How to Develop a Personal Brand and Online Presence

In 2015, I realized that I couldn't call myself a writer without some semblance of an online presence. I had been dreading going public with my work for the entirety of high school: my poems and novels were so deeply personal that I shied away from sharing them with even the closest people in my life. At a certain point, however, I had to come to terms with the world that we live in and realize that if I ever wanted to make any sort of a name for myself, I would need to succumb to fostering an online presence—a personal brand. 

Over the years, the little blog I created at the start of college evolved into Pens and Poison, my writing project and brand that has gained over 30k followers across various platforms and social media outlets. Establishing a personal brand has helped me push out my work to audiences across the globe, and with every passing day, my posts and poems reach an increasing number of people. 

While personal branding might be most important for a writer or any other sort of intellectual looking to share their pursuits with a broader audience, establishing an online presence will help both students and professionals in any field secure basic recognition and establish legitimacy for their work.   

So how do we start?