If you want to achieve personal freedom – and I very much hope that you do since you are reading this! – then by far the best way of achieving that is building a personal brand online.
Why? Because by doing so you will be in a unique position: you will get to live your own life as you see fit, wherever you want in the world, and be paid simply for recording it and putting out content about it online.
That may sound crazy, but it’s true. After all, it’s exactly how I make a living these days.
But it’s not just me. There are thousands upon thousands of people who do exactly the same: Instagram stars, YouTubers, bloggers, podcasters, Facebook Live presenters and the rest.
These day – incredibly – it is possible to earn an extremely good income simply for being yourself and monetising it.
Because the distribution channels are now in the hands of the people as well as the corporations (anyone can make a video and put it out in front of millions of people, for example), the playing field has been levelled, and we are in this unprecedented state of limitless opportunity: for influence, for money and yes, for fame (if that is something you are interested in).
But there is one key point to bear in mind: in order to be truly successful as a ‘Youpreneur’ (someone who builds a personal brand business, according to business guru Chris Ducker) you have to be 100% human and relatable.
Not only that, but the more human you are, the more money you will make.
A lot of people will – rightly – build their personal brand around a particular skill-set or activity. So for example if you are an expert in travelling around South East Asia then you may choose to develop a youTube channel on that subject.
Great.
But here’s the thing. If your channel is simply packed with bland information, and you don’t put your own spin on it, then you’re not going to get rabid fans.
Yes, people might come to watch your videos to find out the finest destinations to visit, the best flights to take and so on.
But unless you bring out your personality then they’re not going to come back.
How to bring your personality across in the content you create is worthy of a whole new article – and maybe a book! But the point is that you need to deliver yourself to your audience: warts and all.
In other words, don’t try to be something you’re not. And don’t try to look blemish-free. People are great BS detectors and they know when you are faking it.
Believe me, when I put out an article that gets really raw and down and dirty, I get loads of emails and messages from readers telling me they identified, that they know what I am going through, and so on.
But when a piece of my content is more dry and factual, I just don’t get the same response.
Why? Because it doesn’t have the same depth of humanity.
Think of rappers like Eminem and Jay Z, two of the biggest recording artists of all time. Why are they so huge? What do they have in common?
Simply, that both of them have opened up and told it like it is. Eminem about his mother and relationship with his ex-wife Kim, his drug addiction and so on. And Jay Z about his early life of crime, his family, and latterly even his infidelity to Beyonce.
If you want to hook people in, you’ve got to get real.
Even more than that, you’ve got to get human.
Paradoxically, it’s only by being entirely you that people will be able to see themselves in your work, and will ultimately want to buy from you.
By the way, if you want to see me getting really real, pick up a copy of my book How to Be An Assh*le – it’s packed full of raw stories about my younger life and the lessons I’ve learned. Plus, it teaches you how you can use them too to achieve success in dating and in business.
Also, if you haven’t already then do sign up for my DAILY email here.
