How To Build Your Personal Brand

Plus the collapse of Twitter, newsletter hacks, an epic case study, and finding the perfect positioning statement.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Hey there. Tim here. I hope you read today's newsletter in full and pay attention to this week's Final Thought. It's an important one. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored This week's issue is [brought to you by Lili](=). The best online bank for freelancers and creators. --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The 7 Essential Steps To Build A Personal Brand Business ​ If you want to learn how to build a personal brand business, you’re also probably aware that automation and AI are positioned to disrupt the entire workforce. So, how are you preparing for this change? How are you adapting to the new world? Specifically, what’s the process for turning your ideas and skillsets into a legitimate business and media enterprise that’ll thrive in the creator economy? In this post, I’m going to walk you through a step-by-step process that will enable you to create a personal brand business. You’ll learn how to: - Find your perfect customer - Build valuable online assets that you own - Establish an audience of subscribers who eagerly wait for your next post - Create a media machine that runs itself - Develop online business ideas that monetize while you sleep ​[>> Click here for the step by step guide to help you build, launch, and monetize your personal brand](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Ethan's Half Baked Newsletter Ideas ​ Special episode format! On this week’s episode, Ethan Brooks ([@damn_ethan]() records solo to share some behind-the-scenes tips on content creation, plus an interesting newsletter opportunity, a creative affiliate hack, data on the PCAT framework, and what it all means for you… ​[Click here to listen to the full length episode](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. The Best Online Bank For Freelancers And Creators [Lili](=)​ Are you tired of dealing with traditional banks that don't understand the unique needs of freelancers and creators? Look no further than Lili - the online bank designed specifically for people like you. With Lili, you'll have access to a range of features tailored to your needs as a creator, including: - No account fees or minimum balance requirements - Tools for managing your finances and tracking expenses - Tax savings tools and advice from financial experts - Instant payment notifications so you always know when you get paid - Mobile check deposit so you can deposit your checks without leaving your desk Plus, with Lili's advanced security features and intuitive mobile app, you can rest easy knowing that your money is safe and secure. Don't settle for a bank that doesn't understand your unique business. Sign up for Lili today and start banking on your terms! ​[Learn more](=)​ --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Case Study: How CMA Exam Academy Skyrocketed In Traffic ​ Nathan Liao is an accountant by trade, with a focus in Certified Management Accounting. This subspeciality of accounting requires you to pass a challenging exam to get your license. The difficulty of the test is a significant hurdle for many accounting students who hope to break into this field. There was a lack of quality resources out there to help, so Nathan saw a significant opportunity. ​[Click here to learn more about how Nathan grew his business through effective content marketing](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- 5. New Positioning Statement ... Thoughts? (Academy Members Only) I love to see this. Brian Ford wrote a post breaking down the different ideas he is working though to perfect his positioning in his business so he can better target his ideal customer. The back and forth dialog amongst the community is great and I learned a lot. Remember, A.I. can't replace community. Something special is happening here. ​[Click here to read Brian's post](=). P.S. - Not a member? ​[>> Click here to join The Copyblogger Academy](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- Final Thought When I first discovered Copyblogger, I was intrigued by the concept of "owning my audience." At the time, I made the commitment to focus my efforts on blogging and on writing long form, valuable content. I knew it would take a lot of work, but the argument for having a website and email list as the foundation of my brand was compelling. Once again, I am finding myself in a position where I am SO GRATEFUL I made that commitment, as I am watching many people lose their entire businesses because of how the social media landscape is changing. (Raise your hand if you've seen this before). I've gone on podcasts and have had many conversations with people who are crushing it on social media, and in almost every case, people have told me that I was wasting my time with blogging and that I should be focusing all my efforts on Twitter and gaining more followers. I admit, I felt a bit a FOMO and I would get insecure seeing people quickly rise to tens of thousands of even hundreds of thousands of followers. But in the back of my mind, I somehow knew that I needed to trust in my process and stay the course. Well, what do you think happened? Twitter is collapsing on itself. Since the Elon takeover, my Twitter engagement is down by 82.9%! I use Twitter to grow my personal brand, which means almost all the traffic on social media is meant to grow timstodz.com. Let's take a look at some recent data. Here is December ​ Here is June ​ It's madness. I have lost so much value from Twitter. I spent months and months working to build my following and creating great content. And now what? Luckily, I stuck to my plan and I kept my eye on the prize. My email list is still growing. My website continues to grow and the email list is more engaged and more profitable than ever before. ​ The Lesson Always invest in yourself. Social media tech lords don't care about you. They have no interest in helping you build your brand or your business. That's why you need to keep an emotional distance between you and the platforms. Of course, you should use social media to build your brand and to make a name for yourself, but understand that this is an evolving game and just because something is working for you today, doesn't mean it will work for you tomorrow. No matter what, never, EVER stop doing the real work of publishing content on your website and always convert your social media traffic to an email list. I know so many people who are in real trouble right now, because they were riding high on the Twitter boom and have nothing to fall back on now that the days of Twitter are coming to an end. Invest in yourself, always. Your future self will thank you. Love you guys. Talk to you next week. Tim ​ ​ Give us 30 Minutes, And We'll Transform How You Sell Online. [Click here]( for a free conversion audit. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to hit reply and shoot me a message. I respond to ever every email. :) This email is sent from Copyblogger Media LLC, 6029 Old Court Rd , Boca Raton, Florida 33432 If you would like to stop receiving emails from me you can [Unsubscribe](