Should I build a personal brand

Building a brand online? Don’t have millions of dollars to waste on marketing and advertising? Personal branding might be the solution for you. Keep watching to find out how creating a personal brand can help get you more clients.

Should I build a personal brand?

Last week, I talked about how to build your brand on YouTube. Before you get started creating a profile, setting up your channel and/or creating videos, you need to make a big decision.

Are you building a personal brand or a company brand?

I’m going to help you decide. The correct answer for you is a personal brand.

Why a personal brand?

So, why am I telling you to build a personal brand? The short answer is I assume that you’re watching this video because you’re a solopreneur or small business. And if you’re one of the 2, you have limited funds for marketing.

People buy from people. Or I like to say, people fall for people. The best example of this is celebrities. Most of us are guilty of stalking our favorite celebrities.

We do fall for brands. For example, Apple, Samsung, Channel, YSL, Tarte, and so on. But those are big companies that spend millions of dollars on ads and marketing. Not only that, but those brands had to experiment to find out what their customers like and brand themselves to fit that image.

People fall for people.

As a small business, we can only depend on ourselves. AND as a personal brand, you just have to show that you’re a real person and that you can help your audience.

Since we’re talking about YouTube, I’ll give an example of a YouTube star. One of the first people I started following on YouTube was Andrea of AndreasChoice. I found her because I was searching for something like ‘how to grow your hair faster’. At that time, I went through a traumatic haircut. Like it was almost a bowl cut. (sigh)

When I found her, I binged all her videos and watched her new videos every time they were uploaded. Because I loved her, I would buy everything that she tried. That is the power of personal branding. After watching her videos, I felt like I knew her and could trust her, so I bought all the hair products she recommended and even some other things that sounded interesting.

As a personal brand, you just have to show that you’re a real person and that you can help your audience.

Personal branding made simple

I’m not going to speak about personal branding for too long. I just want to reiterate that people fall for people. Like I said before, we love following celebrities, YouTube stars, athletes, radio personalities, authors and the list goes on. It’s also why big businesses pay celebrities to market for them.

So how can you as a small business or person create a personal brand?

The answer is to be yourself. No, a better version of yourself. Because if I was being myself, I would have my hair up in a warrior bun, wear sweats or pajamas, and have dark circles from lack of sleep. I would also ramble on about shows I’ve watched and stories I’ve read.

So, be the best version of yourself or the style that represents your brand.

The reason why you want to be yourself and not create a whole other personality is because if you’re a service-based business, you’ll most likely interact with your clients. After speaking to you, you don’t want your clients to think, “Man, Paigon is totally different in real life.” You want them to feel like they know you and can rely on you for their projects.

So, be yourself, but better.

Need help branding your youtube channel? Sign up for my free email course ‘Brand Your YouTube Channel’ by clicking here!

I don’t have time for this, tell me why I should build a personal brand…

If you want to build social proof and authority, building a personal brand is important. It’ll help your potential clients feel like they know you before they even work with you.

Who are some people that you love to follow online and why? Let me know in the comments below.

-Paigon

How to remove the background from your image to create YouTube thumbnails using Adobe Photoshop

February 16, 2020February 14, 2020

Want a simple way to change the design of your thumbnail graphics? Remove the background of your photos. Removing your background, but keeping your image is a simple solution to creating unique designs for your YouTube channel. Learn more about how to remove the background from your image to create YouTube thumbnails using Adobe Photoshop.

How to remove the background from your image to create YouTube thumbnails using Adobe Photoshop

If you’ve been paying attention to how different YouTubers design their thumbnails, then you’ll notice that cutting yourself from the background is a trend. Personally I like this trend because it gives you more options when it comes to designing your YouTube thumbnail. In this Photoshop tutorial, I’m gonna give you two ways to remove your background.

Branding

DIY branding your business?

February 3, 2022February 3, 2022

Are you building a brand from scratch and trying to DIY it? DIY branding your business could be wasting your time, money, and energy. Most people think branding is all about looking pretty, but there’s more to it. Keep watching to find out:

01. Why you shouldn’t DIY your brand

02. What you should focus on instead

Branding · Video

Branding on YouTube (How to create videos for your brand)

May 1, 2023April 23, 2023

Okay, you know you want to create videos for your brand, but how do you get started? Most people focus on the technical aspect of filming videos. For example, planning, creating a script, what kind of equipment to use, how to edit videos, and so on.

But, will that help you create a great video that showcases your brand? No. Will knowing all these things help you know what to talk about or how to portray your brand on camera? No. Knowing the production aspect of filming is great. It’s one less thing to think about during the filming process, but you still have to think about your image. That’s why I’m going to talk about branding on YouTube and how to create videos for your brand even though you’re shy on camera.

Branding · Multimedia

5 ways to brand your YouTube channel

April 9, 2018September 15, 2018

YouTube has evolved tremendously. I remember when anyone would just whip out their phone and start recording without thinking about anything. Now, it’s become a big production. No one wants to watch a video that is bad in quality. Even if you’re message is awesome, if it doesn’t look high quality or professional, then no one’s going to watch it. Besides editing, branding will take your videos up to the next level. Here are the 5 ways to brand your YouTube Channel.

