Yes – even for relatively smaller players. Direct response marketing is still important, but if you can build a brand around yourself, everything becomes much easier: generating leads, landing clients, creating customers. They all Know, Like, and Trust you faster.
You don’t need a brand like Apple or Nike. Be relatable and approachable, share personal (often vulnerable) stories, and create some authority-building content. Even a few dozen high-quality pieces can make a HUGE difference.
True story:
A while back, I ran into one of my Hungarian buddies in the gym, who owns a successful email marketing agency.
Unsurprisingly, we immediately started talking about how the business is going…
The state of the email marketing landscape…
And new tactics & strategies we’re each doing that are producing results.
You know, the typical “entrepreneur conversation” stuff :))
At one point, we started talking about branding…
And I went into a long argument regarding why – while direct response marketing is cool and all – brand-based marketing is becoming more and more important…
…even for relatively smaller players like us!
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Send Me the Rapid Lead Activator →Does branding matter for smaller players?
Now look…
If you’ve been following me for a while, you KNOW I’m a sucker for direct-response marketing…
So words like the ones above coming out of my mouth almost sound like blasphemy.
Still…
I really meant it this time…
And shortly after, the Universe would validate my predicament beautifully!
Why?
Because…….
Not even 10 seconds (!) after I made my case, a random guy comes up to me, and says the following with a thick French accent:
“Excuse me, sorry for interpreting… but aren’t you the guy from this YouTube channel, Game of Conversions?”
(while he’s showing me MY OWN YOUTUBE CHANNEL on his phone)
And I was like:
“Duuuuuuuude, that’s totally me! How did… where…. whaaat… where do you find this?”
“Oh, I’ve been watching your channel for almost a year. In fact, we routinely watch your videos together with a few other copywriter friends” – he replied.
……………………
I was speechless!
Seriously, speechless!
Why did it surprise me so much?
Because – since I create ALL my content in English… and I purposefully don’t market myself on the Hungarian market – I never thought I’d meet some random guy in a random gym on a random day in the middle of Budapest.
99% of my audience is NOT living in Hungary.
And yet… here we were.
Someone coming up to me, making me feel like a legit “celebrity”…
And making my inner child feel like…
“Look, mom, I’m on TV!”
It was SUCH a deep moment…
Especially since this was the first time this had ever happened to me.
I even pulled out my phone to do an excited selfie with the guy.
(usually, it’s the fans who initiate the gesture)
Needless to say, my buddy’s jaw dropped to the floor…
And all 3 of us strongly agreed that – YES – branding IS becoming very important.
Especially if your brand involves positioning you as someone relatable, approachable, and willing to share personal, often vulnerable stories.
(for me it’s easy to have a brand like that because all these things come to me naturally)
(If sharing those stories feels scary, I wrote about that in the email you almost don’t send.)
Is a personal brand worth it for a small business?
I believe this is a missed opportunity for most people…
And immediately after this conversation, I realized I just HAD to share this story with the good people on my email list.
YES…
Having slick funnels and conversion-optimizing things is still important…
But if you can build a brand around yourself, everything becomes much, MUCH easier.
Generating new leads.
Landing new clients.
Creating more customers.
They all Know, Like, and Trust you faster and easier if you have a brand.
And NO, you don’t need a super high-level PRO brand like Apple, Nike, or McDonalds…
You just need to put yourself out there more…
And create some authority-building content.
Even a few dozen high-quality content pieces can make a HUGE difference.
So give it a try ;)
Start building your brand this month
1. Keep the direct response basics. Slick funnels and conversion work still matter – a brand makes them work easier.
2. Be relatable and approachable. People should feel they know the person behind the business.
3. Share personal, often vulnerable stories. That’s what makes people Know, Like, and Trust you faster.
4. Put yourself out there more. Create authority-building content. A few dozen high-quality pieces can make a HUGE difference.
The best place to start is the first emails new subscribers get from you. My Profitable Imprinting Sequence training shows you how to write them, so people get to know the person behind the brand from day one.
Free book + AI assistant
Turn the Leads Already Joining Your List Into Buyers – Faster
The Rapid Lead Activator reveals the psychology-based framework I use to write welcome sequences that sell – without hype. Normally $9.99 on Amazon, yours free. Plus a bonus AI assistant that writes your first 5 welcome emails for you – in minutes, not days.
Send Me the Rapid Lead Activator →-Csaba
