Did you know you had a personal brand? It’s not just for writers or entertainers or politicians. Every person has a personal brand.
Whether they are aware of it or not.
Whether they manage it or not.
The book You Are a Brand! by Catherine Kaputa tells us how to develop and manage our brands with intention, confidence, and flair. No mater where you are in your personal brand journey, this book has tips that will help you take your next step.
Why your personal brand matters
I’ll let these three quotes from the book answer this question.
“To be successful you need to create positive attitudes in the minds of other people. You can’t make yourself successful. Oly other people can make you successful.
In the same way, you can’t make a sale. Only other people can decide whether to buy from you, whether you are an induvial or a company.
In other words, you need to build a “self-brand,” a reason for people to buy from you, whether you are selling yourself for a job or selling products and services to others.” Catharine Kaputa
“A talented, hard-working person won’t do as well as a well-branded, talented hard-working person. Effective branding will tip perception in your favor and bring greater success.”
“The truth is, if you don’t brand yourself, someone else will, and it probably won’t be the brand you had in mind.”
Five helpful self-branding concepts from You Are A Brand!
You can re-brand yourself
Branding is based on perception. This may seem unfair, but in reality it’s good news, because perception can be changed. That’s really what branding is all about—managing other people’s perception. So, if you want to update or polish your brand, you can. If you want to refocus your brand in a new direction, you can. If you want others to notice all your hard work, you can work to rebrand yourself in a way that enables your skills to shine.
You have assets. Use them to be unique and authentic
“Make use of everything. You have experiences; these are brand assets. You have a point of view; that too is an asset. Make the best use of the assets and resources you have, and realize we all have hidden assets that we need to uncover.” Christine Kaputa
Know your competition and then find ways to differentiate.
Study your close competition to see how they market to your customers. But don’t simply copy what everyone else is doing. Instead, learn from them and let them help you position yourself to be similar but special in some way.
Answer this question to help you differentiate your unique brand: My brand is the only ___ that ___ .
Find your sweet spot.
The sweet spot is where your passion, skills, experience, connect with a market of audience need in a niche where the competition isn’t overwhelming. One way to identify a sweet spot is to consider this question: What is missing in my market area (genre/ministry arena/expertise) that I can provide?
Develop a memorable elevator pitch. And use it.
No matter the career or ministry niche, those who can succinctly and clearly communicate what they do and how it benefits others have an edge over the competition. An elevator pitch is a short, concise, statement that communicates what you do, for whom, and why it matters.
Craft one and practice it until you know it by heart. (Yes, really.) Then you can easily answer the question “What do you do?” at the drop of a hat. Even on an elevator.
Don’t be intimidated by this book
This book is jam-packed with branding information. And it’s written for a broad audience. Some of the material won’t apply to your situation or branding needs.
Don’t beat yourself up for not accomplishing executive-level branding when you’re a beginning writer, blogger, or podcaster. Don’t try to read if from cover to cover, digest everything the author is teaching, or try to apply it all at once. Instead, think of the book as a resource to help you to the next level—whatever that is. Choose a section that applies to your current situation and find a few practical actions you can accomplish right now.
Then, return to the book in six months and find something else to apply. Each time you open the book, you can take one more small but intentional step towards developing and maintaining an awesome, unique, memorable brand.
Lisa E. Betz is an engineer-turned-mystery-writer, entertaining speaker, and speechwriting coach. She inspires others to become their best selves, living with authenticity, and purpose, and she infuses her novels with unconventional characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her Livia Aemilia Mysteries, set in first-century Rome, have won several awards, including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021).
She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in her novels. Lisa directs church dramas, hikes the beautiful Pennsylvania woods, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes. Visit lisaebetz.com.
