How to use writing to build your personal brand
- Emma Urbanová
- Jun 16
- 6 min read
You’ve heard it everywhere: personal branding is no longer a nice-to-have. In 2025, it’s essential. The rise of influencers is a prime example of how a cultivated social media presence captures people’s attention - and sells. Whether you’re a freelancer or a B2B business owner, a strong personal brand might be the one factor you’re underestimating and that might be costing you dozens of new clients.
I hear what you’re thinking. I know! I know my socials are lagging behind, but I’m too busy *actually* running my business to be able to post 3 short videos weekly or start a podcast. And I hear you. What if I told you that you can still engage your audience and build your personal brand using one of the oldest communication tools available?
In this post, we’ll look at writing as a powerful tool that helps you position yourself on the market by creating valuable short- and long-form content. You'll learn how to use expertise, authenticity, and storytelling to build a personal brand people will trust - and ultimately, buy from.
Are you interested in thought leadership and personal branding on LinkedIn? Download my free LinkedIn Personal Branding Playbook here.
What is personal branding?
Personal branding is the strategic, deliberate process of curating an individual brand across several online platforms to reach your target audience. When you're creating a personal brand, you're cutting away everything that doesn't make you you - by defining your unique strengths, values, and personal attributes, you're setting yourself apart from the competition and making it easy for like-minded people to find you.
If you have no idea where to start, here's a nudge: start with why. (These are Simon Sinek's words, not mine.) Clarify your value proposition and purpose: what difference are you making, or hope to make, in both your professional and private life? It helps to think of the audiences you'd like to reach. For a freelance translator, this might mean bridging language barriers to ensure better communication for businesses and individuals. For a CEO, it might mean helping startups scale because they wholeheartedly believe in business and personal growth. Be honest with yourself at this step, as it represents the foundation of everything else. Personal branding is all about the singular value you bring to the world.
I also recommend reading this article by Harvard Business Review about a new approach to building your personal brand.
Using storytelling to build a personal brand
Let's say you have your value proposition down. The next step to building a consistent personal brand is creating a narrative.
Think about when you first set up your business. What were the circumstances, what inspired your initial vision, and what financial means did you start with? Can you think of a few values this story demonstrates (e.g. resilience, innovation) that link back to your personal brand? People love stories - by creating a narrative around your identity, you instantly become more credible and relatable. It's time to weave that story of who you are into every piece of writing you put out there.
At this step, think a little about the tone of voice and the role you would like to assume. Are you an educator, a storyteller, or a bit of both? Do you want to sound matter-of-fact and professional? Like a jokester? Approachable and friendly? Pick a platform - LinkedIn is still best for written content - and enhance your profile, if you haven't already. A professional headshot, a clear bio, and a salient tagline are non-negotiables. You'll be posting content that supports your narrative and strengthens your personal brand from this profile, so make sure it looks sharp and polished. Commit to writing several posts per week, or collaborate with a copywriter who will write them for you.
Tip: Always post from your personal profile, but be sure to include a click-through link to your company's page or services.
Expertise and how to use it
So, now that you've optimized your LinkedIn profile, it's time to fill it with content. To make the most of it, you need to start showing up in the algorithm and making it easy for the right people to find you.
But how exactly do you become that industry voice? What will you write about?
In order to succeed, you need to offer value. But the good news is you don't have to reinvent the wheel - most of your content will naturally come from what you already know: your field of expertise. That's how you'll remain authentic and attract the relevant audience in your niche. A double win!
Think of the work challenges you face every day. Perhaps you want to share how to balance the day-to-day demands of running a business with family life. Maybe you have something to say about workflow as a freelance creative - or about that new AI update that outraged you. I guarantee you that there's a backlog of content in your mind, purely from working your day-to-day job. Try and write a short post about it, around 200-300 words.
If you consistently write about the challenges in your field, people will start turning to you for insights. You will become their point of contact for everything industry-related. Expertise helps you build authority. And authority creates conversions.
Authenticity (and why it matters)
How do you remain authentic on top of being knowledgeable? Here's another advice: forget everything and write what you would like to read.
Go to LinkedIn right now and scroll for five minutes, taking note of the posts and articles that grab your attention. Notice what they have in common and if they use any compelling hooks, illustrations, or headlines. The more you do this, the easier it gets - I promise. Soon, great ideas will start coming to you by themselves and your copywriter will be busy turning them into posts.
The oft-repeated cliché holds the most truth: stay authentic and true to yourself. Don't just think about what sells; think about your own values, experiences, and interests: trust me, your audience will know the difference. Write the posts that make you happy, even if they don't perform the best.
It’s not about being an influencer; it’s about being authentic, relatable, and earning people’s trust. Your hard work will pay off if you keep at it long enough. Which brings me to the next point...
Staying consistent
While a lot of your posts will come from unscheduled bursts of inspiration, some kind of strategy is vital. Set a goal of a number of posts per week, monitor their performance and keep a backlog of posts for the future. This is essential to ensure you stay consistent with your personal branding.
One way of organizing content is around content pillars - think of these as the key themes your posts follow, built around the personas you want to reach. They help define your brand identity and make your messaging clear and cohesive. For example, my own content pillars as a freelance writer and editor look like this:
Persona 1: Upcoming authors
Post 1: How to procrastinate less and write more
Post 2: Famous writers and their creative habits
Post 3: How a manuscript assessment can save you time and rejection
Persona 2: Businesses/CEOs
Post 1: The importance of personal branding in 2025
Post 2: Using LinkedIn to build authority and trust
Post 3: Common messaging mistakes businesses make
Once you're comfortable with consistently producing content, you might start about more structured ways of engaging with your audience. Examples include writing longer articles on LinkedIn that showcase your expertise or sending out a regular newsletter or Substack - there are no limits!
Why is personal branding so important
A strong, well-curated social media presence is like an interactive resume. It is out there constantly, even when you're not actively pitching to potential customers, acting as your unpaid marketer 24/7. People who consume your content regularly will turn into passionate brand advocates without even knowing it.
If you're not leveraging the power of social media platforms, you're missing out. Using writing is ideal for busy individuals who don't have the time or resources to produce visual content, and on LinkedIn, text is still king. The combination of storytelling, expertise, and authenticity is a guaranteed recipe for success.
Imagine having a constant supply of written content tailored to your personal brand - without having to lift a finger.
That's what I do. I help entrepreneurs like you grow their audience and boost conversions by producing consistent, on-brand content across their social media.
Sounds interesting? Let's talk. Contact me today at emma@eutext.nl.
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