Creating a Personal Brand as an Artist
We’ve talked a lot about creating art and what is needed to create. If this is your first post maybe take a minute to go back and read some of our other posts before coming here to read about building a brand. I want to move from talking about what are you going to be making and talk about the why we are making it.
What story are you going to be telling? A personal brand is what will bring clarity to you, your artwork and your story. It helps provide you with a goal and vision. Without this brand you may find yourself struggling to stay consistent or to even know what to make next. It also provides your audience with an understanding of what your brand does and what it stands for.
You don’t have to lose yourself to become a brand. This isn’t about selling yourself out or giving up on your authenticity. A personal brand is a tool we can use to help guide us in our story telling. Today I want to talk about what it looks like building your own personal brand and how to do it in a way that helps grow your authenticity instead of losing it.
A personal brand is how others perceive you. You want to clearly show people who you are and what you offer. Let them quickly understand what you stand for and represent. People prefer clarity—they don't want to be confused or have a fuzzy understanding of what something is. They want to be able to look at you and know who you are. In other words you should make yourself into an open book.
Personal branding works similarly to corporate branding. Take Nike, for example—their identity is crystal clear. You know what brand it is just by the check mark logo that they have intergraded as their brand, but their logo is more than just a logo. It represents something bigger. They target athletes, and every action aligns with this mission. To build your personal brand, you must first understand your identity and how you want others to perceive you.
Discovering Your Unique Artistic Voice
The first step in this journey is finding your unique voice. Ask yourself what are your strengths, values and artistic interests. Where do all of these things overlap? Once you discover that intersection you will have your brand.
Pinpointing what makes your art unique will help you see where you fit in this loud busy world. Take some time to reflect on these questions and write them down. You want to have a place where you keep your goals and dreams written down so you can go back and make sure any project you’re working on reflects those things.
What are your biggest strengths in life?
What do you value most out of your life?
How do you want to be viewed by others? Professional? Casual? Fun? Entertaining?
Do you want to tell your personal story? Or do you want to focus more on a message for others?
What sets your art apart from other people’s?
Make a list of your goals and dreams and what you want to accomplish.
Crafting Your Story
Now that you have taken the time to write out who you are or who you want to be it’s time to put that together into your story. Storytelling is very powerful in connecting with your audience in fact we have written multiple posts about the art of story telling. As you think through writing out your story to share go check out these posts.
The Art of Visual Story Telling
The Power of Storytelling in Making Change
As you craft your story you want to come up with a short sentence or two to use as your bio. This will be the first impression people have of you so make sure it reflects who you are well but concisely. People don’t want to read an entire paragraph when they are glancing through social media accounts. You want it to grab the readers attention quickly and get them excited about who you are.
Staying Authentic and Consistent
As you grow and develop who you are as a creative you want to make sure to stay authentic. Connecting with your followers and making them feel valued is one of the best ways to create lasting connections.
Staying consistent is also an important part of maintaining a brand. Decide on a posting schedule and then do your best to stick with it. Consistency can be challenging but it is also very rewarding to see how you are progressing as an artist. As you consistently put out work you can go back and see who you were then and compare that to who you are now.
It’s important to be willing and open to change. As you grow as a person so will your brand. You may have to go back and ask yourself who am I now? Then make any necessary tweaks to your visions and goals. It’s perfectly okay and normal to not be the same person you were 5 years ago.
Conclusion
Remember, your personal brand doesn't turn you into a corporation—it helps define who you are as an artist. I hope you'll start exploring what your personal brand looks like today. Learn to build a brand but stay authentic to who you are. Don’t rush this process, take some time and really think about who you are and who you want to be and build from there.
Here's my challenge for you: Write a single sentence that captures who you are and share it in the comments to inspire others in discovering their own brand.
