A strong personal brand will not generate leads or increase earnings as you hope. But it may help close sales and land contracts.
That’s been my experience from writing on LinkedIn and developing one for the last 12 years.
The very peak of my writing saw 3 – 4 targeted posts per week, averaging 1.5 million views per year, over several years.
Yet no direct, appreciable, uptick in sales occurred, compared to existing lead generation.
‘Hey numpty, you write about all sorts of non-work related topics – what did you expect?’
That’s true, but it’s also a relatively recent occurrence.
I’ve had several distinct ‘personal brands’ over the 12 years, some more deliberate and targeted than others. All genuine, I hasten to add — just different viewpoints or lenses.
The strongest, most business-oriented ‘personal brand’ focused on software requirements and business analysis, lasting about 5 years. Those topics were ripe for reinvention.
The launch of the Software Requirements Booster strengthened the ‘personal brand’ even further, clearly hunting remote and offshore development teams needing drastic help.
Leads and sales did come, business was good, but not from the posts directly. Instead, the posts acted as ‘social proof’ for prospects wanting to sign on the dotted line.
I suspect posting regularly might be more effective when selling widgets, ebooks or a tightly defined service, funnelling readers to a clear landing page. But I’m in the business of professional services to large enterprises and corporates.
So my cautionary tale is this: Writing regularly is a huge commitment, learning to write stuff that people actually read, even more so. It really is a labour of love and not financially rewarding at all.
If you are currently developing a personal brand in the hope of monetisation, I think Sales Navigator and a tightly defined proposition might be a better way to go. Or another direct sales approach. Learn to pitch well and sell high.
Do I intend to keep writing? Yes, I do. But not for the future promise of leads and sales, but for the enjoyment of learning to write, and to write well.
But it’s also time to change direction slightly, away from commercially oriented content for an imaginary buyer. Towards something more personal, more meaningful. Something that is the reward, in and of itself.
Any necessary ‘social proof’ can simply come from seeing a chap write about what it means to be human.
Kelly Eden, my favourite essayist, wrote a Medium story titled My Life is Very Ordinary But It Still Sells.
I plan to follow in her footsteps.