Hey everyone this week, we’re talking about how to use momentum to keep your personal brand growing. We’re going to deep-dive into the topic of momentum. Momentum is all about moving forward and continuing to grow and thrive. But how do you get there? What is this all about?
WHAT IS MOMENTUM?
I wanted to dive into the momentum mindset. What is momentum? Momentum, simply put in layman’s terms, is how you keep things going and moving forward.
Scientifically momentum (the word itself) is really about the energy exerted on an object and that object continuing to move. I thought that that was an interesting way to think about it.
To get something moving in the first place takes force. You have to apply some type of force to an object. The object in this case is your reputation. It is the brand you are building for yourself. You have to be applying force to get that thing moving.
Once it’s already moving, once you’ve applied force to it on a consistent basis, and you’ve got it growing, you’ve started to build a reputation. That reputation now starts to have momentum and the good part is that once you’ve put the work in, the work will continue to be there. Everything you add to it is cumulative.
BUILD THINGS THAT KEEP MOVING
If you build a website for your brand, once you’ve done the work of building it, it exists and it will continue to exist. Even if you did nothing to it, it will have started moving. If you build content, every single new episode, blog post, or new video, every time you create that thing once it lives on in perpetuity.
If it happens to be successful, it might be something that continues to bring you attention month after month, long after you’ve created it. The good part about momentum for a personal brand, for someone who’s building their reputation, is that all it takes is a lot of little investments, little projects.
You can do one at a time, and after a period of time, you have really developed something that is moving at its own pace. The benefit of that is everything that you are building, all the hard work you are doing is going to be something that serves you long-term in perpetuity.
YOU JUST HAVE TO GET STARTED
Now that’s the good part about momentum. Things are moving along and all it takes is that bit of force in the beginning. To get it moving, you have to figure out what project you’re going to put energy into. How are you going to get out there?
Are you creating content this week, or are you building a website? Maybe you are networking and meeting more people and partners and relationships. Are you creating a new offer or something that you are selling to serve your audience? What is the project you’re going to take on?
That’s you applying your energy to create more momentum that’s going to serve you in the future.
RELATED: Build your personal brand with the Content Marketing Starter Guide.
MOMENTUM TAKES ENERGY
That’s the good part. The bad part about momentum is that when you are in the middle of building something and you’re in the middle of working on a particular project, getting it going in the first place takes a lot of energy.
You have to decide how to prioritize. Figuring those things out can be confusing. What I like to start with are the things that are right in front of me. I say, “Okay, what is the thing that’s going to move my business that is a simple project I can take on right now?”
That’s going to help. I try not to think of the huge picture and the hundreds of things that I could be doing. I try to pick just the one or two things that are right in front of me that seem important for me to get the project off the ground.
BREAK EVERYTHING DOWN
If I was just starting a coaching business, the first thing I’d get off the ground would be a way for people to get ahold of me, like a Calendly link. I would set up a landing page that explained why people would call me and what we’re going to talk about on that call, and a freebie that helps bring people into wanting to work with me.
I would build that landing page on a website, like Convertkit or something like that. There isn’t even a need for a real website, just a landing page that collects emails and a place for you to get on my calendar.
If I was starting, those would be the two simplest things that I would build with because the momentum is going to come from me actually helping people and working with people.
DON’T LET SHIFTING SLOW YOU DOWN
That’s what I see as the bad part. You have to sit there and pick and prioritize. What is the thing that you need to work on next? When you are shifting from these different projects, it takes a lot of energy. Deciding I’m going to create content, that’s the next thing I need to do is start creating content and then switch to building a website or switching to something else.
It takes a lot of work to shift. If I take a break from creating podcast episodes, and then I jumped back into it, it’s a lot of energy to get my thoughts flowing again about what is the topic that I want to cover next, what’s the format, and the structure.
However, once I’ve created one or two episodes, it starts to flow out easier. That momentum of that one project becomes easier. If I can stay in flow for as long as possible, and create these sprints of time where I’m working on a particular thing, that really helps me use the momentum from the energy I’ve created on that project, as opposed to switching all the time.
AVOID CONSTANTLY RESETTING
If I wanted to build a course, like when I built the podcast branding academy, I need to put most of my energy towards that at the same time, so that I don’t have to keep resetting and restarting while I’m taking on other projects at the same time. I try to limit it down to one thing.
The bad part is that if you lose focus on one thing, it really slows you down. The goal is to use momentum to your advantage. It’s to recognize that you’re going to put energy into something. You’re going to focus on a project, and you’re going to give yourself the time to really only work on that for the most part.
That means that you might need to get ahead on other projects so that they don’t get in the way and distract you while you’re in the middle of the next opportunity.
LOOK AHEAD TO CREATE MOMENTUM
Speaking of opportunities, the opportunity with momentum really is to set yourself up and plan ahead. Say, “Okay, where are my windows of time where I am going to plan to work on projects and tackle things?”
Maybe you can always take on one thing per month. Maybe you can only take on one new thing per quarter because you are running your business. Knowing that and identifying that is the opportunity. Get out there and say, “Okay, what are the projects that are going to help me most? When am I going to do them?”
Actually name the thing and schedule a time. Say, “This is what I need to tackle and this is when I’m going to tackle it.” This is how things get done.
The opportunity is for you to say, “What is the thing I’ve been telling myself I need in my business, when am I going to build it, and schedule that time to do it?”
USE MOMENTUM TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
That’s the opportunity for us out there because then you are using momentum to your advantage and building an opportunity for yourself to really get ahead further on these projects when you schedule.
The challenge I have for you guys with this topic is when you’re out there building your personal brand and your business, think about two buckets. You have your business bucket and your branding bucket.
Say, “Okay, for my business, what’s one project that I can take on that is going to help me get more efficient at generating leads for my business? What will turn into more opportunities for sales for me? Where can I generate more leads from?”
Build one project around that. Then build one project around your content because content is what is going to feed into those leads a lot of the time. Figure out, “What kind of content am I going to create? How can I create it?”
If you’re already doing it, how do you get better at creating it in a more efficient way that saves you time and reaches all the different channels out there?
GIVE YOUR BUSINESS AND BRAND THE PUSH
Those are my two challenges for you. Find momentum in your business and momentum in your brand by generating more leads for your business and creating more content so that every time you create it, it will continue to be there in perpetuity and serve you.
When you look back a year later, if you continue to do this consistently, you’re going to have a lot to show for it. That momentum will be moving you along, as opposed to you being the primary force.
MORE ADVICE AND INTERVIEWS
If you’d like learn more about building your own personal brand, check out the Podcast Branding Academy at:
www.podcastbrandingacademy.com
And here are some more of my most popular thought leader interviews!
- What Business to Start with John Lee Dumas
- Personal Branding Masterclass with Chris Ducker
- Built to Serve with Evan Carmichael
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Talk soon!