How to Build Personal Brand Authority Like Beyoncé

Beyonce performing at Atlantis The Royal - personal brand authority

She does it again: Beyoncé broke the Internet when it was reported that she earned $24 million for a one-hour performance in Dubai at Atlantis The Royal. This staggering amount of money is a testament to Beyoncé’s personal brand authority and star power. Her allure, her artistry, and her sheer magnetism have placed her firmly at the top of the pop music industry. She’s definitely the GOAT – whether you like her music or not.

This is a testament to both Beyoncé’s prowess as an entertainer and to the immense respect she has earned as a personal brand throughout the entertainment and business industries.

Seeing that Beyoncé was able to demand $24M for one hour on stage, I couldn’t help but wonder:

How does one build up enough brand authority to be able to demand however much money one wants? how can everyday influencers, personal brands, experts, coaches, and speakers gain a similar level of personal brand authority?

The answer lies in personal branding. And that’s not something that you build overnight. It has to be crafted through years of execution and perfect effort.

In this article, you’ll learn 5 ways you can build personal brand authority like Beyoncé.

 

1. Know and Charge What You’re Worth

Do you believe and know what you’re worth? Are you actually charging what you’re worth? And are you walking in that in every conversation and business dealing you have?

To become an authority figure in your personal brand, these are questions you’ve got to ask genuinely yourself–whether you like the answers or not.

When you know your worth, don’t be humble about that sh*t.

You’re a beast at what you do and you’ve got to tell and show the world who you are. Don’t undersell yourself and your personal brand. It’s essential for you to charge your worth in order to build personal brand authority.

Knowing and believing your worth and charging accordingly is key to establishing yourself as an authority figure in your space. People need to recognize the value you bring, and that starts with understanding what you’re worth and communicating it effectively. Charging what you’re worth will help set a standard of excellence for others to follow and establish you as an industry leader. Furthermore, be okay with walking away if they don’t want to pay what you’re worth. It’s better to miss the deal than to devalue yourself because when you do it once, you’ll do it again. And, that’s how habits forms. You should also avoid these 5 mistakes.

The world will pay your worth when YOU believe your worth first.

2. Define Your Personal Brand

Who are you? What do you stand for? Who are you as a personal brand and what do you want to be known for? This will help people recognize your personal brand and the value you bring. Defining your personal brand will help build the personal brand authority that you desire.

You should also consider your personal mission statement and personal values. Having a clear sense of why you are in business and what motivates you is essential to posture yourself as an authority figure in your field.

The world can’t know who you are until you do. Your brand is simply what other people say about you when you’re not around. Your brand is not a logo or social media account; it’s what people believe about you.

So, what do you want people to say about you?

3. Create Experiences That Add Value to People’s Lives

Beyoncé didn’t get to her position by accident. She created experiences that people are willing to pay for; experiences that add value to their lives and keep them begging for more.

You can do the same thing in your field. Create content, products, or services that solve a problem your audience is facing, and make sure that it’s done on a very high level of quality, excellence, and execution. By creating experiences that add value to people’s lives, you can start building personal brand authority and become an industry leader in no time.

I’m not saying you need to go over the top Beyoncé-style, but think about it like this: how can you do in your business, what Beyoncé has done over the last two decades, but on YOUR level? Look at what the greats do, and reverse engineer it for yourself.

By consistently providing high-value content, products, services, and experiences people love, you will establish yourself as an authority figure in your industry and be able to command a larger bag.

4. Brand Yourself Online Using Visual Branding

What brings a personal brand to life is the visuals. I mean just look at Beyoncé’s music videos. When you listen to the audio of the song, you think about the visuals she created for the song. Even her last album cover broke the Internet.

Beyonce renaissance album cover - personal brand authority

You’ve got to have the visuals to bring your personal brand to life. Visuals play a key role in personal branding because your audience is able to identify and become familiar with your personal brand.

Be sure to have consistency across all your platforms and websites to build personal brand authority.

This can be achieved by using the same colors, font choices, style guides, logo designs, etc. Your personal brand should be recognizable no matter what platform you’re on. That consistency is key. And, don’t forget to add personal touches like photos of yourself, behind-the-scenes videos and stories, and personal quotes. People love that sh*t because it endures. Now, don’t get out of hand and just post what you had for lunch (unless that’s relevant to your brand). Every piece of content should have a purpose.

When potential clients or customers come across your personal brand online, it should give them a feeling of familiarity and trust.

When you combine all these elements together and become the best at what you do, your personal brand authority will follow. People need to recognize your personal brand and know that when they come to you, they’re getting quality products or services from an industry leader. Beyoncé is an industry leader! She’s at the top of her game and her industry.

5. Divorce the Outcome and Marry the Actions

This means: don’t get so caught up in the outcome of what you’re trying to accomplish that you lose sight of the activities it requires to get there.

It’s easy to watch the scoreboard when you have a burning passion to reach your goals. But, if you’re watching the scoreboard, you’re not focused on the game. Keep your eyes on the activities that are required to reach the goal (because the goal is nothing without the activities). Stay focused.

In personal branding, this means you need to commit yourself to the process. You’ll need to invest time, money, and energy into creating content, products, or services that add value to people’s lives. That is the only way personal brand authority will be achieved.

Beyoncé has proven that personal brands can build authority and success. Keep doing what you’re doing in your own way and I guarantee that you’ll become so laser-focused on the execution that the outcome won’t even matter.