5 ways to brand your YouTube channel

Some people start filming a video and upload it without even thinking about branding their channel. If your viewers want to know more about you, then they’re going to click over to your main channel page. I know that’s the first thing I do before I subscribe to any video.

When they get to your channel, they want to get a feel for you and check out your other videos. Just like a website, if the channel looks horrible, then I pass. Here are some simple things to do to make your YouTube channel stand out.

01. Get on the cover

The first thing you need to do is set your channel art. This is one of the first things your viewer sees on your page. You can have a picture of you if it’s all about you or you can just use your logo or YouTube channel name.

Just so you know, you only have a limited space for your channel art. Make sure you only put relevant things on there or it will look cluttered and messy. I would just have my channel name and if you publish on certain days, the days that you post on YouTube.

If you want to create your own channel art (*shameless plug* I include this in my Multimedia Headquarters package), you can use Canva. Make sure you keep the dimensions in mind. The channel art is responsive to desktops and laptops, mobile, and TV. Just keep in mind when you’re designing. You’ll want to keep a lot of negative space (whitespace or make sure you see a lot of the background)because the desktop dimensions are very limited.

02. Make Headlines

Branding · Graphic Design

Why A High Quality Logo Design Costs More Than $200

May 7, 2018May 7, 2018

When most people think about a designer, they think that we create pretty graphics. That or they don’t understand what our job is. If you thought that the role of a graphic designer is to create pretty graphics, then you’re wrong. A designer actually plays different roles and that’s why a high quality logo design costs more than $100.

The real reason why a high quality logo design costs more

No matter what type of designer you are, you are wearing a lot of hats. 3 of those main hats are: problem solver, strategist, and creator.

Problem solver

You need a logo for your company, but you’re not going to take just any logo right? Well, I hope not. I would hope that your logo was created to represent your business and resonate with your target audience. That’s where a graphic designer comes in.

The first thing I do when I book a client is to send them homework. What’s the point of the homework? This is one of the ways I conduct research. Yes, before our first meeting, I research everything I can about your industry and target audience.

Then, by the time we have our first meeting, I already have your creative brief and mood board ready for your approval. The creative brief makes sure that we’re on the same page about your brand. The mood board is the guideline for inspiration for when I start designing the logo or any design project.

Click here to read more about the homework process.

Strategist

Now it’s time to create a strategy. Once I research your business and your audience, it’s time to think about the end goal. Depending on the project, the end goal is different. For a logo, the goal is to create something that resonates with both the brand and the target audience.

So what does the audience want? Well, it’s my job to research that. Every answer would be different depending on the business. When I do find the answer, it’s time to start brainstorming.

During the brainstorming session, I list out as many ideas as I can that represent the business. Basically, it’s like creating a mind map of all the possible directions that the brand could go in. Once I’m done with that, it’s time to create. Read More “Why A High Quality Logo Design Costs More Than $200”

Branding

5 tips to keep your brand consistent

July 16, 2018July 9, 2018

If you’re reading this, you already have a brand or you’re ready to start thinking seriously about it. Having a brand is all about building recognition and attracting your audience. So how do you become recognizable? Simple, you just have to stay consistent. Consistency is the easiest way to get people to recognize you and keep you memorable. Here are the 5 tips to keep your brand consistent.

5 tips to keep your brand consistent

01. Writings on the wall

No matter if you’re creating YouTube videos, blogging, creating content for social media, or just a business in general, you’re going to have to use text. The first tip is to always use the same fonts. You shouldn’t have more than 3 fonts unless your business branches off and each item has its own brand.

Unless your branching out, no matter what you’re putting out into the world, use the same fonts. That means using the same fonts on your Instagram graphics, website, worksheets, workbooks, YouTube graphics, blog graphics, ads, billboards, and so on. If you keep doing this consistently, your audience should be able to recognize your business by your font.

Note: If you create content for online and print use, then you might have 4 to 6 fonts. One set for online use and another set for print. Those fonts are based on legibility.

02. Don’t be every color of the rainbow

Unless your brand colors are every color of the rainbow, use only your brand colors. Like with your fonts, use them consistently on your social media graphics, YouTube thumbnails and videos, blog graphics, website, and so on. No matter what you create, if your audience repeatedly sees your content, they should know who it is.

For example, if you create a YouTube thumbnail and you use the same colors and fonts, then your audience should automatically think, ‘Oh, so and so just released another video, I should watch it’, without even looking at the YouTube channel name.

03. Image is everything

Photo images are also a part of your brand. Make sure you create the same style of images. The best example is Instagram. You’ll notice that the best accounts create a consistent theme. Those themes can be based on mood, colors, lighting, and/or focus.

I think you can get a little more creative with Instagram, but whatever platform you’re using, if you’re using images for your brand, make sure to keep the style consistent.

Want to find out more about branding photos? Click here to read 3 types of photos you can use to brand your business. Read More “5 tips to keep your brand consistent”