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Success is often built on strong personal branding — because it immediately tells us who a person is and where their expertise lies.
Personal branding isn’t limited to those in the public sphere. Regardless of who you are, you can showcase your talents. We’ve curated a list of excellent examples of well-defined personal brands to inspire your own.
What things make up a personal brand?
The best personal brands are created by people who have specific knowledge gained through experience in a certain field.
The idea of launching a personal brand is to help others in the most authentic way possible. Given that we live in the attention economy, many people are in need of valuable insights from others who have done the work themselves. Chances are, if you’ve spent a long time in a particular field, you’ve amassed a lot of knowledge.
Effective personal brands offer:
- Specific knowledge of an industry or topic
- A unique point of view
- An authentic personality
- A consistent content creation schedule
Let’s go over some of the best personal brands that have all of these core qualities.
19 of the best personal brand examples in 2023
Here are our top picks for the best personal brands right now:
1. Aaron Ward
Aaron Ward is an entrepreneur whose passion is to help creators create and sell digital products online.
At the core of his personal brand is a beautiful portfolio website, made in Webflow. The site shows off a few companies he’s worked with — Medium, Red Bull, and Spotify just to name a few.
Aaron also has a blog and YouTube channel where he teaches others how to grow their personal brands on social media. A nice blend of personality and content creation allows Aaron to stand out in a sea of personal brands — giving him leverage to grow into a thought leader in the social media space.
If you’re thinking about starting a content business, Aaron is an example of someone you should check out.
2. Charli Marie
Charli Marie was a student of design when she started a Tumblr dedicated to the pop punk band Fall Out Boy. This fan page was created from a love for the band and a desire to connect with other like-minded fans. Her popularity on Tumblr led to a t-shirt brand of her very own.
Charli wrote about the rise and fall of her t-shirt business. She doesn’t focus on the momentum her company lost, but instead frames it as an important step in her journey as a designer. For those with a creative idea that appears to serve no other purpose than scratching a fun itch, Charli’s Tumblr story inspires follow through — you never know what opportunities a fan page for your favorite pop punk band could bring.
Today Charli works remotely for Convertkit, hosts a successful YouTube channel, and has made a life for herself full of travel and fun. Her upbeat personality and design skills are central to her personal brand. She serves as another fantastic example that there’s more than one path to success.
3. Mark Manson
Mark Manson is an internet entrepreneur and best-selling author. Mark has created an impressive personal brand for himself, reaching over one million people per month through his website and blog.
Mark is a great example of a personal brand done right because he first started growing an audience on his blog. Over time, he wrote books about self-improvement around topics that his blogging audience loved — allowing him to top the charts as a best-selling author.
With the success of his books, Mark also launched a subscription service — another form of monetization on his website. He also branched out to other social media platforms, like YouTube, and started creating content around topics he’s written blog posts and books about.
If you want to be an author or writer, Mark Manson is someone you should definitely look at for inspiration.
4. Alice Thorpe
Alice Thorpe describes herself on her YouTube channel as a “freelance graphic designer stumbling through life one pixel at a time.” Alice isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself, and this self-referential tagline is a perfect introduction.
She produces a lot of content for designers on YouTube and on her own website. She’s the kind of expert that never talks down to her audience. Alice combines her casual, funny style with her expert skills to create entertaining and informative content.
An important part of a brand’s identity is voice. Think about the voice behind brands like Apple, Progressive, and McDonald’s — you can probably imagine a specific tone and style for each one. How brands speak to their target audience gives us a sense of their personality. Much like those big brands, Alice does a great job of consistently communicating her personality through all her fantastic content.
5. Nesha Woolery
Nesha Woolery’s site greets us with “Hey designer lady!” — speaking directly to the audience she hopes to reach. With skills in project management and organization, Nesha offers online courses, videos, and articles targeting women in design. She offers a specialized service to a specific demographic with a light, breezy design that complements her own personal brand aesthetic.
6. Gary Vaynerchuk
Like many people with a strong personal brand, Gary Vaynerchuk has a great coming up story — turning the family liquor store into a ecommerce empire.
Gary’s story has humble beginnings with hard work and dedication leading him to success. He embodies authenticity and self-determinism. When creating content on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn, he positions himself as someone who’s grounded and wants you to achieve success on your own terms. He is also the co-founder of VaynerMedia.
A strong identity gives people confidence in what you do. It’s the reason we reach for brand-name products at the supermarket — we know what we’re getting. No surprises. The product’s value and selling points are proven and well-known. Your own personal brand should be just as recognizable.
7. Bill Nye
Bill Nye may be known for his bowties and science-dad jokes, but beneath the veneer of his popular appeal is a man who values increasing awareness and appreciation of science. His enthusiasm for reason and objective thinking are as important to his personal brand as his skills as an entertainer.
His stage persona is the affable, goofy, nerd. His background as a mechanical engineer elevates him from a TV persona blowing up test tubes full of colorful liquids to a trusted expert.
While his site promotes his books and online store, most of the content is science-related and accessible — even to those who’ve never donned a lab coat.
8. Brian Dean
In a world full of SEO “experts” with the supposed power to increase your web traffic by 100% in a matter of weeks, it’s difficult to know who to believe.
Brian Dean is an internet blogger and the real deal when it comes to Google SEO. With thorough content, testimonials from actual people, and an absence of sketchy ads, his website positions him as a credible expert. His personal brand is all about trust.
9. Tony Robbins
Love him or loathe him, it would be hard to find anyone unfamiliar with Tony Robbins and his brand of financial self-help thanks to his prolific output of books, seminars, and other content. And of course let’s not forget about his charisma, energy, and that mouthful of beautiful teeth.
