Branding Advice / How to Infuse Your Personality into Your Brand as a Solopreneur

Last week I talked about ways to identify if your brand should have your personality or a personality of its own. If you missed that post, read it here.

Now I want to discuss specific ways that you can infuse more of YOU into your brand as a solopreneur.

As a reserved and private person myself, I shied away from revealing too many personal things in the beginning. However, I’ve found that when I’ve shared a photo of myself or a personal story, those have been the pieces of content that receive the most interaction.

People want to interact with other people, not a faceless business.

You don’t have to be an over-sharer by any means, but sharing a little more of yourself will encourage people to interact with you. Once they create a personal connection with you, they are much more likely to hire you or purchase your products.  

Let’s talk about some easy ways to add more of who you are into your business.

Adding Your Personality into Your Visuals

Your Brand Identity

The visual part of your brand is the quickest way that potential clients get a taste your business, so it’s important that you let them see what makes you unique.

Your visual identity, which includes (at the very least) your logo, color palette, and fonts, all must work together to create a cohesive personality. There’s a lot that goes into creating a strong brand identity. Hiring a professional designer is one way to go about it, but certainly not the only option.

If you’re doing your own branding for now, my free Simple Branding Checklist is a great way to get started. Grab a copy here, go through each section and take action.

Your Headshot

Another simple way to let viewers get to know you is by putting a photo of yourself on your website. The first step is to make sure you have a high-quality photo of yourself, ideally taken by a professional. Here are some tips for ensuring that your personality comes through in your headshot.

Wear an outfit that you feel comfortable in and that shows your style. Don’t wear a button up shirt if you’re a casual person. Of course you should look your best, but you should also look like you.

Choose a location that reflects something about you. If you’re really outdoorsy then take your photo outside, maybe at a beach or in the woods. If you’re a homebody, then curl up on your couch and take it there. Just make sure that the background and your surroundings are not too busy. You should be the main focus.

It’s important that you look natural in your photo. The point of this is for people to get to know you, so be yourself. Avoid posing too much. Pretend like that camera in your face is one of your closest friends. Sitting down over a cup of coffee with your photographer is a great way to help you feel more comfortable and natural in front of the camera. That’s how I got my candid headshot!

Once you have a professional-looking photo of yourself, put it on your website. It should go on your about page with your bio and ideally on your homepage too. I was resistant to putting my photo on my homepage initially, but a business mentor recommended I do it. I’m glad I listened because it’s a great way to build trust and likeability right out of the gate.

Take Action:

• Download the free Simple Branding Checklist + complete it.

• Get a high-quality photo taken of yourself.

• Put your photo on your about page, and even on your homepage if you’re feeling brave!

Adding Your Personality into Your Copy

Writing Exercises

The copy that you use on your website should make readers feel like they’re getting to know you. Here are some fun writing exercises that will help add more of you into your copy.

 Imagine your ideal client and choose a person that fits that profile, preferably a real person, and even better if you know them. If you can’t think of a specific person, then imagine as many specifics about this ideal client as you can: her personality, her business, her likes, her dislikes.

Now draft a personal letter or email to her, as if writing to a friend. You’re not pitching anything. Just write her a letter to catch up on life and ask about her business. 

Once you’ve completed the letter, review the overall tone of it. Is it personal and friendly? Professional and sophisticated? Does the tone match up with the personality of your business? If so, draft all future business communications as if writing to that individual.

Another fun way to give personality to your copy is to add the unique phrases that you already use in day to day conversation. Ask those who know you best if there are any phrases you say regularly that are particularly memorable. 

For example, I had a client who would start almost every email with “Hey sister!”. Because of that I used that phrase on the contact page of her website. It’s a small thing, but it brings out her personality right from the start. Do you have a certain way of starting or ending every email? If so, try using it somewhere on your website.

Your About Page

Your About page is obviously an excellent place for people to get to know you. It’s important to include some of your credentials, but I’ve found that people also want to know something fun and personal about you that’s not business related. I include this as a list after my bio, on my about page. You don’t have to have a whole list, but throw in at least one really unique and memorable thing about yourself.

Your Email List

If you have an email list this is the perfect opportunity to get a little more personal. It’s easier to be personal in an email than on a blog because it’s not out there for the entire world to see. It’s only going to people who have already expressed interest in your business and they’d probably appreciate getting to know you a little better.

Some of my favorite email lists that I’m subscribed to are sent out by solopreneurs. One in particular always shares a personal story about herself and then relates it to her business. Not only is it fun to get to know a little more about her, but it usually makes for a memorable metaphor.

Take Action:

• Draft a letter to your ideal client, then practice writing a blog post to her.

• Ask friends and family if you have any unique phrases, or review your past emails for things you say a lot.

• Add these sayings and phrases somewhere on your website.

• Re-read the copy on your website and see if it speaks to your ideal client (bonus if you have an ideal client review it for you and provide feedback!).

• Update your about page to include something fun, funny, or unique about you.

• Write a personal story, relate it to your business, and send it out to your email list.

Now it’s time to do the work. Copy and paste, or write down all of the “take action” bullets. Then start adding more of you into your business!