The Hard-Hitting Truth About What Really Builds Your Brand

Many entrepreneurs pour their hearts into building their personal brand, yet a staggering number struggle to achieve the recognition and success they desire.

The hard-hitting truth? Credibility is the missing link that sets successful brands apart from those that remain in the struggle zone.

Without establishing credibility, your branding efforts will go unnoticed.

In today’s letter, I’ll share three powerful types of credibility that can unlock rapid brand growth and help you stand out from the noise.

1. Credibility through Results

The first type of credibility comes from what you’ve done.

This includes testimonials, case studies, and reviews that show how you have helped others. It also includes personal and professional achievements. When people see proof of your work, they are more likely to trust you.

If you have achieved what your audience aspires to achieve, it becomes much easier to capture their attention and turn them into loyal fans.

Alex Hormozi’s rapid audience growth over the last few years is the result of many things (including financial resources), but mostly due to his credibility.

Here’s what he says in the first few seconds of his YouTube Videos:

“I’ve been in business for 13 years. I’ve sold 9 companies. My last company I sold for $46.2M. My current portfolio at Acquisition.com does over $17M a month. And I’m gonna compress 13 years of business advice into this one video.”

Now if that’s not a good hook, I don’t know what is. It isn’t gimmicky copywriting or some psychological hack, it’s immediate credibility based on results.

2. Credibility through Content Creation

The second type of credibility comes from what you create.

When you share valuable information through social media posts, newsletters, videos, books, or by speaking at events, you show that you know what you’re talking about. This helps build trust with your audience.

While most of entrepreneurs don’t have Hormozi-level credibility, when you consistently share helpful content over a long period of time, people will start to see you as an authority in your niche.

The key thing to understand is that not all content builds the same level of credibility and trust. This point is often missed in the world of personal branding, but if you want to succeed, you need to understand it. 

For example, a book has a higher perceived value than a TikTok account. Speaking on stage has a higher perceived value than recording a podcast.

You might be thinking, it depends on the content of the TikTok account or the reach of the podcast, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but imagine this:

If I tell you, “my cousin shares personal finance advice on TikTok and has 100K followers” versus “my cousin has written a bestselling book on personal finance”, which one makes my cousin sound more credible? I’ll let you answer this one.

3. Credibility by Association

The third type of credibility comes from who and what you’re associated with. These are the people you collaborate with and the ideas you resemble.

For example: Tim Ferris is often associated with Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Kevin Kelly. Russell Brunson is often associated with Dan Kennedy, Anthony Robbins, and Dean Graziosi.

This is called credibility by association. When you connect with well-known people in your field and work with them, it makes your brand look better.

When respected people share your content or talk about you, it shows others that you are worth paying attention to. 

If these influential people like or comment on your posts, their followers will notice you too. This can help you reach more people and grow your brand.

Here are some examples of people associated with ideas/words:

• Nassim Taleb → Antifragile

• Ali Abdaal → Productivity

• James Clear → Habits

• Gary Vee → Hustle

When you connect your brand to a clear word in your audience's mind, you build a strong identity that makes you memorable.

Start with what you have

If you've built a successful business, leverage that as your credibility. Written a book? Highlight it. Grown your LinkedIn following to 10,000+? Use that.

Helped a client generate an additional $100,000 in annual revenue? Use that to demonstrate your impact.

Created multiple viral pieces of content? Emphasise your ability to create interesting content that captures attention.

Start with what you have and build on it as you go.

If you enjoyed this, share it with a friend.

Until next time, keep creating!

Omara

Quick Picks

1. If you want to start a YouTube channel or grow your existing channel, you’ll find some really good advice in this video.

2. If you’ve read Die With Zero (one of my favorite books), you might enjoy playing around with these tools.

3. I’m currently reading this book by Ralph Waldo Emerson as an attempt to read more philosophy and less regurgitated business advice.

P.S. Got questions, ideas, or just want to say hello? Hit reply!