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Personal Branding
A practical, framework-driven course that helps you define a sharp personal positioning, pick three content pillars, build a one-page brand platform, and run a sustainable publishing system on LinkedIn and one owned channel so your name reliably attracts the right clients, employers, and audience.
Beginners, freelancers, job seekers, founders, and employed professionals who want their name to attract clients, roles, and audiences instead of being overlooked.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the course into a finished personal-brand system you can run for a year. Each section mirrors one course module with hands-on exercises, fill-in worksheets, and checklists you apply to your own brand. Pick one identity to build, your freelance practice, your job search, your founder profile, or your audience, and carry it through every section. You will finish with a positioning statement, a one-page brand platform, a rewritten LinkedIn profile, a 30-post content bank, and a weekly operating cadence.
Find Your Positioning
Decide who you are for and what you stand for, using the skill, audience, and demand intersection, before you write a single post.
Exercise: The Five-Second Test
Open your current LinkedIn profile or main bio and show only your name, headline, and the first two lines of your About to three people who do not know your work well. Give them five seconds, then take it away and ask what you do and who you help. Capture their answers verbatim, then reflect with the prompts.
- What did each person say you do, in their own words?
- How far is that from what you actually want to be known for?
- Which specific word or phrase in your current profile caused the most confusion or boredom?
- In one sentence, what do you wish all three had said instead?
Worksheet: Skill, Audience, Demand Map
Fill each field to find your intersection. Be specific enough that a stranger could picture one real person for your audience. Use real evidence for demand, not guesses.
- Skill — the three things colleagues most often ask my help with
- Skill — which of those three I genuinely enjoy and am clearly good at
- Audience — three specific groups I understand well (narrow enough to picture one person)
- Demand — evidence each group already pays, searches, or hires for this (job posts, courses, communities)
- Score 1 to 5 — skill strength, audience clarity, demand strength for my top pairing
- Intersection phrase — I help [audience] with [skill-based outcome]
Worksheet: Positioning Statement Builder
Draft five versions of your positioning using the template, then run the three checks on your favorite. The unlike clause is mandatory; it is what creates contrast.
- Template — I help [specific audience] achieve [specific outcome] through [distinctive approach], unlike [common alternative]
- Version 1
- Version 2
- Version 3 (chosen draft)
- Repeatability check — could a happy client repeat this after one read? (yes/no + fix)
- Differentiation check — does the unlike name a real alternative people recognize? (yes/no + fix)
- Proof check — can I back this with examples or results? (yes/no + what proof I still need)
Checklist: Positioning Ready Check
- My audience is narrow enough to picture one specific person
- My outcome is something the audience actively wants, not an internal feature
- My approach reflects a real method or point of view, not a buzzword
- My unlike clause names the real status quo my audience tolerates today
- At least two trusted peers picked the same version as clearest
- I can name one real person who would say that sounds like me
Build Your Brand Platform
Translate positioning into the durable assets a brand runs on: a narrative, three content pillars, a visual identity, and a one-page platform.
Exercise: Write Your Origin Story
Draft your change-maker narrative using the struggle, turning point, transformation, mission pattern from the course. Keep the audience as the hero and yourself as the guide. Then compress it to three or four sentences you could paste into an About section.
- Struggle — a problem I personally faced that my audience faces now
- Turning point — the insight, method, or decision that changed my outcome
- Transformation and mission — where I am now and who I help get there
- My point of view — one opinion about my field that I will repeat in my content
Worksheet: Three Content Pillars
Define your three pillars from your positioning, not from trends. Confirm each passes the one-year test: could you write fifty posts on it without forcing it? If not, it is a topic, swap it.
- Pillar 1 (Teach) — tactical theme that proves I can do the work
- Pillar 1 — five example post topics
- Pillar 2 (Opine) — my point of view and the myths I want to bust
- Pillar 2 — five example post topics
- Pillar 3 (Show) — stories, lessons, wins, and failures
- Pillar 3 — five example post topics
- One-year test — yes/no for each pillar, and replacement if no
Worksheet: One-Page Brand Platform
Assemble everything into the single document your brand runs from. Fill every field; this is the source of truth you reread before publishing and update quarterly.
- Positioning statement
- Audience (one-line description of the person I serve)
- Narrative and point of view (3 to 4 sentences)
- Three content pillars with example topics
- Visual kit — headshot file, two colors (hex), font pairing
- Three reusable templates I have built (banner, quote, carousel)
- Primary call to action and where I send interested people
Checklist: Visual Consistency Check
- I have one clean, current headshot cropped for each platform
- I picked a maximum of two colors and saved them as a brand kit
- I chose one font pairing and use it on all graphics
- I built a banner, a quote template, and a carousel cover I can reuse
- My name spelling and handle are identical across every channel I keep
- I have committed to leaving the look unchanged for 90 days
Show Up Where It Counts
Make your highest-traffic surfaces work: rebuild LinkedIn, choose one owned channel, and convert your positioning into a 30-post content bank.
