Unignorable: Build your personal brand and boost your business in 30 days
by Oliver Aust
There are a few templates that professionals in every professional field out there use to produce engaging, interesting content month after month: Top questions: Think about the questions you asked yourself about a certain topic when you first became interested in it or 135 you get asked by others, Here are some examples: What is value-based recruiting? When will autonomous vehicles actually be used by the public at large? How will voice technology change the face of e-commerce? Check Google and use the most commonly asked questions as headlines. This also does wonders for your SEO. Secrets for your industry: You are an expert in your industry. Share your top insights into how the sausage is made. Events: Did you recently go to an industry event? Make the most out of your visit by telling your audience the latest trends or insights. Never just post about attending events, this does not provide any value. Ask your audience: Ask some friends or colleagues what questions they have for you and then turn those into some content! Invite your audience to an ongoing conversation on the topic of choice. For example, I asked my connections to provide feedback on a few versions of the cover for this very book. I wanted to involve them in the process and they very much enjoyed it. Brands can be categorised in two ways: belief brands and promise brands. Promise brands make promises in order to sell products. For example, "this shampoo will give you beautiful hair." Belief brands ask their customers to buy into a belief system before introducing the products. For example, disruptor brands like Oatly have gained dedicated followings by articulating their beliefs in everything that they do. The oat milk manufacturer lays out its beliefs on its website: "Our sole purpose as a company is to make it easy for people to turn what they eat and drink into personal moments of healthy joy without recklessly taxing the planet's resources in the process."
Here's a little insider secret from 20 years of working with the media: spend your time researching the journalist, their style, their audience and their usual content. With this information in mind, refocus your story and draw out the specific points that would be perfect for their style and their audience. Effectively, hand them a story that they could run tomorrow without any extra effort.
Now you need to consider the aspects of your story that will make you unique and relatable to your audience. A degree of vulnerability and transparency goes a long way. You probably have overcome a change, a challenge or a crisis that left you transformed. You found a solution to a problem and now you want to share it with the world, You become the "guide" and your audience is the "hero".
Resilience will be more important in the future than any particular skill. Skills can be learnt and can become obsolete. Resilience stays. It's a superpower. A first-rate reputation or personal brand is a cornerstone of resilience in business. It protects us against forces that are outside of our control. You can be fired from a job, but you cant be fired from your personal brand.
Values are appealing when they focus on others. Mathis Büchi founded the tax filing app Taxfix four years ago with a clear mission. He set out to help people get their money back. His customers were top-ofmind: he identified the hassle of going through tax returns and made it simple for the average citizen.
To recap, in order to build a successful brand, it is important to be clear on four main points: your why, your brand identity, your audience and the problem you solve. If you ever find yourself getting lost or uncertain, come back to these points. They will always keep you on the right track.
"There are a few templates that professionals in every professional field out there use to produce engaging, interesting content month after month: Top questions: Think about the questions you asked yourself about a certain topic when you first became interested in it or 135 you get asked by others, Here are some examples: What is value-based recruiting? When will autonomous vehicles actually be used by the public at large? How will voice technology change the face of e-commerce? Check Google and use the most commonly asked questions as headlines. This also does wonders for your SEO. Secrets for your industry: You are an expert in your industry. Share your top insights into how the sausage is made. Events: Did you recently go to an industry event? Make the most out of your visit by telling your audience the latest trends or insights. Never just post about attending events, this does not provide any value. Ask your audience: Ask some friends or colleagues what questions they have for you and then turn those into some content! Invite your audience to an ongoing conversation on the topic of choice. For example, I asked my connections to provide feedback on a few versions of the cover for this very book. I wanted to involve them in the process and they very much enjoyed it."
"Brands can be categorised in two ways: belief brands and promise brands. Promise brands make promises in order to sell products. For example, "this shampoo will give you beautiful hair." Belief brands ask their customers to buy into a belief system before introducing the products. For example, disruptor brands like Oatly have gained dedicated followings by articulating their beliefs in everything that they do. The oat milk manufacturer lays out its beliefs on its website: "Our sole purpose as a company is to make it easy for people to turn what they eat and drink into personal moments of healthy joy without recklessly taxing the planet's resources in the process.""
"Creating a strong personal brand can help us get unstuck. It opens new doors and brings exciting people and opportunities into our lives. A personal brand shields us from uncertainties. In the face of layoffs global recessions or pandemics, developing your personal brand ensures that there will always be a new opportunity on the horizon. It is the key to resilience in the modern world. My hope is that this book will help you build a personal brand that is right for you. We all deserve to reach our full potential and to live happy and fulfilling lives."
"If vou really want to be successful in monetising your personal brand, it is advisable to focus on one or two of the PAIDS elements. Diluted focus gets diluted results. Once you have succeeded with one or two PAIDS elements, you can consider branching out. Once you've chosen a business model, you should make sure it will remain viable. Another helpful framework from Rory Vaden is to put all of your business ideas through the DARES test: Is your idea digital, automated, recurring, evergreen and scalable?"
"an episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, Susan explains that our emotions have evolved to help us adapt and thrive" and that there 6, is “nothing inherently good or bad about a thought." Our thoughts and emotions simply help us navigate and understand our world. What you do with those thoughts and feelings is up to you. In other words, we should listen to our internal feedback, but not take orders from it. It is data, not direction."
"Public speaking is a learnable skill. Practice really does make perfect here, so don't be disheartened. If you watch Michelle Obama's keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 on YouTube, she had little of the charisma that she is renowned for today. [...]To get where she is now, she put in hours and hours of practice. Practice, watch yourself, fix mistakes and keep trying. Everyone can excel at public speaking."
"Books are a huge part of my personal brand. I love to read, so it felt like a natural next step for me to start writing my own, based on the insights that I had gathered over the years. Writing a book allows you to sharpen your thinking on a particular topic, which makes you a much better advisor for your team and your clients. It gives you credibility, which is a very important feature of being perceived as a trusted advisor."
- →Values are appealing when they focus on others. Mathis Büchi founded the tax filing app Taxfix four years ago with a clear mission. He set out to help people get their money back. His customers were top-ofmind: he identified the hassle of going through tax returns and made it simple for the average citizen.
- →To recap, in order to build a successful brand, it is important to be clear on four main points: your why, your brand identity, your audience and the problem you solve. If you ever find yourself getting lost or uncertain, come back to these points. They will always keep you on the right track.
- →This is when your personal brand begins to pay for itself. As Daniel Priestley writes in Oversubscribed, "Your value is much higher than you think to a small number of people. You don't need everyone on the planet to see you in demand; you only need enough people who can drive your price up.'
- →Approach writing about yourself as an opportunity to highlight your personality, your interests and your passions. You are aiming to build a picture of the person behind the accomplishments. If you treat it this way, this process can be a great way to get to know yourself better.
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