If you haven’t been keeping up with him, your brain might still conjure the 1990s version of Tony in all of his loud, energetic glory parading in front of his adoring fans. But his identity changed with the times. He’s no longer screaming in full volume — he’s more sophisticated and subdued. His current website doesn’t position him as the boisterous self-help guru of the past, but instead as a financial teacher for the current climate.
Mirroring the site’s dark color palette, Tony dons professional attire, so he looks more like someone in tech than a bellowing prophet of self-empowerment. His site showcases a personal brand that’s contemporary and relevant, eschewing the flash and pizzaz of the past.
10. Melyssa Griffin
Melyssa Griffin defines her mission as helping “heart-centered high achievers grow their income and impact online.” This summary communicates who she is, appeals to entrepreneurial aspirations, and connects on an emotional level.
Her about page further reinforces her personal brand when she says, “I believe you deserve happiness, respect, and love. And I’m determined to give you the tools to create those feelings in every crevice and cranny of your existence.” She delivers on this message with expertise and spunk woven into her quality content. She’s also a great example of a personal brand that was grown through a blog.
11. Shaun White
By the time Shaun White was 7 years old, he was sponsored by Burton Snowboards. He’s remained on the cusp of innovation throughout his career, flinging himself from the lips of halfpipes, spinning in ways no other snowboarders ever have.
His brand is about going higher and faster than anyone else. Shaun’s brand — like many professional athletes’ — is founded on the brilliance of what he can do with his body. Shaun’s snowboard line relies on the strength of his personal brand as an Olympic athlete. Without his branding, the snowboards could easily be overlooked.
14. Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss made his mark in the world of financial self-help with his book, The 4-Hour Work Week. His brand is about the smart subversion of traditional employment and empowering people to defy convention and blaze their own paths to success.
Even for those rolling their eyes at the notion of a four-hour work week, there’s a lot of great advice in his content. His personal brand is that of a savvy disruptor. For those on a non-traditional career path, Tim positions himself as both a leader and teacher. He is also the host of The Tim Ferriss Show – a podcast for personal growth and business.
13. Roberto Blake
Roberto Blake is the embodiment of entrepreneurial achievement. He runs his own agency, Create Awesome Media, has published over 1,200 videos, and develops lessons to help those driven by creativity and independence.
His site design is full of his creative energy, personality, and intelligence that will inspire any designer to put in the time and effort to build a career around their true passions.
14. Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart’s brand touches so many different pursuits. She’s a great cook, has an eye for interior design, knows how to design a garden, and can handle basically any task related to home aesthetics. There’s a consistency in what she creates whether it’s a recipe for chicken pasta or a palette of paint colors — her sense of delicate sophistication is a part of everything she makes.
Where some people with established brands may put a bit less effort into their web presence, Martha does the opposite. She’s not known to take it easy. Her site is full of recipes, DIY projects, entertainment ideas, and other lifestyle-related content all oozing her personality. Her ongoing output keeps her brand going strong today.
15. Casey Neistat
Casey Neistat’s site design consists of whitespace and a few outbound links, because he’s “not entirely sure what purpose a website would serve someone like me so this page is here to redirect you to more interesting places.” Even if you have no idea who Casey is, the message is clear — he’s not one to follow conventions.
With over 11 million YouTube subscribers and an impressive social media following, Casey’s videos are enough to communicate his personal brand of rebellion. It’s apparent that he’s driven by instinct and intelligence. He’s spent his career overachieving, pushing against those who’ve told him he can’t do things. He’s a vlogger (video blogger), founded the media company Beme, and has received praise from big-name outlets like Forbes.
His content is unapologetic in its brashness and he’s driven by the mantra, “Do what you can’t.” He’s spent his life pushing against the haters and triumphed over negativity through brute force. He encourages his audience to go after what’s important without hesitation.
16. Mindy Kaling
As a writer, actor, and producer, Mindy Kaling has made so many of us laugh. She’s established herself as someone whose creative output is about smart comedy that punches up against Hollywood and societal norms. Her personal brand is multifaceted and isn’t limited to labeling her as a writer, feminist, or actor. Even though there are so many aspects to what makes Mindy amazing, her brand offers a clear idea of who she is and what matters to her.
17. Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is equal parts awkwardness and ego. She can be infuriating and likable all within ten seconds of an interview. Her music flirts with experimentalism while still being within the lines of pop sensibilities.
Her official website embraces this vibe with a mashup of styles ranging from handwritten scribbles and blurry photos to script text and glam photos of Billie. Her personal brand of quirk is almost anti-brand — it’s what makes her music and aesthetic easy to recognize.
18. Adam Enfroy
Adam Enfroy is a blogger who has amassed over 500,000 monthly readers in just a few years of launching his personal brand.
Adam is truly an inspiration in the way that he approaches personal branding, because his motto is to “blog like a startup.” Taking his experience from helping startups grow, Adam applied the same startup marketing strategies to grow his own personal website.
Through his income reports, Adam shows how he’s making 7 figures just through his personal brand. Because he has created an audience through SEO blogging, Adam is able to monetize his blog through affiliate revenue, sponsorship revenue, and course sales.
Adam shows how fast a personal brand can grow simply through blogging like a startup. If you’re thinking about starting a blog for your personal brand, Adam is a great example to look up to.
Marketing the product that is you
No matter who you are, you can benefit from putting effort into your own personal branding. Don’t laugh! Whether it’s a portfolio, blog, or a dating profile, you’re telling us who you are. Why not amplify all that’s awesome about you? Build your personal brand on your strengths. Sell yourself through authenticity and good intentions — show those interested all that you have to offer.
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