Worksheet: LinkedIn Profile Rebuild
Rewrite each high-leverage zone using the formulas from the course. Keep the headline value-forward and write the About hook for the first two lines before the see-more cutoff.
- Headline — who I help + the outcome (+ optional method), under 220 characters
- About hook — one or two lines that earn the see-more click
- About body — narrative, pillars, proof, and call to action
- Featured item 1 — my best post
- Featured item 2 — a case study or testimonial
- Featured item 3 — how to contact or work with me
- Banner text and headshot — on-brand and current
Exercise: Pick Your Platform and Owned Channel
Choose one primary platform where your audience already is and one owned channel you control. Commit to one-in, one-out: master these before adding any others. Set up the owned channel now, even with zero subscribers.
- Which single platform fits my audience and my format strengths, and why?
- Which owned channel will I start (newsletter on Substack or Beehiiv), and what is its one-line promise?
- What is the single link in my bio that gives every visitor an obvious next step?
- What consistent call to action will I add across all my profiles?
Worksheet: 30-Post Content Bank Planner
List your reusable assets, then apply the post formats to each pillar to generate thirty ideas. Write the hook first for each; the first line decides whether anyone reads on.
- Signature stories (3 to 5)
- Frameworks I use (2 to 3)
- Strong opinions I hold (3 to 5)
- Pillar 1 — ten post ideas with hooks
- Pillar 2 — ten post ideas with hooks
- Pillar 3 — ten post ideas with hooks
- Ten posts fully written, twenty outlined — done? (yes/no)
Checklist: Ready to Publish Check
- My headline leads with who I help and the outcome, not a job title
- My About opens with a hook before the see-more cutoff
- Three Featured items are pinned: best post, proof, and a next step
- I baselined my Social Selling Index score to compare against later
- My owned channel exists and has a clear one-line promise
- I have at least ten finished posts and twenty outlined in a calendar
Run and Grow the System
Make the brand durable: run a weekly cadence, read the metrics that matter, and convert attention into concrete opportunities without feeling salesy.
Worksheet: Weekly Cadence Designer
Design a routine you can keep on a bad week. Pick a frequency, block creation time, and reserve daily engagement time. Engagement in the first hour after posting drives distribution.
- Posting frequency I can sustain on a busy week (2 to 3 recommended)
- Weekly creation block — day and time (60 to 90 minutes)
- Daily publish-and-engage block — time of day (15 to 20 minutes)
- Three accounts in my niche I will comment on substantively each week
- Weekly review slot — when I note what worked and refill the bank
- Evergreen reserve — number of backup posts kept for low-energy weeks
Worksheet: Metrics Dashboard
Track the small set of signals that map to your goal. Record a baseline now and recheck monthly. Weight conversion over reach. Do not change strategy on a single post.
- Reach — impressions and profile views (baseline)
- Engagement — comments and saves (baseline; weight these over likes)
- Followers and subscribers — current number and trend direction
- Conversion — inquiries, calls, replies, or subscribes from my call to action (baseline)
- Newsletter open rate — current percent (target roughly 30 to 50 percent)
- Monthly most-meaningful number — which single metric I judge success by
Exercise: Build Your Conversion Path
Define how attention becomes opportunity. Decide one primary call to action, place it everywhere, lower the friction, and plan your follow-up. Reframe selling as serving by giving far more than you ask.
- What is my one primary call to action, given my current goal?
- Where exactly will I place it (profile, bio link, About, content cadence)?
- What is the single lowest-friction action I want people to take, and the one link for it?
- What is my give-to-ask ratio, and how will I follow up on warm conversations?
Checklist: Conversion and Flywheel Check
- I have one clear primary call to action, repeated without apology
- My call to action is in my profile, bio link, About, and content on a cadence
- There is one obvious low-friction link to subscribe, book, or message
- I reply one-to-one to people who engage and move warm chats to a call or email
- I give value at least four times for every direct ask
- I turn every win and testimonial into new proof that sharpens my positioning
Your Action Plan
- Run the five-second test and the skill, audience, demand map, then write and choose your positioning statement
- Draft your origin story and point of view, and define your three content pillars with example topics
- Assemble your one-page brand platform and lock a simple visual kit you will keep for 90 days
- Rebuild your LinkedIn headline, About, and Featured sections, and baseline your Social Selling Index
- Choose one primary platform and set up one owned channel (newsletter) with a one-line promise and a single bio link
- Build your 30-post content bank: list assets, generate ideas by format and pillar, and write ten posts with strong hooks
- Install your weekly cadence: one creation block, daily 15 to 20 minute engagement, and a weekly review
- Set up your metrics dashboard, record baselines, and commit to a weekly glance and a monthly deep look
- Define one primary call to action, place it everywhere, and lower the friction to a single obvious link
- Run the flywheel: turn each result and testimonial into proof, refresh quarterly, and keep publishing for a full year
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