition will be digital, in personal branding there’s no virtual reality.
Authenticity is your key to:
Build a trusted identity
Elevate and substantiate your brand in a competitive market
Set expectations
Be easier to understand and relate to
Encourage engagement with like-minded individuals
Turn audiences into advocates.
At its core, being authentic means staying true to who you are, what you do, and those you serve. I’m not talking about sharing every thought you’ve ever had but, rather, connecting with people on a human level, as you would with someone you care about.
Let’s face it: trust is a valuable but rare commodity. Marketing—the action or business of promoting and selling products or services—generally poses a threat to authenticity and thus, trust. Marketing encourages us to be cynical.
Brand building lures us all into positioning ourselves in the best light, often omitting anything that might harm our image. The urge to woo trumps the inclination to be true. But given the information tools we now have, what’s true shall be discovered.
Be true. Be able to say with confidence you are being real, consistent, accountable, thoughtful, and honest. It’ll feel right.
Nurture your authenticity
You are unique. This book dedicates pages to exploring your uniqueness. However, you don’t need to be unique to be authentic. The definition of authentic is, in a word, “genuine.”
Authenticity isn’t quite like many of the skills in this book, which can be taught. However, it’s something you need to examine and nurture. The process begins by identifying your skills, strengths, talents, values, and passions.
Here are some practical ideas:
Identify authentic people in your niche—Look at role models in your niche. Dig into the content they publish. Why does it resonate with you? What do they do to earn your trust?
Tune into what people say about you—Your friends, family, and mentors can help get you in touch with your authentic self. Get input from them. How do they perceive you? How do they describe you? What strengths of yours do they acknowledge?
Scope your skills—Attempt to identify and document your essential skills. Which do you most enjoy using? Which apply best to your career goals? Make a list of five or more.
Buck conformity—Public enemy number one in personal branding is fear. A fear of being different compels people to conform. Buck it. Let your opinion be known. Set your personality free.
Re-examine your content—As you turn the pages of this book, you’re going to begin learning how the things you write and the content you create are expressions of your brand.