What Is A Personal Brand and How Do You Get One?

My Personal Brand

Just as a quick reminder I wanted to say I bought my first domain name in 1999 and built my first website. By the end of 2003 I was making enough money online I quit my job as an advertising director and started working from home. After doing this for 20 years it seems like it almost started overnight but it didn’t.

It took three years of full time work to build what I had. Three years now doesn’t seem like much but if you’re just getting started please be patient! You will not be making a ton of money or have a huge audience in just a couple of months. You’ve got to stay consistent and add value to your audience.

I did not start working on my personal brand until 2019! I’m in the same boat as you all and I’m starting from scratch as far as my own brand. Part of this blog and podcast is to help build that personal brand. At this point it is not to sell a course, get you into a funnel or make you part of a mastermind. It’s just me helping you get to where you can have the freedom to work for yourself!

I knew the value of a personal brand in 2004 when I bought CurtisTucker.com. At that time the big personal brands online were Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, John Chow, Shoemoney, Joel Comm and Heather B. Armstrong also known as Dooce.

I was using the branding of “That Sneaker Wearing Entrepreneurial Cartoonist Internet Guy”. My plan was to become a huge daddy blogger talking about parenting and living in the 70s. Unfortunately I was making great money with my cartooning and AdSense that I never devoted enough time to get it off the ground.

Today my personal brand includes being an entrepreneur, driving a Jeep, my love of the number 2, going on wild adventures, dressing casual, reminiscing about the 70s and having fun along the way. My skills include graphic design, cartooning, branding, web design, blogging, social media, podcasting, photography and speaking. I’m working towards adding pop artist and writer to my brand.

My personal brand name is now Shaggs, owner of Shaggy Duck Studio. I’ve developed my own personal cartoon logo based on my casual style and cartooning background. My casual style includes shorts and sneakers and my look entails wearing a backwards ball cap with black rimmed glasses.

The backwards ball cap has been a bone of contention at times but it’s part of my casual “look” and is included on my logo. A backwards ball cap fits my style which is shorts, t-shirts and sneakers. My Shaggy Duck clothing and lifestyle brand is all about being casual, spending time in the sun, outdoor life and fun. The ball cap fits the brand and stays on my head while driving my Jeep! A backwards ball cap is not the norm. Normal never stands out and normal will never rise above the crowd.

Examples of unique style becoming a brand include the wool cap worn by Michael Nesmith, the outrageous glasses of Elton John, the bucket hat on Gilligan, the huge cigar held by George Burns, collars worn by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the du-rag of Eminem and many others.

Having a known personal brand opens doors for opportunities like speaking engagements, interviews, book deals, media coverage, and more. An example is the fact that I was chosen to fly with the US Thunderbirds in Enid, Oklahoma because I had built a personal brand as the go-to guy for connecting to the Enid community.

Personal Brand vs. Reputation

Your personal brand is what you say about yourself, but your reputation is what others say about you. Your reputation is your integrity and values. Your personal brand is your interests, expertise and knowledge. Reputation can influence your brand.

When someone goes online to learn more about you they are going to find your name in different places. Your website is where they are going to learn about your personal brand. On review websites and forums is where they are going to learn about your reputation.

Reputation is something you earn while a personal brand is something you create. Your reputation can have a negative or positive effect on your brand.

You Probably Already Have A Personal Brand

Everyone has some type of personal brand whether they want one or not. A personal brand is basically what you are known for. People around you will form their own impression of what you’re known for but you can easily control that impression with just a little bit of effort.

There’s a guy in my hometown that has a personal brand even though he didn’t create it and may not even know he has it. His brand is that he is the go-to guy if you want to know about VW’s. He buys them, sells them and works on them. He’s also an artist that likes to draw so his brand is that he’s creative.

This guy also wears a hat everywhere he goes. Not ball caps but fedora and Indiana Jones style hats. So his wardrobe is part of his personal brand. His longer hair adds to his personal brand. You see, everyone in some way already has a personal brand whether they like it or not.

Not everyone needs or may want a promote their personal brand. Some people just want to be an employee or not connect with other people. But, if you are wanting to build up a following of people and market your information or products to them you really should build a reputable personal brand. You’ll need it to stand out when you start networking.

