GIRL do you dream of posting online and building a brand for yourself, but SOMETHING always held you back? Fear? Doubt? Insecurity? 

WE SEE YOU.

You are not alone. It can be scary to put yourself out there. And the thought of establishing yourself as a “brand” — that’s the most overwhelming thing of all. Where do you even begin?

I actually have a bit of experience with this. In 2020, I started posting videos on TikTok. (shameless plug: follow me @aprilslifeonline). I NEVER intended to create a brand for myself or even gain a following, but I somehow amassed about 20k followers over the course of a year. This experience has taught me a few things about confidence, branding, and content creation, so let me give you a few tips for having the confidence to brand yourself online: 

Find your niche

When you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to focus your content on a specific topic. This not only helps you, but also your audience so they know what to expect when they follow you. It can be an uber-specific niche. For me, I gained most of my followers from Harry Styles-related crochet tutorials — yeah, that’s a thing. Don’t worry about it being too obscure. There’s SOMEONE out there who will enjoy it. 

If you’re not sure what your niche should be, try posting on a variety of topics to see what performs well and what fulfills you most. When those two things cross over, you’ve found your niche. Before long, you’ll find your confidence growing as you gain expertise in this small area. 

Confidence in consistency 

Once you discover your niche, commit to it. Post similar content, connect popular trends to your specific niche, and be consistent. It varies by platform, but TikTok and Twitter often reward multiple posts a day, and Instagram multiple times a week. When you are consistent with your strategy and posting, then you are constantly proving to yourself that you can do this. You CAN meet goals. You CAN be relied upon. As our SheEO @rachelkgrim likes to say “making yourself a promise and following through with it builds confidence.”  I’m a student pulled in a million different directions, but even so, I try to remain consistent with the content I post. I find time every week to film and edit videos because I truly enjoy doing it. The small things, like planning ahead and setting time aside to create content, helps create a pattern and routine. No one is perfect at this (and that’s ok), but growth and confidence come with consistency. 

Form an online community

This is something I only began to do recently, but GIRL, I have ALREADY found confidence in building a community online. Follow other creators within your niche and reach out to them. Maybe their content can inspire you and give you ideas for your own account. Other times, it’s nice to just talk to people in the same boat as you and make new friends. As your connections grow, so will your confidence. 

At the end of the day, make sure your brand is authentic and reflects YOU. Building a brand online comes naturally when you’re simply being yourself and posting about topics you genuinely love and want to share. If you’re looking for something to help give you that final boost of confidence, join the Ditch the Clique COMMUNITY for confidence coaching chats, dream-achieving resources, and endless inspiration!  

Photos & clothing courtesy of Style N Motion