The Biggest Personal Branding Mistakes Marketers Are Making

And how to avoid them.

I don’t know if it was just me, but Q1 of 2025 felt like a loud season for personal branding. Everywhere you turned, someone was giving hot takes on how to grow your brand; post every day, comment 100 times, go viral or go home.

It makes sense though. A lot of people saw real wins with personal branding in 2024, and naturally, more folks jumped on the train. This very newsletter? It's one of those 2024 success stories, born from consistently showing up, building trust, and sharing value.

But with all the hype came a lot of noise. Everyone had advice. Everyone had a formula. There were/are also a lot of 30 days challenges that are helping the hosts rather than the students. And I watched many marketers, especially newbies, fall into traps that did more harm than good.

So today, we’re cutting through the noise and unpacking the biggest personal branding mistakes marketers make, and more importantly, how you can avoid them.

And just to boost a little (because hey, this is personal branding):
In Q1 alone, I surpassed my total post impressions for all of 2024. I received more speaking invites than I could accept, signed paying clients, and even had to turn down offers just to keep my head down and do the real work.

So trust me when I say I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.

I have emphasized how much marketers can build a brand but are unable to build their own brand. With personal branding, you're not just selling products or services; you're also selling yourself. And in the marketing world, your personal brand can be your biggest asset or your biggest liability. Check out one of my favorite tweets:

Let’s discuss these mistakes people are making when selling themselves:

❌ 1. Trying to Be Everything to Everyone

The Mistake:
You’re posting about SEO on Monday, email marketing on Wednesday, and UI/UX design on Friday. Your audience doesn’t know what you do, and frankly, neither do you.

Example:
Chidi calls himself a “Digital Marketing Strategist” but shares content about crypto, personal finance, UI/UX, and affiliate marketing, all on the same LinkedIn feed. The result? Recruiters scroll past because he lacks focus.

What to do instead:
Pick your core zone of value. You can be multi-skilled, but lead with a primary identity.

Try this:
“I help e-commerce brands grow through paid ads + conversion strategy.”
That’s clear. That’s sticky. That gets remembered.

❌ 2. Copying Someone Else’s Voice or Style

The Mistake:
You write like that popular creator you follow. You mimic their hot takes. You post their content with minor tweaks. Nothing you share feels uniquely you.

Trust me, I’ve been here. I tried mimicking a few, when reading the posts out loud… they just didn’t sound like me. I even used some content prompts, but nope. They didn’t align with my voice or my personal branding goals.

Example:
If everyone’s writing “5 Growth Hacks You Need Now ” and you copy the format just to go viral, you risk being seen as a clone. And clones don’t build strong brands.

What to do instead:
Speak how you speak. If you’re naturally funny, witty, or thoughtful, lean into it. If you prefer deep dives over hot takes, great. Own your tone.

Your vibe ≠ their vibe.

❌ 3. Not Showing Your Work (or Yourself)

The Mistake:
You’re learning Google Ads, running email campaigns, or building your portfolio… but no one online knows that. You ghost your network for months.

Maybe you have built 12 landing pages in Webflow but haven’t posted about even one. You are losing out on potential referrals and freelance work because your work is invisible online.

What to do instead:
Document your process. Share behind-the-scenes updates, lessons, and reflections, even unfinished projects.

Example Posts:

• “I just launched my first Google Search Ad campaign! Here’s what I learned (and what I’ll do differently next time) ”

• “Spent 3 hours fixing email automations today. This Zapier + Mailchimp flow finally worked, sharing in case it helps someone!”

You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to show up and share.

❌ 4. Over-Prioritizing Aesthetics and Ignoring Value

The Mistake:
You focus on perfectly designed carousels, matching grid layouts, and aesthetic fonts while your content says nothing useful.

E.g: You spend 4 hours designing a Canva carousel titled “Content is King” but offered zero insights or takeaways. Your post looked great, but no one engaged.

What to do instead:
Start with substance. Ask: “Does this help someone think, do, or decide better?” If yes, then make it look pretty (I am a template girlie, I use templates a lot).

Try this:
Turn your experiences into frameworks:

• “3 things I check before hitting ‘publish’ on a paid ad”

• “A cold outreach email that landed me a 6-month retainer (swipe it!) ”

Value > Vibes. Every time.

❌ 5. Being Inconsistent with Your Content & Positioning

The Mistake:
You post actively for a week or two… then disappear for months. Or your posts go from email marketing tips to movie reviews to lifestyle rants.

What to do instead:
Consistency builds memory and trust. Show up regularly, even if it’s just once a week. What matters most is defining what consistency looks like for you based on your current workload and capacity.

When I started, I committed to one post a week, just enough to stay visible while getting comfortable with the LinkedIn platform.

