Creating your personal brand – A new interview with branding strategist Dario Sipos

We had the pleasure of catching up with digital marketing strategist Dario Sipos. Back in June, TechCulture sat down with Dario to discuss his book “Digital Retail Marketing.” Today, we sat down again with Dario to discuss his latest book “Digital Personal Branding.” Tech Culture’s very own senior editor, Felix Baum, caught an early release of Dario’s latest book:

“The author distills and concentrates his branding advice to create an efficient book that wastes no time. If you want to achieve success in your career on your own terms, you need to read this book.”

-Felix Baum, Senior Editor, Tech Culture Magazine

Dario, thank you so much for joining us again; it’s always a pleasure to have you on!

Absolutely, and thank you for having me. It’s always great to catch up with you guys.

So, you have a new book out, Digital Personal Branding. Would you say it’s a continuation of your previous book, or is it in a league of its own?

The book Digital Personal branding is in a league of its own. It addresses a broader audience because, in the previous book, we spoke about the specialized field of digital retail marketing. In contrast, in this new book, we address digital personal branding, which is for anyone who wants to improve their life and career options by developing their personal brand.

Fantastic, so what does Digital Personal Branding cover? What is it about?

It is essentially a guide to developing your personal online brand. By reading the book, you will learn how to successfully create and manage a personal brand. Having successful Digital Personal branding brings you influence in the modern world, with many benefits. For example, you never again have to worry about job security because you become noticeable in your field. Instead of searching for a job, your personal brand will be easily found online, and in turn, you are offered better jobs. 

I never thought of it that way! What is the biggest mistake most people make when it comes to personal branding?

People often think that branding is for famous people only, but branding is actually for everyone who wants to improve their life quality. One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to personal branding is that they do not take it seriously. That results in ignoring their personal brand online, so then society and search engines brand them as society thinks it is best. If an individual does not brand himself, then the other people brand him instead. There is nothing worse for a career to be branded incorrectly. 

Good to know! Do you feel that as society evolves, everyone’s “personal brand” will become more relevant?

When we check demographics and specifically the age of the people online that are searching (googling) for specific terms like “digital personal branding” or “how to create your own personal brand,” we can notice a surprising pattern that it is the most researched subject between 18-24-year-olds. So we can already see that the new generations that are just entering the workforce understand well the role of digital personal branding in their career and life development. People use more and more options to research people online before having a meeting or a job interview.

So, it seems personal branding is about putting your best foot forward. Is there such a thing as negative branding? If so, how can we overcome that?

I would note that if we do not take care of our personal brands online, then society or, even worse, search engines are branding us based on what they can connect online—being mistaken for someone else online is one of the worst possible channels for negative branding. We overcome this by simply starting to take care of our personal brands. Many people are experts in their fields, but no one knows that because they miss that personal branding component as an integral part of their life.

A scary thought! In terms of audience, who is best suited to read this book? Is the audience different than with Digital Retail Marketing?

My previous book Digital Retail Marketing was specialized for people that want to run their retail marketing at almost no cost. While Digital Personal Branding is for everyone that wants to develop their personal brand, making it perfect for professionals, entrepreneurs, and college students. Everyone benefits from having their personal brand, both individual and companies for which they work. So, I believe that subject is so important that simply everyone should get interested in the subject of digital personal branding. 

What has the overall feedback been from readers?

For now, very positive, it surprised me, as the first copies started selling a minute or two after the book was listed for sale. Readers usually note that they love a lot of graphics included in the book that accompanies each chapter. We created a set of unique graphics, usually a few per chapter, to create visual explanations for readers and clarify the personal branding process. From the reader’s feedback, it seems many are interested in personal branding. They just need some guidance to help them.

It seems the visual feedback was an integral component. The book mentions specific steps readers can take to enhance their brand. How soon can they expect to see results?

By reading and following the specific steps from the book, readers can start seeing results already in 30 days. However, the usual time for significantly increasing personal branding online is from 3 to 6 months. Readers that are dedicated to their personal branding can, in 9-12 months, have personal brands on high-quality levels. Most people think that personal branding requires significant time or funds invested, while in reality, it is all about the consistent approach that costs almost nothing.

That is a reasonable time frame, as personal branding can take some time to develop. How is content marketing different when selling your personal brand versus a product or service?

I would say that personal branding is more anchored in reality and more connected to a person’s strengths and features. Personal branding works only if we base it on a real person’s strengths. When companies promote products or services, they can create endless marketing stories that might be exaggerated. Each person has a set of qualities and strengths that will bring many good things in their lives when properly displayed. Personal branding is really personal, based on each person’s core values and strengths.

I love the comparison! Who or what was the main inspiration behind your second book?

I would say the book is my answer to getting so many questions about personal branding from different people that I meet daily in work and personal life. I wanted to provide them with a simple guide that will also discuss any concerns about the process itself. I personally had many benefits by doing my own digital personal branding, so I decided to share it with others.

Dario, thank you so much again. It is always a pleasure having you here. Where can readers learn more about Digital Personal Branding?

Thank you for having me on again! Readers can find out more by visiting my website and can also connect with me on LinkedIn. Those interested can find a copy of my current book on Amazon.