Brand Yourself | 3 Tips to Build Your Personal Brand

Have you ever thought of taking your blog and turning it into a business?

I have been blogging for roughly 10 years, T-E-N Years! I’ve always been blogging for me, in order for me to have a place to reflect on what has happened in my life. To be very honest for the longest time, I have been lazy in my blogging, blogging on the whim, when I feel like it.

I could very easily turn this little blog into a business if I wanted to.

A couple of key events in my life this year, has pushed me to view this little blog as more than just a blog. Some of these thoughts and events include:

Am I busy wasting my talents?

I was challenged earlier this year to use my voice in my sphere of influence. It made me realise that my following on this little blog was exactly that – little. Small in comparison to what it could be. The realization led me to believe that I am busy wasting my talents! Having said that, I know I have a lot to learn, but not putting any effort into it, is a shame.

My Study Plans Failed

Another key moment, was when my career goals and study plans didn’t materialise. I was angry! Really, it led me to see that although my ‘plans’ aren’t working out as I want them to, I still have some cards in my hand. Cards that if I am bold enough to evaluate and invest in, could give me the open door that I am looking for.

What am I offering on my blog?

Lastly, winning the “jumpstart your website” competition hosted by Nicola Tweed gave me the opportunity to upgrade my website and bounce some ideas around with her. She challenged me in terms of what I am offering on my blog. It has been nearly 2 months since I change the blog’s theme and a little over a month since our call, but I am still thinking and still implementing changes.

Build Your Personal Brand

In celebration of making a decision to focus on what my little blog could be, I thought I’d share three things that I am focussing on to build my brand. Really things you could do to build your personal brand.

1. MASTER SEO

A number of years ago, the term, SEO or Search Engine Optimization became a hot topic. Nowadays, it really a must for any blogger! All you will really need to do is tweak a couple of things in the way you write in order rank high(er) on the search engines.

If you have a self-hosted site, the very first plugin you need to install is Yoast SEO plugin, it really makes SEO so much easier.
Once you have the basics of SEO, do yourself a favour and head over to Imka Webb’s site. She has a whole website dedicated to SEO! I especially valued her tips on how to revive and optimise old content.

Optimising your blog posts and activating Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools is gives incredible insight into what content is being read and valued. It gives you the opportunity to figure out exactly what content is worth writing and building on that!

2. Upskill and Learn from the Pros

If you have a WordPress website, you need to read The WordPress Workspace Blog, period. A really good place to start is the free WordPress course Nicola offers. Even if you already have an existing site! I simply skipped the hosting and set up lessons and jumped straight into the plugin recommendation lesson. And I have never looked back!

Earlier this month, I also realised I needed to focus on increasing my social reach. What it meant for me, was to consider which social media platform has the biggest potential to increase traffic to my website. I decided to look at Pinterest and Instagram. At the time Sarah Morgan from XOSarah happened to run a free 5-day course to help “Grow Your Gram“. I’m really happy I did the course and would definitely recommend any of Sarah’s courses.

3. Consider Your Brand Identity

Your brand identity is the visual elements of your brand. It is your logo, typography and colours that you use on your blog. I have had the “hello i’m Alet” logo for a while. While doing the Grow you Gram course, I was challenged to really review the rest of my brand identity. In doing just that, in between everything else. Headed over to Pinterest to see where I have gotten my inspiration from.

Btw, I know what you are thinking. “It is all good to build a brand identity if you have Photoshop and Illustrator, but I don’t have access to it.” I agree completely, photoshop and illustrator are handy tools to help you build a brand identity, but in all honesty, there are ways and means. I designed my own logo and asked a colleague to save it in a transparent PNG format for me.

Apart from that, all my designs and elements have been created outside of Photoshop!