Lifestyle content is an important part of sharing behind the scenes of your personal brand. It gives your audience an up-close and personal view of what your days look like. This type of content is also what gives your personal brand that authentic edge – it’s what will convince more clients to hire and work with you over one of your competitors.

If you have been struggling to come up with content ideas or just need some general inspiration, these tips will help.

This guest post focuses on confidence, something we often struggle with when trying to promote our businesses. It’s easy to shout about someone else, but often hard to big yourself up! Narinder is a chronic pain and mindset coach and set up her business Mapcoach to help people, after her own journey through chronic pain.

This guest blog is by life coach Dave James, (aka Dave The Coach - Tattooed Brummie & Chief Hug Officer). Dave is all about showing up authentically in his marketing, so I thought it would be fun to ask him to delve deeper into the topic. He covers values, perfectionism and control.

The location of your brand shoot helps tell your story. It will also play a role in the first impression you create and what type of audience you attract.

When you think about personal brand photography, a studio setting might be the first thing that jumps to mind. However, this is only one of the many options that you can choose from. Let’s take a closer look at which location options you could consider!

There’s no denying that it’s tough to stand out online among the many marketing messages, ads, emails and social media posts. It is perhaps even harder when you first start your business. One way to stand out is to position yourself as an expert, so you don’t blend into the background noise.

Qualifications and certifications will only get you so far, however. Sharing your opinions and experience is what will really get your personal brand noticed.

As an authority in your industry, you can attract better clients, raise your rates and gain access to better opportunities more often. But where do you begin? Here’s how to build up a strong reputation, even if you don’t have an audience yet.

As you plan your brand shoot, it’s important to make a list of the shots your photographer will take on the day. If you have specific ideas in mind, discuss this with them in your planning session. This ensures you are making the most of your time during the photoshoot.

But with so many options, what are the must-have photos for a budding entrepreneur? Here is a recommended list…

This guest post is written by Jamie Stewart of Circle Networks. He delves into the benefits of networking for a small business, and also gives 5 tips for effective business networking! So grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy!

Human connection is at the core of personal branding and it all starts with the stories we tell. Humans want to relate to others and form bonds: it is a psychological need.

When we bring this into a business setting, the same principles apply. Creating an engaging narrative is one of the best ways to connect with your customers and online audience. Whether you are a business owner, freelancer or influencer, your story is the foundation of your brand.

Storytelling encourages people to make decisions by triggering their emotions. For a story to have this effect, however, it needs to be clear and authentic.

You’ve recently started your business, there have been some tough days, but you’re starting to get some traction. It feels like all the hard work is starting to pay off and you really feel like you’re turning a corner.

You’re aware of trademarks and intellectual property (IP) vaguely, but you don’t really see how it fits you and your business, not now anyway, how can it help you?  Read Michael’s guest blog post to find out more.

You might think that Instagram is only good for sharing moments with friends and family, but it’s also a brilliant platform for finding new clients for your business.

Instagram is a powerful marketing tool, but there are some key rules you need to follow. Along with posting the best possible content (I’ll give you some examples in a moment), it’s also important to be consistent and to have variety.

Now if you want Instagram to work for your brand, you have to post the right sort of content – here are four tips for you to start with:

This guest post is written by Tosin Ajayi of Toes In Video Production, and he’s going to cover reasons why video is important for your brand.

Personal branding photos are a sound investment for your business, one that can vastly enhance your reputation as a professional in your industry. Do you know how to get the most out of using those brand images after the shoot? Here are some tips to guide you.

In today’s highly competitive digital landscape, having a website for your small business is no longer optional, it’s essential.

However, simply having a website isn’t enough to make a significant impact. With countless websites vying for attention, it’s crucial to go the extra mile and make yours stand out from the crowd.

By implementing some simple yet effective strategies, you can transform your website into a powerful tool that propels your small business forward. Here’s how…

There are loads of great personal branding photographers out there, but (unfortunately) there are also a few you simply shouldn’t hire.

If you look out for the following red flags, you will ensure you don’t waste your hard-earned money and end up feeling disappointed with your experience and photos.

You’ve chosen your brand colours right down to the specific Pantone code. You know which fonts are ‘yours’ on social media. You’re happy with the voice you use when you write. But do you have a style guide for your writing?

A style guide for written content details all aspects of English language that applies to your services and brand, so that your writing style is consistent and sounds like you. This means, for example, deciding whether you write ‘mum’ or ‘mom’ and if you’re interested in ‘well-being’ or ‘wellbeing’. It also includes uses of punctuation, such as the Oxford comma (I love apples, oranges, and chocolate), date format (my favourite date is 25 April), and spelling preferences (do you recognise or recognize?). Read on to find out more!

Now we are halfway through the year, it’s an ideal time to reassess your personal brand and make any changes. Your brand shows people what makes you unique and why they should do business with you.

A lot can change in six months. To make sure that your brand is still distinct and memorable, here are five steps you can take to give it a refresh (major or minor).

GUEST BLOG: Martin Hill, from Sandler West Midlands.

Have you ever entered a negotiation and felt you just didn’t have a leg to stand on? What about the other side of the table? Have you ever been in such a strong position that if your counterpart made objections, or asked for something, you knew you didn’t have to give in?

Either way, what you’ve experienced was that remarkable negotiating force known as “leverage.” Leverage in negotiating is like the undercurrent close to the beach. We can’t see it on the surface, but it’s pulling powerfully beneath us.

We can gain or lose negotiating leverage in various ways. But if we’re not aware of areas where we can gain leverage in the negotiation, we miss opportunities.

There are eight possible sources of leverage that are present in every negotiating situation. We want to understand and maximise all eight sources.

Once you’ve selected your photographer, it’s time to start planning your outfit(s) for the photoshoot. This is a crucial element of the shoot overall because, as we all know, what we wear is a way of expressing who we are and what we do – visually. Here are 3 tips to help.

This guest post is by Naomi Wachner from NW Virtual Assistant. When your business starts to pick up, but you’re still wearing all the hats it can get really stressful. That’s where a VA can come in and help take off some of the administrative jobs, with out the cost and legal requirements needed for an employed member of staff.