This was so inspiring! Thank you for sharing all this precious advice. I feel much more prepared and empowered to work on personal projects that I didn’t have the courage to start before.
A lot of my business is built from passion projects. They give me the space to explore and stay creative/fresh whilst I’m ‘working’ in the business on the current revenue work.
1/ do you aim to get subscribers and followers for reach project, rather than your PB specifically? (provided they aren't newsletters)
And if so, how might that be different to a person running 2-3 businesses at the same time?
I'm thinking there is probably a smart reason I'm just not seeing yet :-).
2/ how do you see PBs then promoting each of these? Example, is it as simple as using your PB to share focus on each from time to time, like sharing your journey doing/achieving something specific on a certain project?
3/ how do you leverage the audiences following a project (either, an email subscriber or social media follower) for your PB?
1) All of your projects are branded, they have their own website, core publishing channel and email list. If a newsletter isn't your core publishing channel, you would still have an email list and would promote joining it with a lead magnet. I have done with with my podcast for years and have tens of thousands on there for my LBS project.
2) Projects ARE businesses, don't get me wrong. But they are light. One MAIN offer, one content channel, one of everything. Eg Lifestyle Business School is one project, and I have one content channel (pod) and redistribute that content everywhere. That's IT.
3) You don't. You focus on the projects. You become known for the projects. But they aren't YOU.
Wow, this was so on the nose! Such a refreshing way to conceptualize how the personal brand can be monetized since it can be sooo frustrating to figure out.
My one question -- I'm curious of your take on how to craft the few lines of descriptive bio text for Instagram/Substack/etc. It always feels hard to find the balance between something ultra-specific (ex: "helping freelance writers design adhd-friendly systems") and too vague (ex: "writer / podcaster / founder" or other personal identifiers.
So how do you find the balance between still showing up as an entire, multi-faceted person while also making it clear that you teach things to a specific group of people?
PS -- just queued this article to send out in my newsletter (Internet People) on March 19!!
Hi lovely, I just had a flurry of new subscribers and wanted to drop in and say a big thank you for sharing this on your Internet People newsletter. Thank you, thank you!
In terms of descriptors, I don't really like the 'formulas' out there. You know, the ones where LinkedIn or other experts give you a generic 'I help..' formula. It can make the whole thing vanilla. It depends on where you are in your PB journey, too. If you have just ONE project, be specific (like your first example). If you have multiple, your core personal brand is really just illustrating all of the things you do and then your project assets should be specific.
Loving this Stevie - I'm a member of LBS (right from when you were in beta) and have gone through the work that relates to this but somehow this hit so much more clearly for me this time. I'm wondering, as an abstract artist using my full name currently as my artist brand name (very typical in the industry) - would you recommend re-branding it altogether or simply just separating out any *new* projects to have their own brand names instead?
Hi lovely lady! I'm a bit late to the party here but thank you so much for your comment. If you only have one project right now, having it under your name is fine but I would also call the 'project' something so you can separate it out if and when you ever create others.
I love this idea but it also feels like a lot of extra work… maybe that’s because I’m thinking of each project as a whole business and making it way more complicated than it needs to be… I’m an abstract artist, also a writer here, and a freelance scenic artist… I kind of section things off in my website but it’s all under ‘Amy Lou creates’ and I market everything everywhere 😅🤷🏼♀️ I get a lot of eyes on my stuff but not necessarily a lot of sales 🙈 intrigued to see what your next article suggests ✨
Thanks for this. In the beginning I had to sigh "not yet another person saying you have to pick one niche", but as I kept reading I realised your message is more than that and also that I'm doing all these things already. Since I got the courage to brand myself with multiple niches I'm so much happier and more confident about what I do! But do you really think it's viable to have separate accounts (on for example Pinterest) for each project? I can't see that I would maintain each one of them. I do design and photography and for now I have one account for my brand with separate boards for every project. But I may change my mind in the future. My projects are still small and under development.
This is the mic drop of all personal brand breakdowns. Clear, generous, hilarious, and deeply freeing. I finally feel like I don’t have to choose between my obsessions: I just need to structure them as projects, not identities. You’ve officially unlocked a new level of clarity
This was so inspiring! Thank you for sharing all this precious advice. I feel much more prepared and empowered to work on personal projects that I didn’t have the courage to start before.
Thanks Rol! Now go go go!
Really great article, this gave me a totally new perspective on building online.
Thanks Jonathon, happy it helped.
In Mexico, many people call their business “a project” as in, “thank you for supporting this project.”
Ooh, love it.
A lot of my business is built from passion projects. They give me the space to explore and stay creative/fresh whilst I’m ‘working’ in the business on the current revenue work.
Best way to do it!
