The problem with most personal branding experts
This topic has been on my mind lately, and I thought you'd like it.
In this email, I want to discuss:
Why traditional "personal branding" advice is fundamentally flawed
The critical shift from selling to seduction creates lasting impact
6 counter-intuitive strategies that build real personal brands
Why soft approaches outperform hard sells in today's attention economy
A free masterclass opportunity for founders and solopreneurs struggling with LinkedIn
The Fatal Flaw in Personal Branding Advice
The loudest "personal branding" advice feels like a used car salesman following you around the lot. They know all the right things to say to get you to buy their product right now, and they want to teach you how to do the same.
But that's not personal branding (unless your goal is to have the same personal brand as a car salesman).
Most of the personal branding strategies you read about on LinkedIn are just salesmanship disguised as branding.
They focus on the transaction, not the relationship. On pitching, not captivating.
I see this constantly with the founders and solopreneurs we work with at Genius Scouts. They come to us wanting to build a personal brand on LinkedIn but don't understand what that really means.
Some of them genuinely want to build their brand, but most either want to say the right thing to get more immediate leads or think that's what building a personal brand means.
But real personal brands aren't built through hard, aggressive selling.
They're built through soft seduction.
And this is not because hard-selling tactics don't work.
They do.
At least for a little while.
But they eventually grate on people's nerves. It becomes unpleasant. People develop resistance. They tune you out. And in today's attention economy, that's the ultimate sin.
The soft-sell approach, on the other hand, has the potential to draw in millions because it's entertaining, gentle on the ears and eyes, and can be repeated without irritating.
6 Counter-Intuitive Ways People Really Build Personal Brands
The most powerful personal brands use what I call the "soft approach."
This technique was perfected by the great charlatans of 17th-century Europe.
To peddle their dubious elixirs, they would first put on music and performances that had nothing to do with what they were selling. Once the crowd was entertained and relaxed, they would briefly and dramatically discuss their product.
The result? Instead of selling dozens of bottles, they sold hundreds.
Why? Because they understood something fundamental about human nature that most modern "branding experts" have forgotten:
People forgive manipulation when you've brought them pleasure, which is a rare commodity.
The soft sell approach to personal branding works better because it doesn't feel like selling. But it also requires a radically different approach than the kind most of the gurus on LinkedIn talk about.
Here are the six key components you need to understand to make it work for you.
A brief warning: They will require a complete mindset shift as well.
1. Appear as News, Never as Publicity
First impressions are critical. If your audience first sees you in the context of an advertisement, you instantly join the mass of others screaming for attention—and everyone knows advertisements are artful manipulations.
People pay more attention to what seems like news—it has more credibility than hours of advertising.
So, instead of writing posts that are always talking about or selling your services, do something or manufacture an event or create a situation that others will pick up as if it were news.
Your goal is to become the thing people talk about, not the person doing all the talking.
Look at how Elon Musk approaches this. He doesn't run ads about Tesla—he launches rockets, creates controversy, or makes bold predictions that become news cycles. The media covers it for days. People on social media cover it for even longer, spreading his name far more effectively than a post about himself and what he does would.
Practical application: Instead of posting about your services, document an unusual experiment related to your expertise. Create something worth discussing. Be the subject of conversation rather than the initiator.
2. Stir Basic Emotions
Never promote your message through rational, direct arguments.
Or at least do it sparingly. Logical arguments require effort from your audience and won't gain their attention in today's overwhelming information landscape.
Design your words and images to stir basic emotions: inspiration, belonging, fear of missing out, desire for freedom. Once you've made people feel something, you have their attention and the space to insinuate your true message.
Days later, the audience will remember your name. And remembering your name is half the game.
This doesn't mean manipulating people negatively. It means understanding that humans are emotional creatures first and rational ones second. We make decisions based on feelings, then justify them with logic.
Practical application: Aim for the heart, not the head. Before writing your next post, ask: "What emotion am I stirring here?" If the answer is "none" or "interest," you're not going deep enough. Every piece of content should create an emotional response that lingers.
3. Make the Medium the Message
Pay more attention to the form of your message than to the content.
Images are more seductive than words. Visuals such as soothing colors, appropriate backdrops, or suggestions of movement should be your real message. Your audience may focus superficially on your content, but what they're really absorbing are the visuals, which get under their skin and stay there longer than any words.
Your visuals—which can be literal or metaphorical—should have a hypnotic effect. They should make people feel something, and the more they're distracted by these cues, the harder it will be for them to feel like they are being sold, too.
Look at the most successful creators on any platform. Their content has a consistent visual identity that you can recognize instantly, even without seeing their name.
