Creating a personal brand, without constantly being online with Rachel Pearson, Business and Marketing Coach
What’s this episode about?
The second in our 3-part branding series, this episode delves in to personal brands with Rachel Pearson. Whether you think you do or not, you have probably created a personal brand whilst growing your business and this episode is all about being more intentional about how you develop and use it to grow your business.
We’re not talking about becoming an Influencer. We’re not talking about having to share every detail of your life - in fact we actually talk about sharing less but it having more impact. It’s a great episode to think about your business as a whole and how your personal brand is infused in to every element (so you may as well make it intentional!)
Episode key takeaways:
What is a personal brand and do all businesses need one?
3 ways to start using your personal brand in your business (especially your marketing)
Why Sophie has really bright colours for her branding (hint: it’s relate to personal brand!)
How you interact with your clients or your customer service policy is linked to your personal brand
How to get clear on your personal brand and using it in your business.
KEY LINKS:
Website: https://iamrachelpearson.com
Instagram: @rachelpearson.co
LinkedIn: Rachel Pearson
INTRODUCING… RACHEL PEARSON
Rachel is an ex luxury marketing executive, agency owner and now accredited Business coach and mentor.
Having launched multiple brands from conception to market in her 15-year career (hands down her best project so far has been launching a luxury airline with the team behind UBER…in a pandemic.), she knows that the quickest way to growth and fulfillment in business is by staying true to your values and yourself.
Rachel passionately believes that there’s no ‘right’ way to build your business and works with women who are ready to do things their own way.
She now focuses on helping coaches, consultants and service providers to stand out online with authority positioning, messaging and aligned sales so that they can attract high-value clients and sustainably grow their business.
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Read the transcript:
NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by an AI tool. Please forgive any typos or errors.
[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to growing pains. The marketing podcast for brands who want to grow and get more consistent sales, but without the overwhelm of feeling like you have to be online 24 7, I'm Sophie, your host, and a Facebook and Instagram ad strategist
join me each week as I alongside some wonderful guests, she had practical tips and advice about how you can use and combine marketing strategies to get more impact for your effort.
Sophie: Hello and welcome to today's podcast. So today I'm thrilled to be here with Rachel. Rachel is a former luxury marketing executive marketing agency owner and now accredited coach. Her mission is to change the narrative around quiet leaders and help them build a business and life they love without changing who they are.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: She helps female entrepreneurs to align their messaging and strategy with their true voice and sharp as their authentic selves and create success on their own terms. So, Rachel, welcome [00:01:00] to the podcast.
Hello. Thank you so much for having me.
I am very excited to have you. So that's the official intro. Let's talk a little bit more about you, your work, family life set up that sort of. tell me, so whereabouts are you? How many kids have you got? That sort of thing.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: So I am based in Sury in the uk. Probably not that far from you, I think.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: No, you're really not very far from me. No.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: So I moved outta London during the pandemic. So it still feels quite new even though I've been here for a couple of years and I'm living with my husband and I've got two crazy little whirlwind boys who have an insane amount of energy.
