Steph Smith on Private Model Constructing

For the second version of Social Proof, we interview one of many prime examples of crafting a private model — Steph Smith.

Steph Smith is a multi-hyphenate with a profession spanning ten years. She just lately began a task at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a enterprise capital agency, as their podcast host. She’s additionally led Tendencies at The Hustle, a premium publication publication acquired by Hubspot, and was additionally Director of Advertising for Hubspot Creators.

Steph has many aspect tasks like her e book Doing Content material Proper and podcast Sh*t You Didn’t Study In College. So when excited about who can be nice to kick off Social Proof, Steph naturally got here up as she’s been actively creating content material for her private model since 2018.

All through our dialog, Steph shares fascinating tales about how she constructed a Twitter following of over 118 thousand followers from scratch, beginning by sharing her progress in studying easy methods to code.

So, how may individuals with a number of pursuits and talents discover what works for them and channel that into intentional private model development on-line? I am unsure, however we learn how Steph is doing simply that on this interview.

Q: Welcome Steph, and thanks for agreeing to this interview! So we wished to begin by having you outline how you consider private branding.

Tim Ferriss as soon as stated that everybody has a private model, no matter whether or not you’ve 10 followers or 10 million followers – and I agree. It’s the notion that folks have developed of you. For instance, you might be related to a sure stage of intelligence, an business, or private attributes like being humorous or reserved.

And I discover constructing a private model fascinating as a result of simply as you develop as an individual, your model additionally evolves. However typically, how individuals see you and the way you wish to be seen can turn into disjointed – or typically, they’re aligned very effectively. It is at all times fascinating to listen to how individuals view your private model versus the way you understand your self.

Q: That’s an fascinating manner to consider it — everybody seeing you a method and also you not with the ability to management that picture absolutely. This results in my subsequent query: Have you ever deliberately constructed your private model?

So I like that query. As a result of I believe I’ve been intentional in some methods. However I additionally assume your private model is typically out of your individual attain. What I imply by that’s that I’ve constructed many issues over the past couple of years, and you might say that these inputs have a stage of intentionality. However I can not at all times management the issues that folks latch on to.

An instance of one thing individuals have latched on to that I did not count on – nor did I deliberately attempt to seed – is my being a “content material particular person”. And folks may say, effectively, after all, individuals view you that manner, you’ve a weblog, you wrote a e book – however I by no means noticed myself that manner. There are issues that you’ll do and issues that you’ll attempt to work on so intensely and even at occasions, you’re successfully screaming, “Hey, view me this fashion!” And folks simply will not. Counter to that, there can be stuff you do and methods you do not see your self that different individuals will begin to ascribe to you.

Q: What key phrases would you utilize to explain your private model?

If I have been to label myself, I’d use the phrases ‘curious’, ‘considerate/intentional,’ and ‘clear.’

Curiosity: The whole lot that I do is actually pushed by my curiosities. And I believe I do this greater than the typical creator who will usually take a look at a number of issues, work out what works, after which double down on what the market needs. This works effectively and might be a extra profitable path, however I choose to pursue that which pursuits me, and by chance that’s had some market want alongside the way in which. However I even have finished so by disjointing my inventive pursuits and my full-time job.

Considerate/intentional: One factor I at all times hope comes via in my work is that it is considerate. And what I imply by considerate is that once I create one thing, it is as a result of I actually wish to create it, however I additionally do it as finest I can and don’t sacrifice components of it to get extra of a following or extra gross sales. An instance is my e book, Doing Content material Proper – I’ve by no means run adverts for it and by no means promoted it in ways in which I believe are sleazy.

Clear: After I study one thing …, I’ll almost definitely share it, whether or not it is via tweeting or writing articles or podcasting … like once I was studying to code and realized a brand new approach to combine with the Google API. I knew that was one thing that perhaps some fraction of the world wished to know. And so I’d take the time to jot down that up and have finished one thing comparable lots of of occasions now, together with how I constructed my open web page. I believe I am extra clear relative to at the very least the typical creator, as a result of I see the house as positive-sum.

