7 Ways to Build a Rocking Personal Brand

Our host today is Maren Donovan. If you're interested in getting in front of the readers of Site Sketch 101, check out our guest posting invitation here.

When I started blogging it was just for fun, I was hot and heavy into entrepreneurship and wanted a way to document my escapades while connecting with others online. So a blog was born, which hiccupped along until I started seeing comments on my articles and realized in a heavenly-angels-singing sort of way that people were actually READING this.

A funny thing that happens when you realize you aren’t alone talking to yourself in the blogosphere, you actually start putting some effort into what you write and slowly but surely a personal brand is built.

I didn’t realize I had built a brand until I met a person at a conference who said “Oh you’re Maren Kate from (my blog’s name- didn’t know if you cared about links or not)”. Armed with this new knowledge I started strategically building the personal brand I’d always wanted, it wasn’t easy but it wasn’t nearly as hard as I once thought either.

7 steps to build a brand out of your blog the right way

1. Chose your domain name carefully: This doesn’t have anything to do with keywords either, you can attract more traffic at first with ‘bloggingtosuccess.com’ but if you really like BusinessJambalaya.com then go with it. Chose a domain name that encapsulates all that will be your personal brand – rather than something super optimized and kind of boring.
2. Use pictures: I’ve found the interactions on blogs that have pictures of the authors are usually far better than if you keep your face hidden. If you’re shy then have a graphic artist do a characture or be the blogger with the Guy Fawkes mask – just give them something to look at and believe in.
3. Be transparent: Make it easy for your readers to contact you. Have a killer about me page that really lets them see the personal brand behind the blog. I even put my phone number on my blog, which some has said goes to far, but I’ve noticed the only people who call are die hard fans and we end up having really great conversations.
4. Don’t be pushy: If you are making a living online DON’T use your blog as your sales page or spam your list. These are cardinal sins for the personal brander and will result in less money made over a lifetime by far. Instead try to use your blog as the headquarters for all of your online dealings, you can blog about what works or fails in your industry and have links to your other businesses. Trust me driving the hard sell directly on your blog leads to disaster.
5. Get Testy: I run tests often on my blog and then go back and blog about the tests done ? It seems like circular logic but the more of your day you can document on your blog the more birds you kill with one stone. Testing really helps you see what works for your readers and what doesn’t. Moving your opt in email box can make a jump in reoccurring readership, changing the font to something more palatable may help others stay around longer to read what
6. Be P.B. worthy: Oprah is a personal brand, so is Tony Robbins, Richard Branson and Ashton Kutcher (now at least). What do all of these people have in common that your boring neighbor down the street doesn’t? They are all personal brand worthy, your neighbor (or maybe it’s your friend, relative or spouse) just isn’t – people don’t remember their name at functions and they blend into the walls wherever they go. This is the enemy of the personal brand – you’d rather be called an idiot like Gary Vaynerchuk was for years because of his boisterous online persona – then to have no one remember you at all.
7. Be valuable: Your personal brand won’t be worth the paper you print your adorable business cards on if you aren’t worth something to someone. Yaro Starak’s words and thoughts are worth a lot to many people – because he is an authority on blogging and make a living online – but if he had always just written mushy, so-so “my day was like this” stuff he wouldn’t be anyone. Regardless what your passions are or where your market lies make sure what you are saying matters to a certain group, no matter how small. This way you are building up personal brand equity every time you blog and are creating a platform where people of like minds will meet, greet and look to you as their guru of sorts.