Aged four and a half and 20.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, we're so similar in terms of, like you say, we don't live that far away. You've got two boys, I've got two girls or I think are probably equal whirlwinds. And yes, I've got my 24 month old and five year old. So yeah, I think we're in really similar positions. We were talking just before we started recording actually about the juggle of school and how amazing nursery is for longer hours of childcare,
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: totally. [00:02:00] Yeah. I do miss, yeah, so my ELs just started school and I do, I do miss the nursery hours already, so,
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, it's such an adjustment, isn't it, to that like, oh, I've, no matter what's happening at like half plus two, I've got to stop and go and like pick them up like so different. Brilliant. Okay. And obviously we need to get into the quickfire round as well. So are you ready?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: I
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Okay. Do you prefer tea or coffee?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: coffee,
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Coffee. Oh God, I don't, everyone prefers coffee. It's, I think it's just me that prefers tea
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: I didn't, I didn't have my first cup of tea till I was 22.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Really? Oh my what? You drank coffee before that though? Or you
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: I did. Yeah. My, my parents, yeah, my parents just drank coffee. And they, I grew up in Italy for a few years and so it was just like coffee all the way. And then I got 22 and people were like, do you want a cup of tea? I was like, okay, , I'll try,
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: sure.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: try But no, still, still coffee loyalist.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: yeah, exactly. Well, I think, I feel like if you grew up in Italy, that's kind of a prerequisite, isn't it?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah. It's a bit a sin
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, [00:03:00] exactly. Dogs or cats.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Ooh. I don't have either, but I would go dogs.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, me too. Bagels or Crumb? Pitts.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Well, that's a tricky one. I love both bagels,
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: I mean, it's hard not to love a stodgy white carb, isn't it like
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah. I mean that's, how's hard to choose between both. I'd go bass, I'd probably go one after the other.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Well, exactly. Both at the same time. Please. I mean, mostly because I just feel like it's the kind of food that you can get a serious amount of butter on. Like, especially if you like, let the first like layer of butter sink in and you can just add like another little bit on top.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: That's a good way of putting it.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: right. It's basically a butter holder for me. Beach or pool.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Pool. My husband hates the beach. He's got a thing about sand, so we can't Yeah, right.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: we never, we go to the beach and he sits there for a minute. He's like, right, let's go.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: my dad's done. Yeah. I don't mind walking on the beach. I don't like sitting on the, yeah. . Yeah. Winter or summer.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Winter. I love hazing up.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Early morning or late night.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Early morning. [00:04:00] I've always, even poor kids have always been pretty early. Yeah. Not that as early with those kids, but
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: yeah. I mean, that's pretty special, isn't it?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: it's a whole nother level.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah. Fantastic. Okay, so today as part of the branding series, we gonna be talking about personal branding. So personal branding without having to be everywhere though. And I think that's really key, isn't it? I'm a lot of my clients talking about this at the moment.
They just don't have the bandwidth to be everywhere. So how do you build that personal brand without being everywhere? And I think for me, I was just thinking about this personal branding before we came. . It's interesting, isn't it? Like, I don't know that 10 years ago this was such a way of building your business or so key to business.
And even now in talking to clients a lot at the moment about how things have changed for them since even 2020 when you could just sort of go onto Instagram and put some posts up about your service or product and you'd get quite good traction. And at the moment especially, people are needing a bit more time and I wonder, I don't wanna say persuasion, like you're kind of pushing people into buying from you, [00:05:00] but more information, more connection with someone before buying from them.
And I think that's where the personal branding really comes in, isn't it? I guess we're talking at the beginning of it was what the Kardashians, like influencers. How has it kind of developed from there and how, I guess from your perspective, is it relevant for business?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah. Yeah, it's a really good point. Cause I think there has been a lot of shift in terms of where, what personal branding means and how to actually build a personal brand and. I think it is very associated, or it has been very associated with that whole social media, like influencer culture. And when I speak with clients, that's put a lot of people off building a personal brand because they're like, I don't want to be an influencer.
I don't wanna have my life dictated all the time by social media. But where I think the shifts really happened is that there's been a shift in buying behavior, first of all, that people, like you said, are wanting to. Being a bit more discerning about which brands they buy from. To do that, they have to really be invested in like [00:06:00] trusting that brand.
So we see with a lot of big, you know, sort of brands that you buy from supermarkets, that they're moving more towards authenticity and being more transparent about who they are as a brand. And that's also happening in terms of personal branding as well, because people are now saying, well, I want to know.
Who you are rather than just what you can offer me. And I want to know that I'm, you know, investing in a relationship. I think even if you are an e-commerce brand, it's about still being able to, you know, invest in a brand that represents who you are as a consumer. So I think that's where the real shift has happened, that it's not just about being an influencer, but it's about how you influence those buying decisions of the people that you want to be attracting to your.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, absolutely. And I. It's interesting when you're talking then about how it's really, like you say, it's seen as, I don't wanna be an influencer. Like I don't wanna have to have tens of thousands of followers on social media. But actually I think what we are really gonna dig into a little bit [00:07:00] today is social personal branding isn't strictly about social media, is it?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: No, and I think that's where it has got really caught up in the past is when we talked about like this influencer like Kardashian type era that is about. It's not that social media builds a personal brand, like it's one way to, to communicate and express your personal brand. But what I, you know, I think what we can talk about today is other ways that you can be doing that are actually just a lot more about who you are and what you stand for, and how you communicate that out across different platforms that aren't social media and different ways of expressing it in your business that aren't, you know, restricting you to being on Instagram all the time.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, absolutely. So before we start talking about those ways then that we can build this personal brand, like what do we mean when we say personal brand, like in terms of a business? So if it's not an influencer and it's not about sharing everything and having to be on social media all the time, what are we talking about when we talk about a personal brand?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: [00:08:00] so I think one of the helpful ways as well to think about it is the differentiation between business brand and the personal brand, because I think often people get a little bit. Tied up in, well, do I need both? Do I just need one? And so for me, a business brand is really about what you do. So it's about your services, your offers, what you do as a brand, what you offer.
