In this post I’m going to share with you the 7 MUSTS To Building A Personal Brand, but before I do I want to explain why NOW is the time to do this.

In case you haven’t noticed… the media game has CHANGED! Media used to be ‘one way’… TV, radio, magazines, billboards, etc. To use these advertising mediums you had to have a lot of money to keep dumping into them… not today!

Now with social media, you can build a brand around what you’re passionate about for little to no cost. Actually there is one major cost… sweat equity, otherwise known as working your a$$ off!

The Shift In Advertising Dollars…

There is a shift that is happening in how advertising dollars are being spent. Advertisers spend money where the eyeballs are, right? More and more eyeballs are hangin’ out on social media sites and blogs then they are on the TV screens… this is huge!

Most people don’t even realize this is happening right now… and they won’t until EVERYONE catches on. So if you take the time to build a brand around a niche now, there will be advertisers that will pay you to be in front of your audience… and this is only 1 of the MANY income streams that will be possible.

Are you starting to see the POWER in this?

This is serious stuff… nothing to sneeze at. For decades people have dreamed of building a brand for themselves, and the time to step up to the plate has arrived. Will you swing for the fences and take action?

If you’re reading this post right now, you have an excellent opportunity to position yourself before the big ‘gold rush’ to build a personal brand takes place. Mark my words… it will take place. It’s like when websites first came out. Most people didn’t understand them or think they needed one. Then what happened? Everyone and their mother had to have one! The same thing is coming here my friend, trust me:)

Now that I’ve laid that ground word for you, I want to share with you the 7 MUSTS To Building A Personal Brand. Some of the things I share here will be very simple… but DO NOT underestimate the power of them.  These are the core principles when creating a powerful personal brand.

MUST #1 – Be Authentic

It’s my feeling that this is the one MUST that is violated the most. What part of BE YOURSELF do people not get? I find it a bit comical. Actually, it’s not even funny! There are so many people out there wasting their time trying to building a brand that are flat out being fake.

When you’re being authentic, you’re in alignment with your true self. When you’re being your true self, you’re in alignment with your desires. When you’re in alignment with your desires, then you’re in a place of allowing them into your life.

The second you start living from that inauthentic place, you’re out of alignment with your true self. People think that they have to act or be a certain way for people to want to follow them. If you’re acting like someone you’re not, you CAN NOT attract the followers that you TRULY want… it defies the laws of the Universe.

MUST #2 – Build A Brand Around Your Passion

This is another biggie! Well they all are, that’s why they are MUSTS:) You want to make sure you’re building a brand around something that you LOVE. Just because you’re a lawyer, that doesn’t mean that you love law. You might, but most of the time people have take on roles in their life because of what their parents or other influences in their life.

So you want to ask yourself… what do I love? What is my PASSION? This questions is hard for most people because they’ve been doing things they hate for years and years to please other people. Now is the time to take back who you are and cash in on your passion baby!

What websites do you look at? What magazines do you subscribe to? What kind of books do you read? These are some of the questions that will help you to discover what your true passion is. When you find the thing that you love, then this is the arena you should build your personal brand around.

MUST #3 – Be Consistent

You cannot build a brand without this ingredient. It’s like trying to bake a cake without baking soda… it won’t rise, it will be flat like a pancake. To build brand equity out there in the marketplace, people need to know you, like you and trust you. A piece of creating that trust comes from being consistent.

Some people will like your style right away, but most it will take a little while. Think about a song that you heard on the radio that you didn’t like right away. Actually you thought it was a bit annoying. Before you know it, you’ve heard it a bunch of times on the radio and now you’re singing it in the shower and jammin’ to it in your car. I’m not saying that you’re annoying… but you get my point:)

By being consistent and showing your readers and followers that you will be around will start to build trust in you. This is where a lot of people go wrong. They start out, but then after a few weeks they disappear. Then one minute their back around again, and then the next their gone.

You must show your followers that they can count on you to be around…

MUST #4 – Work Your A$$ Off!

I apologize for the bluntness, but this one needs to be hit home. If you think you’re going to come online, work a few hours here or there and build a personal brand that people love… you should just throw in the towel right now. Building a personal brand is going to take a bunch of your time at first… but it’s so worth it.

When I started building my brand, my friends and family would always ask me why I’m not around that much anymore. My response to them was that I’m Crushin’ It… that I’m branding myself as a leader in my niche. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a life, but I spent a lot of late nights responding to emails, Facebook messages and comments on my blog (and I still do:).

This is why building a brand around your passion is so crucial. If you LOVE what you’re doing, then you will enjoy putting in the time. So roll up your sleeves and get ready to rock!

MUST #5 – Become An Expert In Your Niche

To become the person that people turn to for information in your industry, you need to know your stuff. Become a hardcore student of your niche. Learn all you can. Spend a little bit of time each day researching what’s new in your industry.

It would be a good idea to subscribe to blogs and news sites that talk about your industry, this way you’re on top of the latest information. The more you know about your topic, the more value you’re able to add to your readers.

MUST #6 – Care About Your Followers

The brands that CARE the most, WIN in the end. It’s as simple as that. When you’re readers comment on your stuff, comment back! People miss the boat big time on this one. They put out a good blog post, people comment… and then they don’t respond. The same thing happens on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

It’s called ‘social’ media for a reason… hello! It’s about building relationships, and part of building relationships is conversing. Imagine your standing with someone having a conversation. You tell them a story about something, they respond to you and then you just walk away without saying anything to them. It sounds silly, but not responding to people when they comment is the same EXACT thing!

Remember what I said in the beginning of this post… it’s the simple things that people are missing:)

MUST #7 – Be A Value Adder

I don’t have to tell you that most people out there on the net are coming from a ‘take’ mentality. People can feel it and will run full speed in the opposite direction. Become someone who adds value to people’s lives. Let me tell you a secret… come on lean in close… “you will STAND OUT when you do this because 95% of the other people out there are coming from the perspective of take take take”!

While everyone else is take take taking… you will be the attractive one because you are contributing to their lives. Then what happens is they want to give back to you, buy your stuff, come to your seminar… you get the jist.

So what did you think? Do you see how if you follow these 7 MUSTS you can successfully build a brand that people want to be a part of? I’d love to get your feedback on this, please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

Also, there are tons of people out there that would benefit from reading this post, wouldn’t you agree? Share it with your Facebook and Twitter peeps by clicking the icons right on this page.

Thank you for taking the time to hang with me today. I APPRECIATE you!

Yours In Success,
Eric Goldstein

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Tagged as: be authentic, brand your passion, building a personal brand, building your brand, personal branding, social media branding