Practical application: Develop a visual language for your content that creates immediate recognition. This could be color schemes, formatting styles, or even certain types of metaphors or storytelling structures that become your signature.
4. Gab. Don't Jab.
At all costs, avoid appearing superior to your audience. With very few exceptions, any hint of smugness, using overly complicated words or ideas, or quoting too many statistics is fatal to the connection.
Instead, make yourself seem equal to your audience and on intimate terms with them. You understand them. You share their spirit, their language.
If people are cynical about marketers and public relations people (and they are), exploit their cynicism. Portray yourself as one of the folk, warts and all. Show that you share their skepticism by selectively revealing the tricks of the trade.
Be their friend. Enter their spirit, and they will relax and listen to you.
The other reason to make your approach as down-home and minimal as possible is to make your competitors look sophisticated and snobby in comparison. This strategic "weaknesses" will get people to trust you.
Practical application: Study the exact language your ideal audience uses in comments, messages, and their own content. Use their terminology, reference their cultural touchpoints, and address the specific questions they ask when they think no one is listening.
5. Start a Chain Reaction
This is the most seductive way to sell anything—by making it seem like everyone else already wants it.
People who seem to be desired by others are immediately more seductive. Apply this to your approach by acting as if you've already excited crowds of people. I promise you that the more you do this, the more your behavior will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you appear to be in the vanguard of a trend or lifestyle, the public will follow for fear of being left behind. Spread your image so that it appears everywhere. Position your message as a trend, and it will become one.
The goal is to create a viral effect in which more and more people become "infected" with the desire to have whatever you're offering.
Practical application: Never launch anything without first creating the impression that others are already excited about it. Use testimonials, case studies, and social proof liberally. Showcase the community you're building rather than focusing solely on yourself.
6. Don't Tell People Who YOU Are. Tell People Who THEY Are.
Never argue with your audience or tell them to think a different way than they think.
They will resist you.
Instead of trying to change people's ideas, try to change their identity and perception of reality.
Make them feel that only by listening to you can they discover who they truly are (or could be).
Influence their perception of the world outside by controlling what they focus on.
Create an image or identity they will want to assume and make them dissatisfied with their current status by highlighting what they could become, not by criticizing who they are now.
This is why your content mustn't be seen as an advertisement but as part of the atmosphere of their world—a lens through which they see themselves more clearly.
Practical application: Focus your content on your audience's journey and identity, not your expertise. Instead of "I'm an expert at X," frame it as "You are someone who deserves X" or "You are capable of achieving X." Let them see themselves in your narrative.
The Paradox of Personal Branding
The less you appear to be building a personal brand, the more powerful your personal brand becomes.
The moment you try too hard to "build your brand," you undermine the very thing you're trying to create—authenticity, magnetism, and genuine connection.
True personal brands emerge from consistent fascination, not consistent promotion. They come from creating experiences that let people discover you, not from telling people who you are.
The strongest personal brands aren't built through force. They're built through seduction.
Getting LinkedIn Right Without Losing Your Soul
At Genius Scouts, we've helped countless founders and solopreneurs transform their LinkedIn presence from sporadic and self-promotional to magnetic and lead-generating. We've seen firsthand how these principles can generate millions of dollars worth of leads for our clients or achieve whatever other goals people build personal brands for.
But here's the thing: you don't need to hire an agency to get this right.
That's why we've launched the Genius Scouts Personal Branding Academy. And to kick it off, I want to invite you to our FREE two day LinkedIn Genius Masterclass.
This is not one of those sleazy funnel upsell things—I promise. I genuinely hate those guru tactics as much as you do.
I promise you'll walk away with actual, usable strategies to start publishing 3-5 attention-getting LinkedIn posts per week without ever running out of ideas.
In this exclusive 2-day masterclass (March 17-18, 11 AM-1 PM PST), you'll learn:
How to develop an Authority Mindset and get over your fear of sounding too self-promotional, boring, or cringey
A system for generating unlimited interesting content ideas (beyond just company announcements and generic platitudes)
How to create LinkedIn content that attracts valuable new opportunities (customers, speaking invites, investors)
Ways to use AI to create content without losing your authentic voice
Techniques for getting your content seen by your most important audiences
We only do this once per month, and it fills up fast (limited to 30 attendees).
If you're a founder or solopreneur who understands the importance of building a personal brand but wants to stop posting self-promotional, boring, or cringy content, apply to secure one of the 30 spots for our upcoming free workshop.
So if you're tired of all the hard-sell personal branding tactics, you're going to love this.
Here’s the Link https://www.linkedin.com/events/linkedingeniusmasterclass7361591167852998656/