Building a personal brand is one of the most important things you can do for your writing career. Don’t get me wrong – it is NOT the most important thing. Nothing is more important than just sitting down and DOING THE WORK. Writers write. Period.

But if you want people to read your writing, building your personal brand is a good way to make that happen.

Here are 5 things you should know about building your personal brand.

A personal brand is not a logo.

Oftentimes when I work with bloggers through my 1:1 coaching program and I bring up branding they think I’m talking about their website logo or header. But a personal brand is much deeper than that. A personal brand is about how you and your writing make people feel. A personal brand is about what people say about you when you’re not in the room. What do you stand for and why is this important to you? What kind of writer do you want to be?

You already have a personal brand.

Like it or not, you already have a personal brand. People already have an opinion about what kind of person you are. If you’ve been sharing your work, they already have an opinion about what kind of writer you are too. When you get intentional about building your personal brand, you can start to influence these opinions.

Your personal brand can open doors for you.

So why should you care what people think about you and your writing? If you do this right, your personal brand can lead to new opportunities. Because I’ve been intentional about building my brand, I’ve had opportunities to write for BET.com, Good Housekeeping, and ELLE magazine. I’ve been able to turn my blog into a business. And I have paid speaking engagements every month.

Your social media presence alone is not your personal brand.

Don’t mistake posting videos to Instagram or TikTok for branding. Social media is just one of many ways to amplify your brand but it’s not your brand. You need to get clear on your personal brand first. Then once you’re clear on what type of writer you are and the type of writer you want to be, you can use social media to let the world know.

On Sunday, February 25 from 4 to 6 p.m. CT, I’m hosting a masterclass on personal branding for writers and creatives. I’ll help you get clear on your personal brand and give you a practical strategy for getting your brand in front of the right people. Yes, we’ll talk social media, but we’ll cover SO MUCH MORE.

This workshop will also feature a live Q&A with music blogger Edward Bowser (who happens to be my husband). Edward’s blog Soul In Stereo not only gets thousands of pageviews each day, but his commentary is often quoted in other publications and included on musicians’ Wikipedia pages. He’ll be sharing how he’s built his brand through blogging, how he’s built community online, and the doors that have been opened because of this work.

SIGN UP HERE. Now through Friday, February 16, use the code EARLYBIRD for 50% off.