Whereas a personal brand is really about. Who you are and how people experience you. And the difference as well is that a personal brand is something that isn't linked, just what you offer at that one time. So it's something which is, you know, enables you to diversify and be able to go into different areas of business that you might not be thinking of yet.
And I think. That's one of the reasons that it's really important to build a personal brand because with so many businesses online now, or so many new businesses starting up every day, there [00:09:00] are going to be reasons why you need to adapt your business and you need to be able to evolve.
And having a personal brand allows you to be able to do that because you're not. Kind of pigeonholed into what you're offering in your business right now. It enables you to grow. As you know, the market around you is growing as well.
Sophie: Yeah, absolutely. Do you know, as you were talking then, it just reminded me of sometimes you know, when you watch dragons,
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: they like pitch their like product or whatever it is. And often, or not often actually, but sometimes they will say I'm not really sure about this whole product, you know, but I totally buy into you and I will invest because I want to work with you because I see that you have something to offer.
I really feel like as you were speaking that I was thinking like that's where someone has really, really. Able to kind of get their values across, isn't it, and get their personal brand almost across really well. And then the product or service is kind of, and this is what I am offering at the moment, and the kind of dragons are sort of saying like, well, we're not sure about [00:10:00] what you're offering right now, but we do buy into your personal brand.
And that's kind of where you want to be, isn't it? It's almost like someone saying like, oh, Just love what she stands for. Whatever she offers, I will follow her because I know that I bind into her as a person
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: it's exactly like that. And I think the other thing is that it's a much more powerful way of getting people kind of behind your business if you're able to communicate what you stand for and who you are, because that is what, you know, that's an an immediate point of differentiation. So if people kind of get behind.
You know the way that you want to grow your business and how you are doing that, that is something that people really connect with. Like it's emotional. Whereas yes, you might have the best product in the world and it might be the highest quality, but it is a much longer process to get people around to getting behind that because they have to.
Really get to know like everything about your business really to be able to build that same level of trust. So [00:11:00] for me as well, like having a personal brand is a bit of a shortcut into that trust of, oh, I, I connect with what you're saying and I get who you are. And I also feel like that, and actually I really, really like your product.
So it's like the two working together can be really, really strong.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: So someone's listening to this and it's like, yep, okay, I'm all in. It sounds, I get that. How do you start to like build that? Like is there tangible ways of doing it? Is it just about putting your personality across? Like what are you thinking about if you want to go and start building this personal brand moving forward?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Well, I think the first thing to say is that I think having a personal brand is really important at any stage of business. So something that I often hear is people say, oh, I don't think I need to have a personal brand and until I'm going out for like PR or until I'm doing events or it's like the very visible experiences are what's driving, having a personal brand.
Whereas actually we are all visible so much more like doing things like this, [00:12:00] doing, you know, going live on our social media. We are visible. So having that per personal brand early on is an important thing to do and to build up does take time. So I think the first thing to to say is that, you know, start early on whatever stage you are at business.
I'd start to think about it. I think in terms of practical things, the first thing is to really think about. What do you stand for? Like what do you want to be known for? And like we said before, this isn't necessarily about what your business offers, so that is your business brand. So it's not, for example, saying like, I, you know, I stand for Facebook ads because that's what you do.
But it could be that you. You stand for, you know, integrity in business or you are really helping women to get more flexibility and freedom in their business. So it's about how you bring that into your business brand as well. And you know what you stand for. It doesn't have to be overcomplicated. Like, we're not trying to win like the Nobel Prize for like new ideas here.
