Over the years, I’ve been asked many questions about how I’ve built my blog and personal brand, and what it takes to get your name out in the industry. People ask me what works best, what’s easiest and how to build a following to make money as a consultant or blogger. Because I get so many questions about it, I wanted to share what I have learned over the years and the best way to succeed if you want to build a personal brand and an online media property. (Spoiler: there is no “shortcut”)
I’ve been fortunate and eternally grateful to have been involved in the streaming media industry for twenty-two years. It’s a long time to be in any market, and because it’s tech-related, it’s constantly changing and evolving, which keeps it fresh. Many new to the industry think I have only built up my exposure in a few years. But in reality, building a personal brand never ends; you are never “done.” It’s taken me two decades of constant work to inform, educate, and empower others, and the success or failure of it all comes down to your motive and dedication. While I can think of many tips, this is my list of the most important.
- don’t build a brand or blog to make money; devotion comes first (not passion)
- have an ethos; explain what you do in five seconds
- don’t be a generalist; focus on something in detail and tell a story
- make yourself available, answer all calls and emails
- tell it like it is; don’t sugarcoat anything
- always give back to the community
- be professional, respect your audience
- separate facts from opinions
- be confident, but acknowledge that you don’t know everything
- don’t strive to be the center of attention; practice humility
- be strict about your goals but flexible about your methods
Don’t build a brand or blog to make money; devotion comes first
Far too many people want to build a blog to make money, and that’s the biggest mistake they can make. Those who are good at branding themselves realize that what drives them is a love for what they do and dedication to their cause. If you don’t have that, you will rarely make money from your brand or blog, no matter how hard you work. Successful people let their interest in the topic speak for itself; they build on that and make a name for themselves around it. Over time, opportunities come their way. But it’s not easy; it takes a lot of time and work, and many simply don’t want to do it right. Even large media sites that cover tech have it wrong. Today, not enough media people in our industry add real value. Too much media is disposable, and so are those creating it. It’s why so few bloggers have an authentic brand outside of the website they work for. It’s why so many of them jump from one new website to another each year. You’ll lose if you start a blog or website and put revenue, page views, scale, or traffic first.
Have an ethos; explain what you do in five seconds
All those devoted to what they do, from companies to military units, realize they must have an ethos. It’s their guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize their ideology. It is a way to explain their drive and tell anyone what they do in five seconds. While I don’t use my ethos as part of my brand, it’s always been simple for me. My job is to inform, educate and empower others. That’s it. Whether in person, through editorial, or simply by connecting people with one another, the complexity of my job comes down to a straightforward principle and ethos.
Don’t be a generalist; focus on something in detail and tell a story
The key to building a personal brand is to be known for something specific that people can identify with. If you say you want to be known for “marketing,” it’s too generic. You have to focus, and that’s the BIGGEST mistake I see others make. If you are writing about video, smart cars, clean energy, gaming and real estate apps, what will people identify you with subject-wise? Nothing. You’ll be seen as a generalist who is simply covering topics that are hot at the time. However, the best personal brands focus on a subset of the industry and pick facets for which they are known. They are specialists.
I don’t tell people I focus on “infrastructure” or “cloud” as that could mean anything. So, I say I cover all the products and services in the “video ecosystem from creation to delivery.” The focus is key. Also, when deciding what subject(s) to cover, pick topics that aren’t what everyone else is covering or, often, just rehashing a press release. Add real value. Some think they tell a story as long as they include a company quote in their post. A quote is not a story; many times, it adds nothing valuable when you see that exact quote all over the web. I rarely use quotes from anyone. For more on this, see my post about telling a story and not writing for headlines.
Make yourself available, answer all calls and emails
This is the aspect of building a brand that scares most people away because it’s a lot of work and takes years and years of dedication. Quite frankly, many also don’t have the personality for it and don’t like talking to someone they don’t know and taking calls and emails from strangers. But this work in the trenches is where your brand is born, and loyalty is made. If you help others, they will repeatedly return to you for more help and information. You can tell them about your blog, conferences, or other services. They often ask to be added to your mailing list and to follow you on Twitter, which is how you expand your reach. But it is time-consuming when you never screen a single call, answer your phone 24 hours a day and are willing to take questions from people worldwide. Having a good workflow, managing your time well, and working from home help a lot. No time is wasted commuting or having unnecessary meetings, and you can just focus on responding to all questions as they come in. My rule is that everyone gets a callback or an email response within 24 hours, even if it’s just an acknowledgment that you saw it and will get back to them soon. Another tip: NEVER change your phone number. I’ve had the same one for twenty years, and people remember it.
