The Brand of You – Authentic Personal Branding

Your Brand is Your Creative Mark in the World

Branding is about more than appearance, fancy logos or marketing campaigns. As a creator especially, your brand is your work, your personality and persona in the world… the brand of you.

Whether or not you are — or plan to — turn pro, if you’re a creator making anything for anybody, your creations represent you and your personal creative flare. That’s a beautiful thing that, like your face, your voice, your thumbprint, are all uniquely yours. So too are your creations imbued with your unique brand of creativity.

Branding is About Connecting

There has never been an era like today where personal brands are increasingly dominating success.

Consider Joe Rogan of The Joe Rogan Show. He’s one of the earliest podcasters, at it since 2009, and amassing almost 10 million followers on Instagram alone, in addition to his podcast and YouTube audiences. Joe’s show was licensed in an exclusive deal with music streaming service, Spotify for $100 million dollars in 2020. So… that’s 11 years of grit and grind for Joe, day in and day out building his personal branded show, and it has clearly paid off for him. ^[1]https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/spotify-joe-rogan-exclusive-deal-1003773/

People want to connect with people rather than companies, and today creators have unlimited freedom to connect directly with consumers who will most resonate with their brand of creativity. Lindsey Stirling lost at America’s Got Talent but won by taking her incredibly unique musical performances directly to her audience through YouTube and live concerts.

Lindsey Stirling won many times over by choosing to believe in herself and pursue her dreams in her own way.

So many creators from all backgrounds and genres of creativity have excelled through their personal brands. Oprah, Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Chase Jarvis, Will Smith, Warren Buffet, The Rock, Beyonce, Tom Bilyeu, Joe Rogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jerry Seinfeld, Erik Wahl… (to share a diverse list)…. these stars are each their own brand where their brand is their namesake.

They all started small and have worked for years to grow their audience following. You can too. No matter whether that following is in person locally or online nationally or globally, for hobby or income, you too can create your “Brand of You”.

For artist entrepreneurs business and personal are beautifully woven into a richer tapestry of the one work… one’s life work.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder – iCreateDaily.com®

Branding Expresses What You Stand For

To represent your brand as yourself is to embody your values and what you stand for. So reflect on what life theme — present or future — and how to sum that up in a slogan or purpose statement. Don’t worry about it being perfect.

This can evolve over time. Just get the ball rolling by brainstorming a list of possibilities that come to mind. The wonderful thing about this exercise is that is helps us hone in on what is important so that we can focus more fully on that.

Your Brand as Your Creed

Even if you never plan to go pro, it can be beneficial to contemplate what thought, idea or phrase might express your soul purpose, as best perceived to date.

Personal branding helps us identify and hone in on life purpose, which in turn infuses greater meaning into our life and our creations.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder – iCreateDaily.com®

iCreateDaily Brand Example

For example, the iCreateDaily brand slogan has evolved through a number of statements as we hone in on the soul of our brand and mission. What began as “a movement for creators serious about their art” has evolved into a personal development brand for creators.

iCreateDaily stands for:
Transformation through creation.
Daily.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®

Your Ultimate Creation

It became increasingly apparent to us that creators are on the forefront of learning the power of conscious creation. Creation, is our divinity expressing through our humanity. We create our destiny daily by the choices we make and the actions we take.

Your ultimate creation is your life.

When your inner values are in sync with your actions, alignment grows and authenticity flows. Your personal brand… your creed, will begin to reflect this too, and in that reflection, help to make it more true by reflecting it back to you.

“We design our world, while our world acts back on us and designs us.”
~Anne-Marie Willis, design writer, editor, educator, author

Jason Silva’s Shots of Awe

How Our Creations Change us

You will enjoy this 3:15 minute video on how our environment molds and shapes us far more than we realize. Jason conveys this concept of ontological designing, which is the notion that everything we design is designing us back.

We create and thus are created.
Jason Silva, philosopher, b.2/6/1982

SOURCE: Shots of Awe – How Our Creations Change Us

We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.
~Marshall McLuhan, Canadian philosopher, media theory, author, 1911-1980

Table of Contents

• Audio Article – Brand of You
• Dress Your Brand for the Occasion
• How to Dress for Brand Success?
• The Brand of You
• It’s Your Brand, Keep it Simple… Keep it You
  • Your Brand in 5 Simple Steps
• Sage Branding Advice from Gary Vaynerchuk
  • And this one on personal branding:

Branding is how people will identify you, find you and relate to you. When it comes to personal branding, you’re the face and that’s what people want. They want a real person who can relate to them, and they to you.

Brand yourself. Don’t be shy of marketing your business or yourself. In fact, it’s your job to do so.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®

Audio Article – Brand of You

The branding process is simply about sharing yourself and your story with the world.

Branding is the narrative you want to tell.
Marketing is how you tell that story.
~Devani Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®

Dress Your Brand for the Occasion

Creating a brand is analogous to dressing for an occasion. We decide what attire to wear based on what best fits that occasion.

If you’re hoping to acquire corporate clients then your branding may be more muted than if you were serving musicians as a videographer. If you’re selling wedding photography as your primary focus, then your branding and website decor and colors probably won’t be chains and punk.