It's, you know, [00:13:00] cause I think sometimes when I say that people are. They feel this pressure that they have to come up with something really quirky, really different and
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Or really profound like yeah.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Really, really hard to do. So, you know, I think an example of this is, is Steven Bartlett who is like, you know, the king of personal branding.
But when he first asked his personal brand or like when he first started to really think about it, he was really building his brand based on communicating simply like he was taking complex stuff and making it really simple, which at the time of him start. Not a lot of people were doing. So that's, you know, yes, he had a lot of digital knowledge and social media knowledge, but it was about the way that he was expressing those ideas.
So, my advice to really think about what do you want to be known for that really relates to your personality, that really re you know, reflects who you are and your values. Because that is ultimately what people are [00:14:00] going to connect.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, absolutely. And this values piece is something that we've kind of talked a little bit before on here. It's something that I. Have explored with various coaches over the years and it's, I think it's just such an important piece of work to do, isn't it? To know like what your values are and how they drive you and your business as well.
And again, I think it's quite easy to feel like your values should be certain things or that it has to be really profound. But one of my values is being bold, like, and that flows through my personality like you'll. In my stories on Instagram, you'll see it on my website. You'll see it in the way I interact with my clients.
But you'll also see it in my branding and my colors and, you know, everything is very bright and loud. And I, until like maybe a couple of years ago, I hadn't really realized that was one of my values. I always thought my values needed to be like, Honesty and , like not them, I don't value honesty, but like, you know, things that were really less I dunno.
When I made it a bit more tangible for me, I found it came to me a [00:15:00] lot more like I realized like . Before I went to university, I went traveling for six months around the world on my own. And that is something like that boldness and that like lack of well not lack of fear, but feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
Braveness maybe is something that flows, you know, running my own business. It flows through everything that I do. And I don't know, I think if you haven't explored your values yet, I'd really encourage you to do so.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah. Tatu, and I think what you picked up on there is really important as well, because you, what you've recognized is what you want to be known for, because the other parts that you mentioned, like the honesty and the integrity, people will get that from you. Anyway, like when they, you know, when they're listening to this podcast, when.
You know, on calls with you that comes through from you, but actually when you are making that first impression with somebody who doesn't yet know your business, who you know, it's the sort of things that you want people to really know about you, if you, you know, to stand out to be known for, like what's going to really hook those people in.
So that boldness [00:16:00] thing is something that, yeah, you absolutely can see is consistent across your whole brand, and that is gonna attract people in that you want to work with as well. Mm-hmm.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: And then often I'll have someone on a call and they're like, well, I just wanna work with you. So you tell. , you tell me how best I should be doing that. Like it's just not about like the services I'm putting out there at all. And like what other things are we thinking about here when we're thinking our personal branding?
I'm just thinking through what I talked about then. So obviously your personality, your values I mean we talk a lot about what the, why don't we, your why someone else's, why, how important do you feel that is? Or do you think it depends on what your why?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: I think it's it. It depends on if it feels like it is relevant. For where and how you want to grow your business. [00:17:00] So I don't think you should feel pressured that you again, have to have this really profound why and backstory if it doesn't feel that it connects with what, how you want to grow. But I think having a sense of just letting people know a bit about your story of why you started your business and.
You know why you work with the sort of clients or you run the type of business that you do does really help for people to connect with the services that you offer because it's giving, again, a sense of. What you offer, but also how they're going to experience you and whether they, you know, even if you are a product based business.
Cause I know often we talk about personal brand in terms of service based businesses, but with product based, they're still going to be interacting with you in terms of the customer experience, in terms of, you know, building that. Brand loyalty app as well. They are going to be experiencing you through your communications, your emails, your, you know, your [00:18:00] social media.
So to be in their world, they have to feel like there is some kind of connection there. So having that story and that background to the business is a really great way of being able to build that connection with people and, and keeping that brand loyalty going so that they don't just buy from you once, but they get behind that.
Bigger sense of what your business is about.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And then I guess as well, it comes through in how you act towards like, like you said, like the customer service, like how you act towards, like what's your customer service policy? Are you like super strict? Are you incredibly flexible?
