How to Build a Personal Brand. What is a Personal Brand Anyway, and Who Needs One?

<h2><strong>The first step in building a personal brand is to recognize that it is not about you, it’s about the perception</strong> <strong>others have of you.</strong> <strong> </strong></h2> <p>Before we dive into how to build a personal brand, let’s define the phrase personal brand.</p> <h3><strong>What is a Personal Brand?</strong></h3> <p>Your personal brand is what others think, say, and feel about you. With that said, your first item of business when building a personal brand is to define how you want to be perceived.</p> <p>That doesn’t mean, coming up with who you want to be based on what you see everyone else doing and being, but sharing your authentic self, your values, beliefs, passions, the skills you have, your why, and the level of service you want to provide.</p> <h3><strong>How to Create a Personal Brand – Step 1</strong></h3> <h5>The first step in creating a personal brand is to identify and define your specific personal brand.</h5> <p>Every step of your journey to date is part of your personal brand. The successes, mistakes, failures, everything.</p> <p>These things are all unique to you and the business you want to form or have already created.</p> <h4><strong>Three Key Questions to Ask When Creating a Personal Brand</strong></h4> <p>Ask yourself these three key questions and create your personal branding strategy around them, with the focus on differentiating yourself from all others in your area of expertise.</p> <p>Who are you?</p> <p>What do you do?</p> <p>Why does it matter?</p> <p>Who you are matters to your audience. They need to know who you are in order to trust you.  And they won’t hire you until they trust you. Trust determines hiring practices.</p> <p>What you do also matters. Communicating what you do is key for reaching the right people who need the service you provide.</p> <p>Why does what you do matter to your audience? Mattering is marketing. You have to matter, or you can’t market. Remember, marketing is communicating your brand story, so if your personal brand doesn’t matte