6. Be Consistent, Then Be Consistent Some More

Consistency is key to building undeniable personal brand authority. You’ve got to consistently showcase the value you bring to the world and give your audience a reason to keep coming back. The more consistent you are, the more personal brand authority and success you’ll achieve.

Branding is simply consistency over time. If you do one thing enough over a long period of time, your authority on that subject is inevitable. When folks think of that thing, they’ll think of you. When they hear someone needing something related to that thing, they’ll recommend you. Beyoncé has been executing at a high level in the music industry for 26 years and counting. That’s why she can demand $26M for a one-hour performance. That, my friend, is brand authority!

Now that you have a few keys to building your personal brand authority in your space, it’s time to unlock the next level and become the industry leader you know you can be. Be determined, be focused, and don’t ever give up on yourself. Believe in yourself and watch the authority come.

Read this post to learn how I became a personal brand and what yours can do for you.

Build a Company Not Just a Brand

What a lot of people really don’t know and where I believe most personal brands fail the most is the BUSINESS SIDE.

Personal branding is not all lights, camera, action and being in the forefront. Personal branding is 10% talent and 90% BUSINESS. Case-in-point, what’s the name of your company? Do you have an LLC? When was the last time you filed your annual report?

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you’ve already lost.

If you are to succeed with your brand, there are business processes and systems you must have in place in order for the branding machine to work and actually make you money. Things like a marketing funnel, sales cycles, lead captures, financial reporting, content editing, web design, website analytics, graphic design, hiring contractors, business logistics, operations, printing, calculating ROI, calendar software, project management… the list literally goes on and on.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you probably don’t have those things in place, therefore you’ve lost again.

My point is this: if you’re a public speaker, you need a speaker’s contract outlining the details of your speaking engagement. If you’re a graphic designer, you need a set price list and contract for all clients. If you’re an author, you need to know how to calculate your profit margin on books. If you’re a musician, you must learn how to independently distribute your music and build a fan base with social media. If you sell products on the Internet, you need lead magnets on your website. Should I continue or do you catch my drift?

PAY ATTENTION to the business and company side of things because it’s always the small foxes that destroy the vine. Don’t just build a public persona, build a business that can stand the test of time.

Don’t just be the FACE of the brand, be the CEO of the company.

How I Became a Personal Brand and What Your Brand Can Do For You

My journey to being a personal brand

I first heard the term personal branding in 2010, and I had no idea what it was or what it could do for me. Little did I know, several years later I would be a 3-time award-winning graphic designer, CEO of a branding agency, President of a non-profit organization and beloved as “The People’s Entrepreneur”. And, I boldly say that God, personal branding and a determination to succeed has afforded me those opportunities and made me the man I am today.

I must be honest, though–I never wanted to be a brand because I didn’t want to people to think I was arrogant or prideful–that’s not my personality at all. Most folks are dog-lovers–I’m a people-lover, and I dedicate my life to serving others. Becoming a personal brand was the best career decision I’ve ever made because it allows me to be who I truly am, without apology. If you’ve thought about branding yourself, but have similar concerns, then you should do it. Here’s why:

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The fact that you don’t want to be prideful will keep you from being prideful. The same is true with success–I believe your fear of failure will keep you from failing and drive you to succeed. It’s all about having the right mindset and motives.

After I heard the term personal branding, I started researching and learning everything I could about it. Then, I started testing what I learned on myself and what do you know? It worked. Now, I spend my time helping others build their brand around who they are and what they love.

One thing I’ve discovered from branding myself is that if you don’t put yourself out there, you can’t expect anyone else to do it. If you don’t promote your own product or service, how can you expect other people to do it? You have to make yourself available for people to communicate and work with.

 

What is personal branding?

Simply put, personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. Essentially, you are the brand that represents your business, company or organization. As an entrepreneur or business professional, you are a walking billboard, and no one can represent your business as good as you. You are the most accurate representation of your business there is, and no one can explain your vision the way that you can.

Your brand is all the things that make you who you are. You have unique characteristics, gifts, skills, personality traits, passions and interests that make up your personal DNA. Personal branding is mixing all of those ingredients, and creating a product or service around your passion that can benefit others by solving problems, providing information, convenience and value. Personal branding is about packaging YOU and presenting/marketing yourself to your audience in such a way that adds value to their lives.

 

Why is personal branding important?

Personal branding is a vital part of your success because whether you like it or not, you are a brand. There’s no changing that; that’s just the way it is. The danger in not embracing your brand is the fact that your brand is talking about you to the world, without you leading the conversation. For example, I’m sure you know someone who’s always negative and never has anything positive to say. They see the glass as half empty instead of half full. That’s their brand, everyone knows it, and that’s what people tell other people about them. Branding is what people say about you when you’re not around. It’s your reputation with your audience.

My question to is this: what reputation is your personal brand creating for you? Personal branding is so important because when you’re purposeful about guiding and cultivating your brand, you can use it as an asset to your success.

[ctt title=”Your personal brand is the one thing you can\’t get rid of but have total control over. The worse thing you can do to your brand is ignore it.” tweet=”Your #personalbrand is the one thing you can’t get rid of but have total control over. http://bit.ly/2w9MYI5 @cortneysargent” coverup=”_Cvb4″]

So, what are you going to do to cultivate and build your personal brand? Will you continue to ignore it, or will you use it as a tool to help you reach your American Dream of peace, freedom, and happiness? If you don’t know where or how to get started, sign up for my free 3-part video series to jumpstart your brand in 30 days or less.

Peace unto my friend,

Leave a comment and tell me how your personal brand has helped you reach success.

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