Are you do you know what I mean? Like, everything you do in your business is gonna be fed from your kind of personal brand, isn't it? Like, and how you deal with people.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yes. Yeah. And that, that's why, you know, when you talked about values, I think that is another reason why the.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Mm.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: important because like you said, they go through all of your content, but they also go through the experience that you want [00:19:00] people to have every time that they're interacting with your brand.
So it's by having those values, it's creating the consistency of what your brand is about and how people are going to experience you. And again, I know we keep on saying this, but it comes back to trust because when you have that consistency there, people know what to expect from you. They it yeah.
Creates that stability of what your business is about.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah. And okay, so I think it's given us all a bit of a sense about how you can create your personal brand. Although I have to admit, I still keep going back to like Instagram. So talk to me a little bit about how do we do this, or how does it kind of, how are we able to get this through to our customers without it just being about social media?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah, I think, well, we've touched on a few of them already, but I think the, one of the main things is that not to just think about your personal brand in terms of what your. Visually putting out there [00:20:00] like that is one part of it. So having a, you know, a visual look like you talked about your brand colors.
Also, you know, being consistently visible on social. Does help, but that doesn't mean constantly visible. So the other ways that we can be thinking about it are being really intentional with how you express your personal brand and where you do that. So if you focus on the how things like the collaborations that you have as your personal brand, so collaborating with other people that you.
No, are going to be supportive of your values already aligned with those values in your business. So doing things like this podcast, for example, or doing some kind of product collab, you know, design collaboration so that it really reinforces what your personal brand is about within your business. So it's being more strategic about.
Yeah, how you are [00:21:00] connecting your values with other people that also share those same values too. And then in terms of again, how you're expressing like your tone of voice, like we touched on that in terms of your customer experience, but really thinking about, you know, your tone of voice. So how do your values come through in terms of how people get a sense of your personality through every bit of communication that they're experiencing from you, not just social media, but on. You know, through your emails, through your website. And one really simple thing that people often overlook, but is just, it's just such an easy fix, is having the same messaging across any of your platforms. So not just social media, but making sure your about page on your website talks about your values and your positioning in the same way as you do on your social media, and that there's that consistency across everything that you're talking.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Yeah, absolutely. And I think just as you were talking now, I [00:22:00] was thinking about email in particular, and I have found, Over the last year or so, I've committed to email and I've been sending one a week. And then when I started the podcast, I started sending two a week. And it's really, really honed my personal voice.
I think my personal brand, because I, it's much more long form, like my, my personal brand is I like to talk and I'm chatty, and I. . And I'm quite happy giving away like a level of information about my life. And so in my emails it's like I'm almost writing to a friend. And I think it's taken me some time to get comfortable with that because I think we're conditioned to be like, I need to be professional and I need to be you know, really , I need to impress people.
Almost like, and actually I've found email is an amazing way to kind of get that across. I started working with a woman called Liz Wilcox, who is an email marketer and she's insane. She's got this membership, it's like $9 a month. Okay. It's really, really, really good. And she sends [00:23:00] you like these templates for emails.
But her whole thing is about how you put your personality through those. And it's just so, so good. And she's all about like nineties references, like she talks about like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air all the time and like Yeah, exactly. And what's, like seeing her in practice and seeing how she does it is just so inspirational for me.
Cause I'm like, oh, I see. Like that's how you get your personality across whilst talking about this particular topic. So I think yeah, getting that through in every element of, you know, connecting with people.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah. And I think, yeah, absolutely. And I think one thing you said there as well is about really recognizing how you best communicate your personal brand as well. Because you just talked about how you are a talker and you love like expressing, you know, long form con content. And one of the things a personal brand too is thinking about, well, how are people going to really get to know me?
The best way as well that really reflects my personality, reflects my values, and kinda leaning more into that as [00:24:00] well. So it may be that Instagram is the platform for you to be able to do that, but I think the main point here is that it doesn't have to be like, it's about finding the forms, the mediums that allow you to let people experience you in the way that really expresses who you.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: That's definitely one reason why I started the podcast as well, cuz I love to chat. And bloody Instagram decided that Instagram lives were just not gonna be as widely distributed anymore. So I was like, right. What can I do to take this into my own hands? And kind of, that's why I started the podcast and yeah.