This analogy also portrays how flexible the branding can be. I.e., there are a whole range of attire options we could choose for most things, but clearly, a tux would be out of sync at the football game, and likewise, sweatpants, out of alignment at most weddings.

When you’re creating you don’t need to spend too much time on the actual attire, especially since there are many options, AND we can add or remove “garments” (layers; accessories) along the way, as needed.

The branding process is about dressing for the occasion. But the occasion is not about the dress.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®

How to Dress for Brand Success?

Start with purpose.

What is the purpose of your company? If your business exists to sell your art, or a book or a product, then consider who you created it for. Sure… you wrote it for yourself, but you also made it to share with folks like you who will enjoy it.

Start with your ‘Why‘ and you’ll find more of your ‘Who’.

If your purpose is to represent all things Costa Rica, then of course, you’re not bringing out your parka. But what if your brand also serves people in Alaska? Then you focus not on where your clients are so much as who they are and what they want.

If your goal is to reach millennials, then your brand needs to look and feel young and vibrant. Your projects, books and creations need to each have their mission (mutable), which supports your deeper purpose, which is constant.

These are obvious things, but surprisingly often missed. These things are especially missed if your brand is not also about who you really are as a person.

The ‘Brand of You’ is your authentic self in the world, whatever your aspirations and undertakings.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®

The Brand of You

We are in the era of “The Long Tail“, or the “1,000 True Fans”, a term coined by Kevin Kelly, founder of CoolTools.com. You can read Kevin’s original and updated article on that here, or an eight minute video on that here on YouTube.

Above all else, as a creative, your brand is you and you are your brand. Wear what you wear. Don’t worry about the critics. Do you, be who you are and the rest will follow. After all, you want to attract those who will love your work as it is, and you as you are.

It’s Not the Critics Who Count, by Brené Brown

If you haven’t seen Brené Brown’s wildly viral talk on ‘The Critics’, it’s a must watch for anyone putting their work out into the world. You may also enjoy this article on the topic of you as the critic through personal accountability.

“If you’re not in the arena also getting your butt kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.”
~Brené Brown, research professor, author, speaker, b.11/18/1965

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…”
~Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President, author, 1858-1919

Speaking of Teddy Roosevelt, while most know that he was the 26th US president, chances are that most do not know or recall that he was also a prolific writer with many published books.

It’s Your Brand, Keep it Simple… Keep it You

So your brand, beginning with your bio, should tell a story. It’s your story, dressed in whatever attire you choose for presenting it to the world.

 You as Your Brand in 5 Simple Steps

1. Be you wherever you go
2. Do you whatever you do
3. Do your work
4. Share it with the world
5. Serve your fans

And remember, as we started out saying, share your story by sharing your work. It all starts there. You. Your work.

“There no longer has to be a difference between who you are and what you do.”
~Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneurial genius, author-Crush It!, b.11/14/1975

Sage Branding Advice from Gary Vaynerchuk

For more on personal branding, these clips by Gary Vaynerchuk are elucidating.

Warning: most of the time Gary uses tons of expletives, though there’s much less than usual in this episode. However, his marketing and brand-building knowledge are globally popular and significant.

And this one on personal branding:

Want more on brand building? 

Follow Your Wild Heart

As you build your brand of work in the world, no matter whether it is art for hobby or professional, you need to be aware that people can be cruel critics. And… that that doesn’t matter for it doesn’t count.

What does matter and what does count is how you respond. That matters for your own sense of self, your dignity and because the  more you are in charge of the energy you set in motion, the more you will be creating the life you wish to live.

You will be too busy creating love and beauty to bother with the paltry.

“Do the world a favour: speak your truth. Follow your wild heart.”
~Brené Brown, author, researcher, speaker, born-11/18/65

Do yourself a favor and read this article by Brené Brown. You may also enjoy the book, “Choose Yourself”, by James Altucher. You can read a review of ‘Choose Yourself’, here.

How to Get Free Art Supplies

Another advantage to building a brand is that you may be able to qualify to become a brand ambassador or affiliate for some companies. That could mean paid sponsorships and/or free art supplies in exchange for sharing on social media and recommending products and brands. Naturally, the larger your following the more likelihood that you’ll be chosen more often as a brand ambassador.

While it’s often in exchange for free products and sometimes revenue via affiliate commissions or outright payments, it does take time and effort.  So I do NOT advise chasing after free merchandise at the expense of productive time building your own brand and doing your work, for unless you have more time than money, or already have a larger audience, it may be worth more work than it’s worth to you in free goods.

However, if you’re creating art for more than family, friends and self, then you’ll want to be building a following anyway. All creators need an audience and an outlet for their creations.

Here are some examples of companies with brand ambassador programs in exchange for supplies.

ART COMPANIES WITH AMBASSADOR PROGRAMS

• Jerry’s ArtaRama
• Milo Art Supplies
• An article on Micro Influencers in exchange for free supplies.

For more, look at the supplies, tools and equipment you already use and like, then search the company name and ambassador programs. E.g., Jerry’s ArtaRama Ambassador program.

You can also search these keywords (KWs):

• Brand ambassadors for art supplies
• Brand ambassadors for artists
• Brand Ambassadors for writers

And repeat the above search by swapping out the word “brand ambassadors” with the keyword “Influencers”.

Meanwhile, you may also enjoy scanning this article on how to make money as an artist.

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