FOMO Sapiens with Patrick J. McGinnis

S14 E13 Goldie Chan: How to Build Your Personal Brand Online

·37 min·3 clips
Goldie Chan explains why personal branding isn't bragging but the story you tell when you're in the room.
The episode begins with host Patrick J. McGinnis introducing Goldie Chan, a personal branding strategist and author. Chan explains her background in tech and community management, leading to her involvement in LinkedIn's early video beta. She shares how she created 800 daily consecutive videos over two years, which opened doors like being called the 'Oprah of LinkedIn' by Huffington Post and writing for Forbes. Chan discusses her new book 'Personal Branding for Introverts', revealing she is an introvert herself and wanted to write a guide that feels like a friendly conversation rather than a lecture. She defines personal branding as the story you tell when you're in the room, while reputation is the story others tell when you're not. Chan distinguishes between ego and confidence, describing ego as shouting in the room and confidence as being in the room. She provides a framework for personal branding starting with identifying three audience groups: peers, clients or bosses, and general audience. The conversation includes practical advice on LinkedIn profile photos, warning against 'serial killer framing' (too zoomed in) and 'grandpa framing' (too zoomed out). Chan discusses using AI tools like ChatGPT and Canva to enhance content creation without making posts look generic. She emphasizes the importance of adding personal voice to AI-generated content. The episode concludes with a lightning round where Chan shares personal insights, including her decision to take time off after a cancer diagnosis. She advises narrowing down your personal brand focus and posting consistently on LinkedIn.

As heard by us

A grounded conversation about online reputation that makes personal branding feel practical, not performative.

Personal branding gets a useful, less performative definition as Goldie Chan and Patrick J. McGinnis tie it to reputation: the story people tell when someone is not in the room.

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Why you'd press play

You want an online reputation that feels like you, without turning every post into an award speech.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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