John Sonmez is the founder of Simple Programmer, an author and programmer, focusing on how to make complex things simple. He is a professional software developer, architect, and lecturer, with interests including test-driven development, how to write clean code, agile methodologies, etc. John firmly believes that complex problems can be solved in simple ways, and most elegant solutions are simple. Recently, John wrote an article about how to build a programmer's own brand, which caused quite a stir in the community.

Your career is a software developer, but that doesn't mean you don't need to pay attention to branding. In fact, if you want to take your career to the next level, you need to actively manage it by building your personal brand.

This article will help you build your own personal brand, but first I need to give an overall introduction to what constitutes a brand (a brand is more than just a logo). I will also explain how to build an effective personal brand by defining your career. Finally, this article will cover 4 things you need to do to build your own personal brand.

What is a brand?

Before building your personal brand, we need to understand what a brand really is. Most people think a brand is just a logo. Although many brands have logos, a brand is not just a logo. A logo is only one small component of a brand. A brand is actually a promise. Brands are all about expectations. When building a brand, you are actually constructing expectations about you and your company, and you promise to fulfill those expectations. Think of popular brands like Starbucks. What do you think the Starbucks brand promises? When you walk into Starbucks, you have expectations about what's on the menu, how the staff treats you, and even the kind of lighting used. The Starbucks brand is so successful not because of its logo. Rather, the promise Starbucks makes to you and other customers is itself an important element of the brand.

I think a brand has the following 4 components:

• Message - What does the brand represent?
• Visual identity - What is the visual representation of the brand?
• Consistency - Is the message the brand conveys the same? Can I trust it?
• Repeated exposure - Does the brand appear frequently? Can I recognize it?

A brand lacking these 4 aspects is doomed to fail. A brand must have a clear and consistent message and be visually recognizable in order to be effective.

Later we will analyze these 4 components in depth, but now let's talk about what a personal brand is.

Personal brand

If you can look at things from the seller's perspective, it will be easier to understand what a personal brand is.

Instead of viewing your career as your current job, try to see yourself as a seller of software development services. If you currently work for someone, then you have only one client. Thinking from the seller's perspective makes personal branding more meaningful. A personal brand refers to the promises and expectations about the services you provide. To build a good personal brand, you need to choose the right career niche. For example, you might choose the NoSQL database field. Maybe you want to become a NoSQL database expert. Or perhaps you are an expert in test-driven JavaScript development, skilled at teaching JavaScript developers how to write effective tests for their code. The better the fit between your career and the market, the stronger your brand will be in that specific market. When your garbage disposal breaks down and you call a repairman, would you call ABC Plumbing or Garbage Disposal Fix-it Man? If your professional skills are good, you will achieve greater success by building a personal brand.

Crafting the message

One of the main components of a brand is the message. The message is what the brand expresses. A brand without a message is nothing because it cannot communicate. The message should convey the meaning of the brand and the expectations and promises the brand intends to make. If you really can't think of what your personal brand's message is, then first look at what value you provide. As a software developer or software development company, what value do you provide? Why would anyone hire you? Behind the message is the value you offer. Are you the best front-end developer money can buy? Do you learn new technologies faster than others? What unique value can you provide that would make an employer hire you instead of someone else?

Visual identity

Although a logo is not the only element that constitutes a brand, it is clearly an important part of most brands. A good brand has good visual identity, and you are no exception. Obviously, you should first create your own logo. You can use your company name or your own name. Both methods work well. For example, I use Simple Programmer as my brand and have also created a logo for it.

There's no need to spend a lot of money designing a logo. You can get one done on Fiverr for $5 with great results. You can also hire someone on oDesk to make one for you, both are very cheap. Your brand should also have a good color scheme that you consistently use. I suggest using the same color scheme across your online profiles and blog.

Staying consistent

After getting the message and logo sorted, you need to use them consistently to build a real brand. Consistency is a very important part of building a personal brand. Think about the personal brands you know well. Do those brands change every day? When visiting your favorite tech sites, do you know what to look for and when to see new content?

Exposure

Without frequent exposure, you cannot build a brand. If you only see or hear a brand once or twice, it won't leave an impression in your mind and won't have any effect. To build your brand, you need to frequently expose your message and visual identity to the same people. There are many ways to expose your brand, such as:

• Create and maintain an active blog
• Write articles for magazines or publish posts on other blogs
• Give talks at user groups and conferences
• Appear on podcasts or other media
• Write a book, either self-published or through the traditional publishing process
• Contribute to open source
• Create YouTube videos or tutorials

At first, you may only be able to do a few of the things listed above, but after building your brand, you'll get more opportunities to do more things, and even do things not listed above. What matters is that you genuinely provide value to others. If you provide value and leverage your message and brand in a consistent way, you will build strong brand recognition and create more and better opportunities for yourself.