And it's been incredibly successful and I get amazing feedback on it because I think it feels so natural to me. And I would say 90% of the time people come on calls with me and say, I've been listening to your podcast. I feel like I know you. And that for me is like the best thing cuz they do.
Cause I'm pretty open.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: and that's, yeah, that's another thing about that connection point, like having the way that you've been able to put across your personality enables people to already connect with you before you've even started to [00:25:00] talk about your offers and your services, and.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: We were gonna talk as well, if I got three questions that you could ask yourself. So, I mean, obviously it's all very well me saying like, oh yeah, like I just decided I was bold and I just decided to do a podcast.
But this has come after , what am I. Sixth year now of working for myself. And I have invested hugely in coaching and personal development, and it's been a lot of work to kind of get to this point where I feel this comfortable with where I am with my personal brand. So if we've got people listening that are maybe a little bit earlier on in that journey, where could they maybe start to think about like, okay, what am I gonna test out here?
What do I start to want these threads to be like? I don't even know where to start.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah. Yeah. So the first one, which we touched a bit on earlier is that. What do you want to be known for? So that's the first question, but I think. It really focus on picking one because it's a bit like again, coming back to that trust aspect that for people to really get to know who [00:26:00] you are, it's much easier for them to connect with like one thing that you are doing or , one way you want to be known for, because then you get their trust and you get their, the credibility to then be able to diversify and talk about all the other things.
But I'd really focus on the one area that you want to be known for first. And then the second question I'd ask is really start questioning yourself about what are your opinions that you feel really passionate to be able to share? Because again, we talked about that mission and that why, and that can feel massive because it feels like you are plucking something from thin air that you, you know, you feel like you've just gotta conjure something up.
But if you bring it back to your. Your passions or your opinions, something that you really feel like you could talk about for, you know, a long time and put somebody in, you know yourself in the room and be able to talk about it. That is an easy shortcut for people to connect with you about. And so really start mapping out what are those things that you want to be sharing.
And then [00:27:00] the third thing I'd say is just really looking at that authentic. What's authentic about your personality that you wanna be able to bring in? Because. The biggest mistake with a personal brand is to build a personal brand that you think people are going to want to buy from and not here as you.
So really think about like what aspects of yourself do you want to really kind of bring out that you feel. Comfortable to be sharing and that you feel are are valuable to be sharing with with other people. And don't do it because you feel like it's got a commercial angle, angle to it. It's gonna be really, really hard for you to keep up consistently if that's the route you go down.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Okay. And if we were gonna take all those things in, we've kind of mapped it out, where would we start in terms. Threading this through in our different areas.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: So again, once you know what you want to be known for, really having that consistently across all of your messaging. So in terms of how you are writing that, in terms of your social media bios, in [00:28:00] terms of you, how you are, have that on your website, but also how you're talking to people to introduce yourself as well.
So you know, this is your, you could introduce your business, but also say, and the way that. I, you know, I approach my business is X, Y, and Z. So that is like really having that consistency of the message across and to get to that place, really having those core values in place so that they are like your guiding light of how you show up and how you are communicating to people that they're going to be experiencing new.
So I would advise to have between three and five. Like no more than five because, You get any bigger, it starts to become a bit confusing for you as well as for other people. So having those values that really reflect who you are, that are the, the cornerstone of all of the messaging that you're going out with as well.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: And would you start to look through, I guess, once you got to that point, are you starting to look through what you've currently got and make tweaks and then when you're thinking of new stuff going forward, integrating [00:29:00] it kind of thing?
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: Yeah, exactly. So this doesn't mean, you know, if you are already established in business and you're thinking, well, I really wanna get more intentional with my personal brand, you don't need to. Totally be throwing everything out. It is about making those tweaks and I think tightening up some of the language that you're using and maybe just bringing in more of your personal values into your business as well.
Looking at ways that you can be doing that if you're looking to get more intentional with a personal brand. And then the other thing to say is that, Yes, it's important to start with your, you know, your one thing to make your personal brand distinctive, but a personal brand evolves like any other brand.
So this doesn't mean, you know, you have to get everything set in stone for the future of your business. Now, your brand, your personal brand will evolve as your. Business brand does as well. So a good thing to do is to keep on kind of having a check-in with your personal brand as well as you would do with your business brand too, and really thinking, well, does [00:30:00] this still reflect who I am?
