Questions
Positioning
Who you are to a stranger, and who you are for. 35 questions.
Why does a personal brand need an enemy?
Because a brand compounds when it has a mission, and the shortcut to a mission is an enemy: a belief, a habit or a type of person the audience already resents. Call out the wrong audience in the hooks. Their comments carry it to the people you want.
From FAQ
What does "Avoid the messy middle" mean?
The middle ground between builder and authority is where a brand stalls. Sit one side or the other.
How do I put "Avoid the messy middle" into practice?
Read their last 30 posts and mark each one builder or authority. If the split is anywhere near even, they are in the middle. Pick the side that is true today and cut the content that argues for the other one.
Why does "Avoid the messy middle" matter?
When I look at a personal brand, the thing to avoid is the messy middle. You're either the builder documenting it, or the authority who has done it.
What does "A mission and an enemy" mean?
A brand compounds when it has a mission, and the shortcut to a mission is an enemy. Call out the wrong audience on purpose.
How do I put "A mission and an enemy" into practice?
Write the mission as one sentence about what the audience gets. Name the enemy: a belief, a habit or a type of person the audience already resents. Call out the wrong audience in the hooks, so the right one feels picked.
Why does "A mission and an enemy" matter?
The brands that compound have a mission, and the fastest way to a mission is an enemy. Squibb's is the school system, and anyone who tells you that you can't.
What is the difference between a personal brand that compounds and one that just gets views?
Views without a mission are noise. The shortcut to a mission is an enemy, backed by formats that repeat.
What makes a personal brand compound?
A mission and purpose. The shortcut to a mission is an enemy: the belief, system or type of person your audience already resents.
Who is an example?
Simon Squibb. His mission is to encourage people to follow their dreams, and his enemy is often the state, the school system, the job market and anyone who says you can't.
What turns the mission into growth?
Repeatable, episodic formats across all three stages of the funnel: some to bring people in, some to teach the story and beliefs, and some to sell.
What do most agencies get wrong about founder content?
Too much journey and current business. Not enough mission, enemy, and what the audience actually gets.
What do agencies get wrong about founder content?
They focus too much on the founder's journey and the current business, and not enough on the mission, the common enemy and what the audience actually gets.
Why does that fail?
People on social media are selfish. They consume entrepreneurship content for their own gain, to become the best version of themselves.
Can people still love the founder?
Yes. They can love and trust a person they feel can help them on their journey. The help has to come first.
How do you find someone's voice when they do not know what it is yet?
The voice is a reframe of what already works. Look at what made them successful, then point it at the audience.
How do you find a founder's voice?
Look at what has already worked in their career and why. The voice is a reframe of that.
What was it for Sam Stoffel?
Using his face and telling his story to build a business. His website still carries both, because it worked.
What is a founder's personal brand for?
A vehicle that directs people back to the business and makes money from the audience.
How much of a founder's brand should be about their business, and how much about them?
The founder's experience is the selling point. Talk about yourself without framing the lesson and you end up in view jail.
From It is about their business, told as what the audience learns
How much of a founder's brand should be about the business?
It should be built to make money, but the focus is education and entertainment, with the founder's experience as the selling point.
From It is about their business, told as what the audience learns
What is view jail?
Where content ends up when a founder only talks about themselves or the business without framing what the audience learns.
From It is about their business, told as what the audience learns
What works for a founder still building?
Going behind the scenes of the build, as long as it is authoritative and adds real value.
From It is about their business, told as what the audience learns
When you take on a founder with no audience, what do you tell them they are wrong about first?
Founders assume people care about their story. Find the moat, the unrepeatable thing in their history, and lead with what the audience gains.
What are founders wrong about first?
They assume people care about their story straight away. People online are selfish and want stories for their own benefit.
What is a moat?
The unrepeatable thing in a founder's history. For Sam Stoffel it was over a decade as the face of his own business.
What comes after the moat?
Formats and volume: three pieces a day in regular formats, to get traction before the hero pieces.
Why does the design of a brand matter?
Design is proof. If a brand looks like everything it claims to be different from, the claim does all the work.
What does the brand is the argument mean?
The design has to prove the positioning before anyone reads a word. Otherwise the claim sits alone in the copy.
What is the test for each design decision?
Does this look like a tool, or does this look like an opinion?
Why does it matter beyond design?
If a brand looks identical to what it claims to be different from, the audience discounts the claim.