How to build a personal brand. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. It didn’t feel right, I don’t know why I went along with it. I guess it’s because I looked up to her and saw her as an authority, so I took her advice and trusted her opinion above my own. That was my first mistake.
I didn’t know anything about personal branding at the time. I hadn’t even heard of it! I just did what I wanted without giving it a second thought. I was a horror actress, and that’s how I promoted myself. If I had the awareness I do today, I probably would have stopped and questioned why I felt the need to try and fix something that wasn’t broken in the first place. I wasn’t struggling for acting roles, and I was constantly kept in work. It wasn’t Hollywood blockbusters or anything like that, but micro-budget films. That’s where I thrived and I loved it!
She said I needed to aim higher, that I needed to go mainstream. She said I had so much potential, but that I was keeping myself stuck – I didn’t feel stuck. I loved my roles and had so much fun filming! But the damage had been done and I started to doubt myself. I was told that I needed to change my appearance and how I was showing up, that I was pushing away roles with my crazy hair, tattoos and piercings, and the images from films I was posting online. She said I was approaching 30, so I needed to stop messing about, take it seriously, and start going for the ‘mum’ roles. Otherwise, I’d be hindering my acting career. And, well, I didn’t want to do that … So, I took her advice.
I abandoned who I was in favour of ‘going mainstream’. Gone were the piercings and the crazy hair, and I covered my tattoos and I gave my branding an overhaul. I did all I could to be more appealing for these ‘mum’ roles, which were apparently all I was suitable for at 29 years old!
So, what happened? Did I end up with a thriving career of ‘mum’ roles and live happily ever after? You guessed it … The work dried up! Not only did I not book those ‘mum’ roles, but I stopped booking the horror roles too.
Let’s look into what happened here by looking at some important aspects of personal branding.
Authenticity
By changing my appearance and behaviour to meet other people’s expectations, I was no longer authentic. Not only does deviating from your authentic self result in discomfort and heaviness for you, but the audience will also quickly catch on. They’ll start losing interest in your brand, and they’ll lose trust in you as a result. That’s what happened to me. And, without an engaged audience or buzz around what I was doing, the work opportunities dried up.
This is also what happens in the online business world when people abandon who they are to try and increase leads, sales, revenue, and more. Not only does it feel awful to do, but it’s also completely ineffective!
Consistency
I was always the fun horror actress who pushed boundaries and had a unique look. People put faith in me because they knew what they were going to get. When I suddenly switched into a sensible ‘mum’ type, it was confusing for everybody! They didn’t know what to expect anymore, and that’s why I stopped booking roles altogether.
I see this happen a lot in the online coaching world! When coaches are insecure in themselves but still try to find their own way, they tend to skip from one specialist area to another. This leads to constant shifts in how they present themselves depending on who or what they’ve been influenced by.
The key is to build such a strong sense of certainty in yourself and what you’re doing that no opinion can shake you!
Social proof
Social proof is so powerful because people look to others to determine if something is right or not. In other words, if someone hears great things about you from someone they trust, they’re way more likely to believe it than if you tell them yourself. Of course you’re going to tell them you’re great!
Despite me not being aware of what personal branding and social proof was at the time, I had instinctively established my image and reputation, and I built social proof in that area by constantly demonstrating my skills. I worked on films that I loved, and all of my branding was in alignment with that.
But, when I suddenly decided to switch, I had no social proof in that area. Again, this is why, when coaches skip from one topic to the other, they end up feeling like they’re going round in circles. If you’re multi-talented and multi passionate, that’s a great thing. I’m definitely not suggesting that you just stick to the one thing forever. But choose one thing you want to be known for, and get to the level you want in that one specialism. You can expand from there – if it’s something that’s genuinely calling you and not because you’ve been conditioned to think that’s the direction you ‘should’ be heading in.
The message that brings all of this together is to do what makes you feel alive! Be true to who you are and be strong enough not to be swayed by all the noise. Only you can decide what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
Shine a light on who you are and amplify the things that make you unique – even (or maybe especially) if they’re qualities you’ve been criticised for in the past. Remember that when you fully embrace who you are, you will attract more of your people. This means you’ll also repel those who are not your people, and that’s why only the most courageous will do it. This filtering is an essential part of the process, and only becomes more important as your personal brand grows and becomes more visible.
Also, remember that your personal brand is not just how you look to people – it’s also how you make them feel. That’s what people will remember! So, make sure your brand’s aesthetics, voice, and tone are all in alignment with who you are and what you do.
And, above all, never forget that nobody knows your brand like you do!
