The other day I heard one of my favorite bloggers and entrepreneurs on a podcast episode where she said she was still becoming accustomed to being a personality brand. In other words, she was still getting used to having so much attention on her and her own name.
I’ve also noticed a trend among freelancers where many of them are indeed becoming personality brands. They’ve gone from having a successful blog with a cheeky name to rebranding that same blog under their own name. I myself did this years ago because I always knew I wanted to be a personality brand, and as of late I’ve had several of my coaching clients asking me whether they should rebrand using their own name or stick to a blog name.
In truth, the answer as to whether or not you want to become a personality brand entirely depends on you. However, there are a few things that lead me to believe that freelancers may at least want to consider becoming a personality brand.
Freelancing lends itself to it.
Let’s be real, as a freelancer, you’re getting hired for your expertise. You’re getting hired to write, create, teach and more. Unless of course you run an agency where you are managing other people as they do the work, but then you’re not really a freelancer are you?
Because you’re getting hired based on well, the fact that it’s you, I would venture to say that the very nature of freelancing tends to lend itself to creating a personality brand. Additionally, when becoming a subject matter expert, which you must do in order to get hired, you essentially are already branding yourself.
The current state of media lends itself to it.
Between social media and reality T.V., let’s face it, personality brands are in style and have been for some time. We’re living in a time where people get paid just to license their own names. Think Trump, Kardashian, The Real Housewives franchise, the list goes on and on.
You don’t need to go to reality T.V. to see this in effect, though. For example, the personal development space is full of people branding under their own names. Why? Because they know that’s what’s working at the moment.
People want to know who they are working with.
I don’t know about you, but if I go to a blog or website and I don’t know who is actually running it or what they are about, I pretty much lose interest.
How often have you heard people say that they value transparency and authenticity when deciding whether or not to follow someone online? Probably a lot. Now, ask yourself how easy it is to be authentic if you’re hiding behind a blog name.
You probably don’t want to be pigeon-holed.
One of the reasons I decided to become a personality brand a few years ago was because I want to try different things. I might be known for talking about money, but that doesn’t mean I won’t want to try my hand at new projects later.
Additionally, I’m not just getting hired to write. I get hired to teach, speak, consult, be a spokesperson and work as an influencer for brands. I do a lot of different things, and being a personality brand gives me the flexibility to do that.
