How to Properly Embark on Your Personal Branding Journey

Lu Linye

This book systematically expounds on the concept， thinking， and methodology of building a personal brand. It uses a large number of self-practice experiences and cases to interpret every important link of creating a personal brand. It is suitable for readers who want to build a personal brand and enhance their influence， and will help them achieve an overall leap in personal wealth and influence.

Within the first two years of building my personal brand， I realized its a systematic process， not just about product monetization. Developing a personal brand is a lifelong pursuit worth dedicating ones life too.

Now， personal branding has become an integral part of my work and life. It has established a strong connection between me and the outside world， bringing me both wealth and influence.

Since many people are unable to find the right mentors and receive proper guidance， they lose confidence and miss out on opportunities to build their personal brands. Therefore， I feel it is necessary to explore the proper way to embark on the path of personal brand building. If you treat personal branding as a lifelong pursuit， its essential to understand its principles and direction from the beginning. Only then can your path to branding be enduring.

Find Your Niche and Determine the Key Direction of Your Personal Brand

The first step for anyone wanting to build a personal brand is to identify their niche and set the direction.

A student once asked me， “Do I have to determine my niche before building my personal brand， or can I just monetize a product directly？”

Direct product monetization isnt off the table， but without a clear niche from the start， youre likely to face strategic adjustments later on. Once the direction is adjusted， the overall product architecture must also be adjusted. It is very likely that products previously worked on will have to be overturned. In that case， previous efforts do not accumulate as assets but become liabilities instead， resulting in having to take many unnecessary detours.

I recall a student who consulted me. She had invested over 300，000 yuan in various areas of study yet still couldnt find her direction. After I helped her pinpoint her niche， she settled down and eliminated unrelated studies， and her overall well-being improved significantly. If youre unsure about your broader direction， consider seeking advice from a professional consultant. Although it might cost you a sum of money， it can save a significant amount of time.

Focus on One， Start with a Signature Product

With a clear niche， the next step is to design a product and refine it into a signature offering that can be sold in the market for a long time.

When I first started operating in the field of niche writing， I designed a training camp product focused on new media writing. I then continuously polished this product， constantly upgrading and iterating it， releasing nearly 20 versions over time. Some people， when building their personal brand， constantly switch between different products in hopes of continuously generating income through various means. As a result， they are unable to create a standout flagship product that receives enduring popularity in the market. This actually ends up weakening their own competitiveness.

Therefore， we need to diligently refine our products， continuously upgrade and iterate based on customer needs， establish a strong reputation， sustain our sales， and allow more users to experience our product. By continuously polishing and iterating on a flagship product in this manner， we do not only enhance the quality of our product but also gain positive word-of-mouth and trust from users. This further strengthens our own brand influence and overall revenue. Its a multi-pronged win.

Consistently Promote to Acquire 100 Precise Seed Users

After the product is developed and internal tests are done， ensuring business logic is in place， its time to launch officially to the market.

My principle in product creation is continuous promotion until I find the first 100 precise seed users.

For a membership-based product， if you are unable to recruit at least 100 members， the community will feel somewhat sparse and lifeless. Moreover， finding those first 100 targeted seed users is significant for anyone in the process of building their personal brand because this represents the most fundamental initial user accumulation. Only by deeply serving them can one establish enduring brand influence.

If you encounter difficulties in the process of finding those first 100 seed users， you can mobilize your own resources as well as resources from those around you. You can also join some paid communities to find seed users. For example， my first batch of 100 seed users originated from the followers of my public WeChat account. With consistent， high-quality content output， I attracted them， boosting my confidence in personal branding.

Some of my staunchest users now， and those initial seed users， are not only vital clients but also pillars of support on my journey.

Serve Core Users Deeply and Build a Reputation and Influence

When building a personal brand， many people place a strong emphasis on driving up traffic， hoping to continuously expand their user base. However， they neglect one critical point - providing in-depth service and value to existing core users.

Upon closer examination， it becomes evident that those who are impatient to increase traffic often desire monetization， and in particular， quick monetization， in order to resolve their current difficulties with cash flow. But this kind of rush often leads to a dangerous situation， unable to provide quality service and value to existing core users. As a result， reputation is damaged， which then impedes and weakens future monetization attempts.

In personal branding， the fear isnt the absence of users; its the lack of deep trust from customers.

When you are in particular need of more traffic， you should first ask yourself： Have I provided deep and quality service to my existing core users？ If you have， why wouldnt they refer others to you？

We must shift from a “traffic” mindset to a “deep service” mindset because deep service is 100 times more essential than mere traffic acquisition.

By providing deep and quality service， you enable users to identify with you on a deeper level. Your core users will then not only purchase your back-end products but also take the initiative to help promote you， bringing in more paying users.

I have repeatedly told my students not to fear not having customers but rather fear that once customers come， you are unable to serve them well， ultimately losing their trust in you. This would be fatal and have an enormous negative impact on your future personal brand-building efforts.

Therefore， only by providing profound service and value to core users and building reputational influence will you be able to have more and more customers take the initiative to find you. This is how you can achieve long-lasting， sustained， and stable development over time.

Organize your knowledge system and build core competencies.

After refining products and providing deep service to users to a certain extent， the next thing to do is to structure your knowledge base because your knowledge base represents your core competency.

If you can develop a knowledge system in your own niche， not only can you collect， organize， dissect， supplement， and create industry insights， but also strengthen your core competencies in the process. This way， youll approach personal branding with increased confidence， and your personal brand will become increasingly competitive and enduring.

Building a Personal Brand：

From Methods to Practical Application

Lu Linye

Tsinghua University Press

July 2023

68.00 （CNY）

Lu Linye

Lu Linye is a researcher and practitioner of personal brand strategy. He is good at creating content-based products and is committed to helping students build a personal brand system， continuously to output high-quality content， and enhance IP influence. He is the author of Lifelong Writing and Long-termism.