So you know you want a beautiful personal brand site or perhaps you’re starting to realize the power of having a site that properly reflects your value in the marketplace.
Either way, I’m going to share the three pillars we’ve learned guiding and developing leading personal brand sites for some of the top online influencers.
Before we do…
Let’s take a quick trip down nostalgia lane.
Do you remember just a handful of years ago when video wasn’t the predominant form of media online?
You know… that time when really low quality videos could outperform higher production or studio recorded videos?
That window has effectively closed.
Now I’m not saying that you can’t make effective videos off of your iPhone but what I am saying is that production value matters more and more nowadays.
Our standards and what we expect of others online is ever increasing.
This is extraordinarily true for personal brand sites.
I don’t know about you but I get on a lot of video calls and when I’m meeting someone for the first time that I’m not familiar with, I’ll jump on Google and search their name and have a quick look at their site.
I’m wondering…
Do they have a personal brand site?
How does it look and what does it tell me about them?
…and that’s the thing.
You’re getting sized up online and the first impression you’re making usually isn’t one that serves you.
There’s a significant opportunity cost to not standing out with your personal brand online (or even worse, an out-of-date site that actually hurts your impression in the market!)
With Influex we’ve built a lot of high-end personal brand sites for top online influencers and we’d like to share some behind the scene insights that you should know before getting your own personal brand site built.
If we get to the root of what a personal brand site is, there are three fundamental pillars that will absolutely make or break your site!
Here they are…
First Pillar: A SINGLE Primary Objective
If your site tries to do everything, it will surely do nothing.
The wide net catches the most fish model is NOT applicable here.
Let’s say you have a new podcast, a new online coaching program and perhaps you’re also on the lookout for getting more speaking engagements – the trouble most people get into is they want all of these to be primary objectives and then the site becomes cluttered, confusing and ineffective.
The trick here is constraint.
Hone in on the customer avatar that you want to tailor your site towards and then get clear on the most important single task your site can be driving to that market.
Working backwards from this clear singular focus makes the process infinitely easier to navigate and forces you to make key decisions towards simplification which in turn leads to more results-oriented personal brand site.
Second Pillar: Great Photography
A beautiful personal brand site is largely won or lost by great photography.
There’s tremendous value in getting a professional photoshoot and we direct all of our clients to get one scheduled immediately upon mapping out our custom personal brand site package.
These are the types of shots you'll want:
I highly suggest you find one or two photos of people/websites online that you really like stylistically, model their shots and provide these examples for your photographer in advance which will help them out as well.
Quick Pro Tip: Avoid Stock Photography – unless done really well, it usually cheapens the look and feel while also making your site less ‘authentic’.
I also recommend swinging for the fences with trying a variety of facial expressions.
Third Pillar: Expert Storytelling
A personal brand site is a powerful tool in your arsenal.
The reason it’s such a powerful tool is that when done right, a great personal brand site is communicating your values, who you are, what you do and why you do it.
When executed correctly this builds deep rapport and connection with your ideal market and the way all of that happens is via…
Storytelling.
One of the biggest mistakes an online influencer can make is over emphasizing their accomplishments, which can come off as bragging and excuse the term, ‘douche-y’.
This also can create a barrier or wall between yourself and your market.
Instead, consider implementing these expert techniques when writing your story:
- Start on a life-defining dramatic moment, the one that defines why you do what you do
- Write the story in first person
- Make sure it’s in present tense
- Set the setting (location and year/time of year)
- Be vulnerable and real
Bringing in just a few of these techniques can dramatically shift the telling of your story into an engaging, entertaining and deeply powerful rapport building asset.
Quick appreciation for Patrick Combs who is our dear friend and resident story expert whom we refer all of our clients to for story coaching (we also built his personal brand site *shameless plug*)
Those are the three pillars, I hope they help you navigate approaching your own personal brand site with a greater perspective.
If you’d like an expert team to work with you on creating your own dream personal brand site, you can apply here to schedule a conversation with me or feel free to comment below if you have any questions or feedback!
