9 common personal branding mistakes that slow your growth and push your ideal customers away
4.5-min read
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Do you really need a 'personal brand?'
With the onset of AI and heavy online competition, you gotta stand out in a fresh way to create options for yourself in life and business.
No matter your plans, having a personal brand presence that differentiates you and attracts fans and customers is more important than ever.
There's much I've learned over 15 years of building my presence and community on the Internet.
I've made countless mistakes, but I've been rewarded with freedom and options.
Here are eight common personal branding mistakes that slow your growth and push your ideal customers away:
1. Vanilla opinions.
If you sound like everyone else, you will blend in.
You must be willing to polarise on what you stand for. Identify your stance and make it known (while staying in your lane and not getting cancelled).
You can't be shy online.
2. Inconsistent sharing.
Someone once said that 'repetition is persuasion.'
They were spot on. You must make the statement that you are here to stay and believe in your message because you show up without fail.
"Consistency may appear boring, but its results are magic."
3. Treat it like a chore.
People ask me for tactics on how I grew so fast on Twitter last year. I had a ton of fun!
I found a way to infuse energy into my writing, and people picked up on that energy.
You must find a way to have fun because great branding is a transfer of enthusiasm.
4. Too modest.
Personal branding has an element of ego to it, and that's a good thing.
Too few people share what's working for them.
Inspire people with your successes, but package them in stories.
Show off a little.
People follow winners, so share your wins.
5. Complaining.
Complaining carries a very different energy from telling us what you value as important.
The latter is empowering.
Complaining will attract other complainers. It will also push your ideal people away.
6. Absent of character.
Too many online brands have zero character. It's just all 'value' in the form of information that will be taken from you by ChatGPT. People want to work with unique humans. Find your quirks, accentuate them, and broadcast them so we aren't bored to tears.
"Good non-fiction writing feels like a punch in the gut." - Jon Krakauer
7. Anti-social.
It's tempting to think you can build a powerful personal brand as an island.
But you will struggle to grow if you don't take advantage of other connections.
Lift others in your network and be active in the DMs.
Open your ideas to different audiences.
Talk to people and build on collaborations.
8. Too much tell, not enough show.
There's a cardinal rule in creative writing:
'Show, don't tell.'
Don't tell us, 'the boy cried.'
Show us: 'Tears rolled down his cheeks.'
Too much telling distances your audience because it's preachy.
In branding, this means showing us examples of how you or your clients model what you teach rather than instructing.
"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." - Anton Chekhov
9. Too 'perfect.'
People follow and buy from those they trust.
People don't trust people who don't seem human.
Humans are imperfect. So be willing to share your imperfections.
A great brand is not smooth and shiny.
It is beautiful because of its scratches, textures and imperfections.
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Fascinating take!