Nail the 'building an online presence' thing

When I started my freelance journey, I almost got stuck trying to perfect the whole “building an online presence” thing.

(Sign me up for Team Overthinking 🙋🏼‍♀️)

Maybe you can relate:

The need to have your positioning figured out before starting to post
The excuses: now’s just not a good time
The insecurity of chasing down a path with no guaranteed outcome

There’s just nothing more terrifying than starting.

But whether you call it personal branding, online visibility, or content marketing: this online posting thing will get you noticed.

Yes, you’ll eventually need to get over the hesitation and just start.
But no, you don’t need a five-year plan figured out before you do.
(Who has that, really? Be honest 🙄)

Something Jo Bird—Creative Director and Brand Builder—said in a recent virtual masterclass on personal branding really stuck with me:

“It’s not your forever story. It’s your 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄 story.”

Your brand may evolve in the coming months and years (this is what the journey is all about).

And if you need some guidance, here’s Jo Bird’s 3C’s method to start building your personal brand:

1. Clarity 

Get very clear of where you are and where you want to go at the moment. Many times we get lost in the overwhelming possibilities and the ambitious future we want to build. We are in constant change, and so is our brand. Embrace the changes without sacrificing the clarity of what you want to be known for right now.

2. Conviction 

When Jo gives one of her masterclasses, it’s her energy that fuels the session 🔥. What she explains, she delivers with conviction. Her mission to help others craft their personal brand? That much more credible because of the way she cares, creates her frameworks and the belief that she can help others. It’s contagious.

3. Consistency 

Consistency is an open secret: the hack everyone is looking for but nobody wants to truly commit to.

Jo build her audience by posting consistently about her expertise (marketing campaigns + personal insights), sharing personal stories (you can be as open as you want) and crafting her value offer (attracting people into her mission → clearly drew me into her personal branding world 😜 )

If your vision of the future is blocking your present, it’s time to take a step back and ask:

What’s true for you today?

Weekly Highlights

You can find Jo Bird’s personal branding framework in her newsletter edition here.

Building you own landing page? Daniel Bustamente dissects the anatomy of high-converting lead magnet landing pages in his recent post here.

Up for a challenge? LinkedIn’s guide to creating proposes monthly content challenges to get you up to speed in your content game. This month: share one viewpoint you think more people should consider.

Question for you

Keep up the audacity,

Laura