All that’s required to build a brand is to take what you know and share it with others, especially online. Inform, entertain or instruct consistently, and you’ll build your own personal brand in no time. It’s nothing more than marketing yourself rather than a business or product. In essence you are the product. It’s your skills, experience, and personality that will set you apart.

Make Yourself Unique

Personal branding is all about building a marketable image which you are able to mold. Your own brand is a combination of your skills, talents and personal life experiences that make you unique. What you stand for will differentiate you from others in your field.

A personal brand makes you unique in a professional field full of lookalikes. A well crafted brand can help you carve a niche in an industry and make you thought of as an industry expert.

The age of the Internet and social media has brought us a much more competitive market unlike ever before. And with that in mind, audiences are looking to form relationships with unique people they can connect with.

Your personal brand tells people what you’re known for and what you stand for. It’s ongoing and really never ends. You can pivot your personal brand so don’t feel like you have to stick with just one skill or interest forever.

Take your most personal characteristics and traits and weave into your brand. Do you want to be perceived as very polished and professional, or perhaps more quirky and adventurous? A personal brand allows you to decide!

Tools To Build A Personal Brand

To build a personal brand you must have a website! More often than not people will be introduced to you online before they ever meet you. Your well planned website can present your personal brand in the exact light you want them to see.

When building a personal brand, it is important that you also use all social media channels available and that you are consistent across every platform. Be visually appealing, and represents the type of influential person you want to be.

Make sure you can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and the latest hot platform. Keeping fresh content on all of those platforms is going to be work. But guess what? That’s now your job! If it didn’t take some pretty good effort everyone would be doing it.

The more personality you can add to your brand, the easier it will be to find your audience. Over time you will build a community of like-minded people value your skills, thoughts and will be willing to trade dollars for knowledge or information.

To build a personal brand more quickly you’ll need to use more visuals online. The best thing you can do is video and live streaming. When an audience sees you with many followers on the Internet or on TV it will make you a celebrity of sorts.

Once I started using Facebook live streaming my personal brand went through the roof. The fact that people began to recognize me around town upped my cred and I began to get more calls to speak and appear at events.

Having a memorable personal brand makes it virtually impossible for someone to compete against you. They can compete with you on services, price and knowledge but they can’t match your personality, quirks, perspective and personal style.

Create A Brand Message

Create a personal brand statement, which is 1-2 sentences explaining your values, who you serve, and your unique value proposition. When developing your personal brand statement, make it memorable, short and attention grabbing.

With a personal branding statement, you are the one controlling your real-life message and you can make it say anything that you’d like. Think of it as your slogan. I have not come up with my own personal brand statement but did create a descriptive motto.

If I did have a brand statement it might be something like this, “Twenty year entrepreneur with complete freedom motivating unhappy dreamers to escape their day jobs by investing time into an online side gig.”

I attended a Daymond John speech a while back and he recommended that people should brand themselves with just 2–5 words. Those words should shape who you are and your goals at that moment. At any time you can change your brand. I came up with a motto for me at the time and it is “Adventurous Entrepreneur Happily Journaling In Sneakers!”

Build An Audience

Building a personal brand will elevate you to influencer status and being an influencer builds trust and authority in your field. People like to follow interesting leaders that stand out, inspire and look at things in a unique way.

A personal brand will help you become the leader of an audience. That audience will become your followers and they will consume your content and products. Cater to them and try to niche down as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to be energetic and enthusiastic.

I believe you should give your audience a nickname. My followers are called ShaggHeads and BuzzHeads. Lady Gaga had Little Monsters, Barry Manilow has Fanilows, Jimmy Buffet has Parrotheads and there are many others. Having a common name helps build your community and makes people feel included.

Brand Name vs. Personal Name

Personal brand names can be your personal name or a made up name. I started out as Curtis Tucker but eventually drifted to That Buzz Guy and then changed to Shaggs. I like to be a bit more playful so I started using the name associated with my Shaggy Duck Studio and associated with the 70s. Shaggs fits just about everything I’m doing today.

Lady Gaga does great with a brand name while Taylor Swift does alright with her personal name. If you get huge one day your name could become a brand in itself like Walt Disney and McDonald’s.

It might be easier to sell a business with a made up name rather than a personal name but either will work. If you know you’ll never sell your company feel free to use your own name. If you’re building a business to sell try using a made up name.

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