Pick a few content pillars that align with your brand (e.g. growth marketing, career journey, tools you use) and stay consistent with them.
For me, it's Marketing Career Growth, Personal Branding, and Content Marketing.

Anastasia asked how I surpassed my 1 year impressions in 3 months: My cheat code to staying consistent? I treat myself like one of my clients. No matter how busy I get, I wouldn’t ignore a client’s work, so I don’t ignore mine either.

Pro Tip:
Batch your content. Create 4 posts over the weekend and schedule them weekly. That way, you’re always showing up.

❌ 6. Mistaking Personal Branding for Bragging

The Mistake:
You’re scared to post about your wins or progress because you don’t want to sound proud or boastful.

Example:
Tolu launched her first lead-gen campaign that got 120+ signups in 5 days, but she never shared it. Her peers didn’t even know she could run Facebook ads.

What to do instead:
You’re not bragging, you’re positioning. Just don’t center the post around yourself. Center the lesson.

Try this format:
“Just wrapped a campaign that hit 2.5x ROAS. Here’s the one change we made that unlocked those results: (Insert Insight).”

❌ 7. Ignoring Platforms That Align with Your Strengths

The Mistake:
You jump on platforms just because they’re trending, not because they play to your strengths.

For example, everyone says video content is king. LinkedIn’s prioritizing it. So, you start forcing yourself to create only videos… or even choose TikTok as your main channel.

But deep down? You dread video creation. Editing feels like a chore. It drains you.

Eventually, you’ll burn out or give up, because you were building your strategy around hype, not what actually works for you.

What to do instead:
Start where your energy flows. If you’re great at writing, try LinkedIn or newsletters. Love short-form video? Reels or TikTok or even LinkedIn. Prefer visuals? Instagram or Pinterest.

Your platform should feel like an amplifier, not a chore.

❌8. Ignoring the Power of Building Connections

The Mistake:
You treat personal branding like a solo mission; post and ghost.

You show up weekly with content, but that’s where it ends. You don’t respond to comments. You don’t engage with others’ posts. You rarely slide into DMs to build real connections.

But the thing is Personal branding isn’t just about visibility, it’s about community.
And community doesn’t grow in silence.

What to do instead:
Your network is your net worth. The strongest personal brands don’t just post, they connect.

Here’s how:

• Leave meaningful comments on other creators’ posts.

• Slide into DMs to say “Hey, I really loved your recent post on ad testing. Thanks for sharing.”

• Shout out your peers and collaborators when sharing wins.

People may forget what you posted, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel, especially when you showed up with genuine support.

Try this:
Set a 10-minute “engagement block” after each post. Use it to reply to comments, cheer others on, and build intentional connections.

Let’s talk: You know you promised yourself to do better with personal branding this year. Where are you on this?

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Related Topics:

1. Why Personal Branding Matters For Marketers

2. 30 Topics To Build Your Personal Brand As A Marketer

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Meme of The Week

Calls are 30 mins+, drip is eternal…

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Book Excerpt For The Week

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini

"We are more likely to comply with requests made by people we like. We like people who are similar to us, who pay us compliments, and who cooperate with us toward mutual goals."
— Chapter 5: Liking, Page 167 (Revised Edition)

In Chapter 5, Cialdini explores the Liking Principle, a simple yet powerful persuasion tool. We’re more likely to say “yes” to people we like, especially those who reflect us, compliment us, or share our goals. This isn’t limited to personal relationships, it plays a huge role in branding and marketing.

The key? Likability is within your control. Through tone, visuals, shared values, customer service, and storytelling, you can shape how your brand is perceived. People don’t just buy from companies, they buy from brands they connect with.

Cialdini shows this in action: car salespeople build rapport by finding small similarities with buyers. The more relatable and likable the interaction, the more persuasive it becomes.

How Marketers Can Use This?

1. Humanize Your Brand: Use relatable, conversational language. Highlight your team, values, and stories to create emotional connections with your audience.

2. Build Brand Personality Around Your Ideal Audience: Reflect your audience’s tone, interests, and challenges. Show that you “get” them. This builds affinity and trust.

3. Leverage the Power of Similarity: In your copy and campaigns, emphasize shared experiences, common values, or mutual goals. Make your brand feel like a friend rather than a faceless entity.

4. Use Genuine Compliments in Sales/Support: Train your team to acknowledge and appreciate customers authentically, kindness, recognition, and personalization go a long way.

5. Influencer Marketing with the Right Fit: Work with influencers who genuinely align with your brand’s values and audience. Their likability and relatability can translate directly into trust and conversions.

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Best,

Success Lawal

Your Marketing Buddy.