The importance of Personal Branding for Entrepreneurs

Thinking of launching a product or program to get quick sales? Read this first!

Over the years, I have worked with many entrepreneurs who are enthusiastic about their business. They’ve heard a lot of webinars and courses promising riches with the next launch of your program, and they want to dive in to make a quick buck.

They are even told that they don’t need a website; all they need is a landing page and autoresponder sequence and watch the money flow in!

If only.

The problem these “gurus” don’t share during these over-the-top presentations is that just because it worked for them, doesn’t mean it will work for everyone.

Why?

One reason is personal branding.

Those who have successful program launches have already established themselves in the market and have built trust and credibility with their fans.

And all of this is done through your previous personal branding efforts. New entrepreneurs haven’t had a chance to do that yet and this is where the disconnect lies.

It’s very important for entrepreneurs to establish a personal (or professional, as the case may be) brand before diving into big-launch mode. This can be done in a number of ways, but before I share, here are 6 reasons why developing a personal brand is so important:

1. Establishes your identity in your industry. A brand will help you to be noticed and remembered in a crowded space. In order for people to pay attention to what you have to say and buy from you, you need to consider yourself established in your industry.

two. Helps you stand out from the crowd.. Through your personal branding efforts, your “Unique Selling Proposition” is displayed. By doing this, you are giving your ideal customers a reason to buy from you instead of your competitor.

3. Help your business grow. Every time your brand is “presented” in front of your ideal target market, it becomes more and more memorable. People will start thinking of you when they, or someone they know, needs your offerings.

Four. Build your credibility. Whether real or perceived, a personal brand will help establish your credibility as someone who knows what they’re talking about in your industry. When you are in front of your ideal target market and demonstrate your knowledge, you will begin to develop a “Know, Like and Trust” factor with that audience. People need to trust that you know what you’re doing in order to give you their money.

5. It saves you time. When running a business, time is money. Therefore, by establishing a good brand presence early on, you will shorten the amount of time it takes to become profitable. It will decrease your credibility building time, all without having to explain what you do and how you do it to everyone you meet!

6. Attract your ideal clients. A good brand presence will eliminate you from wading through all the people who are not your ideal customer. An ideal customer is someone who would be immediately drawn to you and your offerings because the brand has positioned you in a way that speaks to their needs and challenges and gives them confidence that you are the perfect fit they are looking for.

Let’s talk about your failed webinar

Why did you get so few people to sign up for your program or buy your product? Because you had not yet established enough credibility with your followers.

You may be an incredible expert in your field, but if you haven’t done the preliminary personal branding steps required first to establish yourself as an expert in their minds, then it’s going to be very difficult to convince people that you’re worth investing in.

For new entrepreneurs, this is a challenge. It is often the conundrum of the chicken and the egg. To create a brand, they need money. To make money, they need to launch their product, program, or service. To launch those offers, they need to establish a brand.

I get it.

And my advice is: before launching the next program, be prepared to invest in your business and personal brand first in order to expect any kind of meaningful results.

So before you go into pitch mode after getting excited to hear “how easy it is” to make money, here’s a checklist of what to have first to establish your brand positioning. Here are also some tips on what you can do to ensure a more successful launch next time:

– Have a professionally designed logo

A logo establishes the foundation of your overall brand. It’s what your target market will grow to recognize over time and become the symbol of your business. One they can trust.

Be sure to establish brand continuity and consistency by using this logo on everything you do, from your social media accounts to your business card and all your promotional materials in between.

– Have a professionally designed and developed website

If your website looks amateurish and/or doesn’t deliver the right message to the right people, then you’re not in the ideal position for your target market. You want to attract your potential customers, not turn them away thinking it’s not the best solution for them. Worse still is not having a website at all.

A website is a place for prospects to go and review before making a purchase decision. They need to determine your credibility, experience, and even your personality, especially if you provide a service. A landing page alone will have a hard time doing this.

– Stay active on social media by getting in front of your ideal target market

Participate in discussions in which you can contribute something of value that will help you better position yourself as an expert.

Also use social media to build excitement about your upcoming release. Build anticipation before providing details about the program itself.

– Establish a blog on your website

A blog provides your opportunity to write articles that showcase your expertise. Article writing also helps with content marketing strategies that will broaden the reach of your brand to those who might not otherwise know about it.

– Make connections with industry leaders

Industry leaders who share the same target market as you (who are not competitors) can be a valuable resource if they are willing to become JV partners. If you are lucky enough to meet someone who can do you this favor, go for it!

By having others who have established brand credibility endorse you and your offering goes a long way toward increasing your own credibility and authority in your industry.

Remember that there has to be something for them with this approach, whether it’s getting a commission on the sales they bring in or getting the opportunity to build a list included in the campaign.

– Get yourself booked for speaking engagements

Go to your community and look for free speaking opportunities in front of your target audience. Or look for podcast shows, webinars, and other interview opportunities where you can share your message with your target audience.

– Host a Free Webinar or Teleseminar

Offering something for free before you start selling provides an opportunity to showcase your expertise. Consider it a “try before you buy” concept.

If your webinar presentation is exciting and engaging enough, you could win people over to buy, even if they didn’t know who you were before.

And if one webinar is too much, you can make a free video series or even create a powerful, value-driven free giveaway. By the way, all of these possibilities can also be a list building tool long after its initial release.

Of course, lack of personal branding aside, there are many other reasons why a product or program launch can fail, but I’ll leave that for another article.

If you are one of those who have established your personal brand and are ready to launch a program but need help with strategy and implementation, please let us know, we can certainly help you in all areas necessary.