The Secret To Building Your Brand (It's Not What You Want To Hear)
Hey there. Tim here.
I finished reading $100M Leads. I give it a 7 out of 10. The book was very well formatted, but didn't present me with any groundbreaking ideas. Would 100% recommend a beginner read it.
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1. The Secret To Building Your Brand (It's Not What You Want To Hear)
My wife and I love to watch Project Runway.
Which is hysterical, because I don't know anything about fashion. In fact, I wear the same outfit everyday.
My daily attire consists of a Next Level tee shirt, Old Navy drawstring pants, and Chuck Taylors. If it's cold, you will find my in a black or gray Levi's hoodie.
Here's proof (and a chance for me to show off this great picture of the little dude going down the fast slide for the first time. 😎).
But really, this is what I look like every day. I rotate different color shirts with different color pants and Chucks and bam! ... fashion.
We love Project Runway because of Christian Siriano. He's the mentor of the designers. You know, the guy that walks around and helps the contestants with their ideas and their execution. He's hysterical, brilliant, and obsessive. He's great.
The Best Advice I've Ever Heard
Last week was the finale. There is a certain designer named Laurence who is extremely good at one specific skillset. She works with leather and is a brilliant tailor. Her particular skillset makes her designs extremally recognizable. When you see one of her designs, you know right away it was made by her.
While looking at some of her designs, there was uncertainty from the judges about whether she pushes herself enough or steps out of her box.
Then Christian said the most brilliant line I've ever heard. He said ...
"Repetition is reputation."
And there it is.
That advice is the only lesson you will never need to know when building your brand. That's the secret to success and it's probably not what you were hoping for.
How Do You Build A Reputation?
That's what a brand is, right?
A brand is simply a reputation. A brand means that people know who you are and that they associate you with something.
So how exactly do you build a reputation?
By doing the same thing over and over again for weeks, months, and years.
I get it, you want there to be a hack or a shortcut or "the 5 step process to becoming a millionaire." I'm sorry, that's not how it works.
You build a reputation by choosing a craft, and practicing your craft through tens of thousands or millions of repetitions.
Laurance doesn't need to be a generic fashion designer. She has built her reptation by being one of the world's best designers who can work with leather and create very strong lines with her tailoring on a fabric that is traditionally difficult to work with.
That's a brand. That's her reputation. What's yours?
Reps And Sets
I've written about Arnold Schwarzenegger before. Like many fitness nerds, Arnold has long been a hero of mine.
In his biography, Total Recall (10 out of 10), he said that all his body building success was simply a matter of reps and sets. He did more reps and sets than anyone else. More importantly, he was intentional about the reps and sets he performed.
He didn't mindlessly pick up weights and start lifting. Rather, he planned his repetitions out ahead of time in relation to what body part he wanted to work on.
This lesson applies to any skill.
This is the difference between writing when you feel like it, and methodically writing your social media posts and measuring the results to find the patterns and discovering what works and what doesn't work.
Then USING that data to get better.
So, How Do You Do It?
I can't tell you what you should do, here's what I did and will continue to do.
- I've posted on Twitter and LinkedIn 2 - 3 times a day, every day, for the last 3 1/2 years.
- I screen shot my tweets and I've posted on Instagram, once a day, for the last 2 years.
- I've recorded and published a YouTube video every week for the last 2 years.
- I've recorded and published a podcast episode every week, for the last 2 1/2 years.
- I've written and published a weekly newsletter, every week, for 3 years straight.
I've never missed a single day or week. I've never missed a single commitment. Not once. I've showed up, and performed the repetitions over and over and over again without praise, guidance, or reward.
I keep showing up, and I always will.
Why Most Of You Will Fail
It's not that you're stupid or that you can't do it. Rather, you won't do it.
Because success requires you to put in years of repetitions before you get anything out of it, and who wants to do that? Who wants to perform repetitive tasks for years without an endpoint or even a light at the end of the tunnel?
Only a select few.
I know you're looking for a better solution. I know you're looking for "an easier, softer way."
But the easy path leads to a hard life. The hard path leads to an easy life.
I can't tell you what to do. It's your choice.
But 5 years from now, you will wish you started today.
2. From Clueless to Successful: Charles Miller's Journey of Learning and Growth
In this episode, I bring my friend, Charles Miller onto the show.
Charles is a personal branding expert and runs a high end ghostwriting company. Simply put, he's the most knowledgeable and skilled social media expert I know.
Charles taught me everything I know about building my personal brand.
He's methodical, calculated, and his results speak for themselves.
I highly recommend you list to this episode. You won't regret it.
>> Click here to listen to the full episode and discover the show notes.
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4. Should You Start A Newsletter Or A Blog?
The most common question I get inside The Copyblogger Academy is, "should I start a blog or a newsletter?"
It's a nuanced question, because new platforms like Substack and Beehiiv make it hard to tell the difference between the two.
BUT ... there is a major difference in the functionality between newsletters and blogs. Knowing this secret will help you make the best decision.
>> Click here to watch the video.
5. A Portfolio Of Small Bets
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This is my exact investment thesis in one tweet.
When I go on podcasts, I am often asked "how do you manage all of this?" My answer is always the same.
"It's not as much as you think." The reason is because I have built an amazing team.
I am very willing to give up equity in projects I've funded and also take small pieces of equity in projects that I am coming into.
I'm not looking for a big win, I'm looking for cashflow compounded over time.
The biggest indicator on whether I will take on a new project in my portfolio isn't the numbers, but the founder.
I work with great people. The people on my team are incredible.
Delegation and partnerships are the secret to success.
I hope you all have a great week. As always, feel free to hit reply and let me know what you think or if you have any questions I can answer.
Love you guys.
Talk to you next week.
Tim