Personal Branding: Your Secret Weapon to Standing Out

How do you differentiate your business in a crowded market? In today’s episode, I’m sharing what I believe is the secret weapon for standing out. I’m diving into my top seven tips for strengthening your personal brand, and how to use it for long-term success. 

Listen to this episode now:

Apple Podcast | Spotify

Search for episode 130 of Called to Both on your favorite podcast player!

Why You Need a Personal Brand as a Service-Based Creative

Have you ever felt like there’s a LOT of people doing exactly what you do? I looked it up, and found out 4.7 million businesses are started each year on average in the US. Whether you’re a photographer, designer, or another type of creative service provider, standing out and being remembered is crucial to your success.

The good news? Your personal brand is your secret weapon—one that can help you attract clients consistently and differentiate yourself from the crowd. Your personal brand should help you stand out and be remembered.

What Is a Personal Brand, and Why Does It Matter?

Rory Vaden, an author I admire and founder of brand builders group, defines it this way: a personal brand as the digitization of your reputation. Instead of asking, “Do I need a personal brand?” Ask, “Do I need a reputation?”

And of course the answer is YES.

Your personal brand is more than just your logo or your Instagram aesthetic. It’s the full experience of who you are, what you do, and how you make people feel when they interact with your business. A strong personal brand creates trust, showcases your unique strengths, and helps you connect with your ideal clients on a deeper level.

Your reputation is what you’re known for, how trusted you are, and what people say about you and your offers when you’re not there.

Why a personal brand is important:

  • It builds trust: People want to work with someone they feel they know, like, and trust. 74% of Americans say they are more likely to trust someone if they have an established personal brand. People are also more likely to refer clients to you when you have an established personal brand. How likely are you to refer a person if they don’t have a strong established brand online?
  • It sets you apart and makes you memorable: In a saturated market, your personal brand is the key to making you unique and memorable.
  • It creates consistency and reputation: A clear brand ensures your messaging, visuals, and client experience align with your values.
  • It grants you permission to evolve: I’ve grown as a photographer, business coach and educator, built courses, created trainings, tried new programs, and evolved in my 10+ years as an entrepreneur. Throughout these changes and as I’ve introduced new offers, my audience has cheered me on through my personal brand. Many times when I’ve progressed to a new level I’ve even gotten messages telling me they were so encouraged to see it was possible and that they wanted to pivot and change too.

Having a personal brand creates freedom to grow and evolve because people are invested not just in what you can produce but your brand and YOU as a whole. You likely already have a personal brand—it just may not be as far reaching as you want at the moment.


How to Build a Personal Brand That Stands Out

You want your personal brand to work for you, so let’s talk about building out the existing brand you have or get started on a new personal brand.

1. Share Your Story

Your story is one of the most unique things about you. No one else has walked your exact path. Think about the experiences, challenges, and moments that brought you to where you are today. These stories help clients connect with you on a human level.

Tangible Step: Write down 3-5 pivotal moments in your life or business journey. How can you weave these into your marketing and conversations with potential clients?

The stories you tell give you a chance to be more human, and authentic. One of the most relatable things we can share is our mistakes or miss steps. Not your whole story: Your story as it relates to your offer and your client. The goal is to be remembered in a specific space – what do you want to be remembered for?

2. Define Your Mission

Your mission is the “why” behind what you do. It’s the purpose that drives your business and resonates with your audience. For example, are you passionate about empowering women through photography or helping families create lasting memories?

Tangible Step: Write a mission statement that encapsulates what you do and why you do it. Share this across your website, social media, and client touch points.

3. Clarify Your Values

Your values are the foundation of your brand. They guide your decisions, client relationships, and business practices. When clients share your values, they’re more likely to feel aligned with your brand.

Tangible Step: List your top 3-5 core values. For example, creativity, empathy, professionalism, or authenticity. Incorporate these into your marketing materials.r

4. Showcase Your Personality

People don’t just buy services—they buy into the person behind them. Your personality is a key differentiator that can attract clients who truly resonate with you.

Tangible Step: Reflect on how your friends or clients describe you. Are you warm and approachable? Quirky and fun? Thoughtful and detail-oriented? Highlight these traits in your brand voice and visuals.

One of my favorite ways to ask this are:

  • Was there anything that surprised you about working together?
  • What was your favorite part?
  • How did you feel before and after working together?

5. Highlight Your Talents or “super power gifts”

Your unique skills and talents are the reason clients hire you. But beyond your technical expertise, think about what makes your approach special.

Tangible Step: Make a list of what clients consistently compliment you on. How can you emphasize these strengths in your messaging?

Business is one long self-awareness exercise—the more we know ourselves the better we can showcase and communicate our strengths.

6. Your Method: Create a Unique Approach

Your method or process is what sets you apart as a service provider and personal brand. Do you have a signature way of working with clients that ensures a seamless and enjoyable experience?

Tangible Step: Document your process from start to finish. What makes it different or special? Share this in your marketing to give potential clients a glimpse of what it’s like to work with you.

Having a framework in my coaching has not only helped my students get better results, but it also helps me to showcase what I do in a clearer way. Accelerator coaching follows a framework to guide photographers step by step in how to increase profits, authority, and productivity. Make more money, become more known, do it in less time. That’s it.

7. Sprinkle “You” Into Your Marketing

Early in my youtube career, I was struggling to find the balance between what content to share and what content was just personal stuff and things people wouldn’t care about. Pretty shortly into my weekly uploads, I started to notice that the things people would comment on or DM me about where the small personal details of my life that I had mentioned. That my husband’s name was Felipe, that he was Colombian, or maybe that I loved bubble tea and The Office—this surprised me a lot.

It shouldn’t have, but it did. People were watching for the value but they were remembering for the personal details.

Now as a working mom, I share about balancing a business with young kids, or how we homeschool, or home projects we worked on in our first year of living here in our home in Florida. I’m always surprised and reminded of this when I get to talk to a client or a follower and they mention something I shared that they remember.

You might relate to me because I’m expecting a baby, or because my first two kids were close in age, or because I spent 8 years as wedding and portrait photographer, or because I love stationery and productivity, or for another reason, but my point is: we’re all looking for those points of connection with the personal brands we follow.


Becoming a “Market of One”

When you combine your story, mission, values, personality, talents, and unique method, you become a market of one. No one can replicate the combination of what makes you, you. This is the ultimate power of a personal brand.

Actionable Steps to Get Started

  1. Reflect on your story, mission, values, and unique traits. Take 15-30 mins this week to review the questions from this episode.
  2. Update your website and social media profiles to reflect these elements.
  3. Share behind-the-scenes content that gives clients a glimpse of your personality or your process.
  4. Ask past clients for feedback to uncover your gifts and talents about what makes you special. Also a great time to ask for testimonials and reviews!

Building a personal brand is some of the best time and effort you can invest in your business – but the effort is worth it. By leaning into what makes you unique, you’ll attract the clients who are the perfect fit for your business and create a brand that stands out in a crowded market.

If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating on the podcast and want to connect with others who are called to both, make sure you come join us in the PhotoBoss Facebook Group!

Find it quickly:

1:57 – What is a personal brand?

3:14 – The benefits of having a personal brand

7:14 – Share your story

9:25 – Define your mission

10:22 – Clarify your values

12:05 – Showcase your personality

14:41 – Highlight your talents and superpowers

16:05 – Your method, approach, and process

18:06 – Sprinkle you into your marketing 

21:33 – Implementing personal branding

Connect with Joy:

Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle

Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ

Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography

Coach with Joy: joymichelle.co/coaching

If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.

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