There are good arguments both for having a website for your personal brand, and not having one.
Both sides have a lot to say that makes sense. But in the end yes, you absolutely should have your own website.
Why? Well, let’s first consider the opposing arguments.
People who say you should have your own website will typically say things like ‘you should never build entirely on someone else’s land.’
What they mean by that is that if you use any other platform—-Quora, Medium, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.—-you are there at the discretion of that platform’s owner. That means that they call the shots. They can change things up when they want. And they often do.
We need only look at the algorithm changes that Facebook has made over the last few years, and consider people being banned from other networks, to realise that these platforms are not necessarily ‘safe’ havens.
On the other hand, those who say that having your own website it less important will usually talk in terms of ‘reach’. The thrust of their argument is that you will likely take the trouble to set up your website only to find that your traffic is negligible.
Whereas, if you use, say, Medium instead to publish your articles then you will immediately be exposed to a huge audience hungry for content.
Your ‘discoverability’ will be far greater, in other words.
Have It Both Ways
Well, both are right. And that being the case, the very simple solution is that you should do both. Have your own website, and then post to other networks to drive traffic to it.
I now make a full-time living online, and that is precisely my strategy.
I have my own website (this one) where I post daily content. And then I write on Twitter, Medium, Quora and in other places to drive traffic to it.
Let’s face it, in a world where attention spans are so strained, we must all strive for ubiquity. That being the case, why not have your own website? Why not post on as many networks as you can?
After all, the beauty of it is you don’t necessarily need to create new content all the time. You can simply repurpose content across different platforms.
For example, the content I publish on Medium is all from my own website. Medium makes it extremely easy to copy articles across—-it takes less than two minutes for me to get an article up there.
Now, as it is, this website gets pretty good traffic because I’ve had it for a long time and I’ve been very consistent in publishing content. But my aim is always to get more people into my funnel by exposing them to my content. And as such it makes sense for me to be active in as many locations as possible.
Having your own site is essential because in the end it’s better to have a piece of online real estate that you control. The other thing is that if you are looking to monetise your work it’s far easier to do so on your own land.
However, you can’t just set up a WordPress site, put up a couple of articles and expect it to be an overnight success.
You need to publicise it, to drive people to it.
And the way you do that is by showing up regularly on other platforms.
A personal brand does not exist merely in one sphere. It should be multifaceted. Play at home as well as on other people’s courts.
Enjoy the best of both worlds.
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