The 7 Ways To Promote Your Personal Brand To Perfection

Whether you are self-employed or work for someone else, one of the most important aspects of business is personal branding. If you want to be successful, it is essential to understand how to effectively and accurately promote yourself and your ‘brand.’

I coach business owners and creative minds on how to grow their brands, make more money and expand their businesses.

You see, in such a crowded market, it’s essential to understand how to promote yourself. Whether it’s going for a promotion at work, pitching to new clients, or growing your business, understanding how to promote your personal brand is crucial. I’m not a big fan of being overly humble and concealing the real you. I prefer to get results.

Here are seven ways that you can start promoting your personal brand.

Stop playing it small

As I say in my coaching program, “Playing yourself down and staying small doesn’t help anyone, so stop it. Now!” Holding yourself back from growth or opportunity, and putting yourself down will just keep you frustrated and far from reaching your goals. Why play it small when it comes to promoting yourself and going after what you want?

Do you shun compliments? Are you waiting for your goals to come to you? Take a few moments and consider what you’re doing wrong on your path to success. Stop playing it small and go for it!

Be a voice people listen to

One of the best ways to promote yourself and your work is guest-blogging. You’ll want to find sites that your ideal clients or audience would read and create content that appeals and connects to them. The key here is to provide valuable content that the editor will want to run and the people reading will benefit from. Make contact with the editor/blogger of the publication and discuss how you can contribute something worthwhile for their readers.

Network, network, network

It is so important to build the right relationships, both personally and professionally, when it comes to promoting yourself.
People who know you are much more likely to do business with you and help you out when you need it.
Going to networking events relevant to your industry (or the one you’re planning to enter) is essential.
Join online groups with like-minded people, go to in person events with a friend, or hang out where the people in your industry frequent. Please don’t just stand there looking lost; engage with people and make conversation.

Be your own publicist

When it comes to promoting yourself and your work, you need to be noticed. Being featured in the media is one of the best ways to seriously promote yourself and your work in an effort to build your brand. It also provides a really cool foundation of material for people to look up when researching your brand for potential job roles or for interest in becoming a client. As if all that isn’t enough, being featured in the press also helps to position you as the go-to person in your industry.

Join forces

I want you to develop what I call a collaborative mentality. Rather than seeing other businesses and people as a threat, see them as opportunities to create mutually beneficial relationships. When you join forces with other people trying to do the same thing as you, everyone wins. In big cities, people have a tendency to view life and business as a race that somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. The truth is, there really is enough to go around for everyone. Who can you team up with? Look for people who you can collaborate with to create more.

Give more

People respond to a brand in direct proportion to how much value it adds to their lives. That’s a fact. Whether you are going to a job interview for your dream role, applying for a promotion, or promoting your work, take a good look at where you can add more value to the experience you provide. Ask yourself, “How can I give more?” It sounds counter intuitive, but the more you add to the experience for the consumer or client, the more you receive.

Your image

There is nothing superficial about looking your best and presenting yourself as you wish to be received. Be very conscious of your image and the way you put yourself out there. Is the way you present yourself in line with where you want to be? Think about how you can present yourself in a way that propels you forward and then step into it. What changes can you make? You don’t need to wait until you “get there” to start looking your best. Start now!

Ryan is the founder of www.beingyourownpublicist.com that teaches business owners and creatives the best practices for building their personal brand, getting featured in the media and overcoming limiting thinking! For your free audio program go to www.beingyourownpublicist.com 

Top Photo Credit:  Kris Connor/Getty Images for A+E Networks