Q: One thing fascinating you talked about is experimentation as a approach to evolve a private model — are you able to elaborate on that?

Should you have a look at the creators which have sustained their audiences over time, they’ve needed to reinvent many occasions over. Placing sufficient variations of your self on the market, as unusual because it sounds, means there are extra possibilities individuals will latch onto one thing.

It is nearly like a startup. A startup should proceed iterating, experimenting, and placing totally different variations of its product on the market. And what they cannot management is finally what the market needs. However they’ll create sufficient variations or run sufficient exams to offer themselves sufficient alternatives to seek out product-market match.

Q: Persevering with with this theme of experimentation, what are moments in your skilled journey if you’ve needed to evolve or iterate on what you thought your private model was going to be?

Yeah, I can name out a number of factors alongside [my journey]. After I began within the workforce, I needed to pivot as a result of I did my diploma in chemical engineering. However then, the out there jobs weren’t those I wished to do; most have been in oil and fuel. In order that was the primary evolution – despite the fact that I seen myself as an engineer and put all this work into this diploma, I needed to do one thing new.

I went into consulting and had a transparent path of motion there, however then I wished to be distant. So I needed to reinvent myself once more, which fortunately led me into tech and created an fascinating inflection level, the place I used to be requested to steer a publications workforce. And it is not a lot that I do not like being branded as a content material particular person, however I had this response of “I do not lead publications groups… that is not what I do.” However I ended up doing it, and it was a terrific choice.

I needed to enable myself to turn into somebody I had by no means thought of being. – Steph Smith, a16z Podcast Host

That was one other instance the place I needed to enable myself to turn into somebody that I by no means thought of being. That interval is once I began coding and creating content material on-line. I used to be creating indie merchandise via code, which I assumed can be my “factor” – an id as a lady in tech, and I even began writing about that. However then I began writing about writing; writing about content material.

There have been many evolutions the place I’ve needed to, you might say from an out of doors perspective, rebrand myself. However internally, as corny because it sounds, it was nearly following what I used to be occupied with on the time and what alternatives fell on my plate.

Now, I’ve tried to dissociate extra from my id and the way I view myself, and as a substitute deal with what pursuits me on the time as a result of now, changing into a full-time podcaster, I may have by no means predicted that. That was one more section change, the place I needed to shed what I used to be earlier than to begin one thing new … I believe now it is come extra simply as a result of I simply view myself as a multi-hyphenate.

Q: So, as a multi-hyphenate, you’ve finished a number of work in podcast internet hosting, coding, and writing. A standard thread is how a lot ardour and energy shine via in every undertaking. Do you see your tasks as a car for rising your private model? And the way do you join these efforts to one another to craft the picture individuals have of you?

Sure, every part I do will relate to my private model, some greater than others. I can’t assist that. There are issues that attain many individuals and can be most impactful. However each little bit contributes, so I attempt to do my finest regardless of the state of affairs, whether or not I’m starring on somebody’s podcast or releasing a e book or one thing a lot “smaller”.

The whole lot I do, whether or not I prefer it or not, pertains to my private model and is a car for it. However finally, what drives that car, good or dangerous, is how I carry out in each a type of circumstances. And hopefully, it is extra optimistic than damaging.

Once more, you’ll be able to’t at all times management what individuals take into consideration your work, however you’ll be able to sway the way in which individuals see your private model via the tasks you pursue and the way you pursue them. This is the reason I believe many creators discover themselves on the slippery slope I discussed earlier. If the standard of your work doesn’t match your viewers’s expectations and looks as if a cash seize, you’ve harmed your private model and that belief is tough to win again.

Q: I’d wish to dive into one thing that’s a vital a part of this collection — the place of social media in creating a private model. You’re tremendous energetic on Twitter — would you say that’s the principle platform you’ve used to develop your on-line presence?

Twitter has been the principle platform for rising my on-line presence, and the “why” behind that’s fairly easy – that is the place I take pleasure in spending probably the most time, and creating content material there’s simpler for me than creating content material on different platforms.

