The Power of Personal Branding | How My Client Landed a Paid Speaking Gig Without Trying
- Melanie L. Denny
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
This article is a guest post from: Melanie L. Denny- Your Identity Strategist, Mellynated | Mellynated.com
A client of mine is a project manager at one of the Big 4 firms. She built her own proprietary framework as a productivity coach for solopreneurs. She is a beast in her field.
One day she posted something in a Facebook group. It was nothing promotional. She
wasn't pitching anybody or anything. She was just sharing her perspective in this online space.
Well, someone who ran a community of project managers saw the post, looked her up, and reached out to book her as a paid speaker.
A complete stranger wanted her to present her framework to a room full of other project managers.
Mind you, she never sent an email or offered anything. She showed up as herself, and her personal brand did the rest.
That stranger hired her because when she went looking, what she found told her everything she needed to know,
‘this woman knows her stuff and my people need to hear her.’
I love this story because it’s a prime example of the power of personal branding.
Keep reading, I'm breaking down exactly how her personal brand landed her that paid speaking gig, and how yours can do the same.
A Strong Personal Brand Reaches Beyond Your Circle
Most of the service providers I work with are excellent at what they do; their clients love them. When I ask where their business comes from, the answer is almost always the same: word of mouth.
And that’s beautiful. Referrals are a sign that you do good work.
At the same time, referrals only reach as far as your circle reaches.
Meanwhile… there's an entire market of people out there who need exactly what you offer (and would gladly pay your rate) who have no idea you exist.
Your job is to make sure you’re showing up where they can find you.
First, They Have to Find You
My client got found in a Facebook group where she was hanging out with other people in her space.
Visibility is a big buzz word these days. But you don’t need to run yourself ragged trying to show up everywhere.
You do need to be discoverable in the places that make the most sense.
Think about what happens when someone hears your name. They will probably Google you. What comes up?
If someone searches for what you do in your city or your industry, do you show up anywhere?
If a stranger finds one piece of your work, can they easily find more?
Those first few minutes of looking around decide whether they reach out or move on.
So, I challenge you right now. Google your own name and see what comes up. If there’s nothing, you may need to start putting yourself out there a bit more.
Then Your Message Has to Hit
Getting found is only the beginning. What makes someone reach out is feeling like they already know you before they ever talk to you.
When my client wrote that post, her perspective was clear and specific. There was a real person behind those words. That's what made a stranger stop scrolling and think, “I want her in front of my people.”
This is where a lot of us get in our own way. We write like we're being graded. Polished, careful, and professional to the point of being forgettable…then we wonder why the content falls flat.
Write the way you actually talk about the things you actually care about. Show your personality in your content and please, incorporate storytelling. That’s how you build trust and connection.
Then They Have to Believe You
After that event organizer found my client's post, she looked her up. You know what she found?
A personal brand website that explained her frameworks,
A LinkedIn profile that reinforced her expertise,
TikTok videos teaching her audience while showing her personality.
This is where the whole thing could have fallen apart.
If she'd found an outdated profile, no proof of the work, no testimonials, nothing to back up her expertise, or worse yet, nothing at all, she probably would've kept going about her day.
Client results, testimonials, case studies, a body of work that shows how you think. These are what turn interest into a real inquiry.
And I bet, right now, you are sitting on testimonials you never posted because it felt like bragging.
Please post them. Trust me, it’s not bragging. It’s the evidence of your brilliance that your clients need to whip out their credit cards.
Then They Have to Know What to Do Next
If someone finds you and feels intrigued enough to look you up, likes what they see, but there’s no clear next step from "I love her work"; to "I want to hire her", you WILL lose out on the opportunity.
They may bookmark you and they tell themselves they'll come back but guess what…they never do.
Make the next step obvious. Whether it's a booking link, a number to text, or an email address, the door needs to be clearly open and welcoming.
For my client, the door was open. The organizer knew exactly how to reach her, so she did.
She got found,
Her message hit,
Her receipts held up,
And there was a clear way in.
Cha-ching!
This blog post was adapted from the original, available on Melanie's Website.
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