Why I’m Cringe-Building a Personal Brand and Why You Should Too

…hi…um…welcome to Cringe Letter, 😬 the Substack where I share my journey building a personal brand, one cringe post at a time.

Hi Cringers!

Thanks for joining me on my embarrassing real-time rise to influencerdom.

My goal is to inspire you to embrace the cringe of creating and sharing content so you can build a brand to meet your goals, whether you're a:

• Job seeker looking for new opportunities

• An employee looking to expand your network and attract leads 

• A CEO or founder looking to share your story online and increase visibility for your company

• An aspiring solopreneur looking for ways to generate new income streams

• Or anyone else looking to take control of your story and connect with a community

So, grab a seat and some popcorn, and let's get started:

What Exactly is a Personal Brand?

I know, I know, even the phrase, “personal brand” is kind of...cringe. It feels very “market-y,” (no offense to my fellow marketers), but until I come up with a better phrase, that’s what I’m calling it.

There are a million definitions of "personal brand":

Harvard Business Review writer and Executive Coach, Harrison Monarth, says it’s about “visibility and the values that you outwardly represent.”

Meanwhile, the Sprout Social website defines it as a “culmination of the experiences, skills, and values that differentiate you.”

Or, if you’re Executive Chairman of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room.”

I could go down all sorts of rabbit holes on this, but you get the idea. Your personal brand is how your present yourself to the world.

How a Strong Personal Brand Helps You:

A strong personal brand opens the door to:

• A larger network and more opportunities

• More income-earning opportunities if you choose to branch outside of the 9-5

• Greater control over your online reputation

• Leads for your company

• Higher salaries and more senior job titles

• More visibility in general

Why I’m Building My Personal Brand:

In March 2023, I was laid off. 

It was the third layoff of my professional life. And, while I had progressed in my career, been promoted, and done work I was proud of, I couldn’t help but feel like I was starting all over again. 

I was once again Standard Marketer #3, competing with hundreds of other qualified job applicants for the same roles. I needed to set myself apart in some way, but how?

I thought about what I knew. I had spent the last ten years in marketing, writing and overseeing the creation of blog posts, email newsletters, social posts, and web copy for all types of companies.

So, I thought, why not use these same skills to market myself?

When I discovered the concept of personal branding, I realized I could write my own story, build a community, and start creating a safety net for myself in an increasingly unpredictable world. 

I already had all the skills I needed to succeed.

Linking In

Around the same time, I saw people on LinkedIn posting regularly, getting thousands of engagements, and leveraging their online presence to land jobs at top companies or create six-figure solopreneur empires. 

So, I decided to start taking LinkedIn seriously. I got obsessive…

I’d be scrolling LinkedIn at all hours of the day, trying to figure out the platform. What were these LinkedIn influencers talking about? 

“Change your mindset...” 

“Download my LinkedIn ebook...” 

“Read my morning routine and ring the notification bell...” 

It all seemed rather…cringe…

I’m a human. I contain multitudes. I’m magic, okay? I’m not Nike, Geico, McDonald’s, or Mindset Coach Max. I began to resist the idea of “branding” myself and commercializing myself in that way.

The Realization

After several more nights of scrolling, I eventually found LinkedIn creators who sounded like real people, who wrote in a relatable way, shared real-life stories, and even :gasp: used humor on a professional platform.

Finding these creators gave me hope about what was possible.

I also knew that if I didn’t write my story, the market would do it for me, and that story would probably be “Standard Marketer #3.”

Growing My Brand

I committed to posting on LinkedIn 3-5 times/week for three months since I’d heard that was how much time you needed to start seeing results on the platform.

In the beginning, I had maybe 300 or so followers. My only goal was to get to 500+ connections by month three.

It's now month three and I have over 1,500 followers, one viral-ish post, multiple internal references at companies, and hundreds of new friends around the world.

It's restored my confidence and given me a supportive community of people who encourage me every day.

That's worth a lot!

At the EOD (cringe), we’re all branded in one way or another. It’s up to us to decide if and how we want to present our story to the world.

I would encourage anyone who is thinking about building their personal brand to go for it and see what happens.

It’s never too late to rewrite your story. Who do you want to be? How do you want others to see you? How can you communicate your unique, and yes, magical, viewpoint to the world?

Thanks for joining me on this weird ride.