I do wish to discover extra platforms as a result of I’m fairly targeting Twitter. However I even have to think about a easy content material advertising and marketing query, “The place’s my viewers?” If I am speaking about expertise, there’s a number of content material round that on TikTok, in order that’s an instance of a platform that I am debating venturing into.

Q: Has rising a web based presence utilizing social media, particularly Twitter, helped your profession?

After I realized to code in 2018, I used to be not energetic on Twitter, so I ended up wiping my account and beginning with zero followers. Nobody knew who I used to be nor why I could be fascinating.

And from the place I’m at the moment, I can confidently say that a number of of my latest roles have come via (or at the very least been closely supported by) my presence on social media or my private tasks, not my official resume. One instance of that is how I joined The Hustle. Sam, the founder, noticed an article that I had written, which went viral on Hacker Information and was shared by a well known VC. By that time, I believe I perhaps had about three thousand followers. That is how he found my work, which led me to The Hustle, which was later acquired by HubSpot.

Q: Since you’ve expertise cleansing the slate and beginning anew on a social media platform, what would you advocate that folks with zero to minimal presence on social media do when excited about easy methods to use theirs to develop a private model?

If I used to be simply beginning out, I’d work out what I am most occupied with proper now and double down on that. I’d share every part I am studying in that capability and turn into often called somebody uniquely occupied with that house. After which, when you construct slightly little bit of a following, you’ve the liberty to diversify and deal with different issues, as I’ve finished.

This can be counterintuitive to every part I’ve stated about experimentation and evolution as a approach to develop your private model, nevertheless it’s important at first of your journey to plant one seed and nurture it.

Q: Earlier than we wrap up, do you’ve any last ideas to share?

Thousands and thousands of individuals create content material, so it’s important that you simply discover a area of interest and provides individuals a cause to comply with you among the many sea of others. One key approach to strategy that is via the matters you speak about.

One other manner many individuals miss, which will be simply as efficient, is the way you speak about a subject. For instance, there are tons of people that write about expertise each day. However there are specific influencers, many who’re newer, that do it higher. They could be funnier, extra contrarian, extra visible, and so forth. So it is not nearly time within the recreation but additionally the way you’re doing it.

Takeaways

Listed below are some methods to implement Steph’s private brand-building techniques in your journey:

• Be intentional about constructing your private model: It doesn’t matter what you select to do to develop your model and on-line presence, at all times carry your finest self. Put together for talking engagements, create high quality content material, and deal with each undertaking as an extension of you. Transparency is an effective way to remain intentional about your targets, and Steph has a number of expertise with each as she grew her Twitter by sharing her coding journey and indie tasks. Try this text for concepts of easy methods to observe transparency as a approach to keep intentional.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment: A giant theme of Steph’s journey has been experimentation. Strive totally different content material codecs, deal with new matters, and create for various platforms to seek out what works finest for you. With regards to making an attempt new issues, the small companies on this article have their technique down pat.
• Double down on one space: While you’re simply beginning out creating content material in your private model, it’s necessary to turn into recognized for one thing. This helps you construct experience and credibility, and offers your potential viewers one thing to latch on to. To determine the balancing act of experimenting with out tackling too many issues without delay – and on the danger of sounding repetitive – time within the recreation is much less necessary than the way you’re doing all of your work. Should you take a brand new strategy to your chosen area or subject, you’ll be able to win individuals over or at the very least make them curious. For some inspiration, try this text on fascinating TikTok creators.
• Be open to new experiences: Steph talked about being cautious about taking up a task as head of publications as a result of she’d by no means finished it earlier than however selected to forge forward anyway. If you wish to speed up the expansion of your private model, it’s necessary to be open to new challenges once they come. Placing your self and your work on the market can really feel scary, however it may be very rewarding. Try this text for tactics you’ll be able to open up new experiences for your self utilizing your on-line presence.

🔌When you’re prepared to begin sharing content material to your social channels, try Buffer for straightforward automated scheduling and publishing!