In previous decades, creative work was ultimately about the product. Musicians were judged primarily by the style and quality of their music, not by their lifestyle. Actors might be typecast into certain roles, but their real lives had little to do with it.
Those days are gone. Our world is looking at the producer just as much as the product. As such, building your personal branding is practically a necessity.
Lifestyle Brands
Consider Justin Bieber, formerly an adorable teen singer whose primary turn off to adults was he sounded like a teen singer. Fast forward a few years, and Bieber’s branding has changed. His off-stage encounters with the law have colored his brand, making it impossible for us to see the 20-year-old as the clean cut-kid he once was. Rather than rejecting the bad-boy image, Bieber has turned it to his advantage, selling himself as an edgier performer. After all, no teen star wants to be eternally a teenager.
Let Them Know What They’re Getting
Your personal brand is a package deal. It’s not just about the pieces you individually create, but your pieces overall. When you look at a Michelangelo, you know it’s a Michelangelo. When you hear Michael Jackson, you know it’s Michael Jackson. That distinction sells, because the buyer has a much better sense of what he’s getting even before you start painting or writing or performing.
How to Promote Your Personal Brand
Consider yourself as a whole. Consider how others will see you as a whole. Put forward the traits and styles for which you want to be known. What you say on blogs, how you portray yourself on websites, how you behave toward others, all of this rolls into your brand just as much as what you actually produce.
Want to learn more about how to promote your own personal branding? Contact us to help you put your best face forward.