This is awesome! I’ve always struggled with the traditional niche business advice because I’m so multi passionate and they are SOOO different. lol
Yes! So glad it was helpful Melanie.
Very interesting, encouraging take!
If I may ask, I'm curious about a few things.
1/ do you aim to get subscribers and followers for reach project, rather than your PB specifically? (provided they aren't newsletters)
And if so, how might that be different to a person running 2-3 businesses at the same time?
I'm thinking there is probably a smart reason I'm just not seeing yet :-).
2/ how do you see PBs then promoting each of these? Example, is it as simple as using your PB to share focus on each from time to time, like sharing your journey doing/achieving something specific on a certain project?
3/ how do you leverage the audiences following a project (either, an email subscriber or social media follower) for your PB?
Thank you Ben! Of course:
1) All of your projects are branded, they have their own website, core publishing channel and email list. If a newsletter isn't your core publishing channel, you would still have an email list and would promote joining it with a lead magnet. I have done with with my podcast for years and have tens of thousands on there for my LBS project.
2) Projects ARE businesses, don't get me wrong. But they are light. One MAIN offer, one content channel, one of everything. Eg Lifestyle Business School is one project, and I have one content channel (pod) and redistribute that content everywhere. That's IT.
3) You don't. You focus on the projects. You become known for the projects. But they aren't YOU.
Love this!!!!
Thanks so much Rina!
So interesting, and a great reminder
Thank you Matteo!
Wow, this was so on the nose! Such a refreshing way to conceptualize how the personal brand can be monetized since it can be sooo frustrating to figure out.
My one question -- I'm curious of your take on how to craft the few lines of descriptive bio text for Instagram/Substack/etc. It always feels hard to find the balance between something ultra-specific (ex: "helping freelance writers design adhd-friendly systems") and too vague (ex: "writer / podcaster / founder" or other personal identifiers.
So how do you find the balance between still showing up as an entire, multi-faceted person while also making it clear that you teach things to a specific group of people?
PS -- just queued this article to send out in my newsletter (Internet People) on March 19!!
Hi lovely, I just had a flurry of new subscribers and wanted to drop in and say a big thank you for sharing this on your Internet People newsletter. Thank you, thank you!
In terms of descriptors, I don't really like the 'formulas' out there. You know, the ones where LinkedIn or other experts give you a generic 'I help..' formula. It can make the whole thing vanilla. It depends on where you are in your PB journey, too. If you have just ONE project, be specific (like your first example). If you have multiple, your core personal brand is really just illustrating all of the things you do and then your project assets should be specific.
Anyway - thank you again!
Loving this Stevie - I'm a member of LBS (right from when you were in beta) and have gone through the work that relates to this but somehow this hit so much more clearly for me this time. I'm wondering, as an abstract artist using my full name currently as my artist brand name (very typical in the industry) - would you recommend re-branding it altogether or simply just separating out any *new* projects to have their own brand names instead?
Hi lovely lady! I'm a bit late to the party here but thank you so much for your comment. If you only have one project right now, having it under your name is fine but I would also call the 'project' something so you can separate it out if and when you ever create others.
I'm excited for this series! This one gave me a LOT of clarity and inspiration -- thank you Stevie!
Thank you Anna!
Love you newsletters, Stevie! You provide the most actionable, simple and deeply valuable content!! Thank you :)
Thank you so much Tish! And thank you for recommending this newsletter too it made my day.
Love this Stevie and hanging for the next instalment.
Thanks Natalie! I appreciate this so much!
I love this idea but it also feels like a lot of extra work… maybe that’s because I’m thinking of each project as a whole business and making it way more complicated than it needs to be… I’m an abstract artist, also a writer here, and a freelance scenic artist… I kind of section things off in my website but it’s all under ‘Amy Lou creates’ and I market everything everywhere 😅🤷🏼♀️ I get a lot of eyes on my stuff but not necessarily a lot of sales 🙈 intrigued to see what your next article suggests ✨
Thanks for this. In the beginning I had to sigh "not yet another person saying you have to pick one niche", but as I kept reading I realised your message is more than that and also that I'm doing all these things already. Since I got the courage to brand myself with multiple niches I'm so much happier and more confident about what I do! But do you really think it's viable to have separate accounts (on for example Pinterest) for each project? I can't see that I would maintain each one of them. I do design and photography and for now I have one account for my brand with separate boards for every project. But I may change my mind in the future. My projects are still small and under development.
Just mingling here, but I think it’s important to go one by one in order to not spread ourselves too thin…
This is the mic drop of all personal brand breakdowns. Clear, generous, hilarious, and deeply freeing. I finally feel like I don’t have to choose between my obsessions: I just need to structure them as projects, not identities. You’ve officially unlocked a new level of clarity