Apersonal brand is a term that has become so ubiquitous in marketing circles these days, it's mostly used with airline quotes. It may be a cliché, but for most people in YouEconomy, it's the #1 key to success.
That's because YouEconomy – the movement of people leaving the workforce for entrepreneurship or solopreneurship, becoming full fledged businesses – is built on individuality, uniqueness and authenticity.
To be successful, you need a way to identify what you do, who you serve, and why people should care and trust you. It doesn't matter whether your business is based on personal expertise (ideal for freelancers and independent contractors) or whether you have a traditional small business.
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I learned a lot about personal brands building my own in five years. My mark is unlikely but successful. My business helps single moms live amazing lives. In a few years of building a blog, podcast, and social presence, I've attracted gigs, a three-way bidding war for a six-figure book deal, and invitations to media from some of the biggest outlets in the world.
It didn't happen by accident, but through years of research into marketing strategies, trial and error, and taking advantage of this exceptional moment in the history of media:our digital age, which makes large-scale attention accessible to almost everyone on the planet. That's what I learned.
Go niche. Great niche.
By far the biggest mistake people make when building a brand is being too vague and too broad. The feeds (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and others) are so crowded, it's hard to gain traction and easy to get lost. How do you stand out? The most powerful tool you have to get out there and get a loyal following is to be a ruthless niche. Let go of the fear of alienating the audience. The more niche you are, the more loyal your target audience will be. It will also help attract fringe listeners.
In my company, there is a very narrow theme specific to my brand, which actually attracts a relatively large audience. On my blog WealthySingleMommy.com and my other platforms, I cater specifically to professional single moms. But many of the women who follow me are not single mothers. They may be married or in a committed relationship and thinking about separating, or single women exploring their family options. Other women are not yet in their professional career. Many men are interested in what I have to say. Anyone and everyone can be part of the discussion in terms of commenting on blog posts, social media, and sending emails. But I always stick to my niche:professional single moms. You will never find messages about how to get your GED, pursue child support, or whether to leave your marriage. It's not my brand. I'm very clear about that in everything I post, whether it's on the blog, my As a Mother podcast, social media, and in interviews or speaking engagements.
One of the benefits of building such a niche brand is that it is very easy for others to understand and talk about, including the media. I tell people my brand is “WealthySingleMommy:I Help Professional Single Moms Thrive in Career, Gender, Dating and Parenting Relationships,” and they immediately take notice. These words conjure up a specific demographic, the one they want to know more about. Remember:the media landscape is incredibly crowded. The best way to stand out is to focus on a very narrow niche.
Another powerful by-product of micro-niche marketing is connecting with powerful people in that space. In my case, influential women in business, media, publishing, and other niches found me through a divorce or choosing to have a baby without a partner. They connect with my work on a personal level, and often we forge a personal connection and friendship. What I've come to call my mafia single mom is promoting me in their organizations:advocating me for media appearances, gigs, and other deals. These paisanas believe in my work because it has helped them personally and it helps us all professionally.
Listen to your audience.
The most important factor in my growth has been learning to listen to my audience. I put single mothers at the forefront of everything I do. During the first years of writing, I mainly shared my own experiences and took an imperious tone by giving advice, choosing subjects at will. About three years ago, I made a critical pivot in my business:I started to listen carefully to my audience. Through their emails and comments on the blog and social media, I paid close attention to their experiences, fears, joys and desires. Now I build my content and business around what single moms tell me they need and want.
“Let go of the fear of alienating the public. The more niche you are, the more loyal your target audience will be. »
To do this, I created an autoresponder that women receive when they sign up for my mailing list. The note includes a warm welcome and asks them to respond by answering two questions:1) What is your proudest accomplishment as a single mom? 2) What is your greatest difficulty as a single mother?
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These questions are powerful. Asking women to articulate their struggles is helpful as we all need to vent and identify our challenges. For me, hearing them helps identify pain points that I can then address in my content, my communication, and the products and services I offer. For example, women kept telling me that they felt lonely and isolated. So I started Millionaire Single Mom as a closed Facebook group. Every day, 10,000 members are exploding with thousands of comments and messages, and they tell me repeatedly that the group's support has changed their lives.
A question in the email query – What is your proudest achievement as a single mother? – is also powerful. Women often say they cry when I ask them this because they are so depressed and have a poor self-image that they think I ask them to celebrate themselves to change their lives. It sets the tone for all of my endeavor and activism:turning the script on single motherhood upside down and calling women to a greater life for themselves and their families than they had previously imagined.
Create a movement.
One of my favorite business stories is the 10 Years Hoodie, a $98 sweatshirt that was the first $1 million Kickstarter campaign – thanks to his campaign to antagonize a textile manufacturing industry based on the need to replace shoddy garments frequently due to “planned obsolescence. The 10-Year-Old Hoodie's initial marketing campaign included a battle cry:“Not everything should be disposable. Companies have systematically lowered your expectations to the point where it's hard to know what to expect. But it ends here. By supporting their product, you have participated in a social, economic, environmental and fashion revolution.
My friend and professional idol, Tiffany Aliche, built a digital media company out of her own frustration. She knew many black professionals who struggled to build wealth because, she said, the financial services industry routinely ignored African American women. Her brand, The Budgetnista, has grown into a community of 300,000 black women building their personal wealth. It works because of Aliche's call to action to invest, save, pay off debt, and create financial independence. While not explicitly an expression of activism, it calls its audience to greatness in the face of institutional discrimination.
On WealthySingleMommy, my positions on several topics have evolved and been refined. One is my strong stance against alimony and child support, and another is shared parenting by default, in which mom and dad are presumed equal parents and by default granted equal legal rights and time with parents. children. My positions on these issues are rooted in my passion for gender equality and moving our policies and culture away from stereotypical gender roles. These topics are polarizing, but great for business. Those who are lined up are the fiercest followers and the most loyal customers.
Related: This is how you run a business in YouEconomy
This article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