Tell it like it is; don’t sugarcoat anything
Some might find it mean that I said some media people add no value, but the fact is, it’s true. And that’s another key factor you must consider when building a brand or starting a blog. Not being scared to tell it like it is. If you’ve read my blog long enough, you know I don’t sugarcoat anything, which is why people come back to read what I think. That’s my value. I’m not an eloquent writer. I have no journalism training. I’m simply collecting information and trying to use that to tell a story in a way that is easy to understand. Building a brand is about being real. Yes, I do want to write and speak well, and I am always practicing those exercises, but you don’t have to be polished in everything you do to add value. Authenticity is key and trumps eloquent writing every time. Building a brand is about being willing to go against what is popular or telling a story, even if it’s not something some people want to hear. The community will appreciate you for it, and most will respect you for covering the bad with the good in any industry.
Always give back to the community
Each industry is different, but fundamental to any brand or blog is what you are willing to give back to your industry. And it has to be personal. That’s the key. Readers or followers must see your value as a person and a brand. It has to be personal and professional at the same time. In essence, you are building your community literally one person at a time, and without that community, covering any industry online will fail. If you are simply trying to build a media business for scale rather than value, you will ultimately lose. The same is true with your brand. People always ask me why I give out so much information for free and constantly offer to help anyone with questions, anytime. The reason for that is simple. I am giving back to the industry and helping the community, which will help my industry grow, resulting in more opportunities for us all. It goes back to the motive. Some of the best opportunities I have gotten in business have come from all the emails and calls I answer daily, free of charge. If you want to build a brand or a blog, you must put yourself in a position to help others first. It’s that simple.
Be professional, respect your audience
Some companies have threatened to sue me, made nasty remarks in comments, or tried to tarnish my name by spreading lies because they didn’t like something I wrote on my blog. While some companies or individuals think they are hurting your brand when they do that, in reality, they are allowing you to reinforce your brand by taking the high road. And I have to admit, many years ago, when I started writing about how KIT Digital was a house of cards waiting to fall, I wasn’t prepared for the death threats I got in emails and how personal some made it. But you must learn to have a thick skin and stick to what you know to be true. Be professional at all times! Your reputation is based on your character and integrity; that is all you have to fall back on.
Separate facts from opinions
Many bloggers and analysts want to insert personal comments into every story they write. While nothing is wrong with this, you have to clarify what the factual details are versus your opinion on the news or story you are covering. Adding your personal take is essential, but far too many writers make statements that read like facts when they are disguised as opinions. So when talking facts, use numbers and point to data that can’t be argued. Sometimes this is hard to do when you write a story or share details about something you got from sources you can’t name. But in that case, if you have a good brand and readers trust you, they will know your sources are good, even if you don’t name them. I try to keep my opinions out of things and only say what I think when I have sources, data to back it up, or experience from talking to customers or vendors, or from using a service myself. Also, remember that readers don’t realize that companies often give you info, ask you to report on it, but then tell you that you have to say they declined to speak to you, so they can cover themselves. If you have trust and don’t burn sources, you’ll get info most others don’t know about.
Be confident, but acknowledge that you don’t know everything
No matter how good you are at your craft or the subject you cover, others will always know more about market segments than you ever will. For instance, I cover the CDN market a lot, but I’m the first to admit that the only reason I know about it is that people smarter than me have taught me. You don’t have to know everything about a particular industry, product or service. Build strong relationships in your industry, and others will teach you and provide the data you need. A lot of brand building is about letting others know you are a hub for information, even if you aren’t in the trenches doing it yourself. One’s self-importance is not based on what one knows but on what one can share with others, and that’s what building a personal brand is all about.
Don’t strive to be the center of attention; practice humility
Some bloggers and personalities online want to make a story about themselves. However, the first thing to learn about creating editorial content is that the story should never be about yourself. Look how many bloggers want to argue with each other, and the next thing you know, someone else is writing a story about how two popular bloggers are arguing. No one cares. Be humble. Don’t call a story an “exclusive.” Many others know about the news you publish, but simply can’t talk about it for multiple reasons. Tell the story, but do it without an ego. If you do an interview on CNBC or Fox Business News, you don’t have to always share it. If it’s good content, people will find it naturally. The primary attention should always be on the content you are giving out, not on yourself.
Be strict about your goals but flexible about your methods
No matter the industry, change happens. Industries pivot, and you have to be flexible and nimble enough to change with it, and hopefully, you see that change coming before it happens. A subject can go from hot to cold overnight. The information companies are looking for changes daily, impacting your workflow. I’ve written what I thought was the best blog post ever, but no one has picked it up. Then, a post, I think, is pretty simple and goes viral in a day. You never know how things will play out on social media or where visibility will come from, and that’s one of the exciting things about publishing on the web. So keep your goals in place, but realize you have to be flexible on how you reach them.
The idea of starting a personal brand is easy, but as with most things, the execution is hard. You need focus, dedication, commitment, determination, and the will to weather the ups and downs of your industry. But if you work hard, have a genuine interest in the topic you cover and give back to the community, your brand will flourish. Many like to focus on all the problems around starting and building a brand, but if you focus on the problems, you end up with more problems. When you focus on possibilities, you have more opportunities.
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