The term “branding” used to be reserved for companies, but these days, personal branding has become fundamental.
What is a personal brand? Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, once said: “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.”
Your personal brand is all about who you are, what the core values you stand for are, and the way you present yourself to the world.
Do you really need to brand yourself?
Just as a business brand helps communicate its value to the audience and stand out from the competition, your personal brand can do the same for you, helping to communicate your one-of-a-kind identity and clear value to prospective employers, customers or followers.
Writing, whether it be press releases, blog articles, social media posts, guides, or day-to-day email communication, has a huge impact on your personal brand. With email being one of the most used channels of communication, it’s important to explore what things you can adjust in your daily email communication not only to avoid harming your personal brand and reputation but also to improve them.
1 — Use a professional email signature
A professional email signature is one of the first things you need to consider if you want to build up to your personal brand. Just like companies use well-designed email templates to make every message look according to their brand guidelines, individuals can also benefit from this practice. With email signatures, it is possible to leverage your brand colors, fonts, images, and logo in every email you send without making it look cluttered. This can help you get noticed and memorized.
Let’s assume you write ten emails per day. With a properly designed email signature that represents your brand, these ten emails can turn into three hundred personal brand promotions!
Create your free email signature now. It’s easy and no coding or designer skills required.
2 — Stick to a certain tone of voice
Depending on how mindful you are about choosing the words, you can either strengthen or ruin your reputation.
For example, a simple request can be introduced in different ways:
“Could I borrow your pencil for a minute, please?”
“Liza, do you have a pencil I can borrow?”
“Pass me that pencil.”
The tone of voice helps people connect with you. It can build trust and relationships. It can make you stand out from the crowd.
But don’t get us wrong. You shouldn’t pretend you are someone you are not in reality. There is no need to play a good guy or to use friendly or professional words only.
Whether you are ethical, honest, intelligent, geeky, funny, sarcastic, or straight-talking, don’t be afraid to build your tone of voice on these features. Just be sure you know your audience well. Don’t create a disconnect between who you are and who you want to attract.
3 — Always be helpful
Personality and style play an essential role in emails but always consider the needs of the recipient. The foundation of a powerful personal brand is how well you understand your target audience and the issues they face. Instead of trying to convince people that you can be helpful, create content that really helps them. This builds trust and helps position you as an expert and an authority in your industry.
So, whatever product or service you have to offer, be sure not to focus on selling only. Give your supporters something valuable. This might include various tips, how-tos, templates, checklists, cheat sheets, webinars, infographics, and more.
Always look for ways to use email to demonstrate appreciation or recognition and not only when you need something.
While creating and distributing free valuable content is one of the most efficient methods to develop your personal brand and earn the trust of your readers, many entrepreneurs/bloggers forget to do it regularly. Create a schedule.
4 — Be tolerant and patient
A lot of successful people who built their personal brands were known for their high level of patience and tolerance.
To be tolerant means that you can accept opinions and preferences that differ from your ones, even when you are 100% sure that you are right. When writing/answering to people you can’t agree with, try not to blame them. Stay calm and professional. And think twice before you respond. Sometimes, you just need to wait a day or two until emotions calm down.
5 — Mention your posts/articles every now and then
You probably have already written a lot of great posts or guides that might be beneficial for your audience. But don’t assume that people who come to your blog or website read every single article you published. From time to time, you can send them something you think is helpful and relevant to them.
Or simply link to your best blog posts in your email signature. This could be a simple link, a call-to-action button, or even a whole banner. It really depends on how much attention you want to be paid to your blog.
Conclusion
A personal brand is becoming increasingly important these days. Just as for businesses, if people recognize you by your photo, name, or even article, they treat you as an influencer and believe that your opinion is an expert one.
Building a recognizable personal brand will not only help you differentiate yourself from the crowd but also open up a lot of professional opportunities.
Having a personal brand is important even if you own a company because people connect with people. People trust people.
One of the best ways to improve a personal brand image in emails is by using a professional email signature. It is always there at the bottom of every email you send. Also, it informs people, or reminds them, of your personal brand and unique promise of value that you provide. Even if you only write ten emails a day, with an attractive, well-designed email footer, they can turn into three hundred personal brand promotions.