Cuz people grow all the time. Like you said, you've done a lot of personal development work, like really checking in that it still reflects how you want to be showing up and how you want to express your day in your.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: And just, I mean, on a personal note, I had a conversation actually with one of my coaches a few weeks ago and she said we were talking about Mike, why? And she said, well, your why is obviously that you want to be, you work for yourself and you work flex, speak cause you want to be available for your children.
I was like, I don't think it is that anymore. And she was like, oh, okay. I felt like bad almost saying it. I was like, I know that's what it like should be . And that's what it was definitely when I started out and Eliza, my eldest was 11 months old and I absolutely didn't want to be commuting to London and putting her in nursery and all that.
But now I, work four days a week. Pretty much have almost a working day, every day. My youngest is in nursery, she works, she's there from eight till five. My eldest is at school and she can go to morning club and afterschool club. I actually don't [00:31:00] feel that strong drive anymore to be super available for them all the time. I'm actually moving into a space where I'm , actually, I feel like it's my time. Like I feel like I've spent the last five years being available for my children, for the family being that one that drops everything that is super flexible, that takes on work, but is not sort of the.
The one in the family doing the work. Actually my why at the moment is more about me as a person and like coming back to work and, not finding myself. That sounds a bit, that's a bit too far potentially. But finding like finding that career, like I was super career driven when I was in the corporate world and like I want to kind of go back to that person who has that stability and that confidence in her work.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: I hear, I hear that a lot.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: Do you? Yeah, it's really interesting. I dunno if it's just the age the kids have got to, but yeah, for a long time my why was the children and now my why is not the children. Like my why is me.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: And it, there's a real interesting, we have different identities as our business grows as well, but [00:32:00] what you are experiencing as well is that your values are, Probably still the same. So you're kind of, the freedom is just the, the kind of why and the identity link to that freedom has shifted a bit.
So that's where like you said, would you kind of tweak or change for you the kind of core bus part of your business or the core aspects of your business still sounds to be the same, but that messaging might change slightly because your identity is changing your business. And I hear that a. As businesses grow and I work with women who are really kind of looking to scale up in their business, it's that identity piece shifted and that's where their messaging and their positioning is to change.
Actually the values are staying same.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--61e6ab8871cfe400c02c7138--thesocialpod: You are absolutely right. And it was, it was actually quite an eye-opening moment for me cause I hadn't really, like you say, you need to check back in with it.
Like, I've not even really thought about it. And I work with us of other women who have young children. And in my head it was always like, oh my why is, cause I wanna be like, you know, they'd love my kids. And I was like, oh. Actually, I don't think that is the case.
[00:33:00] So yeah, it's kind of given me a lot of food for thought as well. So this is very well timed for me too on this episode. So we've covered a a lot today. I mean, it's always easy to listen and they're not really doing anything with it. So at the end of every episode, I ask my guests, what's the one thing you'd recommend someone listening do today to kind of get themselves started?
The one thing would be to get really clear on what you want to be known for. And to really take the time for yourself to focus on what you want to be known for, not just what you want your business to be known for. Because I think the biggest thing that personal brand gives you is choice as a, as a business owner that you may want to grow your business in different ways, and if you have this really strong personal brand, it will enable you to do.
Yeah, absolutely. Fantastic. Well, if you have love listening to all of Rachel's tips and advice and want to hear more, the best way to do that is follow Rachel on Instagram. I will put the link in the show notes, but it's at rachel pearson.co. On Instagram where she shares business marketing and success mindset.
Tips [00:34:00] that are all there to support you in creating success on your own terms. Thank you so much, Rachel. This has been absolutely brilliant.
rachel-pearson_recording-1_2022-09-20--t09-15-53am--guest654555--rachel: No, thank you so much for having me.
Thank you so much for joining me this week before you go, make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you can receive new episodes, right when they're released. And if you ever enjoyed these podcast episodes, I'd really love to ask you to leave a review in apple podcasts reviews are one of the major ways that apple ranks their podcasts, and it only takes a few seconds, but really does make a massive difference to new people.
Finding me. Thank you again for joining me, Sophie, in this episode of growing pains, see you next time.
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