Thanks to the internet, it has become easier than ever, to spread your words and face all over our planet.

A personal brand helps you open doors to new opportunities, grow your network, and show off what you are very good at. Two years ago I was in the same position as you maybe are, and I just started. At first, I couldn't imagine what a driving force a personal brand could be. Until now.

In today’s letter, I want to highlight the most important steps that helped me to build my brand using a few simple steps.

Define Your Foundation

First, you’ll need to know what you want to reflect when people look at you. What are your skills, your values, and unique qualifications or skills that nobody else has? Write down what things you want to be known for. This self-reflection is the foundation for your online branding, and you should not miss doing it. 

To help you a bit, here are mine: 

• Long expertise in no/low code

• Over a decade of experience

• A designer who can code

• Very fast in what I do

• Good eye for simple design

• Minimal design style and living a minimal life

• Knows how to sell products and services well

• Framer and Webflow expert for 5+ years

Brand Voice

Think about how you communicate to your audience. What is your tone of voice? What language do you want to speak on all channels/platforms? If you are consistently applying those everywhere, people start to trust you.

Here is mine: Writing and talking English everywhere, although I’m Swiss. I use a tone of voice that is professional, friendly, respectful, and motivating, but also clear and assertive. Don’t make exceptions. Stay consistent everywhere!

Personal (Brand) Story

Tell them about your journey, what experiences you have had over the years, and what you have accomplished. Write this in a way that resonates with your target audience and matches your brand voice. This strengthens the emotional connection and makes you more relatable from your audience’s perspective. 

Personal Website

That's my favorite one! And something a lot of designers underestimate. Create a personal website that reflects you, your interests, skills, and tone of voice. Add a blog, your work, and make it SEO friendly, so that people also find you via Google, and not just via socials.

Your site should create a lasting impression!

This is my site: cedric.design

Leverage Social Platforms

Platforms like Twitter are perfect for leveraging your brand awareness online. Choose a platform where your audience spends most time on. For myself, it was Twitter, where you may have found this newsletter or even me. Create an engaging profile, with a real image of yours, a well-written bio and your website linked under it.

Then, start sharing value on this platform. This can be images, text, videos, and everything else that is possible. Share them regularly and engage daily with your audience. Build new connections and make friends to grow your brand's reach every day.

Analyze, Evolve, and Adapt

Building a brand is not done quickly, you need to go for the long run here. As you evolve personally and professionally, your brand evolves accordingly if you stay consistent. Building a personal brand is an ongoing process that requires flexibility and continuous growth. Stay on top of the game and don’t give up. Consistency is the absolute key!

Wrap-up

Define your brand. Find your voice. Tell your story. Build yourself a badass website. Show yourself on social media and show up daily. Optimize your play and evolve.